Heart of a Teacher:

From the very beginning of the lessons in Learn and Master Guitar (LMG), I could feel Steve Krenz’ enthusiasm for his work. He really believes that anyone can become a better guitar player and reap a lifetime of enjoyment in the process. His explanations of the lessons are thorough, but don’t drag. I noticed as I was going through them that Steve had a habit of answering a question at just about the same time that it occurred to me. He really is a talented teacher who can take complex topics like key changes or chord structure and make them understandable.

He is also a good motivator. Each lesson allows time for you as a student to practice the new material by playing along with Steve. Then, you are given your assignment for the next session. It might be a song or some exercises that you need to work on and master before you begin the next lesson. I really felt encouraged and confident in my ability to learn the necessary material. If Steve thought I could do it, then so did I.

One of the best ways to understand the depth of Steve’s commitment as a teacher is to read some of the many messages he posts on the Learn and Master Guitar members’ forum. This is an online community open to people who have purchased the series of DVD lessons. The ads for this product say that members can post questions, comments or frustrations on the forum and expect to get replies from other guitar players, and even the author, himself. But, before I purchased LMG, I was pretty skeptical of this claim and assumed that anonymous students like me would never receive personal feedback from the creator of the lessons. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was wrong.

In looking through the posts on the forum, it is obvious that Steve Krenz is a regular participant. He jumps in with comments about topics that others are interested in, and also starts his own threads in the conversations. For example, one comment from a beginning guitar player working on the 4th lesson of the series asked a question about how to keep from missing the proper strings while picking with his right hand. Steve Krenz’s answer is a very encouraging one, reassuring the student that his is a common problem, and giving some helpful suggestions for conquering it.

Another member of the forum asked for advice on how to structure his practice sessions the most efficient way. He had already gotten some helpful recommendations from other members when Steve Krenz joined the thread and contributed some great suggestions about dividing up practice time between going over specific songs and working on new skills. I thought his ideas showed a lot of thought and a real desire to help out a fellow guitarist.

Steve Krenz takes the time to welcome brand new members to the forum. I noticed one entry where he greeted a novice and then answered his question about how to clean his guitar. He wrote quite a long post about the best cleaners that would not harm the finish on the instrument, and how often such cleaning needed to be done. He then gave detailed step-by-step instructions for how to change his guitar strings. It was another example to me of the heart of a teacher that Steve posses. He truly wants his customers to succeed in their quest to become guitarists.

New guitar players are not the only ones that benefit from Steve Krenz’s years of experience. I read some posts from him that were full of some rather complicated references to key signatures and transposing chords. They addressed the questions raised by the member in a complete and comprehensible manner, which demonstrated Steve’s complete grasp of the music theory that is necessary to play at an advanced level.

Humble Attitude:

Steve is not arrogant enough to assume that you will never need another guitar teacher if you buy his course. He wrote a thorough piece about how to evaluate an instructor if you choose to take private lessons. Interestingly, the main characteristic he recommended looking for in a tutor was the love of teaching. He said that you should not hire someone who is giving lessons just because they need to pay the bills, or someone that mainly wants to show off how well they play themselves. Instead, he suggested that you look for a teacher that gets real enjoyment from helping another person become a good guitar player. This seems to be a quality that Steve, himself, possesses in abundance.

Another impressive part of Steve Krenz’s attitude is revealed when members write in to discuss some problem they have had with the DVD series. Instead of just ignoring such posts, or getting defensive about anything that could be looked at as criticism, Steve thanks each person for pointing out a way he could make the lessons better. Steve freely admits in his posts that there are things in the sessions he would do differently if given another chance. He says that he is making notations about problems that members point out, so that when he does an update to the LMG series, he will be able to address any issues with the way the lessons are arranged or printed. Steve comes across as such a sincere guy that it is easy to believe that he will actually do it.

Working Musician:

I really enjoy reading the posts that Steve Krenz writes about some of the music gigs he is working on. It’s encouraging to me to think that the instructor I am learning from is actually a working musician that plays with some well-known artists. It adds credibility to Steve as a teacher to think that he has been asked to play at a Donna Summer concert or make a recording with great Nashville musicians. I get a little thrill just thinking that the guy I am getting to know through his writing and teaching is performing with people I have always admired.

Another great thing I learned about on the members’ forum is a gathering that Steve is putting together for all of his LMG customers. It will be held in Nashville over Labor Day weekend, 2008, and he is asking all of his students at any level of ability to come. 

Steve is planning a big concert and lots of guitar-centered activities. He will also be giving some guitar master classes to his members, and the whole event is free of charge. This strikes me as a great idea and another example of the way Steve Krenz cares about his students. He is certainly under no obligation to provide such an experience to people he has never met, but it shows that he really has a desire to share his love of music and the guitar with as many people as possible.

Now that you understand some things about who Steve Krenz is and where he is coming from, you may be curious to learn more about the course he has written. Just what can you expect to gain from using Learn and Master Guitar? Is it designed mostly for beginners, or for teaching a particular style of guitar? Here is a comprehensive overview of the DVD course, which should answer your questions.

Basic Course Components:

There are twenty DVD’s in the LMG course containing high-quality video lessons. They begin with very basic material such as how to hold a guitar and pick, then build in an organized manner to cover almost every advanced topic you can think of. Because the DVD’s are complete with navigation menus, you can easily begin at the exact spot that is appropriate for you. I like the fact that the menus also allow you to repeat a lesson as many times as you would like, or come back for review at a later date.

Each video session begins with Steve Krenz explaining and demonstrating the topic for the day. Then, there is time for you to play along with Steve and try to match your sound to his. At the beginning of the course, especially, Steve plays slowly enough so that even a new student can keep up. The camera work is well done and lets you see close-ups of both of Steve’s hands as he plays. At the end of the lesson, Steve will give you your assignment to work on before you advance to the next part of the course. When you have put in the practice time and feel confident with the material, you can move on to the next session.

The series comes with a lesson book of more than 100 pages that lets you see the music notation for every video as you go, which means it works well for both auditory and visual learners. The book will help introduce you to reading music, if it is new to you, and if you are familiar with the concept already, the well-written book will help speed your progress along.

Jam-Along CD’s:

My favorite part of the course has got to be the Jam-Along CD’s. These are so well produced that I really feel like I’m part of a professional group as I play along with the band. That’s because highly skilled musicians have recorded all the songs that are taught in the lessons. At the early stages of the LMG course, each piece is recorded at three different tempos, which is a great advantage to a beginner who wants to be able to play with the pros at his own speed. I love the fact that all the tracks have been recorded in a way that lets you turn off the lead guitar part when you are ready to take it over yourself, so that you can be the star of the show. I can tell from reading through some posts at the members’ forum that lots of folks there like the CD’s too. People talk about putting the tunes on their MP3 players and rockin’ out. It’s a fun and portable way to practice.

Variety of Styles:

When I stop to think about it, I’m surprised that Learn and Master Guitar has been able to do such a good job covering so many different styles of music. It seems like everyone who wants to learn to play guitar has a dream of reproducing a particular favorite song or style. Some people have wanted to be folk players ever since they first heard Peter, Paul and Mary. Others can’t wait to play “Born to be Wild” or strum along with Chet Atkins.

The LMG course does a remarkable job of addressing all those varying styles. There is information within the lessons on a wide variety of guitar music, and you can find people on the message board who are fans of just about every genre.

-Fingerstyle Guitar

Take a guitarist named “Larry,” for example, who posted a question about finger style guitar on the members’ forum. He was pleased with his progress in learning to pick, but wondered if he should be using the tips of his fingers or his fingernails. He got responses from several other members, some of whom said that they keep their nails short, others replying that they use finger picks, and still others who say they do use their fingernails. Many members wrote encouraging notes about working through the “Canon in D” that is found in Session 10 and about how excited they are to be able to play it well. So, the finger style folks seem well pleased with what they are learning.

-Jazz

The Jazz fans make their presence known on the forum, too. A member named “skate8” asked for suggestions concerning good examples of Jazz to listen to, and was referred to some of Steve Krenz’s CD’s. Interestingly, it was not Steve himself who made that recommendation, but some of the other members who love Jazz and thought his recordings were great examples of the style.

-Bluegrass

There are plenty of bluegrass players that have gained self-assurance through their experience with Learn and Master Guitar. “Dave-M” wrote a post about how thrilled he was to be able to join in with some local bluegrass musicians for a jam session. He said it was the first time he had ever felt that he could even attempt to keep up with the banjo and mandolin players he knew, and it was a great experience. Many other members of the forum, including Steve Krenz, joined in to give Dave-M kudos for his courage in jumping in there to be part of a community of musicians. All the writers agreed that one of the best parts of working through LMG is the confidence you gain in your abilities to play in public.

-Rock

The guitar players who love good old “Rock and Roll” have some lengthy discussions on the message board. They love to write about the merits of different amps, pedals, and brands of electric guitars. In fact there is a whole section of the forum titled Guitars/Amps/ Effects/ Gear that has a lot of traffic. Any member considering buying a new piece of equipment is likely to find someone who has tried it or owns it and can give feedback, either positive or negative. They talk about the way the LMG lessons have encouraged them to improve their electric sound and grow as musicians.

Music Theory:

If you are like some guitar players, you try to avoid music theory as much as possible. It seems way too boring and unrelated to the sound you want to produce. The lessons in LMG do a good job of incorporating theory into the actual process of learning a song, so that you can see the logic behind it. During the lessons, Steve Krenz keeps assuring his students that they really can learn to read the notes and understand chords and key changes, and he lets them know why they should care about the theory part of guitar playing.

The folks on the message board have evidently bought into Steve’s beliefs on this, because you can find a lot of posts about how to structure chord progressions, or add harmony to a song, or other theory-related topics. An aspiring songwriter named “MDC” wrote a question about how to add variety to the tunes he composes, and make each one sound unique. He got dozens of responses from other guitarists who used their knowledge of music theory to give some great suggestions. They started from material that was contained in the basic lessons, and added to it, to create their own style.

Rhythm:

Since rhythm is vital to learning to play guitar, you will find a lot of help in the lessons on this topic. Steve goes over how to keep a steady beat at the beginning of the course and gradually adds to the concept as the lessons progress. Learning how to use a metronome, how to count in rhythm, and understanding the place value of notes are all covered. The members’ forum answers rhythm-related questions, too, such as how to strum in ¾ time and which on-line metronome is most helpful.

In case you are thinking that the whole Learn and Master Guitar series sounds a little too good to be true, you shouldn’t. After searching the message boards thoroughly, I did find a few complaints from people. Some thought that the written material could have been easier to access. Several were unhappy with the stiff spine on the lesson book, which makes it hard to keep it open on a music stand. Other forum members gave suggestions for easing these problems, and the original posters all admitted that the inconveniences were just small flaws in their overall satisfaction with the product. It’s not perfect, but pretty close.

One student even wrote in to ask the procedure for sending the materials back to the company. He was met with a flurry of responses asking him why he was giving up and if there was anything other members could do to help him succeed. He said that he liked the lessons, but just didn’t have the time required to devote to the guitar at that particular time in his life. Since Learn and Master Guitar offers a money back guarantee, this customer had nothing to worry about financially, he was sure to get a full refund. He only had to deal with the disappointment of not being able to fulfill a life-long dream. Folks in the member forum understood that, and tried to encourage him to stick with it a little longer and achieve the satisfaction that comes with success.

If you would like more information, click HERE to be taken to Steve's site...