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Posted by: ErikEklund Jan 3 2011, 06:52 PM

Hello people of gmc!

Its been a while since I last visited the site, and Im really confused.
Last time I was here, it was an awesome site with killer new lessons from guys like muris, emir and wallimann, lessons wich really blew you away, with awesome chops, licks, technuiqes and really high quality overall. But now when I log in, it seems to be only rock/metal lessons and everything seems kind of Beginner. No offense to anyone, but what has happend?

/Erik

Posted by: Kristian Hyvarinen Jan 3 2011, 07:22 PM

I wouldn't really say that. I think it's true that lots of rock stuff has been released lately, but there is challenge for everyone, for example the Killer Pentatonic series... And personally I feel that these lessons are very high quality, too.

Posted by: thefireball Jan 3 2011, 07:23 PM

Well I'm glad for it because I can't play those amazing lessons. Way beyond my level. Maybe contact remaining instructors and request some challenging ones?

Posted by: Kristian Hyvarinen Jan 3 2011, 07:28 PM

Oh yeah, try seeing the latest guitar lessons. I see acoustic, Jimmy Page, Satriani, Neoclassical, melodic, Doors, SRV, Metal riffs... and levels vary from 3 to 7. Just the latest. ;)

Oh yeah, there also are lots of new instructors. I do understand how it feels when your favourite instructors leave and new ones replace them (I'll never get over Lavendell leaving :D) but I wouldn't say the new ones don't know how to play. They make great lessons, in my opinion.

Posted by: Lian Gerbino Jan 3 2011, 08:34 PM

well, most of the lessons are made by request, or by reading some member's problem. so, the instructors follow the forum's activity and then each instructor comes with something useful for every need.
there are many beginners/intermediate lesson lately but there was some advanced lessons too!
have you try Chowy's?

Posted by: Gitarrero Jan 3 2011, 08:53 PM

Sure, it's sad that the three guys you named left, but GMC won some great new instructors. I also think that GMC tries to focus a bit more on beginners, but I think that's a wise choice economically. Still, as Kristian already pointed out, there are various lessons for each level. And I am sure that rock and metal are the most desired lessons here.

Posted by: fkalich Jan 3 2011, 09:55 PM

muris, emir and wallimann

Pretty hard to find guys on the level of those three. Not just in terms of technical skill, but also in breadth of styles, and compositions. I figure that the money was not enough, and one would not expect it would be indefinitely for them. I could see Muris on the top 10 list in the world for electric guitarists in terms of his playing skill. Often the best are not the most famous in any art form. Van Gogh sold one painting while alive.

That being said, some of my favorite teachers here are not what I would call the most technically accomplished here (although every teacher that Kris has ever hired has been quite accomplished by any standards). There is a lot more to good guitar than just technical skill, and I would argue that some other things are more important.

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Jan 3 2011, 10:16 PM

I agree with Lian. It's a matter of what the actual people who come to the site want. If there would a lot of these requests/comments you are making then I'm sure many of us instructors would start to make more challenging lessons but the majority of members prefer something they can work on right away and not in 2 years.

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jan 3 2011, 10:18 PM

I miss the guys that left, but the guys that arrived are awesome too! I hope GMC will deal with it "lower activity problem" and it will be once again the undisputed internet guitar kingdom;)

EDIT: now I requested another Blind Guardian style lesson few months ago and still no response!!!!!!!!

Posted by: JamesT Jan 3 2011, 10:21 PM

GMC is getting better all the time IMHO. I'll miss guys like Emir, Muris, Pedja, and Marcus for sure. But they did leave us with some great lessons to work with. And the new instructors here bring a lot to the table both from the technical and from a breadth perspective. You know, when I joined GMC, I kind of figured that I was at level 6 or so as far as technical ability goes. Yeah, I was able to memorize and play a few of those lessons right away, but after awhile, I discovered that I have a huge amount to learn and master at levels way lower than 6. That might be a testament to my talent (or lack thereof ), but it's true, the world of guitar is so vast. There's no end to what you can integrate into your own style in every dimension. With persistance, I plan to put technical obstacles behind me one day, but as I learn and progress as a guitarist, I've become more intested in other factors. I want to be able to play the hardest and most technical stuff, don't get me wrong. But guitar and the music you can make with it offers so much more than that. Man, when I compare GMC to what it was three years ago when I started, it was good then, but has even more now (too many to list really). Maybe our old friends will stop in from time to time and give us a "cameo" lesson that inspires us, but we can always look them up on google to see the awesomeness that they've been up to and cheer them on as well. In this regard, my hope for GMC is that it can preserve its friendships with departing teachers so that they feel welcome enough to hang around on the forums if their busy schedules permit.

Sorry for such a long winded post.

Posted by: ErikEklund Jan 3 2011, 10:33 PM

Im glad to hear that you think gmc has becomed better, but I think the complete opposite.

* The instructors who once inspired me and so many others with their awesome lessons has left.
*The number of lessons each day has been reduced from 3 to 1. ( and is often a lesson of a song, witch you could get the tab on ultimate-guitar for free)
* The breadth of styles in the lessons has decreased to almost only rock, metall and blues.


and on the top of this, what I can see, it cost more money now than what it did back in the days when gmc was great.

Im really sorry to see that gmc has developet in this way =/

Posted by: Lian Gerbino Jan 3 2011, 10:46 PM

got it already composed!!! including some ideas based on their last album! just need time to record it!



I hope you find your way here.
evidently there's something you are needing, would be awesome if you let me know what it is.
perhaps we could come back with something cool for you.

Posted by: playaxeman Jan 3 2011, 11:15 PM

Hi
Emir has started a site for himself where you pay per lesson, Muris/Pedja helped him with that and David is at another Us- site teaching.
That is the way things go.

But they have left us with a great lessons.

And I see a lot of great (new) lessons I likeu very much and I can learn from very much :
by Ben (schenker + Priest) Solt (Satch), Jonathan (Lukather), Laszlo (scorpions, Vinni More), Piotr (Gary Moore), Mate (killer penta series) Ramiro (Maiden) How much rock can you get.I have never found such hot lesson as here on GMC. And I have had a few on line sites I have joined.

But I cannot speak for you....but there will be some stuff for you or do like Lian make a request.

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jan 3 2011, 11:16 PM

<reacting with happy-like-frenzy after hearing about the upcoming BG lesson>

Posted by: maharzan Jan 4 2011, 03:38 AM

Move on guys move on... Its a reality world we live in... people come, people go.. you just need to make best of what it is/was there. I bet you haven't yet practiced most of the lessons those guys posted and they are still a great value if you can learn. I agree with less interactivity (may have resulted due to many active people leaving). I hope admins "do something" and can get similar people on the site and increase its activity once again. I don't want to give suggestions as they seem to get deleted the moment its posted.

Posted by: Mudbone Jan 4 2011, 06:11 AM

There are plenty of lessons on this site as it is. Most aspects of guitar playing is covered, except for country, which is sadly missing. Personally, I have enough lessons in my bookmarks to keep me busy for at least two years, thats not including the lessons I'll be able to do once my playing improves. Its true most of the new lessons are metal, rock and blues oriented, but thats what most subscribers request. Catering to the majority is a typical business model. But there are plenty of other lessons in other styles that you can work on. If you've mastered everything on this site then you really don't need these lessons, but instead should be teaching on here. I must agree though, there should be more instructor interaction, although I suspect some of them might not get on the forums that much because they have difficulty communicating in English.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2011, 07:15 AM

There is some really interesting stuff here. It's true that some great instructors had to leave but this is a normal thing, on the other hand I think that there are many amazing new instructors delivering top quality lessons! What about Jonathan Burgos, Fernando Cullen, Chowy Fernandez, Denes Nagy, Laszlo Boross, Adrian Figallo, Juan Cortes??
I think that the site quality is continuously evolving. Have you checked http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/My-Chemical-Romance-Punk-Style/ with the addition of Walter Saleme explanations? That's the new format for the lessons from my studio!
We are always trying to make the things better and better so it's very important for us to know all your opinions and suggestions. As Lian said, most of the lessons that we record are based on requests done by the users so if you think that there is a style/technique/topic that must be covered please let us know and we will work on it. Lately we focused on Beginner lessons because we didn't have enough of that stuff but we can work on more difficult lessons if that what everybody needs!

There are many great things coming!
So, what about starting a thread where we all post ideas to make this site even better?

Posted by: Ben Higgins Jan 4 2011, 12:08 PM

This is unfortunately an example of the classic phrase: 'You can't please everybody all of the time'. Only the other week, somebody posted saying there weren't enough rock/metal cover songs/solos !!??! So it begs the question, who do you listen to ? But it is all just a case of balance and things do go through phases. As Maharzan pointed out, there's still loads of lessons that those instructors have left us with which would provide years of technical challenges.

Also, one of the first things I was asked by members when I joined was that they hoped I would be doing lessons that were achievable for people who weren't shred wizards. The aim of any instructors lessons are to inspire and help people along the path of guitar. Some people require help with vibrato, phrasing, bending but others may want more challenging stuff with speed picking, arpeggios etc... and between us all, I do think we strike a very good balance.




I agree about the reality of life. There are so many unknown circumstances to people's life that we don't know about, and have no business knowing about. But things change and evolve, but it keeps on moving forward through the good times and the lean times.

I also don't think this activity issue is down to admin/staff. Life moves in stages.. but as long as people don't give up or stop believing then it will carry on going. It's up to us all whether we choose to carry on supporting or not, regardless of how busy the forum is or isn't.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jan 4 2011, 01:28 PM

Hey guys,

as I already got used to this (in a good way of course ) - Ben is right!

All the guys that left (as I am quite new as an instructor at GMC, I can only imagine how things were when Muris and Marcus were active in here) were awesome! But I honestly think it's up to ALL of us to keep GMC to its standards, and when I say us, I mean absolutely everyone.

I found an amazing array of awesome instructors and involved people when I got in here, but if anyone thinks something is missing, I really believe that all you have to do is ask for that something.

As Lian said - you should request for stuff, so we'll know what you need.

Now that the holidays are over, I am back and ready to kick some guitar butt.

Keep in mind that a soulful bend may tell a story which a million notes may never be able to


hugs to all and a tremendously good 2011!!

Posted by: ErikEklund Jan 5 2011, 02:50 PM

well, its good to see that some members still appreciate gmc even tho there has been so much change.

I think some of you guys misinterpreted my point a bit, its not that I just want to see shred, and hard lessons. I think what gmc needs, who those guys had, is taste. Their licks and the way they approached guitar playing was so tasty and fresh, and I think gmc is missing out on tasty lessons these days.


Insulting all our instructors in one breath is not the way to go
Micke
moderator

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 5 2011, 04:44 PM

Really? If this is not TASTY Playing: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/instructor/Jonathan-Burgos/ , please explain me what does it means.

Posted by: Bear Rose Jan 5 2011, 05:05 PM

I was about to post the exact same thing! Jonathon is one of the "tastiest" players I've heard in a long time.

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jan 5 2011, 05:08 PM

Jonathans "Petrucci Style" lesson is one of my favorite, damn this is pure awesomeness:)

Posted by: playaxeman Jan 5 2011, 06:39 PM

Quote "I think some of you guys misinterpreted my point a bit, its not that I just want to see shred, and hard lessons. I think what gmc needs, who those guys had, is taste. Their licks and the way they approached guitar playing was so tasty and fresh, and I think gmc is missing out on tasty lessons these days."

Ii totaly disagree with this point

look at what our new/old instructors are bringing us....great stuff....with great techniques ...

.....but I think it is a matter of personal tast.....

Yes indeed Jonathan rocks. And lots of other instructors too

Posted by: Sollesnes Jan 5 2011, 06:57 PM

He is just pointing out his opinions, no reason to bash them just because you disagree

Posted by: Andrew6 Jan 5 2011, 07:11 PM

I have been off the site fo manyr months dealing with health issues, now that I am back and seeing the lessons since Muris/Emir's departure I am in no way disappointed. Some of my favourite lessons are the new ones. You can't expect any instructor to stay forever and I mean its not like their original lessons are gone, they are all still there and if you have those mastered then maybe you should be an instructor .

Posted by: Mudbone Jan 5 2011, 08:09 PM

Just about all the lessons I'm working on now are from the new instructors, so I'm pretty happy with them. You still haven't stated exactly what you are looking for, "tasty" is too subjective of a word. In my opinion, I think all of Zsolt's lessons can be considered "tasty" - but thats just me, someone else might not be into that kind of music. I'm still not quiet sure exactly what it is you're trying to achieve with your postings.

Posted by: Mr GuitarTube Jan 5 2011, 08:23 PM

favorite instructor is erik & micke. every other is bad

most bad is gabriel hippopotamus. he play arpeggio with chord.erik can
he sweep with mop.erik can
he play blue with pick.erik can. i want caress your bunny

und one day santa toll me everyone with red hat is nice. then he remove clothe

i want imail guitar tutorial gift icard from history to klistofel. he take me to futureklund. i hug your hat

sent from my imail

Posted by: Mudbone Jan 5 2011, 09:08 PM

HAHAHA ... +1

Posted by: Piotr Kaczor Jan 5 2011, 10:21 PM

Haaaaaaaaa... TASTY!

Posted by: Bear Rose Jan 5 2011, 10:30 PM

I wish I had imail......

Posted by: Lian Gerbino Jan 5 2011, 11:15 PM

hahahhahaha!!! you'r my idol Mr. Guitar T!

Posted by: thefireball Jan 5 2011, 11:46 PM

Yep, I totally agree. I miss Trond Vold. He is apparently gone, at least for a while. But I've found more instructors to learn from. I don't practice as often as I should anyway. I have lately learned songs from my iPod by ear. But I should really get back to learning stuff here. I know several lessons by heart on this site. And I know many intros of the lessons here, and play them all the time, and then improvise my own stuff with it. haha. GMC is a great site. Even though I wish I had found this site sooner than I did, I'm thankful to have this site now.

Posted by: Fran Jan 6 2011, 12:33 AM

Mr Guitar Tube's words are always wise

There's certainly a ton of taste & quality in our current instructors, and I'm certainly pleased with the new daily lessons covering a wide range of styles and groups. As a matter of fact I don't have time to cover even 5% of the great stuff I'd love to be able to play from the site, so I guess I'm not running out of inspiration any time soon thanks to the lessons and the boards

Some awesome instructors aren't active, but their great lessons & posts remain. Some amazing guitarists have taken their places, and all of them bring their unique musical sense and style. All together, past and present, make this site an awesome resource of guitar knowledge and the best community I've ever found on the net

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jan 6 2011, 12:47 AM

Each member on GMC has some kind of a goal, what he likes to play, practice, learn etc.. Some have modest goals, some have bigger goals.

The goal of GMC is to provide lessons and means to help all those goals become a reality. Everybody can come, customize his schedule and learn exactly what they want out of a wast knowledge base that exists here. The goal of GMC is to make knowledge transfer as efficient and comfortable as possible. People work hard to create that, and this is why subscription exists in the first place.

Now, what is your goal as a player? There is no point in making fast judgements here, because you did not cover all the factors. You said that something is wrong with GMC, but you haven't said what do YOU like to play and practice. The reason I say this is because there are so many lessons that came out since you've been gone, and it seems that you have checked only very small percentage of them. If you think there are too many rock/metal lessons now, using the search option will quickly reveal that is not true. If we say you haven't been on the site for 9 months time, let's see what came out in that time, starting in alphabetic order:

Classical: 8 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/13/Date/t/f/

Blues: 39 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/7/Date/t/f/

Country: 7 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/8/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

Flamenco: 6 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/17/Date/t/f/

Funk: 9 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/16/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

Jazz: 14 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/11/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

Jazz Fusion: 13 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/34/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

Other: 8 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/20/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

Pop Rock: 18 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/12/Date/t/f/#lesson=3

Punk Rock: 6 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/30/Date/t/f/

Traditional: 12 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/n/18/Date/t/f/#lesson=2

101 spoken lessons: 13 lessons
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/search/n/n/1/10/18/n/Date/t/f/#lesson=3



That's total of 153 lessons from May that are barely or not connected with rock and metal. Not to mention tons of useful things in knowledge base.

You have a point that most lessons are focused towards beginners and most lessons are rock and metal genres (all kinds of rock and metal genres btw), but I think that's fair enough. Most people do tend to practice these kinds of lessons, and most people come here to learn to play.

If you feel you need to achieve some kind of a goal as a musician, we can help you achieve that. Let us know if we can recommend some kind of a practice plan, or give you advice on how to be a better player. To me, a customer that is having difficulties finding good lessons is in need of assistance. Let us help, since we are on the site for some time, and we know what to do to help.

Posted by: Kristian Hyvarinen Jan 6 2011, 12:48 AM

Yeah, it's a good point that the old lessons by Muris & David & Emir and others are still there - and I'll be damned if there is someone here who's learned all the lessons from all of them... heck, even just one of them.

The thing about "tasty", is a matter of personal opinion, I guess. So I don't think it really reflects anything about GMC overally... but I do think that it's a good thing that this was pointed out. It's impossible for staff to keep up with the students' demands unless the students open their mouths. It's another point of view, and I do understand it.

I just find it a tad disrespectful towards all the other impressive instructors to (indirectly) say that they don't have as much taste.

Kristian

EDIT: Great post, Ivan.

Posted by: thefireball Jan 6 2011, 01:29 AM

Yeah, great post, Ivan!

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Jan 6 2011, 03:54 AM

HAHAHAH

Come on, sweeping with mop is not that hard,...

Posted by: Hardtail Jan 6 2011, 05:12 AM

I randomly decided to check in on GMC tonight and happened upon this thread. It kinda makes me glad to see more beginner stuff here because that was one of the reasons I left before. There wasn't much between uber beginner uber awesome which is where I was at. I haven't pick up my guitars in quite some time because I find it frustrating everytime I do but I recently had some life changes and am very interested in giving it another go.

Keep up the good work GMC... maybe someday I'll rejoin... when I can afford to again

Hardtail

Posted by: NoSkill Jan 6 2011, 05:19 AM

GMC needs a flag. There are people from many countries that would proudly wave it. No matter how great a place is to people that look for the good, there are always the haters. I'd be interested in seeing someone learn all of Muris', Emir's and David's catalog of lessons here. If you think that they left, they haven't. Last time I looked, their lessons were in abundant supply and I'm sure there is nobody, active or otherwise, that has exhausted their catalogs. That being said, you can't please everyone. I'm learning a Lazslo lesson, then a Gabriel one, then a Lian one, then a Jonathan one, then a Ben one, then then then...maybe an Ivan one, but probably not. He only plays blues.

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Jan 6 2011, 05:23 AM

Yeah, I agree. The tons and tons of stuff from all instructors is still there for the taking. And if you master them, then you are a master, let me tell you.

I also think education should be a two-way road so it's ok for students to express their opinion as long as it helps them to reach their goals and nothing else.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jan 6 2011, 02:15 PM

You're right mate, I should do some modern lead lessons. Thanks for recommendation

Posted by: Praetorian Jan 6 2011, 10:11 PM

Speaking of new areas to explore...I would LOVE to hear Ivan's take on a modern metal lesson! Metal with blues influences sounds incredible!

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jan 6 2011, 11:12 PM

Starting working on it right away!

Posted by: d2yspr1ng Jan 8 2011, 10:46 PM

I watched GMC and did the free stuff off an on for a year. I just decided to join. For the price I pay and the availability of picking what I want to work on is overwhelming. It is definitely worth the price. Lessons to this degree cost $20 per half hour here in my area.

I am still finding out features here...the coolest was the video chat...my first was with Ben...was great.

So I just want to say thanks...will get to know more of you over the next months. I am not in the forums as much because I am too busy practicing selections I have made on here plus my own standard routines.

I have been on many sites and this has been the best for the buck I have seen...

Thanks

Michael

Posted by: Kristian Hyvarinen Jan 8 2011, 11:02 PM

Michael, at first I didn't hang out as much in the forums either... now I can't keep myself away. Have fun while practicing!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 8 2011, 11:11 PM

Well, you can't please all of the people all of the time. This thread goes to show that no matter what, some folks will be a bit put off. That said, I have to agree with a previous sentiment, "move on". There are a dizzying array of killer lessons and instructors here at GMC. More than I've ever seen at any other site I've been to, IMHO. And the lessons do reflect the requests. The great thing about GMC is that you can request anything. If you want to see a lesson on tasteful phrasing, just ask, and bingo, it will appear

Todd

Posted by: maharzan Jan 9 2011, 11:43 AM

agree with Todd. Even if you give something for FREE, there are some people who always complain... I just wanna say.. hell there are so many places to find things.. go where it suits you. Stop complaining.