In short

Video: GMC founder Kristofer Dahl with student Jimmie

At GMC there is an instructor for any style you can imagine – in most cases we have many instructors covering the genre you are looking for. This ensures that no advice is given ad hoc – and that you get the help and advice that is best suited for you. What works for one student might not work for another.

If your goal is to play fast, we will teach you technique that leads to higher speeds. This is something a shred instructor will be able to show you, not a blues instructor. Pretty logical, when you think about it.

If you have already acquired bad technique before discovering GMC, we will let you know about it, and more importantly we will make sure you re-learn the right way.

At GMC the instructors are put to the test on a daily basis. They are here to help you and must constantly prove their ability as guitarists and instructors. That is why all instructors regularly produce new lessons (even though many of them already have produced hundreds of videos). Also, instructor popularity polls are held on the open forums every month for students to provide feedback on the teaching methods used.

Instructors at GMC are active musicians, professional recording artists, and some even world famous artists (Ie Marcus Siepen from Blind Guardian). This way GMC provides not only the knowledge you need to master your instrument – but will also prepare you for live gigging, studio recording, song writing, self promotion & the music business.

"EXACTLY how does GMC help ME?"

• It’s easy: first find a lesson - within your skill level - which you like the sound of. Go through it quickly to make sure it seems somewhat doable to you.

• Now get practicing! If (or should we say when) you encounter a problem, you have many powerful tools at your disposal. Smaller obstacles are often best overcome by hitting the GMC metronome and repeating your problem area a bunch of times, whereas bigger ones usually call for instructor assistance.

• When you master the lesson you may submit a recording of your playing for instructor grading. This will keep your playing free from bad habits, and will ensure that you proceed to the next level only when you are ready for it.

• At this stage, you are ready to repeat the procedure with a new lesson of a higher difficulty level. This way you will gradually improve until you reach your desired skill level.

Important: If your goal is to be able to play insane solos in your bedroom and upload occasional youtube videos, the method described above will cover your needs. However – if you are planning on joining a band, playing live shows, writing songs, recording demos, getting signed (etc) just practicing video lessons will NOT be enough.

You will need to spend an equal amount of time working with GMC recording collaborations & virtual bands. This will give you the required experience to write & record music, and to work with other musicians.

To create a band-friendly environment, GMC has always provided band class lessons (even though we are a guitar site). This means that you will find bassists, singers & keyboardists at GMC as well.

Note: complete beginners should start with our First Steps course. This will allow you to understand how to read the lesson tabs, where to place your fingers and how to strike with the pick. This knowledge is mandatory to benefit from all the other lessons at GMC.

GMC compared to other resources...

GMC compared to other websites: The Internet is full of guitar sites, and choosing between them can get very confusing. They usually range from text based sites to more ambitious video content sites.

Be careful with…

• Sites with flashy looks that give you little or no samples of their product and student workflow
• Sites that promise the world if only you give them your email address
• Sites that promote themselves with a large number of costumer testimonials and pages of text

GMC stands out as the largest and most community-driven guitar lesson website. From the start we have been transparent and open about our site’s content and teaching methods.

GMC is unique in the sense that it was started without any budget – it had a very simple interface based on the teaching methods of Kristofer Dahl. The site grew thanks to the large amount of students who kept coming back. Not only do GMC students remain on the site – they also progress quicker than elsewhere. This is well documented at youtube and is the reason why the word about GMC is spreading.

GMC compared to DVDs: At GMC we are great fans of instructional DVDs. They are an effective way to gain insight into your favourite guitarist’s technique. The only disadvantage we see – is that you cannot ask the dvd what you need to work on.

Picture yourself a dvd with an unlimited amount of styles and difficulty levels, which allows you to communicate and interact with the instructors…that's GMC!

GMC compared to in-person lessons: When designing GMC, the idea has always been to simulate the in-person interaction you get from a real life mentor, but with the advantages of a DVD as well.

In other words: At GMC you get lessons from the pros (like DVDs), and just as with a real life mentor, you can ask questions and get valuable advice (but from an online personal mentor).

GMC compared to music schools: Although we feel that we have come a long way, GMC does not yet match the experience you get from being in a real life music school environment such as Berklee, MI etc. With today’s broadband standards it is very hard to achieve a realistic live jam session over the internet – since there is always latency (delay) as the sound signal travels over the web.

However with this exception aside, GMC gets you very close to a school of music environment, at only a fraction of the price. Roughly estimated, school fees (etc) could easily cost $30 000 per year, whereas GMC will cost you $228 per year. This is made possible thanks to the Internet – and the fact that you can still work and live at home while studying at GMC.

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Welcome to GMC,
--THE GMC TEAM

P.S Are you in for a treat! ;)