leaving totally guitars

Feel free to get outside the box here.
ktyevols
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Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 11:48 am
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Sat Dec 26, 2015 3:56 am

After having been a faithful supporter of totally guitars since 2009, I have decided there are other sites that provide more value and direction that I want my guitar playing to take. I have enjoyed the lessons that have given me the guidance to take my playing to new heights during this time.
However, I am stressed by the ads by Neil to learn to play guitar in only 12 minutes per day...are you kidding me.......show me a proficient player who has mastered his instrument with only 12 minutes of practice per day.
I think you need to rethink your pricing structure....there are several sites that offer as much or more content for about one half the price...a couple of sites put their subscription price on sale once a year......Neil is a great teacher, but he is no longer the only game in town.....thanks....ken


unclewalt
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Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:32 am

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jayswett
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Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:44 pm
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Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:10 pm

Ken makes some points that are not unreasonable. Having said that, as a founding member, he is probably paying something like 20 dollars a month. That's an incredible bargain, and yes, there are other guitar websites out there, but the quality of instruction on this site from Neil and Vanessa just can't be topped. Their styles just work for me.

Unclewalt is right to question how the recent ads affect what one gets out of TG the website. The 12 minute claim did raise an eyebrow for me, but it's similar to what I did for the first year of my guitar playing life in 2009, which was to set a goal of playing 15 minutes a day. That allowed me to make enough progress over the course of one year to remain motivated to keep going, which is what I have done. I chalked up the 12 minutes claim to a means of allowing beginning students to set a goal, see it through, and find at the end of the year that they have made real progress.

Finally, I would suggest that Ken's comments hardly constitute ranting. I agree that it would probably have been best to leave quietly if Ken felt that he could find better value elsewhere, but the points he made were articulated in a reasonable, respectful manner.

Jay


familyman4
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Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:29 pm
Location: Arizona
Status: Offline

Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:47 pm

Ken,

Good luck with your continued guitar playing. Have fun!

Bart


TGNesh
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Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:25 am
Location: The Netherlands
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Sat Dec 26, 2015 2:14 pm

I'm sorry to hear you feel that way Ken.

If I may add, I do believe that Neil explained, in another video, that the point of mentioning '12 minutes', is if you practice, with full attention that is, for even a small amount of time every day, it would improve your playing for sure. He didn't say in the email that you'd be 'mastering' the instrument. The email simply said 'you can be rocking your guitar by just practicing 12 minutes a day'.

As a teacher I can honestly say from my experience that's it actually true. In fact, a small amount of time a day works way better than an hour a week. I encourage all my students to indeed practice every day at least 10/15 minutes (or 5/10 minutes, a couple of times a day), for them to see results. The point is (which was pretty much also Neil's point), just practice or play sómething every day, even if it's just five minutes. It simply makes a difference.

I do believe that the costs of a subscription for TG matches the value of the site easily, if not more, but that's me.

Edit: btw I do believe that around Thanksgiving TG offered a 50% off deal to the Target Program. A pretty good deal I'd say!

In any way, thanks for the feedback and I wish you well.

Best,

Vanessa


willem
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Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:53 am
Status: Offline

Sat Dec 26, 2015 3:07 pm

I doubt whether this may have to do with certain songs you want to learn and are not here, atleast not yet!

I am also sometimes on other sites or you tube (who is not) and have a few very good ones and may judge whether they are good or not but that I learned all here at TG .

I will only go if the money is no longer possible or when the fingers no longer want to bend.

you can go for a while and come back for the same money, you have your badge and they are for ever..

goodluck in your guitar yourney..

keep your guitar nearby and take it on your lap so now and then each day and play for fun (15 minutes are 4 songs B) ),, or practice very focused and play a few measers, it's going to sit in your brain after 1500 times (not 15 minutes)..


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neverfoundthetime
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Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:14 pm
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Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:46 am

Good luck Ken! Hope to see you back again sometime.

I hear you on the recent barrage of advertising mails, that sort of thing does not sit well with me either, best to ignore and delete, I really don't think that ad champagne was aimed at TARGET members and we should have been removed from the mailing list from the outset. There is the option in the mails to opt out of the mailing list. It is really annoying having to read mail like that when you think it could be something important or cool like the tips that are sent out every now and then, they are useful. I do everything I can to block every kind of email advertising otherwise. I was surprised that the potential to irritate long standing members was not realised.

As to the site, I'm sure we TARGET Founding Members get the best deal in town. There are more and more teaching vids out there and I'll use anything that is useful on YT but I am not paying for any other content, I have more than I need here. And the community is worth its weight in gold, so I am happy.

Thanks for being open and real on your feelings, we need to always do that to keep things honest.

Chris


unclewalt
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Sun Dec 27, 2015 3:06 pm

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neverfoundthetime
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Sun Dec 27, 2015 4:08 pm

I was out of the loop about 6 weeks ago and noticed others were getting tips on playing in the mail so I asked to be added. The tips are good. But if you clicked on the DVD sale mail and looked at what was on offer, you got a never ending stream of mails haranguing you to buy the DVDs which were not really aimed at TARGET members anyway. Best to opt out of that.

unclewalt wrote:
I must have opted out a long time ago because I don't get any emails at all from TG.


Lavallee
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Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:48 am
Status: Offline

Tue Dec 29, 2015 1:11 am

Ken has certainly the right to raise his voice and to be in disagreement with some aspects of the site. I do not see any criticism about the teaching however, which is the main feature of the site. If price and ads are the only disagreement , hopefully we will see you again.

Everybody is in business to make a buck so maybe a new site will be more aggressive price wise, but it is hard to keep up with the quality and quantity of lessons we have at TotallyGuitars.

Good luck

Marc


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