The worldwide community of guitarists and musicians is one of the main reasons why TrueFire is where it is today. With our students’ input and feedback, we stay motivated to continue to expand our library and improve our music e-learning experience. So, while we spend a lot of time highlighting our incredible faculty and content, we think it’s time to move the spotlight on some of our most passionate users.
In this Student Spotlight series, we’ll be showcasing a member of the diverse TrueFire community and sharing their thoughts with you. We hope you find yourself inspired. Ignited we stand!
Student Spotlight: howep
Your Name:
Paul H.
How long have you been a TrueFire Student?
11 years.
Tell us a little bit about yourself as a musician:
On and off for 62 yrs. Like Blues, Rock, Bluegrass, and Jazz. I currently live in West Virginia.
What attracted you to TrueFire at first?
Don’t quite remember how I came across TF. But I liked the artists and the variety of teachers and styles, plus what I sensed was the friendliness of the place. The prices were fair and often a bargain. I felt that the owners wanted a long-term relationship with their customers and wanted them to succeed versus some internet competitors who were interested in only charging an outrageous price for a handful of CDs.
What are some of your favorite TrueFire courses or lessons?
Too many to choose from. I like some lessons on technique and theory from Brad Carlton, Adam Levy, Pat Martino, etc. The blues series seem to be always interesting.
How has TrueFire helped improve your playing?
The variety of courses. It lifts the curtain to new possibilities. Provides a variety of perspectives of approaches to similar music. Just for kicks, I had reviewed some basic courses of instruction that I thought I would breeze through just to discover that each artist may have a somewhat different take on a basic technique that I never thought of. It added breath to my understanding, whereas I was self-satisfied to think that because I could go deep into one subject, that was all anyone needed to know.
Why do you use TrueFire, and how often?
There is never a day when I do not look at some parts of the courses. I also have a collection of courses that I bought from TF in CD or DVD format before you went entirely online. Come to think of it, some of those courses may be circa 2006 -07, perhaps.
What is your favorite feature of the TrueFire learning experience?
I like the structure where videos are broken down into several parts. 1) the instructor talks, describes, explains the learning objective and makes any jokes or cute remarks. 2) Then, a separate demonstration of what was in the intro talk. 3) Then a breakdown of what was played. Some of your competitors try to be too cool with the intro, making jokes, cute remarks etc. But then they continue with the lesson. They do not have the maturity to realize that a student will play the demonstration repeatedly. And perhaps the breakdown discussion too. This subjects the student to have to hear the cute comments and stupid jokes every time they have to replay.
Who is your favorite TrueFire Educator and why?
Which is your favorite child or grandparent? I rather not make that choice except to say that as I view My Dashboard, I have bought the most courses (in no particular order) from Brad Carlton, Andy Aledort, Corey Congilio, Frank Vignolo, Jeff McErlain, and Jason Loughlin. Why? Perhaps they have the most offerings. Plus, they seem to have chosen a subject that I thought I could benefit from.
What would you like to see more of at TrueFire?
What I would like to see is one PDF file that combines all of the examples for the course in addition to the separate examples after each lesson video.
Any other comments?
When I send a note to the support or help desk about a software glitch, I would appreciate an acknowledgment that someone looked at it.
Join the TrueFire Community!
Ready to take your playing to the next level? Sign up for a free TrueFire account today and enjoy a 14-day trial of All Access!