“The YGA Club is simply a great return on investment. Having access to so many learning courses and an excellent community chatroom is brilliant. Also, I think what makes an immense difference when compared to other guitar learning sites is the sense that we are not just "another" member. Dan and his team take the time to know us personally and in my case respond to specific targets I am setting myself in the hope of becoming a better guitar player. Love it!”
“What are the essential ingredients of an effective learning regime? There may be many opinions, but most of them will include
• A clear, concise, and structured teaching and learning program.
• Quality instructors who not only know the material, but also are able to translate this into meaningful chunks to impel students to new understandings.
• A community of learners willing to share their experiences and to provide mutual support in a strong collaborative environment.
• Constructive feedback that alerts the learner not only to where they are now, but also points them to the ways they can move to the next stage.
Over recent years I have become a “collector” of guitar instruction courses, YouTube videos and material from guitar tab websites. While they all provide insights to a guitar “destination”, few clearly articulate the nuances of the journey or provide the various resources to surmount the myriad hurdles on the way to that destination.
Recently I found “Your Guitar Academy(YGA)”, and in a very short time have found it to be the closest thing to the “effective learning regime” outlined above.
• YGA provides each student with a structured pathway of learning experiences based on a brief set of answers about experience and interest. The pathway is not necessarily unique to every student, but it is supplemented with a diverse array of other learning units that can be explored alongside this pathway.
• Through the associated Discord community, YGA allows students to upload a progress review video once a month for other students and YGA mentors to provide feedback. This takes place in a collaborative and mutually supportive environment.
• The mentors not only “know their stuff” but are able to point to issues with technique and other elements of guitar craft that identify what students might explore to develop and improve.
• These mentors also provide quality supplementary instructional material to complement the lesson pathways on the YGA club website.
• Students can record the amount of time spent on the various parts of their learning path which provides an element of self-assessment of progress.
I am neither an experienced, nor particularly talented guitarist, but in a month with YGA have made a significant leap in my understanding of the instrument, the theory of music and the repertoire of meaningful and enjoyable rhythm and solo guitar playing. YGA does not of itself make you a better player, but it does provide the tools and stimulus to guide anyone who makes a commitment to becoming a better player. Having a clear map of the journey, a powerful set of learning experiences, and quality feedback provides the scaffold for learning. It also nurtures during those moments of self-doubt about whether you have what it takes to be a more proficient guitarist.”
“For an online learning platform, the communication and approach is very personal. The learning path that is generated based on the specified level fits perfectly. I am enthusiastic about what is on offer.”
“YGA Club... is the number one place to be if you're looking to learn guitar in a very well-thought-out structure in a friendly community of like-minded guitarists. If you're like me (a beginner) and tried to learn the guitar by scouring different sites on the internet and learnt a few things along the way (including some bad habits!) and have not been able to have face-to-face lessons due to time, other commitments and cost, then you need to check out their site! It's superb! My guitar eventually became your typical piece of art and sat getting dusty on the wall but now I can't put it down!
What is great about the YGA club is it provides you with a learning pathway to follow as your core learning which will teach you all the essential skills needed to reach your goals. There are player studies along the way too to help you understand the way they play and how that links into the skills you have learnt so far. The music theory lab is also very easy to follow and helps you understand what you're playing on the guitar and why it works. The pathway has been very inspiring for me as it’s given me properly structured lessons with goals and milestones to aim for and already I can see improvements.
The discord community is another great feature where you can submit your progress and receive feedback from the mentors as if you were having face-to-face lessons. It's also a great place to ask any questions on playing, equipment and general advice with others in the club.
Thanks to Dan and the rest of the YGA team for putting this great site together!”
“I'm enjoying the YGA club very much. And Joy is the key word here! It's not always easy to have a joyful experience while trying to improve one's guitar skills, but the YGA Club does an amazing job there.
YGA's courses are very different from everything else I've seen out there. Dan's teaching style is really clear and supportive and, most of all tries to always highlight the fun part of the practice which to me is an essential point many other courses miss. I particularly enjoy the player studies, where you dig deep
into a given player's sound and style.
But with the courses alone, it's easy to get lost as to what the right order should be or even try to do too much at the same time. This is where customized YGA's club Pathway has added a lot of value for me: it provides me with the missing structure and helps me be more focused. For example, I must have spent around 3 months in the Clapton course, really gaining some insight into what this Cream sound is. I would have never had the discipline or patience in the past, it's all thanks to the YGA club structure, the interface with the practice sessions, etc. The pathway also gives me a sense of the order in which things should go, and this also helps a lot. As you may know, one of the motivation killers out there is suspecting you're not doing things the right way. The pathway adds this extra bit of confidence (remember that it is customized to your needs and level!).
Summarizing: an amazing learning platform supported by an amazing and enthusiastic group of teachers that make the whole "online learning" process a very joyful experience.”
“Over the years, I have tried dozens of “how to play guitar” courses - some free & some that cost you. I can honestly say that YGA was where I stopped looking and trying - AND really began to learn! The courses are incredibly well-structured, supporting materials you can download and print, and the level of instruction is incredibly professional. Dan Holton, Ollie and the rest of the instructors are really able to teach properly - something most other guitar courses simply don’t do. Sure, the people doing these videos can really play, but they aren’t teachers.
Do yourself a real favour and take a look at the YGA course offerings. I suggest starting with the Theory Lab course (amazing), the CAGED system courses and then Pentatonic Mastery. From there in the sky is the limit. Oh - yes, you do pay for the courses, but the cost is incredibly low and worth every penny.”
