Beginner Question - Jose Manuel Montoya

[peterd]

Hello all,
I'm new to this forum and very new to playing the guitar itself. I used to play the flute when I was in my teens but that's about it. Guitar is something new to me as I've been laboring over learning chords, keeping rythms and practicing rasgeos which I find hard. All in all, this new art of flamenco music is challenging me at every point of the way.

Few weeks ago I bought my first guitar. A GUILD GAD C3. I found out later that this was a classical guitar instead of a flamenco.

Anyway I have been very diligently going over Jose Manuel Montoya DVD music course. 4 DVDs and 48 Lessons. I have reached lesson 6 so far. He recomemnds doing one lesson a week.

Because I know very little, this course starts at the begining. Going good so far.

Anyone of you know anything about this course or have gone through it? Hope I'm on the right path. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Pete.

[Dave Tate]

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the forum, jump right in! I haven't seen those DVDs myself, but most of them tend to be pretty good.

Dave

[jtucker]

Hey Peter, welcome to the forum!
Most comprehensive dvd methods will give you all the basic stuff you need to be playing flamenco. You might read on the forums or reviews that so and so doesn't play muy flamenco, or his/her compas (rhythm) is off, but really I don't think any of us can learn to be a true flamenco without listening to and watching a ton of music, and working with a real live teacher.
What the dvds and books will give you is a toolset and some knowledge that can make your studies with a teacher much more efficient and productive. I would also not try to hold yourself to a timetable of one week per lesson. Work on them until you get them perfect (or as perfect as you want) and then move on. If you're happy with how the course is taught, then it's exactly the right one for you.
I'm forcing myself to slog through a series of books in which I don't like the methodology very much, but I see the value in the material presented. I've found that it's way more difficult if you don't jive with the way things are presented.

[Great Googly Moogly]

Welcome, Peter!

[tommytritone]

Don't worry about your guitar right now. You'll probably buy another one, or two. ;-)

I don't know that DVD, but I agree that if you like it and it makes sense to you, it's a good choice. But it is important to play with others--either a teacher or another beginner who shares your interests. Not sure where you live, but it might be hard to find a flamenco teacher. A classical teacher can help you get started on good technique that you can use playing any genre, if you can't find a flamenco teacher.

It's really good to have goals, but I agree with Peter about the weekly timetable. That sounds more like a way to get frustrated and burned out. But, hey if that works for you, follow your instincts.

Why did you pick up the guitar? Let that answer, even if it's just a shoulder shrug right now, guide you.

[peterd]

Thank you all. Very good advice here.

Weekly schedule is buring me out and stressing me actually. So that's done. The course is excellent for a beginner atleast.

Finding a flamenco teacher locally is very difficult. Most teachers here claim they can teach but when I end up there, they are looking for pieces to play off the internet or scrouging for books. I went to one that told me to bring a book that I would like to start with. OK, that fine too but he turned out to be a heavy metal master. (No question a brilliant mind!).

So just going to have fun with it but at the same time following a disiciplined attitude towards it.