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Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON
Online lessons - recommendations
I've been living somewhere for over a year now where I don't have access to a teacher, as I did when I was starting, and I'm thinking it might be good to take some online lessons to structure my practice a bit more. I know of three: Jason's, Pedro Cortés, and José Tanaka. I've heard good things about all three, and for all I know there might be more. They look to have minor differences but are all at the same price point.
Does anyone here have any recommendations? I'd be especially interested to hear from people who have tried multiple sites and can compare and contrast, and point out the individual upside/downsides of each.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
I like the way Adam Del Monte breaks down the songs he teaches. Everything is very clear and he emphasizes rhythm. He's also a phenomenal player.
If you aren't interested in interacting with a teacher in an online situation you could use DVD's. If you are interested in interacting with a teacher Ricardo and Grisha offer online lessons. IIRC Ricardo will give you a free trial to see if this type of learning environment works for you.
Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
Thanks Al! I'll do the three day trials for both Jason and Pedro and probably at least a month with each - Pedro's cante stuff sounds interesting (does Jason's site cover much cante accompaniment?), and he's got this incredible farruca falseta on his sample page here which I'd like to learn more from (does his site have other falsetas which go along well with that one?) so it looks like each is worth a good amount of time. But I'm thinking I'll probably start with Jason. The guy's a monster player and from what I hear a great teacher, so it's hard to go wrong there.
Would still like to hear some more comparative reviews!
The last time I was subscribed to Jason and Pedro they were not really adding material to their sites anymore. Which at least in Jason's case is not a big problem as there is a lot already, but with Tanaka at least you get the impression he is still enthusiastic about it.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
Both have free trials. I think Toma Flamenco has a lot more guitar lessons as it stands, but Flamencos por el mundo has Antonio Rey, so there's that. They're both from the same people, apparently, one of them posts around the foro every so often.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
I've used Jason's site, Jose Tanakas site as well as Adam del Monte on New learning Vision.
I think all three teachers have something different to offer.:
Adam del Monte for the detail and nuance he goes into...helped me with how to make the music 'sing'....aire or whatever you call it
Jason McGuire....large amount of material there....good camera angles to see his technique in action
Jose Tanaka....again lots of material.....I found he makes things look easy and achievable...falsetas are broken down into parts and explained....good to aid memory.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
really take one site, there is tons of material on all of them. and all of them cover a good basic fundament of flamenco. BUT the more important: practice rythem and technique as much as posible. because flamenco is just music. *a word that starts with an F* "aire" and other mysterious stuff. that's just to make something sound more interesting than it is. it's rubbish. i live in sevilla and am surrounded by flamenco the whole day. it's just music guys. nothing more. practice technique, flamenco rythms and experiment with applying these techniques into the rythms. listen to flamenco to get an idea. but don't copy that. lebrija, moron, cordoba etc. are just ideas. don't get to obsessed with that, get obsessed with making hours practicing arpeggio, rasgueo and index up and down with metronome. your metronome is your new wife.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
I've been to to Jose's and Jason's site they both have lots of material ... I think your choice should depend on how you classify your self .. -if you think you're more likely to be a beginner-intermediate player go for Tanaka but keep in mind that jose has many advanced stuff -if you think you're an intermediate-advance player go for Mcguire
the reason I suggested that is because Mcguire just play the falseta up to tempo and then play it at a slower tempo ... pretty much like Encuentro
Jose breaks the falseta to very tiny bits and comment about it along the way and basically goes with you note by note nd step by step
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Rmn)
quote:
because flamenco is just music. *a word that starts with an F* "aire" and other mysterious stuff. that's just to make something sound more interesting than it is. it's rubbish. i live in sevilla and am surrounded by flamenco the whole day. it's just music guys. nothing more.
Hmm. I agree that there are technical details to explore when trying to achieve certain different "aires" be it a personal style or regional, but it is not fair to call it "rubbish" man. Also, listening is great, but copying gets to the heart of issues. No need to copy only ONE person or style in EVERY way, but it is important to copy none the less to get a starting point. Otherwise, you run the risk of trying to be so unique, you are simply NOT flamenco sounding, which is no good.
Anyway, I offer skype first 15 minutes is free to try out if it might work for you or not. I record the entire lesson and send a link to it for you to download and keep so you can go over it often as you like.
Posts: 667
Joined: Aug. 20 2008
From: DFW Area, Texas
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Ricardo)
I have not taken a skype class, but what I hear Ricardo is not only a great player but he knows how to teach. I have seen some of his comments and videos and he knows his material.
He mentioned that he offers a free intro class, what do you have to lose?
Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
Hey, thanks for all the Ricardo recommendations but that's clearly in a different class to what I was asking about. I can see myself doing it every now and then to make sure I'm not developing any bad habits, but 30 minutes of one-on-one with him costs more than a month on any of the other sites. Being a grad student, this is pretty clearly way out of my price range as a regular thing.
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
...but it is not fair to call it "rubbish" man. Also, listening is great, but copying gets to the heart of issues. No need to copy only ONE person or style in EVERY way, but it is important to copy none the less to get a starting point. Otherwise, you run the risk of trying to be so unique, you are simply NOT flamenco sounding, which is no good.
I agree 100%. It's one of the things that I like about Ricardo's playing.
Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
I would say Jose then Jason's... I like the way Jose breaks everything down.. because i think I'm a little stupid when it comes to remembering stuff straightaway.. but both are very good sites,
pedro's site is good for the cante accompaniment videos and good for picking things up using your eyes and ears (which I'm not good for), but has the smallest amount of material.
I think a live teacher online like ricardo would be best.. but having time together is the hardest part..
Posts: 271
Joined: Sep. 19 2011
From: Louisville KY
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Adam)
Adam, why not try a few of the sites? You can always subscribe for a month to each and see what you get out of them.
A lot of Jose Tanaka's videos can be downloaded if you don't mind paying $24 per month. Even with the $15 subscription, you can watch the videos as much as you like. Personally I like Jose's site for where I'm at now. As others have said, he breaks things down to the point that any musician can understand it.
I also feel that Jason's site is a little more advanced than Jose's. Jason's site is great, but for some reason I feel like I'm learning more from Jose's site at this stage in my flamenco playing.
Jose is great about answering questions, as I'm sure Jason would be, but I didn't subscribe to Jason's site long enough to have any questions.
I need to try the other sites which have been brought up on here.
In the end you can't go wrong with a person to person lesson, but you already know that. Seems like you are like me and don't have many flamencos around to share and learn with or from. That's the case in Las Vegas where I live and it sucks...
I would also recommend Ricardo though I haven't taken any lessons from him. His playing speaks for its self. The cat don't like me though and thinks I'm annoying, so that's the reason I haven't hit him up. LOL I have taken some online lessons from Beau Bledsoe, and he's also grate, but I don't think his price is any lower than Ricardo's, or if so not by much.
Maybe some of us should start an informal Skype study group. We could all get on a video call, decide what to work on, and support one another. We could get together and share tips and the like. Seems like it would be fun and instructive... Just a thought. And a damn good one if I have to say so myself...
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Online lessons - recommendations (in reply to Shawn Brock)
quote:
The cat don't like me though and thinks I'm annoying, so that's the reason I haven't hit him up. L
ah, no. It's just that my wife has not yet figured out how to let people sign up for SIX HOURS of skype lessons yet. But, I can assure you she WILL eventually.
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