The Acoustic Guitar Method

I have played guitar for a year-and-a-half now and found this DVD to be a great supplement to my continuing education. The instructor, David Hamburger, is very knowledgeable and he progresses at a reasonable pace for learning. He also provides music tidbits and historical info that add value to the lessons. I recommend this DVD to anyone at the beginning to intermediate levels.

This two disc set is like a complete 6 month course in guitar. For the price of, perhaps, a single lesson, you get what amounts to 6 months of lessons from a low-key, funny, and talented teacher.
The first disc is useful for those just starting out. If you do not know how to play chords, learn a chord, turn off the DVD (even after only 15 minutes) and practice. In a few days of practicing, turn the DVD back on and go for 'lesson 2", or the next chord.

If you are, like me, someone who has been playing for awhile and is self-taught, take the entire course. Do not skip much in disc 1 even though disc 2 is more appealing. Get the basic strums, bass patterns, etc. Find out, like me, if you have "holes" in your guitar education and fill them. In other words, use this wonderful 2 DVD set to build a solid foundation, and then, after mastering Disc 2, move on to other Homespun DVD's, expanding your education, while learning to play songs.

This is what most excites me: I get to firm up my foundation, learn techniques, but also learn songs as I go along. After all, it is the songs that we enjoy playing the most.

In this set, you get all 3.

Love the approach of the instructor casual without trying to be a jokester able to weave stories and background into the lessons seamlessly.

He starts off easy and works in more material bit by bit. Typical approach early on in the lessons is to learn a new chord and a new strumming pattern at a time with a new song each time.

The minimal black background works with the soothing and comforting teaching voice and style of David Hamburger. The bonus or the warning depending on your musical tastes is that he takes a roots music approach to learning the guitar light on the deep theory but instead directed at learning traditional Americana style music.

But despite this I really wish I could give it 4.5 stars.

The only negative thing I can say about this product is the booklet that comes with the lessons is great but its a fold almost newspaper stapled booklet. A proper bound booklet would be much preferred.

I am really enjoying these lessons and look forward every chance I get to review them.

I like this dvd a lot. It is like your best friend coming to your house to teach you how to play a guitar. It starts easy and build up. Dave has great sense of humor and tell jokes with a stone face. And Bluegrass is not even my type of music. Great job, Dave! Thanks and I am looking foreword for your next DVDs that teach Beatles, Rolling Stones and stuff like that songs...

I connected with this video and its laid-back host from the moment I heard the opening bars of the tune he plays for the menu page. ("Bars" is a term he helpfully explains early on for the benefit of those whose knowledge of music is sketchy.)That was EXACTLY the way I wanted to play the guitar! - as opposed to how I've played ever since my college days during the heyday of the '60s folk/blues revival, i.e., artlessly banging on strings while holding down various cords, hopefully one at time. My knowledge of a few basic cords did give me a bit of a leg up; nevertheless I decided to follow every step of his curriculum so as not to miss anything, and sure enough I usually found at a minimum something new to me or a better way of doing something, like a different way of holding down "G", or subtle hints about holding the pick. Hamburger's easy lesson plans strike me as something a total beginner would be able to easily follow. It's fun playing along with him and generally enjoying his company, even if only virtually. I haven't even finished it yet, and already it's revolutionized my playing.