I have some questions about the “Lesson & Song App”
First: I checked out Justin’s Course, Website and all the more things there are now, because I recommended Justin’s Beginner Course to a friend. I did the course myself many years ago.
So I also wanted to check out the 7-Day trial of the App.
But I think I bought that thing cause the money was booked from my bank … maybe I should check the support. But maybe I want to keep it anyway. For me, because i did the course but not even half of it, as soon as i was able to sing and play, i stoped the course and played,…
I had no time to check the App the last 6 days, but today I did and there are some questions I have.
Are the lessons exactly the same as on the website? To me, it seems different. Also, the Songs, it seems there are not all songs which are on the website, are there some which are not on the website?
Because I myself never did the full course, when I was able to play and sing I stopped, but now I want to finish the course and maybe the app is helpful for me too.
Can I do with the app only all the same as on the website, just on a mobile device? Then I wouldn’t need it.
What is helpful, better, additional with the app?
I just need reasons to keep it and to recommend it.
Quite a lot of questions… Let’s see if I can help to answer a few of them:
As far as I know (and I haven’t used the app much in the last months) the video lessons are the same, meaning Justin’s video instructions for Grade 1, 2 and 3 appear in the same way on the website and on the app.
Practice exercises etc. are implemented somewhat differently on the website and on the app.
Correct. That has to do with licensing mainly. Not all songs for which you can find lessons on the website are available on the app and the other way round.
As far as I know: No. The app is for example supposed to count your “fast chord change”-score automatically, which works more or less well in my experience. The app also “listens” to the sound of the strings in perfect chord exercises. In my experience this works okay but occasionally you are required to have patience with the app.
In comparison, the website offers other benefits for tracking your practice efforts.
I have not taken a more extensive look at any of them, since I noticed that e.g. tweaking my practice exercises on the website takes away too much of my actual practicing time, as I like to get carried away and to plan precisely what I should do… It’s then all outlined nicely with minutes for each exercise etc., but in the end such rigid plan limits my motivation rather than increases it.
There are surely many, many people around here, who have more experience with the practice assistant on the website.
In my opinion, the app works well if you like teaching approaches relying rather heavily on gamification. E.g. it can be really motivating for people to keep track of their “fast chord change”-results etc.
The biggest benefits - especially for beginners - are surely the songs. Often there is a range of various backing tracks (e.g. just instrumental or with singing as well), you can slow all the songs on the app down as much as you like so that you can easily play along. Finally the app is surely a good tool for visual learners.
The App was first devised as a supplement to thee website courses to provide a play-along guitar karaoke product.
Technological progress and the development team were able to expand and expand its features massively since its mk. 1 version.
It now hosts all video lessons for Grades 1-3.
It has hundreds and hundreds of songs, searchable by filter, with options to slow down / remove vocal and more.
It gives free access to the subscription course Strumming SOS.
It does have other features such as listening to check 1-minute changes etc. but I regard those as add-ons, not core components.
What it doesn’t have re: Beginner course grades 1-3, compared to he website, is the written content, the downloadable resources and direct links to lesson-specific discussion in the Community.
There have been a few discussions about the app on the forum.
If I can be bold and summarize from my recollection, we seem to agree that it is a fantastic and fun resource for learning in the first few years (plus or minus depending on the individual). After a while however, we seem to move beyond it. I stopped subscribing after about 2.5 years.
Sometimes I miss it. It is a fun way to learn to change cords and strum, and there is always room for more.
If you have been playing since 2012 and progressed accordingly, it may not be what you need. Great for your beginner friend, though.
Justin has a lot of advanced classes. Utilizing his level appropriate lessons and donating is the way I am going.
