Pricing
eMedia My Guitar is a great, affordable way to jumpstart your children’s musical education. You can spring for the standalone lesson DVD, or you can go all-in and buy the complete Beginner Pack. The latter includes the eMedia My Guitar learning software (separate from the playable DVD), a 3/4-size classical guitar outfitted with nylon strings, and a host of accessories like a pick, strap, and gig bag, that will have your kid ready and excited to start strumming.
Here’s a look at the costs:
- eMedia My Guitar DVD: $13.59
- eMedia My Guitar Beginner Pack: $63.96
Whichever you choose, it no doubt comes in at a much cheaper price than regular music lessons, especially if you factor in the free instrument bundled with the Beginner Pack. If your kid’s still unsure about taking up an instrument, this might be a safer way to gauge — or even spark — their interest.
4th Place9.6 out of 10Features
Tailored specifically for kids aged 5 and up, eMedia My Guitar does its best to turn the guitar-learning process into a fun and manageable journey. The software packs a colorful, kid-friendly interface populated with animations designed to hold your child’s interest. There are over 60 lessons in the My Guitar software, while the DVD comes with 50 basic guitar lessons and runs for 90 minutes.
Lesson Format
The lessons themselves are easy to parse, with a handy table of contents giving you a good overview of the whole course. The material goes from basics like holding and tuning a guitar all the way up to reading tablature, strumming, and playing chords. Most of the learning takes place through playing along with songs. As an example of eMedia My Guitar’s simplified design, consider the chords that kids will focus on learning: G, C and G7, D, and A7. These five chords are some of the most commonly used in popular music, whether you’re talking pop or rock or other genres. By familiarizing kids with these common chords, eMedia My Guitar pares down on the material they need to digest while still opening up a whole range of songs that they can soon start playing.
Learning Tools
eMedia My Guitar also packs in a lot of useful tools to make the learning process easier. A built-in metronome helps kids keep time, for example, and track tempo can be adjusted with a few clicks, so kids can follow a slower version until they get the hang of the lesson. An animated fretboard will also be on hand to show kids where their fingers should go.
Unlike the regular eMedia Guitar Method software, however, your kids won’t get interactive notifications when they hit the right notes while playing. They will, however, have access to tons of interactive games that help them develop musical awareness and further hone key skills like chord recognition. Scores are given out for each game, too, so older kids can use these to get some idea of how quickly they’re improving. Like the Guitar Method software for adults, though, eMedia Guitar Play doesn’t give kids any dedicated system for measuring their overall progress.
Song Selection
As for the software’s song library, eMedia Guitar Play sticks to melodic classical tunes and children’s songs. This is fine for younger kids, but older students might soon grow tired of the selection. Unfortunately, there’s no way for you to add or buy more tracks, so you’re stuck with the software’s limited library.
On the whole, eMedia Guitar Play doesn’t try to do much beyond acquaint your kid with the fundamentals of guitar-playing. You won’t find advanced lessons to help transition interested kids over to a broader lesson syllabus, so you might soon find yourself having to purchase another resource.
Customer Support
eMedia’s website has a central FAQ page that covers questions for all their products, including My Guitar. You can find answers to most of the basic or common questions here, and browsing the material is easy thanks to eMedia’s search bar and filters. If you need more assistance, you can also lodge a support request through eMedia’s ticket system, send an email, or call the dedicated phone line. eMedia also maintains accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram that you can follow for news and updates.
What's the Verdict on eMedia My Guitar?
eMedia My Guitar Review – Conclusion
eMedia My Guitar offers everything that kids will need to start playing the guitar. Whether you stick to the standalone DVD or get the full software and instrument bundle, you’re bound to give your kid a good start. The child-friendly lesson design will keep children interested and engaged, while extras like interactive games inject some fun into their practice hours. That said, if you’re looking for a longer-lived course that can take your kid to mastery as their skills improve, this isn’t the product you’re looking for. eMedia My Guitar only sets out to equip kids with the fundamentals, and that’s the job it does well.
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