Ideas or suggestions for a guitar exercise site

[LeSedna]

Hello !

I have been thinking for over two years about creating my own guitar website, for I didn't find any that suited my particular interest, which is finding motivation by the ease of use of a method for a daily workout that would be pre-prepared for me and fast to do. I found a guitar exercise method book which suited my need, and got the inspiration to apply the concept to a website, where it makes more sense thanks to the interactivity you can have with mp3s, tabs, update of content etc. I will talk about it in due time. It would be a paid website, with a low fee to make it worth it commercially to spend time coding the specific features, but low enough so the entrance fee is the cost of a coffee for a full month of use (at least on beta version).

I found the challenge interesting, it motivated me into playing guitar again, and though about pushing it forward to actually make a little website that could work 365 days a year and see from there what I can make out of it.

However I would be very interested in knowing what you guys think about guitar methods online, what is annoying, what is cool, what is missing, what should be possible, so I can think about my own website. For example, I hate videos for they don't get to the point fast enough so I can play the damn thing without searching in the whole video where the hell the licks are. Also, I hate that I am tuned in C and I always have to think about transposition so I can play over the mp3. Or, I would like the website to have a minimum of social features so people can exchange about exercices right on the exercise page, but not just in comments. I also would like a very easy and progressive course to help me finally understand music theory as in "i am a guitar player who knows what he is doing with chords, triads, jazzy progressions" etc. Things like that from your own experience are interesting to me.

of course there are plethora of website arounds, but mine would have a concept which, I think, could interest the casual player, or the one who wants to get his basics really really strong as opposed to buying the petrucci method which basically does nothing to you (unless you really really are serious about it) than throwing some exercises, then a tab of an impossible to play solo, and a video where most of what you do is just enjoy watching petrucci play faster than you. I am trying to find what people really do need

If you could write it in this fashion, it would help me :

- idea 1
- idea 2
- complaint about X website
- complaint about tariffing
- features i like
- etc

The idea is I am really aiming towards ergonomics and ease of use, so the website is only a pleasure to use.

This wouldn't necessarily be a metal guitar website right away, nor would it be aimed at shredding like crazy, but once the system works, it can be applied to anything else and all I would need to do is create alternative courses for specific tastes or needs.

This is nothing serious at the moment, but I am taking it as a learning experience in internet technologies, a motivation booster for my own guitar playing as I would test it on me as well.

Thanks and cheers

 

[Pxz]

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/
I found this site really interesting. You have to sign up for a membership for lessons and other stuff (im not a member). Lots of cool ideas to take notice. They provide backing tracks for the exercices even in different tempos for begginers. You can download isolated drum tracks and things like that. They have online video chats rooms with the teachers.
A site like that, mixed with a bit of information about mixing/recording info would be really cool.

 

[HeadCrusher]

http://www.guitarlessons.com/

 

[LeSedna]

Didn't see that. Thanks.

I was already planning for providing BTs in all tonalities, with an emphasize on the most used ones (E or A etc), drum tracks and an html5 metronome available on the website too. Every single exercice would have its own backtrack (all it needs is instead of writing only the exercice in Guitar Pro, making it a full guitar/bass/drums snippet. seems like a lot of work, but whenever I have the idea of an exercice, I just need to spend another 5mn on it and it's done). I would use 100% VSTis as a start, which saves time since there is no recording involved. Then I would try the "method" on myself since I initially planned in following my own path in exercices (probably over a full year beta testing it with some other friends), and would record little videos once I feel confident enough to record them.

The interest of my idea is that there would be a daily exercise which everyone would see, comment, and experiment with, which would be featured in the main page, as the main attraction of the day for all users. Every year the exercice would come up again. Every exercice could be commented on the page itself and/or in a forum thread, with a phpbb forum integrated to the website itself. Next would be displayed a random warmup routine.
Then, once this basics is done, there would be an access to full courses which, instead of the usual "here, this is how you build an A7 chord. now learn these 23 different positions and shapes" I would try to make sense in common words out of different aspects (examples : beginners courses, very specific exercices which help create music like "hear the modes colors" or "learn audio production so you can record your band correctly so the studio you send the DIs can work in good conditions" or stuff like that), then display the ressources in an ergonomic way, and a time-saver way. Try to show mental shortcuts as opposed to display a mass of information. The videos would be a bit funny as opposed to just a show off of the exercise which you can read on the tab anyway. I don't think this for example has been done before.

What would you think of that ?

It is funny because I have been on a french website years ago, called www.guitare-live.fr . I just came back there to have a look, and literally every single idea I had from a technical point of view, is implemented there. It is frustrating, but also interesting to see.

 

[Pxz]

It seems like you are going on the right path. Tried to check the site you just mention but i can't enter right now. Look like a host problem.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Do some research into SEO, rankings and this kind of stuff. Only do the work for the site if you are 110% certain that you can outrank your competitors.

 

[StoneLord]

http://mrfastfinger.net/