Instructional Videos...Jason White, Mike B, and others... Opinions?

[ehuey]

Got em both and love them both im a mike fanatic i wish he would have done more hymns and opened up more but never the less its still good to purchase.

[jlewis]

The Thing about the DVD's ( in my opinion) is that  we get so impressed  with the person's  playing style that we  sit and watch the DVD instead of using it as  a tool.  I bought a few DVD's  and at least for me,   I would sit there and watch them  and be mesmerized.   Seldom did I ever take a section,    pause it,  practice/master it, and then move on to the next section.

These cats  probably spend WAY more time  practicing their material  than we do watching it.  and the practice is what  makes a person a beast.   Jamal, Mike B, Jason White,   all of them cats have stated in various interviews  that when they were starting out,  they would spend hours and hours on one chord or riff.

For me at least,  what  works best for me is to learn a lot of songs.   I learn the basic chord structure and melody line.  Then I build up from that.   

I'm not knocking the DVD's.      Because all of these guys are masters ( in my opinion ).   I just had to  quit grabbing DVD after DVD   and then watch the DVD's and not practice for myself.

Some of the best teaching materials for me have been books and audio.   I have a chord book,  a book on reading music ( dynamics, note symbols, etc)  and a TON of cd's. 

BTJM

Jlewis

[Fenix]

JLewis that is so right. I notice that i do that too. I sit there watching how well they play and am in awe and barely practice what they teach. I don't buy DVDs anymore in any case.

[pressingon3]

JLewis that is so right. I notice that i do that too. I sit there watching how well they play and am in awe and barely practice what they teach. I don't buy DVDs anymore in any case.

That is an excellent point man. I do the same at times.

[berbie]

JLewis you are expressing exactly how I feel about new CDs. I was asking about Jason White's video to determine if it was over and above the ordinary. 

The first videos that I got from Hear and Play were very helpful. The 300 page course in particular. Ethel Caffee Austin was good, and Greg Hannon's Contemporary Chord Finder is a good tool. Of course I was just starting out and everything I got was very helpful.

After a wile the videos seem to run together, kinda like a rehashing of the same thing by a different person. I get them and they end up sitting on the shelf unused. I have written so many called out or super-imposed chords that I know I will never remember them all. It is often hard to incorporate them into practical use.

Like phoenix, I won't buy another unless I can determine that it is head and shoulders above the ordinary.

Right now I am working with commercial CDs and am making some progress.  The progressions that I am learning are already in a song and can more easily be traveled to other songs.  I am learning licks as well. The steps are baby steps but are there.

If you get too many courses you spread yourself too thin and often won't learn much from either of them. (speaking from my own experience)

I acually use the Contemporary Chord Finder as a tool more than most of the other material. Also I often review in the 300 page book from Hear and Play, and often review or practice the Ethel Austin material.

The other material mostly remains on the shelf.

berbie

[T-Block]

I've never purchased an instructional DVD before and I think I turned out pretty good.

[Fenix]

I've never purchased an instructional DVD before and I think I turned out pretty good.

 

[under13]

evidently dvds arent for everyone, but I think a lot of people are not using them correctly. I learn from them best when I listen w/o playing, play along with them, and write down the chords that they play. Just listening with out playing may not work for all, but for me I keep a lot of those ideas I hear, in my head so I can draw from them at a later time. Playing along with the dvd helps because you are practicing playing that guys style and will eventually incorporate that into your playing. Writing the chords down and memorizing them will help those of us who have problems hearing phat voicings.


Anyway, I think that D said it best:
http://www.learngospelmusic.com/forums/index.php/topic,60376.0.html#quickreply

[under13]

this information was compiled
after I finally started to really dig in deep

my library boasts over 30 titles
and I am happy to say I have finally started to get the most out of my resources

I have taken some time to help some of you
get past some of the pitfalls I encountered


I know this may be better placed in one of the instrument forums

but I figured there may be many here that dont really play but would like to
and may never =read the instrument forums regualarly


maybe you have a dvd or two and dont really use them because you never really got anything out of them


maybe you want to learn to play but you dont really know where to start

In this thread I will share some tips on how to get the most out of your instructional dvds.

the first thing you need to do is to pick a dvd that matches your level of skill


the dvd should not be too far above your level
because if it is you will get very very little from it

the second thing to do is to pick a dvd that has a style you appreciate

if you dont like jazz then dont buy a jazz dvd

I know this sounds obvious
but many people would settle for a jazz dvd hoping they will get something out of it

there are so many dvds that cover just about every genre so do a little research and get one you like

the player or teacher on the dvd is also important

gospel aint just gospel
theres east coast
west coast
contemporary
traditional

worship
praise

all styles have their own unique differences.

you need to understand the type of worshipper you are
and what your goals as a musician are.

this is important because
the closer the style on the dvd is to your own personality and inclinations
then the more you will get out of the dvd


finally one other thing you need to discover before you continue
understand your learning style

are you a visual learner?  = learn best by seeing
auditory= learn best by hearing 
or kinesthetic learn best by feeling touching doing

we all have a little of each no one is clearly one and not the other
however we all lean more to one than the other

I will attempt to give some do's and dont's

The first order of business is picking the dvd
I recommend the wheat works and the hear and play and homespun tapes for your selections choices



there are others popping up I havent had the opportunity to view these other products


Homespun has been around for a very long time and they have really mastered the teaching by video genre
their tapes are labeled by skill level which is very important

you can see from their catalog which they will send you free or is available online
they list I II  III IV
I = beginner
II is advanced beginner
III intermediate
IV= advanced
this is very helpful because you can be sure that all the material on the dvd will be what you need for your level

homespun only has one gospel dvd
it is by ethel caffied austin
but to me it is still one of the best products of its kind on the market
although it is all traditional
she breaks each style down systematically
and by the time you finish the two dvds you will at least be able to play for a devotional service
and play a few hymns at your church

this dvd is a great place to start

anyway moving along

wheatworks
has been around for almost a decade if not a little longer
he started out with organ dvds
which filled a vacuum
over the years he has perfected and tweaked his productions
until they are fast becoming a standard by which all gospel instructions will follow

the great thing about Wheatworks products

they all will contain the essential elements of a service
talk music hymns
preacher chords
shouts \
progressions


regardless of the tape they almost all contain these building blocks

sebastian also uses a vast aray of talent from pj morgan to cassandra o'niel
and even lesser known but still outstanding players.


hear and play
hear and play is
an overnight success
due in part to his website which looks like a hoax but really draws you in to the product
thanks to his sales pitch I bought one and was pleasantly surprised

his dvds especially his early ones
approached the music from a theory perspective
not done on any tape or dvd I ever had

jermaine teaches a number system which is really an old figured bass system
that mozart and beetoven and bach had to study

but he presents it in a unique way teaching chords that go with each number then showing you how to connect the numbers to make progressions

very useful system
and will have you playing real music very soon


finally I cant leave out jamal hartwell

much smaller company and tI think he only has three dvds
but they are definitely worth looking into
his style is more urban contemporary
if that is what you seek then look no further
he will set you right


ok now on to how to learn from these

once you selected your product hopefully you got it right
but you know if you picked the wrong one maybe too far above your level
or whatever dont feel bad sometimes you will make a mistake
like picking the right teacher it could take a few missteps

ok you bought your dvd

you should have your keyboard set up facing the dvd
player and television
or computer

if using a dvd player have the remote close by

if using your computer have the mouse where you can reach it so you can quickly pause

my first rule

see the dvd teacher like a real teacher you wouldnt book a 5 hour lesson would you?

no normally you would book one hour
you take the lesson learn what you can in that hour

then practice it and come back
review what you learned if you learned it well you will move on
if you didnt you will review and review until you get it

try using this same discipline with the dvds
as tempting as it is to skip stuff

I say dont do it

there are many foundational things that are on these dvds and the stuff early on
really has the core of the players sound

s Do

watch the dvd for an hour
do practice what you learned for a week before returning to the dvd or at least until mastering the material


to what level should you be able to play the material

you should be able to play the material to the level the performer on the dvd is playing the material

that is why you bought it
so you should endeavor to play to their level

this is why it is important to pick dvds that match your level

why are the songs important
some people want to learn the songs
I at first didnt
because I didnt feel learning one song was going to help me play a whole service
but I was wrong

learning songs develops all sorts of things that would take too many pages to enumerate

classical tradition teaches all of that finesse and skill by teaching songs that have finesse moves in them

our gospel genre is full of finesse moves
so learning the songs on the dvd is an important part of the puzzle

so Do
learn the hymns and any song that is taught on the dvd

review I think it is important to review and recap occasionally
maybe the next day after you watched it the first time go back and re watch up until the point you left off
taking notes
you will probably find you missed a few things

so do
review

Dont be in a hurry if you make consistent progress you will be very far along in no time

if you hurry you may find the dvd collecting dust on your book shelf because you bit off more than you could chew
and often we get fustrated and just set it aside

so dont try to learn everything at once
learn one or two concepts at a time and master them
to be honest the real learning takes place when you walk away from your instrument
dont know why that is but its true you can practice a lick or a run over and over
and it just wont be correct

get up get something to eat talk on the phone
come back to the instrument and Haeleliua
the run has been learned

this next part is hard
but you should endeavor to learn everything in every key

you can start out by learning one chord and moving it up and down chromatically

you can learn each song up and down one half step


you can take a two or three chord progression in every key
so Do
transpose the examples


learning style tips

if you are  a visual learner you probably will learn best by just watching the players hands
pay attention to how he uses his fingers
and the performance sections
use your zoom

your eye will take in so much more than you can consiously think about so just watch and imitate
you are in a complete right brain zone

just launch into it almost without thinking

klike an athlete
will perform so you to can execute
you wil get more out of this then by listening

because you are visual try to see the moves you are about to do
close your eyes and see the instructor do it then you imitate

visual learners probably dont need to buy dvds
because they can watch a player and learn the same way

auditory learners

because you learn best by hearing
you need to focus on what is being said and listen to what is being played

a good thing to do is to isolate the musical examples and make dvds or cds of them
you can use a product that allows you to take audio off of a dvd

so you can play the musical examples in the car

when you are watching the dvd
play a segment then pause it and try to recreate the sound

little by little you will get closer and closer until you get to the point where you will be playing right along with little effort


kinesthetic learners

this group is probably in most need of the dvds and probably will struggle the most with getting information from them

however you can learn thoroughly you just have to be more proactive about it

because you are kinethtetic
the dvd medium is difficult there is not teacher to put your hands on the right keys
to remind you about your posture and hand position

but you can do some things to bring this to your cerrebellum

first keep a note book
and write down the chords as they are being taught
even if there is  booklet with the chords in them write them anyway

it reinforces the learning

because your method of learning is more involved you will need to take smaller chunks

I would even recommend learning in half hour segments




well that is all I have for now

GO out there and find the right product for you and begin learning


but feel free to explore them


finally  tips will be broken down into learning styles

 

[apex]

that quote from diverse (that long long paragraph above my post....)  that is some really good information.  I am going to HAVE TO READ IT AGAIN!!!

[apex]

I got my DVD's today.  I ordered them the day after Christmas.  I got 10 DVD cases (18 dvds included) for $179 and some change....GREAT DEAL HUH??!??!?

This is a listing of what all I got:

Urban and Contempory Worship Xtreme (4 disc set) (Jamal Hartwell)
Urban and Contempory Worship Classic (2 disc set) (Jamal Hartwell)
Tritone Xtravagana (Jamal Hartwell)
Urban Pro 625 (2 disc set) (Jonathan Powell)
Gospel Keys Urban Pro 600 (4 disc set) (Jonathn Powell)
Ministry Musician (4 disc set) (Jason White)
Gospel Keys Master Class (Micheal Bereal)

I GOT ALL THIS FOR $179 (SHIPPED)

THE BIG QUESTION IS:  WHERE SHOULD I START????  I AM WAITING ON A RESPONSE TO GET STARTED.  THANKS!!!

[under13]

I got my DVD's today.  I ordered them the day after Christmas.  I got 10 DVD cases (18 dvds included) for $179 and some change....GREAT DEAL HUH??!??!?

This is a listing of what all I got:

Urban and Contempory Worship Xtreme (4 disc set) (Jamal Hartwell)
Urban and Contempory Worship Classic (2 disc set) (Jamal Hartwell)
Tritone Xtravagana (Jamal Hartwell)
Urban Pro 625 (2 disc set) (Jonathan Powell)
Gospel Keys Urban Pro 600 (4 disc set) (Jonathn Powell)
Ministry Musician (4 disc set) (Jason White)
Gospel Keys Master Class (Micheal Bereal)

I GOT ALL THIS FOR $179 (SHIPPED)

THE BIG QUESTION IS:  WHERE SHOULD I START????  I AM WAITING ON A RESPONSE TO GET STARTED.  THANKS!!!

I'd start with Mike B's. His is probaly the most straight foward. While you do that you can also work on Urban worship extreme.

[PIANOPRO2008]

i would encourage any beginer to stick with gospel keys

[apex]

Hey man.  I am by no means a beginner!!!  LOL.  I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but very far from a beginner!!!

[under13]

Hey man.  I am by no means a beginner!!!  LOL.  I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but very far from a beginner!!!

Well in that case, you can start with any one of them. Maybe skip Mike B and go to Jason White. I liked his a lot better.

[apex]

I started with the Urban and Contemporary Worship Classic.  (it seemed like I remembered it was one of the first that I saw being marketed...so was probably the oldest). 

I am about an hour through this video and I have not learned anything.  Not one thing has he played that I don't already know.

(kinda scary actually, cause I hope it gets better for me)

It's funny to me though how he throws his shoulders back whenever he thinks he plays a phat chord!!!  My wife was tripping off of it when we were looking at samples on youtube.