Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Review of TROY STETINA: THE SOUND AND THE STORY DVD

Photo Credit: FRET12 Productions

When I started learning how to play guitar, I read a ton of guitar magazines. Every month I would grab the newest guitar magazine and start learning new techniques to play. This was essentially how I learned to play. As I look back I realize that probably 90% of my learning was from the teaching of guitar instructor Troy Stetina because many of the lessons I went through in those guitar magazines were written by him. I since learned that Stetina is one of the foremost guitar instructors in the world when it comes to learning how to play well with both speed and control.

I was really excited when I saw that FRET12 Productions released a guitar instructional video called TROY STETINA: THE SOUND AND THE STORY. This video truly shows how incredible of a guitar instructor Stetina is. I love how the DVD begins with different guitar players and instructors sharing their thoughts on Stetina. The video features Stetina in front of a stack of Marshall amps, holding a Paul Reed Smith guitar, with some really great lighting in the background, making the video itself very visually appealing.

Stetina gives some really helpful tips that are vital to beginning guitar players. He focuses on learning correctly. A lot of guitar players want to learn how to play fast, but as Stetina points out, they develop sloppy habits that they need to eliminate while playing slow that will only get worse when they speed up. He teaches how to develop control while playing slow and slowly speeding up. The goal, Stetina says, is effortlessness in your playing.

Stetina teaches many different concepts, such as picking techniques, trills, bending, not relying on mechanical shapes, using the metronome effectively, creativity and composing, and a ton of others. Throughout, you’ll learn how to isolate problem areas and create exercises to overcome those areas. You’ll be told to practice things slowly and accurately before building speed.

The Story part of the DVD focuses on some of the players who have learned from Stetina, as well as giving us an inside look at Stetina’s creative process in the studio. This makes this video a step above because you’re learning how to really make music and not just learning how to play guitar really well. Finally, the video closes out with some guest lessons from Michael Angelo Batio, Eric Friedman, Bill Peck, and my personal favorite, Mark Tremonti.

As you listen to and watch Troy Stetina play, you’ll be amazed and driven to learn more. THE SOUND AND THE STORY DVD gives you the great opportunity of learning guitar from one of the greatest instructors out there. I can’t recommend it enough.

Review copy of the DVD graciously provided by FRET12 Productions.

Check out the video at  FRET12 PRODUCTIONS

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