When we had the opportunity to review this music curriculum in our homeschool, I jumped at the chance. You see, my teenaged son had just come to me and said he wanted to learn to play the guitar. What a great time to put this book and DVD, designed for the total beginner, to the test! Jerry Jennings (guitar instructor of 20 years and creator of this program) promises that if we will do our part by getting out the guitar and book and popping in the DVD, he will do the rest! He also promises that if the student will just commit to getting started, he will get them to the point where they are having fun with music. It wasn't long before my son was there!

Beginning with the very basic parts of the guitar (acoustic and electric), this book goes on to cover note and rest values, chords, rhythmic notation, and how to tune the instrument. The interactive DVD explains each lesson, and it is relaxed and easy to follow. Mr. Jennings is an excellent instructor, calling out each chord and note as the student follows along. He gives plenty of time for each new step and shows diagrams to further explain chords and finger placement. The idea is to learn rhythmic notation, an easier task, instead of standard notation, which can come later. The book has some quizzes, and several songs for practice. The best part is that you can watch each segment as many times as you wish!

We have been very pleased with our son's progress on his electric guitar, and he has continued to pursue it. We're looking into the rest of the books that Mr. Jennings has to offer. It is a blessing to have an instructor right there at the touch of a DVD remote! This program is also very reasonably priced at only $14.95. I would highly recommend it to anyone, child or adult, who is interested in playing the guitar and is eager to get past the beginner stage quickly and get right to the "jamming."

Product review by Amy Christy, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November 2008