Truefire is without a doubt the leader in online guitar courses in my opinion. Very few have their combination of depth, technology, and star teachers but….

I had a lot of problems with truefire’s guitar lessons, which inspired me to make my own here at Play It Loud. 

But there’s also lots of things I learned from truefire that I’m indebted to them for, particularly about jazz comping and delta blues slide guitar.

 

The purpose of this article is to help you understand what learning from truefire is like, as well as to put them into context against the overall process of learning. 

Full disclosure, I have my own courses and I’m hoping that you’ll like at mine while looking at theirs. 

I feel like I cover a lot of gaps that they surprisingly don’t fill in, and here’s a few of them now….

Truefire’s Biggest Problem Is……

This one is true for pretty much every course out there. 

It’s that they don’t help you figure out how to use all of these licks and music examples that you’re learning. 

For instance for a very long time I’ve heard about “jazz comping” and yet couldn’t ever find someone to explain step by step how to accompany a singer and make jazzy fills. 

So I got a great course by Mimi Fox, a well-known Jazz Educator. She showed all the chords and used all the terminology I knew…..

But I just couldn’t do my own comps when it came to a song that she didn’t cover. 

 

And I hate to pick on this course because I did learn a lot, but it’s just a huge annoyance when I’m just given a bunch of examples. 

It happened in guitar magazines, in online course “masterclasses,” and even with one-on-one lessons with a few prominent educators. 

I think a lot of course creators don’t want to baby you and hold your hand, but they don’t understand that that’s why you’re there. 

 

That’s why when I teach any genre, or am going over a lick….

I like to show to break down the key, the scale, the chord tones they’re using, and include info on how to spot a similar musical situation. 

I can only speak for myself and my goals, but when being shown a lick I want to know how Clapton, Petrucci, or the instructor is using it so I can find my own unique way to use it too. 

 

Problem #2 – SOOOOO Much Emphasis On Traditional Genres

I like the blues, country, and jazz but I’m a rock guy. I don’t need 50 courses on the 12 bar blues, and I’m not sure even the most diehard blueshead does either. 

What most people want, me included, is to learn a song, or to learn how the solo or guitar part of a song works. 

A particular problem I had when learning virtuoso licks or country licks is that it came off for as a random piece of musical info than an integral part of any song. 

 

To add to that problem, and also what lots of teachers and online learning resources do…..

Is that they once again don’t help you apply it. 

They assume you can see the scale patterns, the chord tones, and the overall workings of the key. It’s been this way ever since I picked up my first guitar magazine and book of tablature. 

They are starting to do lessons on particular songs and more genres like metal, but I think it’s too little too late with the glutton of free song lessons on YouTube. 

 

Problem #3 – Extreme Focus On Licks & Performances

I just took a quick look at the contents of the Vai course, a Marty Friedman Course, and Orianthi’s course. They’re all amazing players, but IMO they’re just not great teachers. 

Whenever this happens, like in this zakk wylde “lesson” about chicken picking: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwaHsLP9vs&t=5s

 

We get wrapped in their performance and forget about trying to learn something. 

And I feel like this is intentional to cover up how the players just don’t have great insight into what they’re doing. 

Calm down. I’m not attacking their skills or their knowledge. 

I think it is fair to say that even the best players can be illiterate when it comes to music, and thus struggle to teach. 

It’s why I myself have put a much bigger emphasis on studying tabs rather than getting the right course or instructor. 

 

This is what I focus on a lot in the PIL Method, as you definitely want to learn straight from Vai or your favorite player, but just can’t crack what you see in their tabs. 

My method helps you learn all the necessary theory, get a good foundation in songwriting and soloing, as well as good fundamental technique in order to take at least some pieces of their wisdom away as your own. 

The Pros Of Using Truefire Courses

Before I pick on them some more, I do want to say that I admire them a whole lot. 

I wish my website was as well designed as they have a clean looking website, great graphics, intuitive functionality, and amazing instructors that I could only dream of guesting on my site. 

I don’t do videos, but theirs is definitely top notch with the ability to slow down and see them play from multiple angles. 

 

There’s also tabs of everything they play too, which I still see some instructors don’t do, but not on Truefire. 

And if Blues, Country, or Jazz is your main thing, then this is most definitely the best place to indulge in all that those genres have to offer. 

What I do differently in my own courses on those genres is to give you the key concepts and sounds quickly so that you can start making your own music in those genres. 

 

Last Problem With Truefire Is……

With the hundreds of courses they have, I didn’t use it that much and it’s very overwhelming. 

This is mainly because my focus is on learning and studying songs rather than just a random piece of music. 

But this is unfair in some ways from my point of view as plenty of course feature songs, like the great delta blues course by Robert Jones. I bought this one specifically because no tabs were available anywhere of artists like Bukka White. 

My course was created because I know people want the highlights though. 

Not many people want to spend years consuming every little bit of a genre or an artist. 

You want to get in and out quickly like a fast food drive thru! 

And it’s ultimately the biggest flaw in many courses besides mine….

They don’t help you develop a full profile as a musician and complete the big picture of musicianship. 

It’s not just country licks, but the song structures and melodies too. 

It’s not just scales, but the key, the intervals, the chord possibilities, and the chromatic flourishes. 

With melodies and songwriting, it’s not just a top-line melody and a chord progression. It’s also crafting motifs, matching lyrics to each note, and having a grasp of harmony good enough to express a feeling that G – C – D can’t do on it’s own. 

 

The Play It Loud Method and my other courses were created to help you become an advanced guitarist and a musician/songwriter as these skills overlap with each other. 

So before you head back to Truefire, please check out my PIL Method. 

It’s one of the only courses out there that I think will help you become more than just a jazz or country guitarist.