As a guitar player I was a total novice apart from a few chords, licks and riffs when I was a kid. I started my adventure again by buying Mizarolli's 11 beginner guitar lessons. They came in mp3 and pdf format in tab. It was enough to kick me to intermediate standard. Funk, blues, latin, rock and basic jazz were all covered. I didn't want to waste time so I chose this music school and guitar teacher purely on the basis of reputation.

Originally Mizarolli invented the Rock School branding with Henry Thomas which is now a UK standard in guitar exams in all schools. He's has taught over 27000 guitarists since 78, so I figured that experience must have its rewards.

His guitar playing is on the same par as Hendrix and more from what I heard on his website. In my opinion these are literally the best beginner guitar courses ever because John actually performed live, so what he teaches has an extra factor, not a bedroom guitarist at all. I proceeded by working on his lessons for a few months then I gave him a ring and booked in for private tuition, which were a mind blowing experience. Totally another level altogether. You have to do to believe.

He taught me that guitar playing is not just speed, licks and riffs, but feel, flow, performance and definition or clarity of sound production. I started his beginners course then became intermediate level I suppose. I stopped feeling like a beginner after about 6 months of weekly private tuition with John. I was doing 1 hour a day minimum practise religiously though.

I then went super serious and started 6 hours a day. Within 2 years I began a professional guitar career in gigging. It was only covers, but I loved playing in front of people. I doubted it was possible to one day master guitar playing, especially from novice to pro in just under 3 years.

I'm not a virtuoso but I can learn fast from the tablature of a song. As long as I hear the song and I have the tab I can eventually work out the techniques required for me to perform the song on stage. When I'm stuck John polishes up the ropy bits and my band are quite happy with my level. I find learning many songs confusing, as my memory gets peaked out, but John's subliminal learning techniques really do work! I have recommended many people to Johns course, as I consider his method an unfair and ridiculous advantage, if acquired at a young or old age.

Edward Lanathaniel (2007)