Have you ever seen or used any of the videos in the SongXpress product line? What did you think of them? Or, if you've got any other instructional videos to recommend or criticize, let your opinions fly in the Guitar Forum.

When country music surged to the forefront of the music industry in the early 1990's, critics everywhere deemed the music's popularity a fad. Nearly ten years later, the country music "fad" is still in full swing. In response to this, Song Xpress have issued several instructional videos designed to teach novice guitarists to play country music songs. The tapes all carry an attractive $9.95 list price, which make them a valuable alternative to learning songs via a private teacher.

Country Rock Vol. 1

• Fast as You BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
• Hey, Good Lookin' BEGINNER
• Liza Jane BEGINNER
• Mercury Blues BEGINNER

Song Xpress instructor Tommy Anthony takes charge in this Song Xpress video targeted towards relatively novice students of the guitar.
The video starts out with the trickiest song on the tape, Dwight Yoakam's "Fast as You". The tune is based on a single-note guitar riff, rather than traditional chords, so novices might have a tricky time singing along while playing the guitar part. This tune should be a really nice challenge for beginners looking to push themselves a bit. It will be hard to get the song up to speed right away, but with a few good hours of practice, you should be sounding just like the record.
The rest of the video contains tunes which are quite a bit easier to play, most of which even the most novice of guitarists should be able to conquer. Hank Williams' "Hey Good Looking" should be fun to play, and those looking for a challenge can try the optional alternating bass strum. Vince Gill's "Liza Jane" has been significantly simplified, so it shouldn't be too much of a struggle for novices. As is a fairly common problem with the SongXpress videos, there is no sort of explanation of a strumming pattern for "Liza Jane", and the strum that Anthony plays is far too difficult for beginner guitarists.
The video closes with an explanation of the light-hearted Alan Jackson tune "Mercury Blues". No tricks here either... the tune is straightforward, and other than a couple of barre chords, this one should be simple to play.
If you're a novice guitarist, and enjoy listening to country music, this SongXpress video will surely meet your needs. It won't provide much of a challenge for seasoned guitarists, but newbies should have a lot of fun with Country Rock Vol.1

Buy Country Rock Vol.1 at Amazon.com

Also this week, a review of the Country Ballads Vol. 1 video.

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