Hi David,
I'm debating whether I should buy the IFR e-book or the Deep Foundations for Guitar video course. Can you tell me what is included in each one, and what are the pros and cons of each?
Regards,Dominic
David's response:
Hi Dominic,
Thanks for writing. I'll try to explain the difference between the e-book and the video course for guitar.
The IFR e-book contains the complete method for all instruments, so it gives you a great overview of the entire method and explains all of the most essential ideas. In addition to describing all of the core exercises, the e-book explains all the theory and philosophy of the method. So if you like understanding the reasons behind the exercises you are practicing, then you would definitely get a lot of value out of my e-book.
But because the e-book was written for all instruments, it doesn't go into a full exploration of all the things that you can do with the method on the guitar. This is why I created the video course for guitar. This video course is the closest thing I have ever done to the weekly classes that I used to do with my private guitar students.
In the video course I lead you through every exercise from the very first day and we build everything together. I also try to explain as much as I can about the "why" behind the exercises, but the focus is on applying the exercises to the guitar and showing you exactly how to explore each harmonic concept on your instrument.
The other difference that you should be aware of is that the e-book covers all five levels of the method whereas the video course focuses on the first two levels. So the Deep Foundations video course is designed to be a much more foundational course in the IFR method for guitar, and it goes very deeply into mastering harmony and improvisation on the fretboard.
Personally I think that the best way for any guitarist to begin the IFR method is with the Deep Foundations for Guitar video course. The feedback from our students has been very positive and I think you will really love it. Video is such a powerful medium for teaching music because you can hear the notes that I'm playing and you can see exactly what I'm doing. I created the video course to be totally independent, so you won't need the e-book or anything else in order to understand it. So I would encourage you to start with the video course and really take your time to get the most out of it. Then someday in the future, if you really love the method and want to understand it on a deeper level, you can always get the e-book as well.
I hope my answer helps you. If you have any more questions, please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them.
Thanks, David
