For years, I’ve been strumming guitars, crafting tunes, and recording tracks. If you’ve ever listened to my work on rockscapes.net, you’ll know my approach is more about feel than flashy technicality. But the desire to elevate my guitar playing, especially in the realm of Rock Guitar, has always been there. So, when Nita Strauss, the powerhouse guitarist for Alice Cooper, announced her online course, Rock Guitar Fundamentals, my interest was immediately piqued. Could this be the key to unlocking a new level of rock guitar prowess? I decided to invest in the course and put it to the test, and now I’m ready to share my comprehensive review.
My Rock Guitar Journey: From Chords to Chromatic Runs
My guitar journey began over two decades ago, fueled by the desire to play anthemic Oasis chords. A few initial lessons got me started, but formal training stopped there. Music theory, scales, harmonies – these were largely uncharted territories. My understanding of guitar solos was limited to pentatonic minor scales gleaned from a Total Guitar magazine feature on Champagne Supernova. While I admired the virtuosity of shredders like Vai, Satriani, and Malmsteen, their sound, frankly, never truly resonated with my personal rock guitar aesthetic. They often seemed to blend together, despite their undeniable technical brilliance. However, I recognized and respected the immense technical skill required to achieve such mastery. My own rock guitar playing felt somewhat stagnant, lacking the technical foundation to truly explore the genre’s full potential.
Discovering Nita Strauss: A Beacon of Modern Rock Guitar
I can’t quite recall the exact moment Nita Strauss entered my guitar-playing consciousness. But I found myself following her on social media, impressed by her energy and commanding stage presence. She wasn’t just a technical player; she embodied the spirit of rock guitar. Then, her Rock Guitar Fundamentals online course appeared in my feed. The timing was perfect. The thought of structured lessons to enhance my lead guitar playing, specifically within the rock guitar idiom, had been simmering for a while. Nita’s course felt like a targeted solution.
Sure, the internet is overflowing with guitar lessons, many of them free on platforms like YouTube. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Nita Strauss isn’t just any guitar instructor. Her credentials speak volumes: lead guitarist for Alice Cooper, solo artist, and a respected figure in the guitar community, particularly for aspiring female rock guitarists. Her Wikipedia page details her impressive career, solidifying her expertise. Beyond her resume, it was her promotional video that truly convinced me. She radiated passion and genuine enthusiasm for teaching rock guitar, making the often-intimidating world of guitar fundamentals seem approachable and fun. And importantly, as a professional rock guitarist, I trusted that the quality of her course would be paramount to her reputation, unlike some anonymous YouTube instructors. The launch price of $50 sealed the deal. It felt like an incredibly accessible investment in my rock guitar journey.
Initially, I only sampled a few lessons after signing up in May 2020. Life got busy. It wasn’t until I found myself in quarantine during a Christmas visit to family in Ireland that I truly immersed myself in Rock Guitar Fundamentals.
Tech Specs: Accessing Rock Guitar Mastery Online
Typically, my reviews on rockscapes.net delve into the nitty-gritty of gear, complete with detailed tech spec tables. However, with Rock Guitar Fundamentals, the “tech spec” is straightforward: it’s an online course. The crucial tech element here is your internet connection. Given the video-based nature of the course, a reliable and reasonably fast connection is essential for smooth streaming. Beyond that, the beauty of an online platform is its accessibility. You can access the lessons on virtually any device with a web browser – desktop, laptop, tablet, or even your smartphone. While the convenience of phone access is there, I personally found the larger screen of a laptop or tablet much more conducive to clearly seeing finger placements and tablature, especially when focusing on intricate rock guitar techniques.
Getting Started: Plugging into Rock Guitar Fundamentals
Enrolling in Rock Guitar Fundamentals is as seamless as any online purchase. A credit card and a few standard information fields are all you need. The process is familiar and user-friendly. Once payment is processed, you create your login credentials – again, a standard procedure for any online platform. Immediately after setup, you gain unlimited, lifetime access to the entire course library. This perpetual access is a significant advantage, allowing you to revisit lessons at your own pace and convenience, solidifying your rock guitar skills over time.
Course Structure: A Rock Guitar Curriculum for All Levels
With my account activated, my first step was to explore the course structure. Rock Guitar Fundamentals is thoughtfully organized into 38 lessons, divided into three progressive modules: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The lessons are intentionally concise, ranging from approximately two to seven minutes in length. This brevity is a huge plus for busy individuals like myself, making it easy to integrate focused rock guitar practice into even the most hectic schedules.
Nita Strauss Rock Guitar Fundamentals Course Structure
Beginner Module: Building Your Foundation in Rock Guitar
The Beginner module truly lives up to its name, catering to those who are completely new to the guitar. It covers the absolute essentials: identifying guitar parts, understanding string names, mastering fundamental terminology, and forming basic chords. Having played for years, I initially skipped through much of this module. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a dedicated lesson on using a tuner pedal! This seemingly small inclusion is actually incredibly valuable. If this single lesson inspires even a few aspiring rock guitarists to invest in a tuner pedal, the sonic landscape of amateur rock bands will be significantly improved.
Using a tuner pedal for rock guitar
Let’s be clear: using a tuner pedal is not a sign of weakness or inexperience. It’s a mark of professionalism. It elevates your sound. I shudder to recall the days of bands sharing a single, often unreliable tuner, leading to prolonged setup times and questionable intonation. Investing in your own tuner pedal, right there on your pedalboard, is a game-changer. It’s arguably more crucial to your rock guitar tone than even your collection of overdrive pedals. Apologies for the tangent, but it’s a point worth emphasizing!
One lesson in the Beginner module did capture my attention: Single Note Fretting Technique & Chromatic Run In 1st Position. The term “chromatic run” was unfamiliar to me, sparking my curiosity. While I won’t divulge the specific content (Nita deserves your enrollment!), I can attest to its impact. For years, my pinky finger had been a somewhat neglected participant in my guitar playing. This lesson was a revelation. It awakened my pinky! It felt like unlocking a brand new finger, adding a previously untapped dimension to my rock guitar technique. Directly after this lesson, I crafted a riff that incorporated more pinky finger action than I ever thought possible.
The best part? Nita herself commented on my Instagram post, acknowledging my progress! This level of engagement from the instructor is truly encouraging and fosters a sense of community within the course.
Intermediate Module: Taking Your Rock Guitar Skills Further
The Intermediate module proved to be perfectly aligned with my current playing level and experience. It became my daily practice routine during quarantine, a welcome distraction and a productive way to channel my energy.
This module delves deeper into scales and single-note picking, areas where I desperately needed improvement to advance my rock guitar playing. The Fretboard Finger Independence lesson was particularly insightful, as were the comprehensive lessons on major and minor scales. These are now integral parts of my regular practice regimen. The lesson on modes also piqued my interest, but I confess, I’m still grappling with fully grasping modal theory. Thankfully, with lifetime access, I can revisit this lesson as many times as needed until it clicks!
Advanced Module: Pushing the Limits of Rock Guitar Technique
I haven’t yet ventured into the Advanced module. Firstly, I want to solidify my mastery of the Intermediate lessons, focusing on dexterity and speed. Secondly, the lesson titles in the Advanced module are somewhat intimidating, evoking images of extreme shredding: Tapping-Two-Handed Tapping and Sweep Arpeggios. These techniques, while impressive, feel a bit daunting at this stage in my rock guitar journey. However, I know I should probably just JFDI (Just Fucking Do It) and confront these challenges head-on. The Advanced module undoubtedly holds the key to unlocking even greater rock guitar potential.
Nita Strauss: Rock Guitar Fundamentals: The Verdict
If it isn’t already evident, I am overwhelmingly positive about Nita Strauss: Rock Guitar Fundamentals. My rock guitar playing had become somewhat stale, limited by my self-taught approach. This course has injected a new vibrancy and direction into my playing. It’s precisely what I needed to break through plateaus and gain a renewed sense of progress in my rock guitar journey. While I acknowledge that no single learning method suits everyone, here’s a breakdown of what I found particularly effective:
- Short, Focused Lessons: Finding even 10 minutes for guitar practice in a busy day is often a challenge. The concise lesson format makes consistent practice manageable and achievable.
- Multiple Camera Angles: Many online guitar lessons rely on static shots of the instructor’s upper body with a small inset showing the fret hand. This can feel disengaging and difficult to follow. Rock Guitar Fundamentals utilizes multiple camera angles, providing clear views of both hands and the fretboard, enhancing the learning experience significantly.
Screenshots from Nita Strauss's Rock Guitar Fundamentals
- Clear and Concise Instruction: Nita explains techniques with clarity and precision, speaking at a pace that allows for comprehension and processing. Many online instructors rush through explanations to get to the playing, which can be overwhelming. Nita’s approach provides the necessary time to understand and internalize each concept before attempting to execute it on the guitar.
- Affordability and Value: The regular price of $99 is already reasonable for the wealth of content and lifetime access. However, Nita frequently offers sales, making the course even more accessible. Crucially, it’s a one-time payment, not a recurring subscription, representing exceptional value for a comprehensive rock guitar learning resource.
- Downloadable PDFs: Each lesson includes downloadable PDFs with notation and tablature, readily available directly on the lesson page. This eliminates the frustrating scavenger hunt often associated with free YouTube lessons, where tabs are either unavailable or require navigating external websites and potential paywalls.
My only minor quibble is the slight branding inconsistency: the course is titled Rock Guitar Fundamentals, but the URL is IWantToPlayGuitar.com. However, this is a purely marketing-centric observation and doesn’t detract from the course’s quality or effectiveness.
Who Should Invest in Nita Strauss: Rock Guitar Fundamentals?
Nita Strauss: Rock Guitar Fundamentals truly focuses on the foundational elements of rock guitar playing. It’s not just a catchy title; it accurately reflects the course content. If you are already proficient in all the techniques covered in the course, it may not be the most suitable option for you. While there’s always room for refinement and pushing boundaries, advanced players might find the material too basic.
However, I wholeheartedly recommend it for beginner guitarists taking their first steps into rock guitar, and intermediate players seeking to solidify their fundamentals, gain a fresh perspective, and address technical gaps. You don’t need aspirations of becoming a full-blown shredder to benefit from this course. Learning from a respected and accomplished rock guitarist and educator like Nita Strauss is invaluable, regardless of your specific rock music tastes or long-term guitar goals.
Unlock your rock guitar potential and learn more at the Nita Strauss: Rock Guitar Fundamentals website.
Rock Guitar Bonus Fact: While researching for this review, I discovered that Nita’s father played bass in a 70s band called Jiva, signed to George Harrison’s label. This is the origin of the name of her signature Ibanez Jiva guitar model! Their back catalog is available on Bandcamp, and I’m currently listening to their debut album as I write this. It’s fantastic classic rock with a laid-back Californian vibe – definitely worth checking out for any rock guitar enthusiast!
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