Great news everyone…the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy has been launched today and promises to be an exciting way to learn from a Master of the solo, finger-style Guitar form. Of course, Dr. Martin Taylor is also an extremely accomplished Jazz improviser and has an extensive resume to prove it…:) As I am on a deadline to finish off some other unrelated work I will allow the good people at Artist Works to fill you all in on what can be expected of the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy. Please read the official press release below and if I get a chance to review the inner workings of the Academy I will let you all know. But I can go on record right now to say that Martin Taylor is an extraordinary Guitarist and I have no doubt that the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy will live up to a very high standard of excellence. If any of you are already an enrolled member I would love to hear from you. Take care all…and until next time, keep picking…:)

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ArtistWorks, Inc. (AWI) is pleased to announce the much anticipated opening of the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy online on April 15, enabling students from around the world to receive a unique interactive education with the jazz guitar virtuoso.  Martin Taylor has established an extraordinary career as an internationally acclaimed fingerstyle solo guitarist who now presides over a worldwide student body of solo and fingerstyle players.

Taylor’s inimitable talent and expertise is shared in over 150 HD video lessons that range from simple tunes to highly advanced playing. The extensive video curriculum is presented on the innovative ArtistWorks online platform, allowing Taylor to use the latest internet video exchange technology to break the barrier of one-sided learning. Taylor personally instructs students through the video exchange system. By using a simple webcam, students can submit a video of themselves practicing their online lessons, which Taylor will review and issue a Video Response. Both videos are then posted together on the site so that the entire online community can learn, 24/7. Video submission is not required, study is self-paced. Students will be able to access multiple versions of most lessons, including an overhead perspective as well as slowed down and pitch-corrected videos. Perhaps the most anticipated feature of the MTGA lessons is the transcription - Martin Taylor’s work is notoriously difficult to transcribe and will be a valuable reference tool for students for mastering each lesson. The MTGA incorporates fully featured social media, including Student Profile Pages that members can personalize, Messaging, Forums and Chat - uniting the world of solo and fingerstyle guitarists in one central place. The Martin Taylor Guitar Academy resides at http://www.martintaylorguitar.com.

Lessons begin with an “Introduction” featuring to Martin’s musical approach to the guitar. The “Underlying Concepts” block starts very basic and progressively lays the foundation for Martin’s fingerstyle guitar method, and closes with the application of these lessons learned by playing along with classic tunes. “Developing Technique & Musicianship” switches the student over almost entirely to music, musicianship, and advanced techniques for making music on the guitar. “Learn by Playing Tunes” allows students to hone their new skills with over 20 well-known tunes, some with downloadable PDF notation files. Additional “Auxiliary Lessons” and performance videos, along with student-submitted lessons for critique, round out the MTGA lessons content. Complete curriculumis available on the site.