#1333121 - 01/10/01 04:55 AM
Ralph Paul: Swindler, or Just Roy Orbison Wannabe?
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Chip McDonald
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/19/00
Posts: 4792
Loc: Augusta, Ga. USA
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So, I happen to catch an infomercial featuring this Roy Orbison look-alike selling a "learn to play guitar" video.
He claims:
8 months of lessons in one videotape (in other portions of the infomercial he says only 6; after reading a review on About.com of his video it would seem that is reduced to 2 months on the packaging...)
You can be playing guitar in only FIVE minutes!
Apparently at one time he was claiming guitar lessons cost anywhere from $40 to $60 - A WEEK!!! (I WISH!)
Throughout the infomercial Mr. Paul makes as many disparaging remarks as possible about guitar lessons - as if he knows of ALL the guitar teaching on the planet. The funniest thing is that he says "guitar lessons take TIME" - yeah, usually 30 minutes a week? If someone doesn't have that much time to spend on playing guitar, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
I've had a number of people inquire about lessons and seem to be taken aback when I give them much less optimistic figures about how soon they can be playing a "song" - now I know why. This bozo is totally miscasting the act of "playing guitar" and "learning guitar".
You can't learn guitar in 5 minutes. This is like comparing chopping someone's head open with an axe to "brain surgery".
8 months of lessons in 2 hours? Maybe *his* lessons: this means he's been ripping off his students before he came up with this infomercial scheme....
What a crock.. there's all sorts of funny things that he says in the infomercial I can't remember, but the bottomline is the guy is con. He even throws in 4 guitar picks and a "professional Fender" strap (that most stores would sell for $5 if they had anything that cheap (single stitched nylon strap) - which he claims is a **$20** strap...
What a joke - but I'm sure he's made an impact on my business of teaching guitar. No doubt I've lost potential students to his
used-car salesman spiel... It says in big letters on the commercial "teaching method endorsed by Fender"; I suppose Fender's shaky QC falls over into their decision making process in regards to teaching "methods" as well...
Hmm. Maybe I'm going to come out with a video that has 2 YEARS of lessons on ONE videotape.. yeah, that's it... yeah.. then, yeah, you'll be able to play guitar in just *3* minutes... no... *1* minute.. yeah... and since guitar lessons cost well over $100 for 10 minutes, you'll end up saving possibly over $10,000 a year!! Yeah, that's the ticket!
Score 1 for commercialized inanity.
http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald
_________________________
www.chipmcdonald.com (tagline inlieu of having a representational page of downloadable music for the moment...) / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien
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#1333122 - 01/10/01 06:38 PM
Re: Ralph Paul: Swindler, or Just Roy Orbison Wannabe?
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michael saulnier
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 12/06/00
Posts: 4070
Loc: San Diego,CA,UNITED STATES
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Chip...
I've seen this guy's pitch too... It's so funny.. it's sad. Right up there with the idea you can lose weight without exercise, or get a "high tech" job by getting a "learn home" degree from Sally Struthers.
I guess it's a sign of the times... lots of kids want it all, they want it now, and if it takes work... well... forget it.
Luckily there are some kids who see through the crap and are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to truly master something.
I've got a couple of twin nephews who just turned 14. They decided they wanted guitars for their birthday and Mom and Dad agreed. They know I've been playing for years, so they sought my advice and I was able to both help them pick out some nice "beginner gear", (that I would have "killed for" when I was 14), and I also gave them a reality check.
I still have a tape I made of myself after I had been playing for about 6 months, I pretty much sucked!
I sat the twins down, played them the tape, and told them: "You've got to be willing to be bad to be good. The reason I can play great now is I was willing to keep practicing even though I sounded like this"...
They took it to heart, their folks found them a decent teacher... (glad it's not me...), and they've impressed me with their dedication. I nudge them along with some tips and I promised them I'd help make them their own "6 month tape" to let them remember when they started as well.
Here's hoping the bright kids out there see through the hype, they self select, and your business ends up primarily with kids who care.
Good Luck
guitplayer
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