Skype Lesson with Gonzalo Bergara!

noahfuture

I've been taking lessons from Gonzalo for a while here in LA. Recently he went home to Buenos Aires so I figured I wouldn't have a lesson for a long, long while... but I was wrong! Gonzalo emailed me about doing it over skype and I'm so psyched he did! Had our first lesson last week and it was killer!

I'll give you the cons first because there really is only one, we were unable to jam together because of the slight delay. This is actually not a con for me, because I'm not very good and honestly jamming with Gonzalo makes me hate myself. Instead he had me solo over his play along cd (which is also great if you don't have it!) and we were able to discuss weaknesses and strengths and strategies!

We talked through various licks, positions and ideas and like he always does, he totally opened my mind and my finger board!

So pros... ummm you get a world class guitar player, in your living room and it is SUPER affordable and a lot of fun.

Don't be shy... this is a pretty amazing opportunity! Hit him up at: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:simplicado@gmail.com">simplicado@gmail.com</a><!-- e -->
I really recommend everyone try it out!
ROCK
n

Phil

I think Skype is a great tool; I've also heard there's a slight delay, so you couldn't use it for jamming but I'm glad to hear it's being used for lessons as mentioned in your post. I think it's also a useful tool for showing/demonstrating guitars people on this forum may have for sale. cheers and Bon Noel! Phil

NorwayGadjo

I hope Gonzalo considers starting a teaching site like Stochelo did. I would sign up at once.
Rosenberg Academy has become a huge success, and Gonzalo has really made a name for himself in the GJ scene so he could pull it off with success too.

I know we are many who totally dig his playing!

ViperMad77

is it possible to use two cameras at once with skype?

E.g., one cam on the student and one cam mounted on the guitar for close-up of students hands, etc.??

HotTinRoof

This post was confusing on Gonzalo's facebook page as it looked like Gonzalo posted it himself. 3rd person point of view posts for the win.

noahfuture

Hi! Just to be clear, I posted this review and Gonzalo re-posted it on his facebook! He is a buddy of mine, but I was being totally honest. My 45 min on skype with him, gave me an insane amount to work on. So do yourselves a favor and get a skype lesson for Xmas! Also, I love the Rosenberg Academy website as well, but you really cannot beat one on one instruction!

n

PS In case you were wondering, this is all a conspiracy and me and Gonzalo are totally in cahoots. It's our scheme to make an army of sick Gypsy Jazz Players to take over the world, one dimly lit cafe at a time! Maniacal laugh... maniacal laugh!!!

Bob Holo

A worldwide army of jazz musicians one cafe at a time. I like the idea of a war where the worst casualty is tendonitis and it occurs on battlefields where they serve beer. What a great concept. El jazz como una forma de revolucion...

Well, I'm off to do Christmasy things... Viva la revolucion, boys.

djangology

ViperMad77 wrote:

is it possible to use two cameras at once with skype?

E.g., one cam on the student and one cam mounted on the guitar for close-up of students hands, etc.??

Yes, I believe its possible, with some difficulty, on Microsoft Windows by creating a batch file that does it ( http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows/Keyboard-layout-INPUT-LANGUAGE/m-p/103876#M10982 ).

-Jon

ViperMad77

thanks, jon.
looking into it..

djangology wrote:

ViperMad77 wrote:

is it possible to use two cameras at once with skype?

E.g., one cam on the student and one cam mounted on the guitar for close-up of students hands, etc.??

Yes, I believe its possible, with some difficulty, on Microsoft Windows by creating a batch file that does it ( http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows/Keyboard-layout-INPUT-LANGUAGE/m-p/103876#M10982 ).

-Jon

Jim Kaznosky

I took a skype lesson with GB today and just wanted to strongly recommend it as an option for folks who aren't lucky enough to live near him or to absorb this stuff by just listening. If you're familiar with Skype, you know it is as close to being there as possible. Beyond that, if you've seen Gonzalo through Denis's "In the Style" series, you're getting the same funny laid back guy in these videos. it wasn't a robot.

This is hard work. We all know that. While you can get spoon fed all of this stuff, it pays dividends to really work out a lot of this stuff yourself.

I focused my lesson on a set of changes that gives me problems and he gave some really good musical strategies for working through my struggles. It was clear, concise, and to the point. If he didn't play me an example, he sent me links to videos or referenced real songs that illustrated the idea via the chat while we were talking.
If this guy were in NYC, he'd be taking at least double what he's charging for his skype lessons. While its not perfect (you aren't playing with him right next to him), you have one on one access to one of the best players out there right now. If you are on the fence about it, just take a lesson and see how you feel. It is as cheap as the other online stuff, but in my mind it is better because it is tailored to me and what I want to learn. Do it.
You can get him at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:simplicado@gmail.com">simplicado@gmail.com</a><!-- e -->

dennis

ya skype works really great for lessons! Back when I used to teach, I did it a little bit and I think the technology is only gonna get better with faster internet connections and all this HD stuff!

This DC Music School has consumed my life so i don't have time for anything else (not even practicing guitar :-( ) but anyway, gonzalo is definitely a dude worth taking lessons with

There aren't many people in this style who know what they are doing and can shre their knowledge.. gonzo is one of em,

here some people i think can explain stuff pretty well and speak english, dunno if they teach through skype though

for rhythm guitar , my buddy Romain Vuillemin , in my opinion, he's one of the best in the world, at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J21Wbzo6 ... re=related

Rino van Hooijdonk , he used to play in stochelo s band well before stochelo got famous, one of the first non-gypsy players to play "like a gypsy".

Thomas Baggerman, an amazing young dutch guitarist for those who like the stochelo style

Ollie Soikkelli for those who like the andreas oberg supersonic stuff

Aurelien Robert , a dude from paris who does the modern stuff

Michel Mercier, not known, but he produced some great django CDs and also Latches (Yorgui, Steve Laffont, Chris Campion); he's from paris and a great guitarist in his own right... tchavolo style if i may say...

technology is so cool! look these dudes up on facebook or youtube or something... i'm sure there are others, but these are some of the dudes who came up off the top ...

i always say it's important to learn from different sources... when some people at django in june came to my classes for a second or third time, i 'd kick them out and tell them to go to study with someone else hahaha...

it's by hearing diffferent people's points of views that you can come up with your own and build confidence...