Chop Builder, Frank Gambale

Actually, I purchased the VHS some years ago along with some of Frank's other releases. I have to say that this has become an invaluable tool for my technical practice....and that's what it's for. It's not meant to be a 'beginner's video' or a 'let me teach you' video. It is meant solely as an excercise/workout video for intermediate to advanced guitarists. It maps out a good practice plan for you, based on the things that Frank himself practices. It's a must if you're a player looking for a more organized 'technical' practice routine.

...I've been playing guitar for 6 years now and I've decided to take a dive into the technical aspects of the guitar and this DVD did not help me at all.

This DVD is more or less just an hour long jam along with Frank, with sprinkles of..women and 2...students playing with Frank behind him. Frank does not play his exercises at slow pace, nor does he talk about alternate picking and the D-U-D-U (down, up, etc) or U-D-U-D approach. He just starts jamming and yells during the jam "OK! We're going onto exercise 2!".

He doesn't break anything up until the camera pans off to a women holding a card that says "Round 9" or whatever (horrible boxing pun). Only then are you taken back to him where he just starts jamming once again. I had no problem learning his exercises and playing along with him and his crew, but I was looking for more technical information rather than a play-along DVD....

If you're a huge fan of Frank Gambal you may find this DVD to your liking. If you've read magazines about him and checked out a few of his tutorials in them and found them insightful - you will most likely be disappointed in this. I see that he has a couple other DVDs out, but I think for now I'm going to have to pass with this sour experience.

I give it 2 stars because at least it does build up stamina and strength (which he notes will do). It's also good to get a brief lesson on certain scales and modes, but he doesn't give any insight to what you're playing...