Around the Fretboard in 80 Days

The programme is called Around the Fretboard in 80 Days, and that’s the time it can take! If you’re a more advanced player or if you have more time on your hands, you can complete it sooner. It can take longer if you’re less experienced and have less time.

In any case, the objective is the creative application of knowledge on a deep level, so people who have completed it once enjoy starting it again.

Time is our most precious asset, and we can never get it back! That’s why the instructional videos are super short (less than one minute each on average!!!), so that you spend less time on long and boring videos and more time doing the stuff that really matters—practising effectively.

Committing just 10 minutes a day can be enough! Watch 1 minute of a micro-lesson and spend 9 minutes working on it. This laser-sharp focus is the most effective way to learn and make significant progress, as these 10 minutes outweigh 1 hour of aimlessly playing the same things you already know.

Most programs (if not all!) give shortcuts based on patterns and shapes you can copy and paste across the fretboard. Although this surface-level learning can give quick results, it leads to feeling stuck in a rut.

The missing knowledge is a deep understanding of what notes they’re playing, what their relationships mean, and how to apply that knowledge to improvise and compose music. That’s why I created Around the Fretboard in 80 Days – to explore the two essential keys every musician has to know until they reach a high level of mastery that they will achieve by improvising and composing music.

You can think about it like learning how to speak. Babies start by imitating sounds, but they master the language only when they understand what every word means and form their own sentences.

Another major difference is my personal guidance. Since most guitarists never finish self-paced courses, I can provide feedback, support, and answer any questions. I’m also happy to create more content beyond the course that can help, and have a bonus section with lessons about techniques, theory, and more.

Indeed, and I’m sure you even have a local guitar teacher nearby. We live in an age where you can choose to learn from anyone around the world! You don’t have to settle with a teacher who happens to be next to you.

Some have less experience than others, and some are guitar players who believe their experience teaching others is sufficient. But teaching guitar is a profession that takes time, skills, and knowledge to teach correctly.

Also, every guitar teacher has different topics they can teach. I haven’t seen anyone else teaching guitar creativity and composition, or at least the way I do. My expertise is to help guitarists become more creative and expressive and create original music they feel proud of.

I’ve been teaching guitar, guitar creativity, and guitar composition since 2002 and have personally helped hundreds of students achieve their guitar goals.

I’ve been playing guitar since 1991, learning from many teachers across various styles, including Flamenco. One of my teachers, who greatly influenced my guitar creativity and composition, became a successful film and TV composer (Gilad Benamram).

I’m passionate about learning music from almost any possible angle—musicology and philosophy (B.A.), Sound Engineering (Diploma), Composition, Production, and Orchestration (Specialist Certificate from Berklee College of Music), and Psychology of Music (M.A.)—and I will never stop learning.

I released three guitar albums and a few singles and collaborated with many other great musicians worldwide in the studio and on stage. Search “Udi Glaser” on any streaming platform (for example, Spotify) for my music. I practice what I teach!

Yes, there’s plenty of information there that is either free or relatively cheap. I’ve learned a lot (and still do) from YouTube, courses, and books, and I apply this knowledge to my own playing and programmes!

I hear from many guitarists that these resources can be overwhelming. They spend a lot of time searching and watching lengthy videos, and there’s no structure. Also, we don’t know what we don’t know, so it can be tricky to realise what we need to search for in the first place.

In addition, there’s no one to talk to, ask questions, or get feedback directly—which is how we progress fast and gain confidence that we understand.

So a programme like mine has been carefully structured to give you a step-by-step system and personal support and guidance every step of the way.

There’s a course website and an app you can download with all the materials, and we have a dedicated community on Facebook where you can inspire and get inspired by other members’ ideas and music.

We also meet live on a platform designed for music lessons (not Zoom) every Monday at 9pm BST for the best audio possible.

The last thing I want you to feel is overwhelmed! That’s why every day has three different levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. But even if the basic level is too hard, I’m happy to add an easier one! Feel free to message me anytime to discuss slowing down your progress. Also, if you spend a whole week on only one day, that’s totally fine! We all progress at different paces, and there’s no need to compare yourself to others who might progress faster. This is not a speed race; it’s a deep study that can be slow.

What if I feel underwhelmed?

I completely understand any hesitations you might feel! Starting something new is always an exciting decision, and it can come with some fears and reservations. I’ve been there, for example, before committing to 3 years of studying a B.A. in Musicology. I thought, how useful would that be? Who will I meet? What if I don’t like it? But I realised that to make significant progress, I need to take these chances and give it my all. And it was the best decision of my life! It gave me the foundations of music that I still use today, and that helped me create this and other programmes, invaluable ear training, and not to mention the friendships I made that I still keep 23 years later.

That’s why I’m offering a quick no-obligation call with me, so I can assess your current situation and level and give you a chance to raise any reservations you can think of. I promise to give my honest answer on everything.

This call is essential to see if we can work together. There were some calls where I felt it wouldn’t work and didn’t offer a place. So I might offer you to join this programme only if I think this will be right for both of us. Schedule a chat with me here.