You might think the ship has sailed when it comes to playing along with your favorite songs. Let me tell you; my oldest student was in his 90s! He was so excited to finally play Buddy Holly on his guitar. In fact, the majority of my students are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Even if your fingers feel stiff right now and don’t move as fast as they once did. And even if you suffer from arthritis. It’s not the end of your guitar career. I can show you some easy exercises to improve your finger dexterity and strength, so you won’t have to give up on your dream.

I’m the living proof that some sort of magical natural talent isn’t needed to play the guitar well. In my family, I’m the only musician. You could say I inherited zero talent from my parents. Talentless as I was, I learned through consistent practice and good teachers. And I became really really good.

You can do the same! Don’t even let a lack of rhythm discourage you. I can show you how to improve that fast.

I’ve seen many of my students frustrated with their previous teachers. They were forced to learn complicated music theory, even though they just wanted to play a few songs.

Or their teachers skipped the basics and started with skills that were way too advanced. Constantly feeling like their teachers were speaking a foreign language, they didn’t understand. No wonder so many guitar enthusiasts simply give up.

You see, unlike most professionally trained teachers, I never studied music at a university. For the most part, I am a self-taught musician. That’s why my teaching style is VERY different from a lot of online and offline guitar teachers out there. I have a knack for breaking things down and making it as simple as possible. Something my students value a lot.

You absolutely can learn the guitar on your own. It usually takes a lot longer, though. Some of my students started out with books that weren’t motivating. Or they watched YouTube videos. But those lacked an overarching structure and were often too fast to follow. Eventually, you’ll hit a plateau.

I studied the guitar on my own for 10 years, even before YouTube was a thing. And I made some progress. But when I finally worked with a teacher, I learned more in 1 year than I did in the 10 years before that.

So, from experience, I can say that following a structured program by someone who knows what she’s talking about will accelerate your progress immensely.

It’s not a surprise hearing that regular practice is crucial to learning the guitar. No doubt about that. But how and what you practice matters.

Without a plan and routine to follow, you’re likely jumping all over the place. And you’re never sure if you’re actually doing it right. After a while of not seeing much progress, you’re demotivated and ready to throw your guitar back into the closet....thinking that you don’t have what it takes.

Obviously, you don’t want your money wasted. And it won’t be. I’ll let my student Lori Bennet tell you why:

“When I turned 60, I wanted to take guitar lessons. I signed up for classes at a well-known music store. Four instructors, two music schools and two years later, I didn’t feel like I had learned very much. As each instructor moved on, each new instructor taught in a different style and I always felt like I was starting from square one. I decided to try to learn on my own with YouTube. I came across some videos by Lauren Bateman. After watching a few videos and seeing what I liked, I signed up for Lauren’s online classes. I love them. She is a great instructor, very patient and very concise. Her course is laid out very well and I love Lauren’s videos. They are easy to understand and easy to follow along with.  I would highly recommend Lauren Bateman’s online course.” 

This is a self-paced course that starts with 10 short intro videos covering the basics of your guitar, followed by 7 levels you’ll work through. The lessons focus on the 3 fundamentals of playing the guitar that every beginner should focus on to see real progress: Chord & Chord Changes, Finger Dexterity & Picking, Rhythm & Strumming. A downloadable PDF-workbook runs in order with the 7 Level System and gives you suggestions for goals to aim towards and tips when needed. 

You will watch a video and use the corresponding PDF and exercise to practice along. When you have completed all of the items in one level and reached the goal, you then graduate to the next level. This way, you don’t have to worry about what to practice next.

That's why I have included a one-month free trial to my support network. Interacting with me is as easy as logging into your membership account and posting a question to the community. 

I love interacting with my students and answering their questions. That’s what I’m here for. As part of the membership, I also host a live Q&A session for students where you get to ask your questions live.

The difference between private lessons and an online course is that a course provides a general framework that works for most people, but may not work for everybody. That’s where I come in as your teacher. 

I may suggest a different goal or practice plan for you based on what you’re struggling with. For some students, hitting a goal of 100 beats per minute on an exercise is no problem, but for others, it can be rather difficult. We can make adjustments as needed to ensure you’re working through the course at a good pace while continuing to build on the 3 fundamentals at each level.

Due to copyright laws, I can’t teach copyright protected music in a paid course. With that being said, I do incorporate songs from the Common Domain as examples. 

Remember that a huge problem students face is focusing only on songs. The course teaches you the skills and techniques you need to play ANY popular song. 

Throughout the course, I make suggestions for songs you can learn that are located on my website or on my YouTube channel. This way, you know which songs might be best for you based on the level you are at in the course.

How does lifetime access sound?

While you will have access to me for 1 year, you will have access to the course materials for as long as your need. Students love progressing through the course at their own pace. This is YOUR guitar journey. Take as long as you need.

Yes! I have so many left-handed guitar players in the course. This is why I use terms like strumming hand and fretting hand vs right hand and left hand. Here is what one of my lefty guitar students had to say about her experience with the course:

"As a left-handed player I had some apprehensions about learning from a right - handed player. After watching a few of Lauren's instructional videos I became aware that left or right makes no difference rather the distinction is the fretting hand and the strumming hand. In this way Lauren's instructional videos are easy to follow along as this is the terminology she uses. The chord charts are also easy to follow since your fingers are numbered the same no matter left or right. Overall Lauren's teaching style is by far the best I've found for beginners lefty or righty !!!! I would highly recommend her class." - Lisa Ahlquist.

As I mention earlier, if after 30 days, you don’t see progress with your guitar, shoot me an email, and I’ll give you your money back and you can keep the 57 page workbook for absolutely free.

But…

You need to have logged into the course and, at a minimum, tried working through the intro items and the first level of my guitar system. I want you to at least try out the materials before making that judgment. I wouldn’t be a very good teacher if I didn’t make you try.

I do not offer refunds AFTER purchase due to financial hardship. Please purchase the course only if you know you will be able to make the financial commitment to learning.