Profile: Guitar Coach Magazine

Guitar Coach Magazine is a free magazine-based App, designed for use on the iPad. With its available issues featuring tutorial videos, product reviews, artist profiles and interviews, the project has quickly made a name for itself, garnering over 15,000 monthly subscribers after less than a year since the release of its first publication. The Boar caught up with Jonathan Howkins, the App’s managing director and editor, to discuss the product’s origins, as well as plans for its future development.

Boar Music: The main talking-point for Guitar Coach Magazine is that it is, first and foremost, an iPad-based product. What made you and the minds behind the project gear yourselves towards the iPad market, rather than say, the print medium?

Jonathan Howkins: It was largely the opportunity to start without any pre-conceived ideas regarding how to approach making a new magazine. There was no baggage with regards to models of how to operate, and consequently, it’s feasible for us to try our hand at new developments; evolving and shaping the product as we go. It doesn’t necessarily have the same rigid structures or guidelines that other mediums have. Guitar Coach Magazine is also very much focused on interactivity, in terms of video-based lessons and features, so the benefits of utilising the iPad quickly became obvious.

BM: The audio-visual format certainly provides a much more comprehensive point-of-reference for those learning guitar, compared to drawing straight from tablatures.

JH: Obviously, it does depend on the individual consumer. Some people who have been playing guitar for some time are more than happy to refer to entirely-written sources, and can learn from tablatures with no trouble whatsoever, which is fine. But perhaps for less experienced guitarists, the videos can offer a little more motivation, thanks to much closer engagement.

In addition, in terms of audience feedback, we’ve been keeping track of video views and what sections are getting the most attention from readers, which helps us recognise what we can build upon in future issues. How the model currently works is that the regular magazine is consistently free for subscribers, but alongside that we have produced several special editions which each focus on a particular subject or area, which cost a few pounds each.

BM: So you can cater to a general market with the issues themselves, and then if readers want to look into specific areas in addition to that, there are available outlets too.

JH: Exactly. For example, one of our existing special editions focuses in-depth on improvisation and soloing.

BM: The first issue of Guitar Coach Magazine came out roughly one year ago, but it’s already been receiving some very high praise. One publication rewarded it an overall score of 4.5 stars, describing it as “top-notch and on-par with any lesson or resource we have ever encountered”. I imagine you’re very pleased with such a reception so far?

JH: [Laughs] The thing is, we make it and publish it, and then it’s simply a matter of crossing our fingers and waiting! But ultimately, there’s no point in making something like this unless you aim to make it the best quality possible. So, even though we’re doing it for free, that doesn’t bring down the quality of the content itself.

It’s been amazing to be able to see such feedback; the praise we’ve received so far definitely does help spur us on. It demonstrates that people have been having fun with it, and getting motivated, and ultimately, that’s exactly what we set out to achieve.

BM: Quite recently, you’ve also started to work with the iPhone medium…

JH: Helpfully, of course, it’s all done through the same system, and it allows us to further promote Guitar Coach as an App as well as a magazine in its own right. We’re also hoping to produce video and text versions, to make things even more iPhone-friendly. Initially, we never really considered the smartphone market, but the usage stats of other publications are very positive, and this also means we can keep our product as mobile as possible. As we’ve been seeing, PC sales have been dwindling year after year, as opposed to smartphones, which are constantly on the rise. So at least we know we’re on the right track! [Laughs]

Ultimately, there’s no point in making something like this unless you aim to make it the best quality possible. So, even though we’re doing it for free, that doesn’t bring down the quality of the content itself.

BM: Speaking of expansion and development, when it comes to the content itself, are there any projects you’d like to take on, or people you’d like to get involved with future issues?

JH: Something on the horizon we’d like to develop is our involvement with NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants), which caters to a large proportion of our audience. As well as that, in the last few months, we’ve been building up a blog site, transferring content between that and the magazine, and in terms of articles, we’ve been in contact with various writers and musicians around the world. The response has been great so far, which means we have something of a community of contributors, all with different ideas, experiences, and approaches to teaching. One of the most rewarding aspects of this magazine is that we can pass such advice to younger players.

BM: Speaking of, do you personally have any anecdotes or tips to give to any budding guitarists or musicians?

JH: [Laughs] Well, something that I always encourage is that it should be made as fun as possible. Getting stuck in routines and limiting yourself to various slots of time can be difficult hurdles to overcome. I think the best advice to go for is to keep things brief, and keep it fun, because ultimately, the learning side of things should sit underneath the joy of the experience. One of the best pieces of feedback we do receive again and again is how personable our videos and tutorials come across, and we do try to provide enough variety in our content to keep it consistently engaging.

Further information on Guitar Coach Magazine can be found on its website.