Northampton guitar teacher creates online world to motivate students during coronavirus lockdowns

A guitar teacher from Northampton has created an online world to motivate his pupils to learn how to play when face-to-face lessons are not possible due to coronavirus.

Rory Price found lessons over Zoom during the first lockdown were not enough to keep students engaged as it was harder to get his passion across.

So the 29-year-old set up the Guitar Ninja Academy, a website where guitar pupils have their own avatar and earn rewards for their progression.

"I decided to get the passion back I needed to gamify the learning process and allow them to approach the guitar in their own time," he told the Chronicle & Echo.

"This led me to come up with our new online academy. It helps develop more interest and is designed to keep the motivation levels high, which is critical in seeing progress.

"So while this year has been difficult in many ways, it has lead to this new venture and given me the time to work on it with less distraction.

"This will also keep people engaged with learning the guitar while in lockdown two - and beyond."

The Guitar Ninja Academy gives users a customisable avatar, backgrounds, amps, guitars and more to provide something to work towards with each lesson.

Students unlock new and interesting items as they progress by earning coins and growing their in-game fanbase.

Rory explained: "Much like in the real world if you are not playing and creating music regularly, you will lose fans.

"On top of this, players can add friends and compete on their very own leaderboards to see who’s achieved the most."

Rory set up Guitar Ninja guitar school in 2018 having decided to follow his passion for teaching after being made redundant three times in two years as an engineer.

The private and club lessons business is now called Guitar Ninja Local which will resume in-person once sessions are allowed again.

But the academy has given Rory a new focus during the pandemic, which offers over 16 hours of guitar lesson videos, courses and more.

The Guitar Ninja Academy is currently running a seven-day free trial. For more information, visit theguitarninja.co.uk.