Oz musician’s YouTube guitar lessons rack up 60m hits on YouTube

MELBOURNE - An Australian musician seems to have become the world’s greatest guitar teacher after uploading free online tutorials for beginners on YouTube.

The lessons by Justin Sandercoe have been viewed more than 60 million times in the past four years.

“It started off just as a way of getting more students for my private lessons. Then it went up and up and up,” the Courier Mail quoted him as saying.

Sandercoe had started teaching guitar when he was just 12 years old.

He attracted neighbourhood kids with a poster on his window in his Hobart apartment.

He used to then charge 1 dollar a time.

Sandercoe said: “Once I had done 15 lessons and I had 15 dollars I’d use that to go and have a guitar lesson with the proper guitar teacher.

“I just played all the time. I did a bit of cricket and football with the boys but more often than not I’d spend the day inside playing the guitar.”

Later, he moved to London and studied music, thanks to Tasmanian government arts grant.

He also toured with singer Katie Melua.

He said: “In 2006 when YouTube started taking off I started making videos and it just started going off.

“I was still touring with Katie and doing videos in my tour bus and in my hotel room.”

He also set up a website on an honour system under which those who could afford to pay for the lessons were encouraged to make donations.

He added: “If I charged for the website I could make a hell of a lot more money.

“But this way I can help loads of people play guitar and I make a comfortable living, which is great.

“I’ve got a recording studio with lovely old guitars and play guitar all day. I mean, that’s living the dream for me.”

Sandercoe has been often surprised by his online students.

He revealed: “I just randomly went home from the studio one day and there was a cheque from a guy in America for 5000 dollars.

“Over two years or whatever he’d gone from never being able to play the guitar before to doing a gig with his mates in a pub.

“I had a guy stop me and say ‘Excuse me are you Justin? I learned guitar from you. Thank you’.”

Meanwhile, Sony has signed him up to record a lesson for AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill, the ‘Iron Man 2′ soundtrack. (ANI)