FAQs

Here are a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that you may or may not be interested in reading. It could be useful bedtime reading:

• Who are we?
  • Good question. We are community of music lovers and musicians from different parts of the world who share a passion for all types of music. Some of us are amateur musicians, some are more experienced and one or two of us can't even play a triangle!
• Why have we created shigaru.com?
  • Shigaru was created because we believed that the world could benefit from a free, online-based community for music video tutorials; a place where music lovers could upload videos and share their musical knowledge no matter what their level of expertise. The Shigaru philosophy is that it is everyone's duty to share their musical knowledge with the world… and for free! We were able to create this website because we have no friends, nobody loves us and we have zero social life… lucky for you, eh?
• Why is it free?
  • It's free because we understand that paying for private music tuition can be very expensive for many people and it is a luxury that many cannot afford. So by keeping Shigaru free we hope to become a point of reference for everyone around the world and that it will eventually be the number 1 resource for online video tutorials, where people can come to learn and share their knowledge.
• What advantages are there in signing up with shigaru?
  • • It's free!
    • There will always be at least one video in our library from which you can learn something new
    • If you are uploading videos then you are sharing your knowledge with the world and helping others progress with their guitar playing (or any other instrument).
    • You can leave comments and rate other videos
    • You can promote your own band, upcoming concerts, blogs, website, music school, whatever.
    • You can upload a tutorial in any language you like…someone will be grateful.
    • You will have your own 'My Account' area (similar to Facebook and MySpace).
• Can we upload our video tutorials to your site?
  • Don't ask silly questions! YES OF COURSE YOU CAN :) The philosophy at Shigaru.com is that no matter at what level you play, everyone has something to share. From the most basic lessons to the most advanced. We accept everything. Someone somewhere will find them interesting. We like to think of shigaru.com as the community where musical knowledge is shared for free. Once you have signed up simply use our 'Upload' form.
• Which formats can I use to upload my videos?
  • We recommend using the following formats: AVI, MPEG, Quicktime, MPE, AVI, WMV, WMF, ASF, M1V, DIVX, MOV, MP4, FLV, 3GP, RM, RMVB, RV, RAM, MKV, Real and Windows Media format. We specifically recommend the MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format at 640x480 resolution with MP3 audio. Resizing your video to these specifications before uploading will ensure your videos look good on Shigaru.com. Please remember videos must not be over 100 MB and must be under 15 minutes long. If your video is relatively long then please split them into 2 or 3 parts labelling them appropriately like the ones already in the video library. Remember that depending on the file size and connection speed, the upload may take several minutes.
• Can I promote my band, future concerts, services, music school, blog, website etc.?
  • Yes, please do. This can be done in numerous ways. You can promote your band, music school, blog, upcoming concerts etc. either in the video(s) you choose to upload or you can mention whatever you wish in your 'My Account' section.
• Can I contact Shigaru users and tutors from the website?
  • Yes, this can be done either by leaving a comment under the tutor's or user's video for him/her to see, by sending them a private message or, a just like with Youtube, you can go straight to the person's personal account and contact them from there.
• Can I upload a different version of a tutorial that already exists in the video library?
  • We know that not all the video tutorials will 100% clear and easy to understand. So if for example there are 10 different versions of how to play The Beatle's 'Hey Jude' we are sure you will be able to learn from at least one of these tutorials. So if you think you can improve on a tutorial that already exists in our video library then please upload your own video.
• How do I record a video tutorial?
  • There is no real right or wrong way to record a video. We recommend that you record the way you feel most comfortable. However if you would like some tips on recording then please visit the following link: Tips on how to record a video.
• How experienced should a tutor be?
  • As we mentioned before, at shigaru we feel that everyone has something to share no matter what level your expertise. So, for example, if you are an absolute beginner you could help someone who has just started to learn by uploading a video on how to play something very simple like a basic scale, basic chords, a riff etc… whereas someone who is at an intermediate level or advanced level can upload videos teaching something a little more complex and challenging.
• Do my videos have to be tutorials or can they be of me showing off my amazing skills?
  • Not all videos need to be tutorials. There are some amazing musicians out there and we'd love it if you guys and girls would upload yourselves showing the world how well you play; be it playing the guitar behind your neck, or playing with your feet or jamming along with your cat and dog on drums and saxophone! (As long as no animals were harmed during the recording :) ) - If it's impressive then upload it with the 'Amazing Demonstration' option which you will find in the 'Upload' form.
• Is Shigaru.com just for guitars or can I upload tutorials for other musical instruments?
  • Actually we accept video tutorials for absolutely all instruments. So if you want to upload yourself playing and teaching the flute, saxophone, ukulele, berimbau, shamisan, sitar, trumpet etc…please don't waste anymore time and start uploading!!
• Can I record a video in any language I like?
  • Shigaru.com is a multilingual site. We would like the whole world to be able to take advantage of the site. We want videos in every single language, from Russian, to Japanese, from French to Finnish from Brazilian to Chinese from Swahili to Klingon!! The website content is currently only in English, but in the future we hope to translate it to multiple to languages. Basically we would like the video library to be filled with tutorials in as many languages as possible from around the world. Why not record a tutorial in your native language and then try recording that same tutorial in English (if you can!).
• So how does Shigaru make money?
  • Well at the moment we don't make any money. Perhaps in the future we may add Google ads and banners but whatever we do decide to do the content will always remain free.
• Can we make donations to Shigaru?
  • Donations are obviously very much appreciated. Our server costs currently stand at 600 U.S. dollars per month. As the site becomes more popular those cost will inevitably start increasing because of the increased bandwidth required. So any spare change you may have would be humbly received. We think that Paypal is probably the best way to make a donation.
• How long will the videos be posted on the shigaru website?
  • We hope that Shigaru.com keeps growing in popularity and that the videos will stay on the web until we are grey and old. So the answer is…… forever!
• Can I request a specific tutorial?
  • YES you can request any tutorial you like. In the future we hope to develop a video request board where users will be able to ask other shigaru.com users to upload a tutorial of how to play a particular song, riff, verse, bridge, scale...etc….basically absolutely anything.
• Why isn't there any tablature or written music theory on any of the videos or posted on the site?
  • There are two main reasons for this. The first is because it is too time consuming to write out the exact tablature for each and every song. We like to think of the shigaru.com videos as a kind of 'watch and repeat' philosophy. Once the video you have chosen has completely loaded you can rewind and watch the videos as many times as you like. The second reason is because we don't want to encounter problems with the music corporations (i.e.…record labels, producers etc) 'Big Brother' is always watching and looking for any excuse to shut down a small little website like ours!
• Can I download the videos on your website?
  • Unfortunately you can't download the videos to your computers. Just like all the other video sites on the net you'll need to watch the videos online. However you are able to embed the videos into your own webpages and blogs and you can also send links from any of the videos to friends, loved ones and pets.
• Is the site legal?
  • Yes, it is. We're using the site for educational purposes and all songs have been explained by a user's interpretation of the song. What's more we don't think music artists will have any problems with their fans teaching versions of their songs, after all we are promoting their music!
• I can't see the video that I recently uploaded. Why oh why?
  • When you upload a video it may take up to 24 hours for it to be published. The reason being, before we publish any video we need to make sure that it is not offensive in any way. We recently had a user upload a video of him doing strange things with his flute! There are lots of freaky people out there and as Shigaru.com is a family friendly site we have a duty to make sure that all videos are 'publish worthy'.
• Doh! I have forgotten my username / password and my home address?
  • If you have forgotten your username or password, please send an email to info@shigaru.com and we will promptly re-send it to you. Unfortunately, we are unable to help with home addresses. But we suggest you wear a name tag with your home details at all times so that a nice friendly police officer can help you out if you get lost.
• Why haven't I received my confirmation email after signing up?
  • Sometimes emails can take a little time to arrive to your 'in boxes'. Check your 'junk mail' folder to make sure our email hasn't been mistakenly categorised. In the event that you do not receive a confirmation email you will need to sign up again. If you still do not receive a confirmation email then please email us at info@shigaru.com and we will see what we can do.
• I am having technical problems the website. What can I do?
  • First of all make sure you have the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. This can be found at http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download. If you are still having problems try opening the site in a different browser like internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera. If problems still persist contact us at info@shigaru.com.
• The quality and sound of the video I uploaded is different to my original video. Why?
  • The main reason for this is probably because when you upload your videos we compress them to an FLV format which will reduce the size and possibly the quality. So if your videos were originally highly compressed and the quality was already a little poor and pixeled, then when you upload your video it will lose even more quality. To avoid this we recommend that your original videos are of a very high quality to begin with. Yes, this does mean that your video file size will be much larger and it will probably take you longer to upload to the shigaru.com video library, but this way your video will be converted to a very high quality ensuring that users enjoy a nice clear picture quality.
• Can I cancel my account?
  • Yep, no problem, but this would break our hearts. Just send us an email and we'll cancel your account. But we'd appreciate it if you let us know why you are cancelling your account, so we can try to improve the user experience on this site.
• Why the monkey?
  • Why not? Have you got something against monkeys? When has a monkey ever done anything wrong to you? You should be ashamed of yourself!! Go and think about what you've just asked.
• Why the bananas for rating videos?
  • Oh, you've got something against bananas as well!
• Can we come and live with you and eat all your food and live for free?
  • Oh I say……..simply not!

...and finally, if you would like to learn a little more about the philosophy of shigaru.com and what we are trying to accomplish then please visit 'The Idea' section.