hard to say if its better than a private instructor. there's teachers out there who are virtually unknown and may be one the best players you've heard, and there are teachers who are unknown for good reason! i think if you don't have a teacher, you need to treat your practice time as if it were a lesson; be really discilpined and stock up on some good books/instructional dvds. o yea back to your question, i don't know, haven't heard of it!