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Willie Greer
Learning an instrument doesn’t always require in-person instruction. In a digital world, learning anything online is possible, even guitar playing. How effective it is is a different story, but if you pick the right one, you won’t end up wasting your money and learning very little. Our team of musicians is here with some of the best guitar learning tools.
- Award-winning guitar lessons
- Learn iconic songs
- New song additions every week
- Different music genres
- Offers live instruction
- Comes with special toolkits
- Daily Q&A sessions
- Mobile app available
- 7-day free trial
- Popular song lessons
- Guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons’
- Choose your genre
Reviews of the Top Guitar Learning Apps
JamPlay
Jamplay is by far one of the most comprehensive guitar apps that benefit beginners, intermediates, and even some experts. Potential clients have the choice to learn from pre-recorded videos, in-studio live sessions. JamPlay also opens the floor for questions daily.
Show off your skills at the open mic nights all free with the JamPlay membership. They even offer lessons specially tailored for beginners, and the Masterclass is the more challenging option for those who have experience.
You can also pick your very own instructor based on their skills and specialties that best fit your needs.
What We Like
- 129 instructors and counting to choose from
- Learn from videos or live sessions
- Q&A included with membership
- Open mic nights
- Guitar lessons for any skill level
- Includes toolkits
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 1-on-1 consultation
- Free use of the app with membership
- Live courses are archived for viewing
- All video lessons are accessible without limits
What We Don’t Like
- Video quality will suffer with a slower connection
- Flash-based objects may not be compatible with all devices
Guitar Tricks
Guitar Tricks is one of the best guitar learning apps on the market in terms of song options. You can go from not knowing the guitar chords to playing songs you like in just a few weeks’ time. Guitar Tricks is an award-winning guitar teaching tool that has the easiest core system.
Start by watching step-by-step videos that teach you guitar playing basics in 2 different stages. From there, you pick the type of genre that speaks to you the most. From blues to rock, you will get further instruction on how to play guitar in a way that expresses your unique style.
What We Like
- Easy core learning system
- Award-winning guitar teaching tool
- New songs added each week
- Suitable for all skill levels
- Easy downloadable app
- Available on Apple and Google Play store
- Singing lessons
What We Don’t Like
- Costs a bit more than other guitar lesson apps
- Must submit a ticket to contact support
Fender Play
Fender Play is an affordable option for learning the guitar via video classes. The guitar app costs less than 10 dollars per month with a bulk discount if you opt to sign up for annual lessons. Fender Play even gives extra discounts to students, military personnel, and essential workers!
You can try out the guitar app for 7 days completely free of charge to see if it’s a good fit for you. Fender Play offers some of the most popular song choices. The learning process may vary depending on the difficulty, but a beginner guitarist and experienced professional can benefit from Fender Play’s comprehensive lessons.
What We Like
- Popular songs for guitar players
- 7-day free trial
- The most budget guitar learning app
- Video classes you can learn at your own pace
- Chord challenge game
- Weekly giveaways
- Useful learning tool with a passionate community
- Select your genre
- Web, tablet, and mobile apps
- Sells products as well
- Guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons
Cons
- Not as advanced as some other apps
- Doesn’t offer as much live instruction
TrueFire
Get free access to TrueFire quickly and browse over 40k video guitar lessons from trusted instructors that will teach you how to play guitar according to your needs. The guitar app works across many devices such as Windows, Mac, and Roku.
The videos are full HD 1080p, so you can get an even closer and clearer look at the fingerwork and guitar chords to help you learn guitar faster than ever. TrueFire even offers access to Grammy Award-winning instructors and professional players that are the best in the business.
You can track your progress from the beginner’s stage to the advanced lessons to see how far you have come!
What We Like
- Slow motion and looping available
- Guitar lessons for every level
- Learn guitar at your own pace
- 14-day free guitar learning app
- Grammy winners as instructors
- Best guitar app for a free trial
- New courses weekly
- Available across most media platforms
What We Don’t Like
- May require already knowing the basics
- A ton of material that will take time to get through
Amplitube
Rather than being a free app, Amplitube is more of a supportive tool. Amplitube is a tone studio, which offers you the ability to build your rig. Our musicians say Amplitube is more for advanced guitarists who know what they want and the sound they want to achieve.
The app will give you the chance to pair your guitar with the best virtual gear to test out the sound. There are some in-app purchases that will give you access to some world-famous guitar gear collections. Amplitube is available on Apple and Android devices, but you need the right gear in order to use it correctly.
What We Like
- Complete tone studio
- Access to gear collections
- Support app for advanced guitarists
- Great app for sound experimentation
- Showcase your guitar skills with more options
What We Don’t Like
- Not a guitar teaching app
- No access to music teachers
Guitar Learning Apps Buyer’s Guide
How did we assess all the best guitar learning apps? Our team of musicians put them to the test to see how clear the instructional videos are, if the video tutorials are comprehensive, and in-app purchases available among other things.
Teaching Method
Everyone learns differently, and the key is to find a guitar lesson app that best suits your needs. All of the music education apps our team has included feature video tutorials. These are lessons that are pre-recorded and available for viewing at any time. However, not all players like to watch video online guitar lessons and prefer to learn to play guitar through live video lessons.
Live video guitar lessons are ones that are interactive. Some guitar apps have both, while apps such as Guitar Tricks only offer video lessons. Which guitar app teaching method is right for you depends on which way you learn best.
Aside from the video lessons, apps such as JamPlay offer 1-on-1 access to their repertoire of professional instructors, and much more. JamPlay is a much more interactive site that is geared towards those with busy schedules or players who love learning guitar online and dedicate tons of their time to developing their craft.
Guess what? There are even learning apps that utilize video games and even audio augmented reality to create an interesting delivery method. There are apps geared towards those learning the guitar, but others also offer ukulele lessons!
Accessibility
How accessible or widely available is the app? The best guitar apps should be compatible with most if not all media devices and provide unlimited and uninterrupted playtime across the board.
The guitar teachers are preferably accessible as well, and you can get in touch with them and ask questions whenever you need to.
Our musicians say the accessibility of the best apps will affect how in-depth you can learn guitar online. If you have any questions, the app will hopefully provide you a way to contact the instructors. You don’t need to understand music theory to become an excellent bass guitar player, but the guitar teachers should provide you with the fundamentals.
Look for apps that are compatible with all mobile operating systems [1] including iOS and Android. Do you need access on your Mac, Windows or Linux computers? If you do, you need to make sure the best apps work with these devices.
The next question our experts say to ask yourself is what features do you need in the best apps? Let’s say you are someone who thrives on beating your own records, then Fender Play’s chord challenge is something you need access to.
Most apps have a free trial period with access to all the online guitar lessons and other resources. However, there are others who require in-app purchases for access to more advanced features. Our experts say that there is no harm with in-app purchases, but the best guitar apps should offer enough free features that will help with learning the guitar even without spending more money.
Skill Level
The next very important assessment you need to make to find the best guitar teaching app for you is to be honest about your skill level. Our audio team says there is nothing wrong with being a beginner, because everyone needs to start somewhere.
Knowing where you are on the expert scale will help you learn to play guitar better. You won’t sign up for guitar lessons that are way above your skill set and end up wasting your money.
Keep in mind that not all apps for learning guitar will be completely transparent about their guitar programs. They will often market their curriculum as “great for all skill levels,” but how true it is a different story. As we said before, you don’t need to understand music theory to become a great guitar player, but you definitely need lessons that are appropriate for your skill.
Beginner guitarists will definitely find it difficult to dive right into their favorite songs without ear training and knowledge on how to read chord charts. For example, TrueFire is better for those who have a basic foundation for guitars already.
(For beginners, here are the top guitar chords to learn first-hand)
Prices
The next major consideration is the price of your guitar learning platform of choice that doesn’t include in-app purchases. You have options that are completely free, then there are ones that have a free trial period so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Then there are others that are strictly membership by design.
The price will definitely affect the quality of the lessons you’re getting, and most of the paid services will offer a discount if paid in full for a year, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re looking to save.
Our musicians say that there are rarely ways to learn guitar completely free of charge. If you do find them, they will not provide high-quality videos and support the way apps as Guitar Tricks do.
You can also find guitar apps with a free trial period, which Guitar Tricks also has, but they will require membership signup after the free period is up. Completely paid apps are also rare, similar to ones that are completely free. It’s a poor marketing tactic to go against apps that offer users a taste of the product without a free trial.
Luckily for learners, most apps fall in between and have a free trial than your choice of in-app and membership purchases.
How do Guitar Learning Apps Work?
Guitar learning apps work similarly to an in-person class or school. You can sign up for lessons according to your skillset and enjoy step-by-step lessons for your genre of choice. Depending on their delivery method, you can access all the materials and guitar resources available.
Some platforms put you in contact with your very own instructor that is available to help you and tailor custom lessons just for you. Other platforms are a bit more basic and just offer pre-recorded videos you can access at any time.
Other advanced features that can make your learning experience much easier include backing tracks, understanding the guitar fretboard, instruction on guitar tabs, fingerpicking, how to change a guitar string, and more.
Pros and Cons of Guitar Apps
Should you go with guitar apps and are they effective? Our experts are here to answer this pressing question to give you a definitive answer before you spend any money.
Our team of professionals always strive to give our readers an unbiased and honest option. We won’t lie, guitar apps aren’t for everyone, but they are an option that is preferred by a lot of people. For starters, they are easy to access, very convenient, and are on-the-go.
You can work with the app in a way that best suits you. The top guitar app will allow guitar players to learn chord progressions and other musical instruments such as the ukulele at your own pace in your own time.
To really get the most out of these free apps, you need to be self-motivated. If you lack the discipline to dedicate a certain amount of time each day, you may need to look for ones that have live instruction.
Another major bonus to guitar apps vs in-person classes is the cost. Even if you go with the premium choice, the per lesson cost won’t be close to as expensive as it would be for in-studio instruction. So, if you’re looking to save some money and potentially get access to features like the same digital signal processor used by the acclaimed Amplitube custom shop, then pick online guitar teaching apps.
The variety these lessons offer you is also a major plus. You can pick from a vault of thousands of popular songs whether you’re on the acoustic or electric guitar. All the apps offer very engaging lesson plans and content that make things fun!
Of course, good things aren’t without the occasional con. Guitar apps make it more difficult to get instant feedback from a real person. There is a potential you could be doing something incorrectly for days before realizing it. Our musicians say a good way around this is to go with apps that have live instruction.
If you are someone who learns better from the pages of books and traditional teaching methods, then perhaps a guitar learning application isn’t the best choice.
If you’re learning from a more compact mobile device such as your phone or tablet, the small screen could be difficult to get a clear view of the fingerwork and we all know how distracting it can be when notifications are coming through.
Who should go with a guitar learning app? Our team of professionals believes it’s for people who crave convenience, want to learn in their own time, and want to save their hard-earned money.
Tips to Effectively Learn the Guitar with an App
Even if you are hesitant and unsure about the effects of learning guitar with an app, our experts have a few tips that can maximize your experience.
One of the most important takeaways after using each of these services ourselves is to not rely on them exclusively. Doing your own research and looking for additional tips on how to improve your skill will help you go the distance. After all, these apps were created for a variety of learners and are not tailored for your personal needs.
Putting in enough time to practice with the help of the best guitar learning application on the market needs to go hand in hand. It won’t matter how well developed the app is if you do not put in the effort to learn. After all, practice makes perfect, or in this case, practice makes permanent.
Don’t trust the resources out there that base their advertising campaign on “15-minute lessons to perfecting the guitar” or something along those lines. Learning how to play the guitar professionally and effectively takes time – no matter what method.
Apps like Guitar Tricks, which has won awards for its curriculum design have a clearly laid out linear path of progression. This is so important in order to master the fundamentals when learning the guitar.
The video resources that do not follow a specific plan may end up confusing you and end up teaching you bits and pieces but never anything in depth.
The last tip our team of musicians has for you is to make sure you have learned or even mastered one aspect before moving on to the next tier. Similar to the concept of not running before you can walk, not learning the basics before you tackle advanced songs will usually end up in disaster.
(For a related page, you can also check this post about the best way to learn guitar fast)
FAQ
What is the best guitar learning app for free?
The best guitar learning application for free is JamPlay. While it is still a service that requires a subscription, they have a free 30-day money-back guarantee that will give you a refund no questions asked if you are unhappy with the service.
Is Yousician a good way to learn guitar?
Yousician is a good way to learn guitar. It is an app that has a 7-day free trial, and access to lots of video lessons. However, in terms of variety and various modes of learning, we suggest users look into JamPlay as they offer a lot of extra features.
More pages:
Excellent songs to measure the quality and range of your speakers
Our Top Pick For a Guitar Learning App:
JamPlay
Our team of musicians have picked JamPlay as the best guitar learning app on the market. Get access to thousands of lessons and over 100 instructors to help you master your guitar skills. Go any time at your own speed on any device. You can even take your lessons on the go and enjoy full HD to 4K video quality instructions.
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