8 Best Online Guitar Lessons - Learn To Play The Guitar Online!

Many people dream of becoming the next Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, or Neil Young, but without someone to teach them, most of those dreamers never learn how to hold a guitar properly, let alone master the instrument.

Times have changed, and online guitar lessons are now widely available. It’s easier than ever before to learn guitar fundamentals, tricks, and more. A computer or mobile device and a decent internet connection are all you need; you can conveniently learn to play guitar online at a pace that works best for you.

There are so many types of guitar lessons online, though. Picking a route that effectively helps you reach your goals may be tricky, so to help you with this, we’ve put together a review of the latest and best online guitar lessons.

Whether you are a beginner or advanced player, by the end of our review, you should have no trouble selecting the best online guitar lesson for you.

The Pros and Con of Learning Guitar Online

Learning to play guitar online is one of the most convenient and cost-effective ways to master beautiful music. If you are unconvinced that online guitar lessons are the best way to achieve your goals, here are some pros and cons to help you reach a decision.

The Pros

Here are few reasons why we love the idea of learning guitar online….

Pooling of Knowledge

It takes more than one person to develop a quality guitar lesson tool. The expertise of various pro guitarists is typically pooled together to create a comprehensive online guitar lesson. The approach ensures as much relevant information as possible during your training.

Quality

When hiring a guitar trainer off Craigslist or elsewhere, there are no guarantees the person will be a good teacher that’s capable of teaching the specific skills you hope to learn. Top-notch online guitar lesson tools deliver lessons through a carefully curated syllabus from vetted experts.

Affordability

Taking online guitar lessons is far cheaper than hiring an in-person instructor. Cost savings are more apparent when an in-person instructor is paid by the hour, and you aren’t learning fast enough, for example.

Go at Your Own Pace

An online guitar lesson relieves the pressure to perform or learn quickly—there’s no need to rush through the material. You can start and end a training session whenever it’s most convenient for you.

Convenience

Not having to meet someone or leave your home for guitar lessons is especially useful when there’s a pandemic raging outside, or you have car trouble. With online lessons, you can stay home in your underwear and take lessons via your phone or computer at any time.

The Cons

And here are some of the less ideal things about learning online..

Lack of Interaction

Sometimes, having a trainer by your side to physically guide your wrists, fingers, and elbow can be useful. While most online guitar lesson tools offer online interaction, others only offer pre-recorded lessons. In a pre-recorded lesson, though, useful feedback that’ll boost your learning and technique is impossible.

Motivation

If you have trouble focusing or staying self-motivated, an online guitar lesson may not be for you. Unlike having an in-person trainer to help you set and meet goals, you’ll have no one but yourself to keep you in tune.

Internet Connection

Most online guitar lessons require a fast and stable internet connection. Without it, your lessons won’t go smoothly.

YouTube is Free. Why Should I Pay for Online lessons?

Learning how to play guitar on YouTube might be free, but the online guitar lessons in our review offer far more than any typical YouTube tutorial.

Most YouTube guitar tutorial videos are made by people who don’t necessarily have enough expertise to teach. That’s why you have to watch several YouTube videos to learn a specific skill.

Also, since most YouTube guitar instructors only cover specific aspects of learning guitar, you will need several sources to learn how to play the guitar fully. It can slow your learning progress significantly and lead to inconsistent results.

These aren’t issues you need to worry about if using a specialized online guitar lesson tool, like Guitar Tricks or Fender Play. For a reasonable fee, these online tools deliver clear guitar knowledge through a step-by-step curriculum that lets you learn at your own pace and master each level.

If you are learning guitar from scratch or are looking to fine-tune your skills, there are specialized lessons for newbies and professionals alike. There are also tools that are aimed at those who want to learn electric or acoustic guitar, for example.

It may not be free like YouTube, but you enjoy the upside of training with step-by-step lessons from bona fide guitarists. The best tools let you chart your progress and indicate areas to improve, as well.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing the Best Online Guitar Platform

Platforms for online guitar lessons aren’t all the same. Some channels are better for newbies who want to learn how to play acoustic or electric guitar, while others are perfect for advanced players who want to become even better in certain skills.

To pick the right platform for you, you need to verify that an online guitar lesson has the features to meet your needs. You can do this by asking the following questions:

How much can I afford?

Price is key. A top-notch online guitar lesson platform can cost anywhere between $10 and $20 a month. If that’s too pricey, you’ll be happy to know that free options are available. Remember, whether you’ve already spent a chunk of change on a great acoustic guitar or an affordable one, you don’t want to skimp on the lessons!

What type of Guitar Lessons do I want?

Do you want to learn how to play specific types of guitars or music? While picking an online guitar training you can afford is important, be sure to verify the platform’s training options match your goals.

The best guitar lesson platform for you will offer lessons that match your unique needs, ensuring that you acquire the specific skills you want by the end of the course.

Is there a free trial?

Trying out a guitar training tool is the easiest way to determine if it’s right for you. The best way to accomplish this is through a free trial that lets you explore the entire platform without spending a dime. If you enjoy the free trial, then pay for the training.

The 8 Best Online Guitar Lesson Platforms of 2020

There are several online guitar lesson platforms out there. Some teach the basics, while others turn you into a professional guitarist.

To save you time, we’ve tried out various platforms and put together a list of the best alternatives. The platforms that made our list are user-friendly and contain easy to understand tutorials.

Are you ready to learn guitar online? Here are the eight best platforms to learn guitar online:

1. Jam Play

Click here to visit JamPlay now

JamPlay offers some of the best guitar lessons available with its wide and easy-to-understand content. Its essential content is split into four distinct sections or phases that cover a different aspect of guitar playing:

• Phase 1 - For beginners who want to learn the fundamentals
• Phase 2 - To learn specific skills, genres, or playing style
• Phase 3 - Thousands of songs to learn
• Phase 4 - How to write songs

If there’s a specific style of guitar playing you’d like to learn, JamPlay’s vast library of songs and styles has you covered. Popular styles the platform teaches include rock, pop, indie rock, fingerpicking folk, modern R&B, gypsy jazz, fingerstyle blues, and more.

While it’s hard to run out of stuff to learn on JamPlay, you are never overwhelmed by the content because you can learn at your own pace. Jamplay adds new content to its already extensive library every month, so you’re unlikely to become bored with its lessons.

Once you join the platform, you can start viewing the videos in any order. All the lessons are in video form and anchored by expert guitarists who know how to teach. It includes acoustic and electric guitar teachers, many of whom are famous. (1)

The video lessons are shot as high-quality content so that you won’t have trouble seeing or hearing every detail of each lesson.

Aside from its diverse and in-depth lessons, we appreciate JamPlay for its live courses and forum feature. Live courses let you train in real-time with teachers while the forum lets you communicate with other budding guitarists.

You can access all JamPlay’s lessons and features via its user-friendly and interactive website or mobile app. The app is available for both Android and iOS and offers everything its website does.

On the downside, using JamPlay to learn guitar can become expensive, and the platform doesn’t offer free trials. In the absence of a free trial, there is a money-back guarantee, though. You can take the platform for a spin and get your money back if you aren’t satisfied.

As long as you can afford the membership fee and want access to more than enough useful information to turn you into a professional guitarist, JamPlay could be perfect for you. Read our full review of Jam-play here.

Pros

• Progress reports that map your learning
• Thousands of lessons, a scale library, and hundreds of backing tracks and licks to learn
• Excellent video and sound quality for lessons
• Suitable for both beginners and advanced players
• Optional live lessons with real-time interaction with instructors

Cons

• No free trial
• Pricey

2. Guitar Tricks - Best Overall

Guitar Tricks is our favorite guitar lessons platform not because it has a huge library of lessons, but also because it makes learning guitar fun.

As one of the best online guitar lessons for beginners, the platform has won several awards for its engaging and easy to follow learning system that makes learning guitar a breeze.

Guitar Tricks is just as suitable for advanced players, too. If you’ve been playing guitar for a while and would like to learn a new skill or boost your current mastery, the platform is more than capable of making that happen.

Guitar Tricks teaches through a step-by-step series of videos that use a wide selection of songs from different genres. It keeps students engaged, and the learning is fun. If you are new to guitars, start with the fundamentals and work your way through every guitar genre.

If you’re already familiar with guitars, skip to the hardcore stuff. Perfect how you play your favorite songs from artists like The Eagles, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Rolling Stones, and more. You don’t have to worry about repetition; you won’t tire of the broad selection easily.

Do you want to learn how to play rock, country, or blues? Through the platform’s website or mobile app for Android or iOS, there are plenty of progressive video lessons to help you reach such goals.

When we reviewed Guitar tricks, we loved how you can also customize lessons and keep things interactive through live chats with a guitar coach. It was a hard decision between Guitar Tricks vs Jamplay, but ultimately guitar tricks was the one for me.

Pros

• 14-day free trial to see if the platform is right for you
• Suitable for beginner and advanced electric or acoustic guitar learners
• Customizable progression to match your current guitar skills
• A wide library of high-quality video lessons is updated weekly
• Experienced instructors and one-on-one lessons are available

Cons

• One-on-one lessons cost more

3. ArtistWorks

ArtistWorks offers more than guitar lessons; its a comprehensive site for studying other musical instruments, too.

The platform stands out by taking a slightly different approach to guitar training and delivering advanced guitar lessons. Unlike other platforms that prioritize training through loads of video lessons, ArtistWorks prioritizes interaction, and quality over quantity.

You can take lessons through video exchange learning or opt for its professional on line interactive guitar lesson, which is the star attraction. The lessons are in real-time, presented by an impressive roster of big names from the guitaring world, including Paul Gilbert (2), Martin Taylor, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb, and others (3).

If you can’t afford the one-on-one interactive lessons, the video exchange option is still an awesome feature. Unlike other platforms where you watch videos to learn, the video exchange process lets you choose a course, take lessons, record yourself playing, and send your recording to a tutor for real feedback.

You will not be alone on your guitar journey and will receive sufficient guidance from the experts—that’s why this is our BEST OVERALL pick for online guitar lessons.

There’s also a community forum that lets you interact with learners and musicians. The only issue is that ArtistWork’s high-quality lessons come at a high price (and there’s no free trial).

Read the full guide: ArtistWorks review here.

Pros

• Lessons cover various styles, instruments, and genres
• One-on-one training from star guitarists
• Several styles and instruments to learn
• A community where you can interact and learn more
• The high level of interaction ensures your training is thoroughly guided

Cons

• Pricey
• No free trial

4. TrueFire

TrueFire’s guitar lesson content is expansive, and you’ll need a lifetime to go through it all.

The platform offers a reasonably priced lifetime membership package that gives you full access to its library. If the one-time payment for the lifetime package is too steep, the monthly package is incredibly affordable and gives you full access to the site.

Why does the TrueFire site have so much content? The platform has been around since 1991, delivering some of the most insightful guitar courses. Since its library is frequently updated with new lessons, the platform has accumulated over 30,000 lessons and 700 full courses.

Whether you are a newbie or already have some skill, you can use the platform to develop your technique and style. If you have a particular skill you’d like to hone, you will likely find a TrueFire video lesson that offers you the opportunity.

Aside from its vast library, TrueFire also has an impressive roster of rock star teachers. Many of its video lessons are hosted by these pro guitarists, ensuring you’re taught by teachers who know what they are doing. You can also choose one-on-one lessons from these instructors.

Some of the platform’s most impressive guitarists include Grammy Award winner Steve Vai (4), as well as Robben Ford, Andy Mckee, and Tommy Emmanuel.

Pros

• Affordable packages to learn various guitar styles
• Backing tracks for practicing on your own
• Effective substitute for in-person lessons
• Loads of content
• 30-day free trial

Cons

• Private lessons cost extra
• The huge library can be overwhelming

5. Fender Play - Best Online Guitar Lessons for Beginners

Fender Play offers some of the best online acoustic guitar lessons, covering guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons. The platform is the brainchild of Fender, which is one of the world’s leading producers of acoustic and electric guitars (5).

You can access Fender Play via its mobile app, which is available for both Android and iOS. Fender has a more classical approach to its lessons by first covering chords basics, music notations, and other theoretical aspects. Then, it teaches you how to play your favorite songs.

The library of songs that the platform uses for its lessons is impressive, ensuring you will find your favorite rock, R&B, jazz, or blues pieces. If you are looking for a platform that’ll help you master your favorite classics or new songs on the guitar, Fender Play might be the tool for you.

The service is affordable, especially for those who choose the monthly package. On the downside, experienced guitar players looking to boost their skills might find the platform inadequate.

Read the complete Fender Play review here.

Pros

• 14-day free trial
• iOS and Android app available with a user-friendly interface
• Affordable packages
• Thorough instruction in guitar fundamentals
• Excellent for mastering your favorite songs or genres

Cons

• Sometimes gives trouble using the website and app interchangeably
• Only suitable for beginner guitarists

6. Justin Guitar - Best Free Online Guitar Lessons

Are you looking for the best free online guitar lessons? Justin Guitar is the place.

Unlike YouTube, where you have to stress about identifying and avoiding useless guitar tutorial videos, the Justin Guitar website has everything you need in one convenient location.

The website is popular as a free resource with several guitar lessons for various styles and genres of guitar music. Justin Sandercoe originally started the platform in 2003, offering free one-on-one online lessons. His expertise as a guitarist is far-ranging, showcasing his experience with various famous musicians.

In 2006, Justin started putting his lessons on YouTube and has amassed over a hundred million views. The platform has also received lots of praise from legends like Mark Knopfler and Steve Vai.

So, if Sandercoe is talented enough to play international concerts (6) and teach Katie Melua to be an international superstar, there’s no reason why he can’t do the same for you. Since his lessons are free, you have nothing to lose.

Using the website to learn guitar is easy and straightforward, thanks to the platform’s clean and easy-to-navigate interface. The video quality of the tutorials is top-notch, but there have been some complaints about the sound quality of some of the videos.

Based on our experience, the sound quality wasn’t a deal-breaker, especially since the tutorials were free.

There are over a thousand guitar lessons to choose from, whether you are a beginner or an advanced player. They even have lessons for kids. (Speaking of kids, here are some of the best acoustic guitars for kids.)

On the downside, Justin Guitar only teaches how to play 6-string guitar, which means that bass and 7-string players will have to find their tutorials elsewhere.

If you are an Android user who prefers guitar lessons via apps, you are out of luck. The Justin Guitar app is available for only iOS devices.

Pros

• Free platform
• Easy to understand tutorials
• High-quality tutorial videos with subtitles
• A community forum for connecting with other learners
• Over a thousand lessons in the catalog

Cons

• The app is available for iOS devices only
• No bass and 7-string guitar lessons
• Audio quality is less than stellar at times

7. ‘Learn and Master Guitar’

Gibson (7) is one of the world’s leading guitar makers. It’s reasonable to assume the company knows what a talented guitar teacher looks like, which explains our enthusiasm that the Learn and Master Guitar tool is highly recommended by Gibson.

Learn and Master Guitar is a set of twenty DVDs that contains over forty hours of guitar lessons and five audio CDs you can use. The package also comes with a 108-page workbook that you can use to study guitar fundamentals and tricks.

By the time you’ve exhausted the entire package, you should be able to read music, play various chords, scales, styles, and much more.

The contents of the Learn and Master Guitar DVDs are shot in the highest video and audio quality, letting you see and hear everything perfectly. Looping and pausing portions of the DVD won’t be a problem with the wide array of controls on your DVD player, either.

Steve Krenz hosts most of the lessons, carefully breaking down each step and ensuring you don’t miss anything. With Krenz’s background in music, you know you are being trained by an expert that knows his stuff. (8)

While the lesson book and DVDs effectively deliver information, it has the downside of not being interactive. It’s where Learn and Master Guitar lags behind its competitors, like JamPlay and ArtistWorks.

The product still offers valuable training, and you own it forever for less than $200—that’s a sweet deal compared to TrueFire and other platforms that require thousands of dollars for a lifetime membership.

You can also get assistance by visiting Learn and Master Guitar’s online support site to interact with members and its community.

Pros

• 60-day money-back guarantee
• Lots of song examples in various speeds
• The course is thorough and suitable for beginners
• A broad selection of musical styles and techniques

Cons

• Not useful if you don’t have a DVD player
• If you lose the DVD, there’s no replacement

8. Jamorama

Do you enjoy social media? Of course, you do.

Jamorama capitalizes on this trend with its unique guitar lesson platform that turns learning guitar into a social experience. The platform works as a social network for guitar students that lets you share your progress, communicate with other students, ask for help, and much more.

Like other platforms, you will have access to high-quality lesson videos and other guitar lesson materials.

As you advance through each material, you can mark your progress on your profile and share it with others on the platform via discussion boards and helpful forums. The point of all this is allowing members to support and motivate one another to learn. It also ensures members never feel alone during the guitar learning journey.

The hundreds of lessons and full-length courses are excellent for beginners. So, if you are an advanced player who’s looking to hone your skills, the platform might not be as attractive to you.

While many of Jamorama’s lessons are available for free, you’ll have to pay a one-time $99.95 fee for lifetime access to its premium lessons.

Pros

• Great for beginners
• Huge community to keep you motivated about learning
• Easy to use and learn
• Attractive interface

Cons

• Limited song library
• No interactive lessons

What about Guitar Apps?

Guitar apps are a convenient way to learn how to play guitar. Because they are on your mobile device, you can take your guitar lessons with you everywhere you go. Some even work regardless of whether you have an internet connection.

Many of the online guitar lesson platforms that made our list are available as apps on Android or iOS devices. For example, Fender Play and GuitarTricks both have Android and iOS apps. On these apps, you can access everything that’s available on the website, ensuring that you miss out on nothing.

If mobility is important to you, then choose a guitar lesson platform that’s available as an app.
If you are the type of person who prefers a large computer screen for your online tutorials, guitar apps may not be a priority for you.

The Verdict - What’s the Best Online Guitar Lesson?

What counts as the best online guitar lesson? It will depend on your unique needs and preferences.
For example, if the price is your priority, Justin Guitar’s free lessons will probably be the best choice for you. If interactivity is paramount, then a tool like ArtistWorks will be your first choice.

There is one guitar training tool that offers all the best features and compromises on little. Based on customer reviews and our personal experience, Guitar Tricks is the best online guitar lesson, whether you are a newbie or an advanced player that wants acoustic or electric guitar lessons.

The platform has loads of easy to understand lessons and offers the option of one-on-one lessons from professional guitarists. The price isn’t over the top, so most aspiring guitarists won’t have any trouble affording its high-value classes.