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As a music enthusiast, I’m always intrigued by the unique beats and sounds musicians attach to their songs. It’s for this reason that I decided to learn more about the guitar and how to play one. However, settling for a one on one session with my guitar coach wasn't as easy as I found my schedule clashing with time for classes.
You can receive a free trial to Guitar Tricks. Learn to play guitar quickly with Guitar Tricks. Claim your exclusive free-access coupon here.
After research, I came across several sites that offer guitar lessons online. That's when I discovered Guitar Tricks after reading some positive reviews. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced guitar player, Guitar Tricks has something for you.
Read on to find out more in this Guitar Tricks Review.
Things to Consider Before Buying Guitar Lessons
If you love playing the guitar, but you don’t have the knowhow on playing well, you could benefit from Guitar Tricks. Also, if you feel that going for physical classes affects your work or lifestyle schedule, you’ll find Guitar Tricks a convenient place as you can download video lessons and view them offline. Moreover, the site has plenty to offer for intermediate players.
However, if you are an advanced guitar player looking to further perfect your skill, you might want to check out JamPlay as it provides in-depth content for advanced players.
Below are some essential factors to consider when choosing an online guitar lesson:
Determine Your Goals
It’s essential to start with the music you like. You could be a fan of rock and roll, blues, jazz, funk, or classical music. Knowing what music you’d prefer to play will help you settle on a site that provides the same type of music. Also, you need to determine whether you want to get into guitar playing as a hobby or as something to enhance your musical career. That will help you find instructors that are willing to make the journey with you.
Amount of Content
Some sites offer as little as 500 lessons, and others have over 10,000 video lessons, If you are looking for in-depth content that covers more than the basics, you’re better off with a site with more lessons. However, a few sites have little, but specific content, especially for advanced players. Compare these two aspects carefully.
Skill Level Focus
You should also consider how a specific site handles various skill levels. For example, beginner guitar lessons focus on easy songs, chord changes, chords, simple melodies, and bare basics. Intermediate guitar lessons target niche topics with technical complexity and greater depth. That helps the learner develop interest. Advanced guitar lessons are mentally and physically challenging as they cover a range of topics with nuance and focus on particular areas.
Topic and Course Organization
It’s critical to look at how a specific site organizes its courses and topics, as this is what sets them apart from websites that offer free lessons. For example, Guitar Tricks has a structured linear learning path, something you won’t find on the YouTube channels that teach guitar.
Price of the Course
Another essential consideration should be the price or the monthly fee for the guitar lessons. You need to look at the variety and quality of lessons and find a site that provides that at a reasonable cost. Some sites have a free trial period that allows you to check out what they have to offer before you sign up. It’s best to go for the free trial as you can always cancel your membership if you don’t like what they have to offer. Moreover, you get a feel of what the sites have to offer before committing for the long haul.
Best Course for Learning Guitar Today
- Guitar Tricks is the #1 option for learning guitar
- Learn guitar like a natural quick and easy
- Full money back guarantee
- Comes with a no-risk 14-day trial
Product Overview
Guitar Tricks has been around for 20 years in the industry, which makes it a popular guitar lesson platform. The site comes with a structured core learning system that consists of step-by-step video lessons that start from beginner level to the advanced level.
The platforms add new song lessons each week. What makes Guitar Tricks unique is that they only have officially licensed song lessons, something you won’t find in other programs. Learners can search for songs based on genre, artist, popularity, date, and difficulty. Their large selection of easy guitar songs is also impressive.
Guitar tricks is a fantastic platform for beginner and intermediate guitar players. However, if you’re looking for more in-depth content as an advanced guitar player, you should look for another alternative like JamPlay.
Pros
- Has experienced instructors
- A structured core learning system
- A wide range of lessons
- Covers all skill levels and genres
- Provides individual coaching
Cons
Individual coaching comes at an extra cost
Also Consider: Some of the Best Online Singing Lessons
Features and Benefits
Here are some of the key highlights of Guitar Tricks
Structured Core Learning System
Guitar Tricks is one of the platforms that boasts a structured core learning structure. It’s a well-defined learning curve that allows you to see the steps you’ve accomplished as well as your progression.
Beginners start at the Guitar Fundamentals Level 1 course. The lessons give you an introduction to guitars and teach you how to play super-easy songs. An instructor will guide you on how to tune the strings, focus on learning beginner guitar chords, and playing simple melodies. You can then proceed to a higher level 2.
On level 2, you learn how to play and use barre chords, power chords, and different scales. You also get to know how to read music.
The platform encourages you to master the basics, such that when you get to the intermediate lessons, you’ll approach the steps you didn’t skip. What’s impressive is that Guitar Tricks allows you to customize your progression depending on your guitar knowledge.
As an experienced player, you can explore the foundations of three styles of music-rock, blues, and country. You get two levels for every style and new instructors. The platform outlines lead and rhythm playing techniques, and you get to find the right tone with different equipment.
The advanced lessons also have songs with a range of difficulties, something that makes learning more enjoyable.
A Variety of Genres
Guitar Tricks has a ton of genres that you can explore. Whether you plan on playing a 7-string or a 6-string, the platform covers genres like jazz, rock, acoustic, blues, country, metal, bluegrass, surf, rockabilly and world, to name a few.
Some genres have their sub-genera. A few subcategories go into beginner songs, popular hits, and similar destinations.
A beginner-friendly song has a red guitar on the song, while an advanced one will have three guitars to mean that you’ll need some time to perfect your craft.
The platform offers guitar players with the chance to explore the different genres and not stick to a single genre. You may be surprised to learn that metal and jazz share some similarities.
Country, rock, and blues also share similarities like chord progressions. The three genres also use interchangeable picking and fingering techniques. Guitar Tricks allows you to perfect your craft and unlock the secrets to your guitar.
Video Production Value
A lot goes into the production of an instructional video other than a high-resolution video and audio. Remember that you need to coordinate your hands, switch pickups, listen to a beat, and more.
A lot of beginner guitar players struggle with coordinating their right and left hands, having an easy time on their off-hand, and hitting the right strings. You’ll find that most new guitarists have one hand that doesn’t do anything. It’s essential to learn how to pick and strum patterns as well as study finger switches and chords.
Guitar Tricks provides excellent video production value as it shows various camera angles to see both the right and left-hand movements. The player has 4K quality, but some lessons have lower bandwidth options. That works if you have a poor internet connection or a slow system.
You also get speed control and A/B looping, and you can slow down the TAB’s scrolling speed.
You can follow the finger positions in a video if you want to practice exotic scales, shredding, or string skipping. Moreover, you can practice how to learn the notes. Guitar Tricks' video production value is impressive and creates a unique environment for beginner players and those familiar with the guitar.
Struggling with hand placement on the guitar? Consider getting a guitar made for small hands!
A Variety of Instructors
Guitar Tricks allows you to learn from a variety of instructors available, with each instructor being a professional in their genre. That enables you to widen your skill set and get things done correctly.
You have access to 30 guitar instructors. The lessons remain immortalized, which means you don't have to skip any content as a member. Another exciting thing is you can get an instructor who teaches two similar genres or get two instructors in one genre.
The platform allows you to learn from male and female guitarists, which is a plus when learning fingering and picking techniques. Moreover, you learn how to handle advanced chords. The availability of teachers from both genders also allows you to acquire knowledge about how to hold an electric or acoustic guitar.
You’ll find the instructors friendly and knowledgeable, although some may be enthusiastic than others. For example, Sharon Aguilar works as lead guitarist for Cee Lo Green, and Anders Mouridsen has performed with Pink, Taylor Swift, to mention a few. Guitar Tricks has instructors with varied teaching and playing skills, something that makes learning enjoyable.
Check Out: My Guide to Finding the Best Acoustic Guitar
One-on-One or Individual Coaching
Guitar Tricks recently introduced this new feature to its platform. Although the platform has instructors who provide in-depth feedback, users have always requested individual coaching sessions to get personalized feedback.
The platform did away with group sessions where you had to share time with more people. Guitar Tricks now has individual coaching that takes half an hour to an hour based on the cost you prefer. The time also depends on how challenging your questions are as this requires detailed feedback.
While here, you can select an instructor from the available instructors, set a date, view the calendar, and more. With an instructor, you get valuable feedback as compared to video lessons where you may not know if your hand is positioned correctly if you're playing jazz on a rock guitar, and more.
You don’t have to start with this feature as a beginner, but you may find it helpful if you don’t understand the lessons. Chat with instructors when improvising over exotic scales in syncopated beats or when handling complex music theory.
Officially Licensed Songs List
Although the industry now has more sites offering guitar lessons, Guitar Tricks is the only platform that boasts a vast collection of officially licensed songs. With more than 700 songs in its list, the tutorial site has every genre included in its collection from Poison to Blink 182 to The Beatles.
What’s more, the platform covers every style of guitar music like classical guitar pieces with Tarrega, Beethoven, back, and Pachelbel. You’ll find that some famous artists may not feature, while some less known artists feature highly on the site.
Another thing to note is that the choice of songs for some icons is limited. You may not find Joe Satriani or Steve Van and there’s only one Metallica track. Nonetheless, Guitar Tricks gives you style lessons, where a particular instructor provides a lesson in the style of your beloved icon like Hendrix.
With hundreds of style and technique lessons, as well as over 700 songs, Guitar Tricks provides plenty for beginner and advanced guitarists to sink their teeth into.
Smartphone App Integration
Guitar Tricks now offers an app on both iOS and Android for free. Users can take their guitar lessons on the go, something that makes learning convenient. With the free version, you get a variety of free lessons on rotation, although you may be limited in some aspects.
Upgrading to the paid app version gives you full access to the content. You’ll find the app simple to navigate and with a fantastic design. The dashboard sits the songs, lessons, and styles easily, while the videos are of high resolution like those you’d find on the website.
14-Day Free Trial
Guitar Tricks offers those new to the site a 14-day free trial. With this free trial, users can test the platform and determine if it works for them. It’s a risk-free way to see if the lesson styles and format are worth the full membership.
The best part is that the free trial gives you access to everything that a full member would have for two weeks, which makes it a good bargain. You get access to song playthroughs from the artists you love, tutorials, complete lessons, and access to the community forum.
Bonus Tools and Blog
Guitar Tricks provides other bonus tools like Chord and Scale finders that slot notes onto a guitar neck’s representation. You also get a reference tuner, a fretboard trainer, jam station software, and metronome. There are three new additions: a glossary, a tab guide, and chord charts.
All these tools differ depending on their degree of usefulness. For example, the fretboard trainer allows you to find your way around the fretboard. The game highlights a note on the digital fretboard and provides a variety of multiple choice answers and a timer. While you may need to tell the system what the note is, you’ll find the game fun and addictive when learning your notes.
It’s convenient to have all these tools in one location when learning your songs. The tools are simple to use, and they operate well.
Furthermore, Guitar Tricks has an updated blog available for members and non-members. The blog has some fantastic guitar content, gear reviews, interviews with instructors, competitions, and announcements.
An Engaging Community
Guitar Tricks boasts an engaging forum that provides you with the opportunity to speak with other guitarists of all levels. You can ask and reply to questions as well as see what the other guitarists are doing. Exchange tips and ideas with current and former students.
You’ll find the forum simple to use as it features dedicated sections on music theory, guitar basics, song recording, songwriting, technique, and more. What’s more, you can engage with the community on social media platforms. For example, on Facebook, Guitar Tricks posts guitar videos and tips that you may find beneficial. On Twitter, you get updates on what’s new on their blog and website.
Both teachers and students contribute to this forum, meaning you won’t run out of learning material, and you’ll have techniques to help you improve your guitar skills.
Money-Back Guarantee
Guitar Tricks offers a 60-day money-back guarantee with no questions asked. The plan is available for both the monthly and annual subscription plans.
Further Reading: Learning How to Play Guitar and Sing Together
Pricing
Guitar Tricks offers 24 free lessons to everyone, even those on a 14-day trial. They also have a subscription plan that costs $19.95 a month. The package includes all lessons, songs, instructors, tools, community forums, and more.
There’s another subscription that costs $179.99 for a year. The annual plan comes with extras like additional rock jams and blues tracks. Although it’s not the cheapest tuition site, you would pay more for a private face-to-face tutor.
Social Proof
With the introduction of multiple sites offering guitar lessons, I was first skeptical about Guitar Tricks and what it had to offer. Having read a lot about the platform, I decided to scour the internet, and that’s where I came across some rather positive user reviews.
Here are some testimonials from users around the web that share their journey using it.
Alternatives
Jamplay
Although both Jamplay and Guitar Tricks offer online guitar lessons, they differ in regard to their features and what they offer.
Guitar Tricks has a structured core learning system with the Guitar Fundamentals being for complete beginners. JamPlay has four distinct phases that allow you to get into a phase that you want.
Guitar Tricks’ learning system is simpler to use in terms of courses.
Jamplay has about 90 instructors while Guitar Tricks has about 33 instructors. With Jamplay, you get to learn to play a song from artists who composed them, while on Guitar Tricks, you get notable tutors who aren’t musicians.
You should opt for Guitar Tricks if you’re looking for a site with a vast catalog of licensed songs to learn as Jamplay has lesser songs. Jamplay is an excellent choice if you're looking to engage more with tutors, access daily live Q&A sessions with instructors and get on live courses. While Guitar Tricks provide these extras, they come at an extra cost, unlike Jamplay.
You can view my full review of JamPlay too.
Fender
Guitar Tricks has decades of experience in the guitar lessons industry, but Fender is a newcomer. However, Fender is more focused on beginners as it allows you to choose your instrument and pick from five styles. Fender lacks an organized content outline, unlike Guitar Tricks that has an intuitive interface for intermediate and advanced guitarists. Guitar Tricks has an extensive collection of songs, while Fender has a smaller library that is growing. Check out my full review of Fender Play here.
Truefire
Guitar Tricks has 11,000 lessons, but Truefire has more than 33,000 lessons. Also, Truefire has over 140 tutors, while Guitar Tricks has 33 different instructors. You’ll find Guitar Tricks a fantastic option if you’re looking for a site with an extensive list of songs. Both Truefire and Guitar Tricks tie in regards to the extras they provide. Again, I also have a TrueFire review for you to learn more.
Before moving on from this section, I also want to give a shoutout to ArtistWorks as well. It's another great platform! Check out my ArtistWorks review if you're interested!
Wrapping Up
Learning to play the guitar by yourself isn’t easy or fun. Although some amateur YouTube videos may help you determine how strumming and chords work, that doesn’t tell you that you are good at what you do.
Fortunately, Guitar Tricks was designed to help you solve these problems. The platform allows you to learn from qualified and experienced instructors who are entertaining and available to answer your queries. Guitar Tricks provides value for beginners and advanced guitarists alike. What’s more, you get a free trial to see of the platform is right for you.
I highly, highly recommend this platform for anyone looking to learn guitar easily and affordably!
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Further Reading:
As the Head Editor and Writer at Music Grotto, Liam helps write and edit content produced from professional music/media journalists and other contributing writers. He works closely with journalists and other staff to format and publish music content for the Music Grotto website. Liam is also the founding member of Music Grotto and is passionate in disseminating editorial content to its readers.
Liam’s lifelong love for music makes his role at Music Grotto such a rewarding one. He loves researching, writing and editing music content for Music Grotto.
