And it’s their live online interface that impresses us the most, as the app offers live video sessions to get real-time feedback. They operate it like a virtual classroom where you log in and join other students learning at the same time. Classes are available a few different times a day, so there’s flexibility there if you need it. Some of the guitar topics they cover include “Strumming Patterns for Beginners,” “Intro to Music Theory,” and “Fingerpicking Primer” to build a nice foundation. Over their tenure, TakeLessons has taught around three million lessons and amassed a roster of over six thousand teachers. They operate based on a monthly fee of $19.95 each month, with that price being discounted by 40% if you pay for the full year ahead of time. This premium subscription unlocks direct teacher feedback, lifetime progress tracking, and more. We’d like to have seen more explicitly one-on-one options from guitar teachers, but you can opt to use the service to find in-person lessons in your area, too. There are other instruments available here, including other stringed instruments like dobro and mandolin, and even some keyboard and saxophone lessons. But where you’ll see the most depth of teachers is in the guitar category. Once you’ve filtered your search by the instrument you want, you can choose your instructor, but we’d prefer to see a bit more filtering options. Choosing a teacher is a bit of a mixed bag, as some of them only offer a “premium channel subscription” granting you access to premium video lessons, but not necessarily interacting with you one on one. But others offer single purchases of private video lessons through the Truefire app or browser site. Once you’ve jumped through the hoops and chosen your instructor, though, the experience seems really easy to use. To be clear, this is a pre-recorded system, so you won’t get live back-and-forths with real teachers, but you will get access to a community of other students and teachers to answer questions—just not in real-time. They’ve set up the model to offer a free trial that is based around three lessons (Guitar 101, general technique training, then a direct riff class) that promise to get you playing riffs in seven minutes or less. If you like this trial, it’s pretty easy to upgrade to the full version afterward. The reviews indicate that the classes do get you really far, really fast. The lessons are recorded by professional guitar players, and this seems to be a huge selling point with Fender because they’ve tapped their deep Rolodex of contacts to record lessons. The platform works on desktop, but also tablets and mobile phones, making it one of the most versatile options from a format perspective. Plus, they base a lot of the trajectory on popular songs, so you can choose lessons about tunes you’re actually interested in. The pricing starts at $89.99 per year, though you can pay just $9.99 per month if you want a lesser commitment. Because JamPlay has been around for so long, they’ve amassed a massive collection of tutorials and lessons from a ton of teachers—450+ courses from more than 100 different instructors. What’s more, is they’ve packaged them in a huge variety of different ways. There are instructor-specific learning paths, topic-specific tracks, and even what JamPlay calls “toolkits." These packs tackle subjects like scale practice, developing good playing habits, and more. The interface feels a bit dated, but they do have apps for virtually every device you could want. All in all, there isn’t quite the level of polish here that exists on Fender Play, but it is a close second, in our book. Searching guitar brought us a list of over 100 tutors. Once you find a teacher you like, you can select them a choose the actual day and time you want a single lesson. What’s more, is each teacher names their own per-hour price, so you can customize the amount paid. We even saw a teacher go as low as $10 an hour. This likely means you won’t have the option to build very easily to an advanced level, but it does allow you to customize the price you pay. There are also really transparent ratings right on this screen, and a quick quote from the teacher to tell you a bit more about them. We like this approach a lot, because it gives you the ability to try a single lessons, really tailored to your needs. There isn’t a whole lot of depth and breadth here, as the site does seem tailored to languages, but what is there seems really promising for those who want a one-on-one experience. What’s more, is the search function lets you actually choose the style of guitar you want—everything from Acoustic and Electric Guitar all the way to Flamenco or Slide Guitar. This means you can really hone in on the right teacher for you based on your needs. From here, you’ll be taken to the teacher page, where there are in-depth ratings, a description of their specialties, and bios written by the teachers. You can also search by price, which makes for a nice level of customization, especially if budget is a consideration. Like many of the other services, there is a built-in video chat platform that has been optimized for music lessons by the Lessonface team, but you can opt to communicate with your teacher outside of this via Skype or other services. Overall, the real winner here is the ability to customize the teacher for your needs. But his subscription-based guitar lessons are anything but surface level. Larson is a Berklee College of Music-educated guitarist who has a real knack for taking complex guitar- and theory-based concepts and making them more digestible for beginner or intermediate guitar players. For $10 per month (though he often runs promotions driving the price down), you get access to lessons about songwriting, advanced scales and theory, and even jazz/blues licks that you can take with you to your next jam. It’s definitely a one-man operation, but he does bring in some tips from other guitar players here and there. His system is all run on his own platform, so you won’t get the versatility of the “big box” options, but you’ll get a more personal, more honest vibe. Plus, there’s a forum-based community at your disposal, comprised of other passionate students to give you a place to ask questions and work through challenges. Once you’ve started lessons and signed up, you record yourself playing, wherever you are, and send that to an instructor. That instructor then records a video response giving you feedback and redirecting your technique. This means that you get personal interaction from your guitar teacher without the need to schedule that virtual meetup. Plus, ArtistWorks will then add your video exchange to their system, meaning their library of lessons is always growing based on student submissions. There’s everything from Jazz Guitar to Fingerstyle all the way to Mandolin lessons. The pricing structure is pretty familiar at a $35/month for three months base price that gets better as you commit more months. Our writers spent 10 hours researching the most popular online guitar lessons on the market. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 15 different online guitar lessons overall, screened options from 15 different brands and manufacturers, read over 50 user reviews (both positive and negative), and tested 2 of the online guitar lessons themselves. All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.
