Online Lesson Sites

[Flatline]

This is a list of online lesson resources. This post is not a review, endorsement, or recommendation of any of the sites and services listed below. I do not have direct experience with every site or resource listed.

Free:
These sites contain free online lesson content. The majority of their content is free and accessible to all.

1. https://www.justinguitar.com/ - over 1000 free lessons and songs.

2. https://syngates.com/ - created by Synyster Gates (guitarist for the band Avenged Sevenfold) and his father, Brian Haner Sr.

Paid:
These sites are subscription based (monthly or other reoccurring free required). Often free trials are available to try them out before committing to a longer paid subscription.

1. https://truefire.com/ - Founded in 1991, TrueFire has collaborated with 600+ top educators to produce what Guitar Player Magazine calls "the planet's largest and most comprehensive selection of online guitar lessons."

2. https://www.jamplay.com/ - Guitar Lessons from World Class Teachers

3. https://www.guitartricks.com/ - Boasts a CORE learning system of lessons and over 1000 song lessons.

4. https://www.fender.com/play - Online guitar lessons from Fender.

5. http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/ - Paid Blues courses. Some free lessons and content available.

6. https://signalsmusicstudio.com/ - Free and paid courses. Heavier focus on music theory than other sites.

7. https://www.learningguitarnow.com/ - Paid courses and some free content focused on blues guitar.

8. https://www.pickupmusic.com/ - Paid courses beginner through advanced with master classes on specific topics.

Other:
Sites and resources that contain content or tools to enhance your playing and learning.

1. https://www.youtube.com/ - Has tons of content if you know what / how to search for it. May not be as structured as a dedicated lesson site.

2. https://rocksmith.ubisoft.com/ - Rocksmith 2014 - Rocksmith is the fastest way to learn guitar. Plug any real guitar or bass into your console or PC, have fun & really learn to play! Plug in any real guitar or bass and join over 1 million people who have learned with the award-winning Rocksmith method. PC version is capable of supporting custom fan made DLC. Information on custom DLC can be found at http://customsforge.com/.


Please submit other sites and resources, and I'll add them to this post to keep an updated list.

[tony1852]

this is a great idea, thanks for the post! i'll check a few of these sites out and see if they are any good or i have others to add

[UrenragK]

I'm using Rocksmith, good way to pick it up

[ID10t]

I'm using Rocksmith, good way to pick it up

If my life were different I would be able to jam with people and get better, but it isn't, so I don't play guitar, I play Rocksmith. It works good for me and my situation and I advocate it.
I do have an A/B Y switch so that I have more guitar cable and can listen through an amp too. I have dumped my data periodically so that I have to start from the beginning.
I use Rocksmith 2014 on PS4 and was able to get the original Rocksmith for PS3 (I have the concole) and for (guess) less than $15 USD I was able to export out of and import into Rocksmith 2014, the majority of the songs.
Anyway, it works for me for now.

[tony1852]

rocksmith, i'll have to check it out-thanks!

[UrenragK]

rocksmith, i'll have to check it out-thanks!

Make sure it comes with the cable, it's a lot cheaper that way!

[aullucci]

I was playing Rocksmith last night. I've always liked it. I have the XBOX and PC versions and if you have a choice pick PC all day long. The PC version comes through Steam, and at least twice a year Steam blows out the extra DLC songs you can buy at 50% off - those sales never happen for XBOX (and I don't think PS4 either). Plus, there are tens of thousands of custom DLC songs you can download and use for free. Definitely get the PC version if you have the right hardware.

You don't have to use the Rocksmith branded cable either. Generics are fine. If you're running through an interface, it's also fine.

One other thing: it's made by Ubisoft, and they announced in the last month or two that they are not creating any more DLC or updates for the game as it is. This has led to breathless internet speculation that a new version is coming out for the holidays. I have no idea if it's true or not, but it's entirely possible that you may buy Rocksmith today and they will announce its replacement tomorrow. That said, they've had two major revisions, and both times they made sure existing customers got a little sugar when the revision came out...

[Flatline]

Rocksmith has been probably the most beneficial tool to my guitar playing. I've been using it since the first one came out. I play most 4-5 days a week. It is essentially fancy tabs synced to backing tracks. The PC version and the amount of custom DLC makes it fantastic. I run my Scarlet 2i2 and use the RS_ASIO patch and any audio lag is non-existent. Without Rocksmith I probably wouldn't play as nearly as much as I do.

[honyock]

Rocksmith has been probably the most beneficial tool to my guitar playing. I've been using it since the first one came out. I play most 4-5 days a week. It is essentially fancy tabs synced to backing tracks. The PC version and the amount of custom DLC makes it fantastic. I run my Scarlet 2i2 and use the RS_ASIO patch and any audio lag is non-existent. Without Rocksmith I probably wouldn't play as nearly as much as I do.

For some reason I stopped playing Rocksmith 2014, but need to get back into it. For a while there I was playing bass more than guitar because of Rocksmith.

I think the addition of fighting to get my kindergartener to do her nightly math homework had something to do with it...

[tony1852]

looks like i definitely have to look into rocksmith for the PC. thanks guys!

[UrenragK]

Rocksmith has been probably the most beneficial tool to my guitar playing. I've been using it since the first one came out. I play most 4-5 days a week. It is essentially fancy tabs synced to backing tracks. The PC version and the amount of custom DLC makes it fantastic. I run my Scarlet 2i2 and use the RS_ASIO patch and any audio lag is non-existent. Without Rocksmith I probably wouldn't play as nearly as much as I do.

Thanks for the heads up on the PC version and the CDLC!

I was using it on Xbox and now I've bought it on Steam

[solteroblues]

So I drug my Rocksmith out (technically redownloaded it, LOL) and started playing it again. I had never really tried it much, I think I had totaled a grand total of 2 hours in the 6 years I'd owned it.

Anyway, do any of you feel like you're actually learning the songs by playing it? I've progressed at the game in the few days I've been playing, but I don't know if I'm actually learning anything other than colored strings or not.. What do you guys think? Could someone go from a total noob to being a pretty good player only by learning through RS?

[Flatline]

So I drug my Rocksmith out (technically redownloaded it, LOL) and started playing it again. I had never really tried it much, I think I had totaled a grand total of 2 hours in the 6 years I'd owned it.

Anyway, do any of you feel like you're actually learning the songs by playing it? I've progressed at the game in the few days I've been playing, but I don't know if I'm actually learning anything other than colored strings or not.. What do you guys think? Could someone go from a total noob to being a pretty good player only by learning through RS?

I find that you get out of it what you put in. If you really want to learn the songs you need to take the time to commit them to memory. I find this to be no different than playing along with Songsterr or Guitar Pro tabs. I can play lots and lots of songs when I have Rocksmith running or the tabs in front of me. I have probably only a couple dozen completely memorized. If you want to play along with it and actually know it note for note enable the expert mode so the notes disappear and its just you playing along, or what I typically do turn away from the screen and don't look at it while playing.

When my son is learning new songs he'll typically start out with Rocksmith until he gets a feel for it, then he'll stop using Rocksmith and play along with the CD or youtube video until he has it completely down. He takes lessons and does a Rock Camp thing a couple times a year where they put on a show after a few weeks of working in groups.

Just think of it as another tool for the learning toolbox and you can get a lot out of it.

[Stoli]

I think this guy has a lot of good free stuff. I also bought one of his courses and have been working with it for some time. He does a mix of stuff from very basic to pretty advanced and a lot of in between. It is very blues oriented.

http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/blog/category/lessons/

[Flatline]

Updated main post.

Added:
5. http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/ - Paid Blues courses. Some free lessons and content available.

6. https://signalsmusicstudio.com/ - Free and paid courses. Heavier focus on music theory than other sites.

I'm currently working through the free 5 Day Blues Guitar Course on Signal Music Studio. It is beginner-ish focused but a good review for a genre I don't play very often.

[Chocol8]

I haven’t tried this myself yet, but I hear this guy has a good ear for the style of different guitarists and has a bunch of play like so and so courses. I did look at a couple of the free videos briefly and I think they would be decent.

https://www.learningguitarnow.com/

[Partscaster]

I haven’t tried this myself yet, but I hear this guy has a good ear for the style of different guitarists and has a bunch of play like so and so courses. I did look at a couple of the free videos briefly and I think they would be decent.

https://www.learningguitarnow.com/

I got a year subscription to that site. It was good, but I didnt get much more out of it than just playing to cd's. I didnt end up renewing.
I like the TrueFire site and I tend to buy the discs of what i want rather than download.

[aullucci]

https://www.fender.com/play

I'm not sure what the deal is now but I got one of the pandemic subscriptions for a year for $49 or something. It's actually pretty good. There's a decent variety of stuff and the lessons are pretty clear and well-produced. Obviously, I almost never use it.

[Flatline]

https://www.fender.com/play

I'm not sure what the deal is now but I got one of the pandemic subscriptions for a year for $49 or something. It's actually pretty good. There's a decent variety of stuff and the lessons are pretty clear and well-produced. Obviously, I almost never use it.

I got one of the 3-month free trial accounts when they started that for the Pandemic back in the summer. Somehow it glitched and I ended up with 9 months free. It only just recently expired.

[aullucci]

https://www.fender.com/play

I'm not sure what the deal is now but I got one of the pandemic subscriptions for a year for $49 or something. It's actually pretty good. There's a decent variety of stuff and the lessons are pretty clear and well-produced. Obviously, I almost never use it.

I got one of the 3-month free trial accounts when they started that for the Pandemic back in the summer. Somehow it glitched and I ended up with 9 months free. It only just recently expired.

Did you like it?

[Flatline]

https://www.fender.com/play

I'm not sure what the deal is now but I got one of the pandemic subscriptions for a year for $49 or something. It's actually pretty good. There's a decent variety of stuff and the lessons are pretty clear and well-produced. Obviously, I almost never use it.

I got one of the 3-month free trial accounts when they started that for the Pandemic back in the summer. Somehow it glitched and I ended up with 9 months free. It only just recently expired.

Did you like it?

I thought it was too beginner focused overall. I worked through all of the 5 levels as a review in a few weeks. I worked through of a couple of the skills modules as well. I thought it was well produced and appropriately paced. It just isn't to the level of the older more mature sites yet. I liked how they mixed in song lessons with the other exercises. I think once they get more intermediate and advanced content, it has the potential to be one of the better options out there.

[Mossman]

I had a roommate a few years back who was a fantastic Jazz guitarist, and he swore by Truefire. I've never tried it, but I occasionally think about getting a subscription. I just know how I am with stuff like this, though... I'll buy a year's subscription, and maybe use it like a dozen times before I eventually drift away and completely forget about it. Then, when I get the renewal notification, I feel demoralized because I didn't get nearly as much out of it as I should have.

[Houblues]

I thought it was too beginner focused overall. I worked through all of the 5 levels as a review in a few weeks. I worked through of a couple of the skills modules as well. I thought it was well produced and appropriately paced. It just isn't to the level of the older more mature sites yet. I liked how they mixed in song lessons with the other exercises. I think once they get more intermediate and advanced content, it has the potential to be one of the better options out there.

I thought it was too beginner focused too, and I'm a beginner. In general I thought it was too basic. I'm a top-down learner and being spoon fed information with no sense of context, as the site did, drives me crazy.

I thought there were other problems too. The production wasn't consistent from instructor to instructor. One would be too repetitious, another would go too fast, both in concept and in detail. The same with fretting, some had good camera angles, others not.

I also thought the structure was not well thought out. At first I liked that you chose from a matrix of expertise levels and genres, but I didn't find what I expected within those selections. After a while I had trouble navigating, I wasn't able to find or access lessons I had seen before. Maybe that was a limitation built in to the trial version.

Although it looked polished and well done at first, I pretty quickly found it frustrating.

[UrenragK]

I thought it was too beginner focused too, and I'm a beginner. In general I thought it was too basic. I'm a top-down learner and being spoon fed information with no sense of context, as the site did, drives me crazy.

I thought there were other problems too. The production wasn't consistent from instructor to instructor. One would be too repetitious, another would go too fast, both in concept and in detail. The same with fretting, some had good camera angles, others not.

I also thought the structure was not well thought out. At first I liked that you chose from a matrix of expertise levels and genres, but I didn't find what I expected within those selections. After a while I had trouble navigating, I wasn't able to find or access lessons I had seen before. Maybe that was a limitation built in to the trial version.

Although it looked polished and well done at first, I pretty quickly found it frustrating.

I felt the same, and it was kind of clunky to navigate too,

I've taken to a mantra of 15 minutes of fun a day as a commitment, and try to learn a new riff, rather than 'practise' scales and the like,

I'm finding myself sticking to that much more, can see improvement, and am having fun at the same time

[jtcnj]

I signed up for the Fenderplay free trial, made a user, looked it over, then forgot all about it.

I need to take real lessons from a guitar playing nun who will smack me with a ruler (not on the hands please) to help correct my bad habits.
I am afraid however, that so much of my playing consists of bad habits, I might have to quit all together.

I find myself practicing / repeating the many portions of songs or riffs I have learned that I just cant play quite fluently or without flubs (yet).
Lately its Black Dog, Peace of Mind, and Mississippi Queen to name a few.