The way that most people learn to play the electric guitar has changed completely over the last 25 years due to the internet. Up until the late 90s, you had three options, work everything out for yourself, which was incredibly difficult, learn from a book, again not easy, or get yourself a guitar teacher or someone who could play to some degree to teach you.
But now there are so many more options available, making it easier than ever to learn to play the instrument. However, it isn’t all good news, and there are many pitfalls that a beginner guitarist could fall into due to the amount of information available.
Let’s start on a positive, it has never been easier to teach yourself to play the guitar as long as you follow some basic guidelines. The number of online courses, websites containing accurate song tabs, YouTube videos, and remote guitar teachers grows by the day. It’s just a case of choosing the way you want to learn and sticking to it. So, let’s take a look at each of these routes in a bit more detail…
Online Courses
Online courses are easily one of the best ways to teach yourself to play the guitar. There are a huge number of options, at various prices, either a one-off course fee or a monthly subscription. Simply search for ‘Online Guitar Course’ and you will have no end of options.
It’s then just a case of choosing the course you think is most suitable for your current skill level - beginner, intermediate, etc. and the type of music you want to play on the guitar - rock, blues, pop, country, metal, etc.
The course will then take you through a set curriculum which should teach you the basics plus more of whatever style you choose at whatever level you are at. It’s important to stick to the curriculum and complete the course, but that’s where it can get difficult because there are so many other platforms trying to get your guitar-playing attention such as YouTube and other social media. You need to try and avoid these for now because they are just random distractions that could make you lose focus on your goal. So, try and stick to whatever online course you choose and complete it.
The problem with courses is that they are a one-size-fits-all solution. Everyone who takes the course follows the same set of lessons and learns the same songs, riffs, solos, etc. There is no focus on what a particular guitarist wants to learn, you just have to learn whatever the next stage is, regardless of whether you enjoy it or want to play it. Pupils can also suffer from a lack of motivation, you pay your money, get access to the course, and then you are basically on your own to go through it as you wish in any time scale you want. No one is encouraging you or correcting your mistakes.
Quality Guitar Tab Websites
Another way to learn the guitar is by using one of the guitar tab websites such as Guitar Pro, Songsterr, or Ultimate Guitar. They all have basic access with has limited features or you can pay for a monthly or annual subscription to get full access.
On the whole, they are excellent, especially Guitar Pro and Songsterr. So, if there’s a song you want to play, simply type it into the search tab, and away you go.
The problem with these sites is that there is no one curating what you should be learning and guiding you on what songs are too difficult for you at your current stage of skill development. So, you could choose a song because you love it, but get completely discouraged because it is far too hard to play at the moment. Some of the sites do rate the songs for difficulty, but the system isn’t perfect, I’ve seen songs that I would consider easy for beginners rated as intermediate, and hard-to-play songs rated as relatively easy.
YouTube Videos
If you want to learn to play guitar for free, YouTube has to be the go-to. It’s actually difficult to think of a song that some Guitar YouTuber hasn’t made a tutorial on. So, all the information you could possibly need is there with a simple search.
However, there are two major problems with teaching yourself to play electric guitar using YouTube. The first is accuracy, anyone can start a channel and upload a video of how to play a certain song. But are they playing it properly? Maybe, but in my experience, there are a lot more videos on YouTube teaching you how to play a song incorrectly than correctly. Most videos are basically correct, but they miss out on the intricacies that make a song sound ‘right’. My favorite example is ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana which is taught by hundreds of YouTubers, but how many of them start the riff with an upstroke, like Kurt did? Not many.
I am not saying that there are no good guitar teachers on YouTube, there are, Paul Davids, Music is Win, Tim Pierce, and The Art of Guitar are just four that instantly come to mind. However, even these great channels full of excellent, accurate lessons come with a problem. And it’s the same one we’ve already discussed. You are just learning random information from various videos in no particular order with no clear focus, accountability, or someone to guide you when you go astray.
Remote Guitar Teachers
And that brings us nicely to what I think is the best way to learn to play electric guitar online, with a remote guitar teacher. Before I get into the positives and negatives of getting yourself an online guitar teacher, I should add that I am a little biased because I am one.
I have been teaching face-to-face and online for the past 30-odd years, and since the rise of the internet have been getting more and more disillusioned guitarists wanting lessons because they have tried the methods I have already gone through and experienced the problems I’ve described.
Good online teachers will guide and encourage you on every step of your guitar-playing journey. I’m a great believer in the fact that a pupil will only learn what they want to learn when they want to learn it. Therefore, if a pupil loves a certain band and needs to learn a certain chord, then it’s the teacher's job to suggest a song by that band that the pupil will enjoy playing that contains the chord they need to conquer next. Learning then becomes fun, as opposed to learning some 60-year-old folk song, which the pupil has never heard of, that happens to contain the same chord.
Good teachers provide encouragement, correct mistakes as you make them, focus you toward your final goal as a guitarist, and will stop you from getting in a rut with your playing (or get you out of a rut if you are currently in one).
However, there is a downside, it is the most expensive way to learn guitar online. The average cost for remote guitar teachers is currently around $25 per hour, with highly experienced teachers asking more than double that. It’s expensive, but it will get you to your goal of being an excellent guitar player a lot quicker than flipping between YouTube videos, getting frustrated because everything is too hard to play, and wondering if it is really worth all the effort.
If you’re looking for a quality online guitar teacher you can either contact me directly via email to book your free first trial lesson ( ffred911@gmail.com ) or check out SuperProf for lots of other online guitar teachers.
Wrapping it Up
There you have it, the 4 best ways to learn electric guitar online. Only you can decide which one is right for you. Lots of beginners have managed to become very good players using any of these methods, it all depends on your personality, motivation, and how you learn new skills.
And the best thing is that you can usually try any of them for free for a limited time to see what works for you. Lots of online courses have a free trial period, the tab sites offer free limited access, YouTube is always free, and a lot of teachers offer the first lesson for free, So, try whichever method you think will work for you, and remember that if that doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean that another method won’t, keep the motivation up and you will master the guitar.
The very best of luck on the exciting journey ahead!
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