3 Best Online Guitar Lessons 2023 – No Fluff

When you search for the best online guitar lessons, you'll likely find articles explaining how there are 9, 11, 15 or more good options. A lot of that is filler.

In reality, if you really want the best, there are only 3 lessons that will turn you into a good guitarist. Here they are.

Guitar Tricks – Best Overall

If you’ve been keeping your peepers open, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen commercials for Guitar Tricks. The platform has had some clever marketing campaigns that could make anyone consider trying out its lessons.

Unlike most things that have advertisement hype, Guitar Tricks actually delivers on its promises. Furthermore, Guitar Tricks is a platform that is suitable for both complete beginners as well as those intermediates who are beginning to specialize their skills.

Let’s take a closer look at everything that Guitar Tricks has to offer. You’ll begin to ascertain the kind of experience you’ll have when using this platform.

What Are Lessons On Guitar Tricks Like?

Here's a sample lesson:

Taking lessons on Guitar Tricks is very similar to other platforms in the sense that all lessons are presented in video format. However, Guitar Tricks does go to great lengths to add more value than just videos.

All videos are typically shot in the highest resolution possible so that you can clearly see what is going on at all times. Plus, Guitar Tricks even lets you adjust the playing speed and create loops within the video to help you digest difficult passages much easier.

Why Is Guitar Tricks Perfect For Beginners?

One of the biggest reasons that Guitar Tricks is best for beginners over any other platform is its guided learning map. If you’ve bought a guitar but never learned anything, Guitar Tricks’s Core Learning System will guide you through the fundamentals.

This section of guided lessons features 2 levels specifically dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of guitar. Each level is divided into smaller chapters, with lessons done in a way that builds upon that which was taught in previous lessons.

It’s clear that Guitar Tricks put some time and thought into developing the ideal learning chronology to develop a guitarist from day 1. At the very beginning, you’ll start out learning how to tune your guitar, how to play different chords, and how to transition between them.

After that comes some rhythmic concepts, specifically related to strumming and practicing to a metronome. But, don’t automatically assume that you’ll be stuck in this mode of learning for too long.

In just the 3rd chapter of the first level of fundamentals, Guitar Tricks will begin guiding you through both the major scale and the minor pentatonic. This is huge because it displays that Guitar Tricks takes a balanced approach toward teaching both rhythm and lead concepts.

Once you have these fundamental skills down, Guitar Tricks will teach you some riffs to add to your bag of licks. You’ll also begin learning different chords within certain musical keys, bestowing music theory in a way that isn’t boring.

After you’ve made it through the first Fundamentals level, the 2nd level greatly expands on what you just learned. So, not only will you learn in a linear fashion, but it leaves the guesswork and confusion of what you should be studying out of the equation.

By the end of the Fundamentals courses, Guitar Tricks will have you playing barre chords, scales, and a few songs. You can be sure that you will be putting your time to good use, with results to show for your hard work.

Not to mention, both introductory levels actually have 2 entire courses taught by different instructors. Should one’s teaching style not suit your fancy, you can always try the other out to see if their personality is more enjoyable to you.

Not only that but Guitar Tricks also has a forum filled with other guitarists in the same boat. You can converse with the platform’s community to get feedback on any questions you might have.

Why Is Guitar Tricks Good For Intermediate Guitarists?

Whether you’re a beginner who advanced through the Guitar Tricks fundamental courses, or you’re an intermediate with fundamental knowledge, Guitar Tricks is still a worthwhile option. After all, the aim of the platform is designed to get you from zero skill to actually having usable knowledge.

What’s great about Guitar Tricks is that it gives you a choice of the lesson track you wish to pursue. So, once you’re through with the fundamentals, you can begin to specialize your skills according to your desires.

There are 4 total categories you can choose from, each with 2 levels of lessons divided into chronological chapters. You’ll be able to specialize in the styles of:

• Country
• Rock
• Blues
• Acoustic

Does choosing a style mean that you’re limited to only learning that style? Absolutely not, as Guitar Tricks gives you the freedom and flexibility to learn what you want, even if it’s all of the styles.

Each of these style categories will greatly expand your knowledge and skills. In fact, you’ll be surprised at how fast you progress if you can maintain a regular practice routine with the videos.

By the end of your style of choice, Guitar Tricks will have you playing guitar solos and implementing different techniques. You’ll also learn a good amount about the different subgenres that exist within that style.

Needless to say, once you’ve made it through the Core Learning System, you’ll be ready for the stage. That doesn’t mean you’ll be an advanced player, but you will be primed to specialize further in whatever path you may choose.

Do keep in mind that your learning is not purely limited to following a guided pathway. Guitar Tricks offers a number of different lessons that specialize in different concepts such as:

• Techniques
• Artist studies
• Chords/Scales
• Practice
• Gear
• Genre-specific lessons

Does Guitar Tricks Offer Song Lessons?

Learning songs is one of the most popular things for a blossoming guitarist to take part in. After all, it is incredibly important to be able to put the skills and knowledge you’ve learned to practice and good use.

With over 800 songs, Guitar Tricks has one of the biggest libraries of song lessons available on the internet. These all vary greatly in difficulty so that there is something for everybody.

This diversity is reflected in the number of different musical genres showcased in the song lesson library. All of the following genres have songs available in the Guitar Tricks library:

• Jazz
• Surf
• Classical
• Bluegrass
• Blues
• Pop
• Rockabilly
• Country
• Funk/Soul
• Acoustic
• Metal
• Rock

It’s important to note that these are not obscure songs by any means. Rather, the songs on Guitar Tricks are some of the most well-known within their respective genres, once again, ensuring that there’s something for everyone.

Is Guitar Tricks Good For Advanced Guitar Players?

So far, we’ve covered why Guitar Tricks is such a great choice for beginners and intermediate guitarists. What about those who would be considered advanced players?

The answer to this really depends on what the advanced player knows and what they don’t know. As each person is completely different, it’s really up to them to determine whether this platform is suitable.

Generally, to be an advanced player, learning fundamentals and specialization to specific styles has already occurred. However, as we’re all humans, there can be instances where a player might have a gap in their knowledge.

Something like this might be suitable for bridging that knowledge gap. It could also be a secret weapon in learning different genre styles you aren’t specialized in to add more flavors to what you already play.

Plus, if your song repertoire isn’t very deep, the song library on Guitar Tricks has plenty to utilize. But, for the most part, if you’re looking to continue specializing in a specific direction, Guitar Tricks might not be the most practical option.

Is Guitar Tricks Worth The Money?

We’ve gone to great lengths to highlight the many excellent aspects of why Guitar Tricks is worth your time. But is it worth your money when compared to other lesson platforms found on the internet?

Guitar Tricks is a subscription-based service that charges a monthly fee for access to its database of lessons. The monthly price is fairly comparable to (or even less than) what it would cost to take 1 in-person lesson from an actual instructor.

That fact alone makes Guitar Tricks worth checking out at the very least. You could easily learn in 1 month what it would cost you 3-4x the amount to learn from an actual instructor in person.

Plus, depending on your affordability, Guitar Tricks does offer an annual membership at a reduced monthly cost.

Guitar Tricks does have a 60-day money-back guarantee on its annual membership should you find that you aren’t enjoying the platform’s services. What that means is that membership is essentially risk-free for 2 months.

If you’re still unsure, Guitar Tricks does offer a free trial period so you can get a feel for its platform. Discounts are regularly offered if you need a better incentive to sign up to Guitar Tricks.

Summary Of Guitar Tricks

If you don’t have access to an in-person instructor in your area, Guitar Tricks makes for a fine, cost-friendly solution. The amount of information contained on this single platform is enough to get any guitarist up to a working musician’s skill level.

Most guitarists these days tend to go the self-teaching route, partially because the internet has so many resources available. Unfortunately, what ends up happening is that beginner guitarists aren’t always exactly sure what they should be working on.

In fact, sometimes, they often begin learning things beyond their own skill level and ignore the important fundamentals. Guitar Tricks provides a guided, linear approach to learning the guitar that prevents time from being wasted.

You’ll not only learn the fundamentals here, but you’ll be able to begin specializing in the types of genres that you’re drawn to. Plus, there’s a massive song library to help keep you busy and put your knowledge to the test.

This platform is primarily aimed at beginners and intermediates. Advanced guitarists with a high degree of specialization will likely fare well on other platforms.

How Many Instructors Have Lessons On Guitar Tricks?

One of the best things about Guitar Tricks is the fact that it has so many different instructors contributing lessons to its platform. Each instructor has their own unique specialization, which greatly enhances the material offered as each genre is taught by those who can be considered experts.

Currently, there are over 40 instructors on Guitar Tricks. Furthermore, the platform does offer live one-on-one lessons with some of these instructors for a reasonable one-time fee.

This fee does vary depending on the duration of the lesson as well as the instructor you choose.

Does Guitar Tricks Have Free Lessons?

Let’s face it, finding free guitar lessons on the internet isn’t exactly the most difficult thing in the world to accomplish. Simply searching the phrase in a search bar will result in innumerable lessons you could take without forking over a dime.

One of the things that often stand in the way of people trying out a guitar lesson platform is its price. Fortunately, Guitar Tricks does go the extra mile in offering some free lessons.

These free lessons are generally aimed at complete beginners who are working on their fundamentals. With that being said, working through these will give you an idea of how lesson videos on Guitar Tricks work, as well as the teaching style of certain instructors.

Some of the topics these free lessons cover include:

• Rhythmic concepts
• Strumming patterns
• Basic open chords
• Power chords
• Tutorial on practicing chords

Admittedly, working through these free lessons will only scratch the surface of what is actually available on Guitar Tricks. To make the most of the platform, it’s recommended to give a paid subscription a try.

TrueFire – Best Premium Lessons

TrueFire is one of the oldest names in the game when it comes to internet-based guitar lesson videos. Since 1999, TrueFire has been adding to its massive catalog of guitar lessons, all taught by industry professionals who are respected in their chosen genres.

If you’ve browsed YouTube’s section of guitar lessons, there’s a fair chance you’ve come across some of TrueFire’s videos. These masterclasses offer just a small taste of what TrueFire has available on its massive platform.

How Many Instructors Have Lessons On TrueFire?

TrueFire aims to be one of the most comprehensive databases of guitar lessons on the planet. The sheer number of instructors with courses on TrueFire is plenty enough evidence to support this.

There are well over 300 different instructors on TrueFire. What’s even better is that these instructors are likely names you’re familiar with as opposed to some random person you’ve never heard of before.

Have you ever wanted to take lessons from your favorite guitarists? Thanks to TrueFire’s partnerships with different guitarists, that dream can very well become a reality.

Some of the biggest names on TrueFire that have contributed lessons include:

• Brent Mason
• Steve Vai
• Andy Timmons
• Greg Koch
• Tommy Emmanuel
• Redd Volkaert
• Robben Ford
• Joe Bonamassa
• Larry Carlton
• JD Simo
• Dweezil Zappa

What’s so great about this is the fact that you get to learn the techniques behind these masters, from the masters themselves. Along with that, they’ll typically impart you with wisdom and insight into how they approach playing the guitar in different scenarios.

Does TrueFire Have Free Lessons?

While TrueFire is a premium platform, it does have over 6000 lessons that are available for free. However, one of the most regrettable aspects of its free lesson offerings is that they are not categorized in any sort of fashion.

Rather, you will have to employ the search bar to see if TrueFire has any free lessons covering the material you wish to learn. Fortunately, the platform does have a filter section allowing you to narrow your search query down by genre and skill level.

With that being said, TrueFire does actually have some entire courses that can be had entirely without any cost at all. We will touch on these courses in the following sections.

What Are Lessons On TrueFire Like?

Out of all the platforms on the internet, TrueFire seems to have taken the most effort in providing the best lesson experience. While not all of the videos on the platform are given equal treatment, all of the lessons from recent years typically have the same features.

One thing you can absolutely count on is the video quality being extremely excellent with the highest definition possible. Along with that, many TrueFire videos feature multiple camera angles focused from different points of view.

Being able to see from different angles ensures that you’ll get a clear view of both the picking hand and the fretting hand. This ability is crucial in understanding the small details in the mechanics of any techniques that you might choose to learn.

Furthermore, TrueFire video lessons offer the ability to change the speed of the playback as well as loop creation. Some videos even offer a virtual fretboard and tablature within the screen to display the notes being played.

If that all seems like quite a bit for a platform to offer, you’re certainly not wrong, but it doesn’t end there. The majority of the lessons on TrueFire offer supplemental material, allowing you to download and print the material learned in the lessons.

Being able to print the material means you won’t have to be on your computer in order to practice the lesson material.

Is TrueFire Good For Beginners?

If we’re going to be honest, TrueFire is not all that ideal for beginner guitarists. Though some resources are available for beginners, the courses are not as in-depth as what can be found on Guitar Tricks.

Plus, due to the massive number of offerings available on TrueFire, finding these lessons can be a little tricky if you’re not sure what to look for. However, if you click on the “Learning Paths” section on the website’s menu bar, you should find something similar to Guitar Trick’s offerings.

To be fair, offering guided, chronological guitar lessons that cover the fundamentals is not exactly TrueFire’s strong suit. But, what you will find in the “Learning Paths” section should be enough to jumpstart your education.

In this section, you’ll find a guided pathway tailored for styles in genres such as:

• Blues
• Jazz
• Acoustic
• Rock
• Country

You can even choose to learn the bass guitar in this fashion if you have an inclination toward the instrument.

At the current time of this writing, all of these courses are offered entirely for free. You will need to add it to your shopping cart and “purchase” it (for no cost) in order to have access to its lessons.

While these guided courses aren’t exactly as in-depth as Guitar Tricks, TrueFire does offer course recommendations along the way. These recommendations are given to coincide with the material you’re learning so you can attain a deeper understanding of any topic of your choosing.

Is TrueFire Good For Intermediate Guitarists?

If you’re somebody who has the fundamentals down and is beginning to specialize in their skills, TrueFire might be recommendable. All of this really depends on where you are at in your education and whether you have any gaps in your knowledge of the fundamentals.

If it was me, I would probably consider learning everything I possibly could from something like Guitar Tricks before coming here. Otherwise, you run the risk of indecision and existential crisis due to option overload.

However, if you’d consider yourself confident in the fundamentals, TrueFire is a great place to expand that knowledge. Plus, you’ll really get to reign in the benefits of this platform’s excellent offerings.

To find a course, all you need to do is hover over TrueFire’s “Courses” menu, which will act as a drop bar displaying all the different offerings. You can choose from a huge number of different genres or opt to focus on specific techniques and concepts.

TrueFire makes it easy to take intermediate lessons by offering a skill-level filter in the search function. Some of the genres covered on TrueFire include:

• Jazz
• Smooth jazz
• Bebop
• Americana
• Jazz blues
• Blues
• Country
• Rock
• Acoustic
• Acoustic blues
• Metal/Hard rock
• Funk/R&B/Soul
• Fingerstyle
• Blues rock
• Rockabilly

If you do feel like you have some gaps in your knowledge, or you want to focus on learning certain techniques, TrueFire has you covered. It could be argued that TrueFire probably has a lesson for just about every minute technique you could ever wish to learn.

Some of the topic-based lessons offered on TrueFire focus on subjects such as:

• Chords/Progressions
• Slide guitar
• Alternate tunings
• Scales/Modes
• Rhythm/Lead
• Techniques
• Music theory
• Improvisation
• Exercises

Again, TrueFire does offer filters that allow you to narrow down the search results to what you’re specifically looking for. Don’t forget to utilize this unless you don’t mind squandering your time.

Is TrueFire Good For Advanced Guitar Players?

By now, you’ve got a pretty good taste of how comprehensive TrueFire’s catalog of lessons is. While intermediates can fare well here, it’s the advanced players that will likely reap the most benefit.

If you’ve ever wanted to incorporate a specific guitarist’s style into your own, TrueFire gives you the best chances. In fact, you could essentially learn these styles directly from those specific guitarists themselves (as long as they’ve provided lessons, that is).

And really, that’s the beauty of TrueFire. It helps to demystify the concepts and techniques that our heroes use by allowing them to teach and explain them in depth.

I personally have taken a number of different courses through TrueFire over the years. My favorite has been Redd Volkaert’s course, “Redd Hot Guitar,” in which Redd teaches his own techniques while explaining his approach to the instrument.

For the most part, this is pretty much on par with what you’ll find throughout the platform. There’s no false advertising, you get precisely what each course offers, whether it be focused on specific techniques or a sort of artist series masterclass.

Make no mistake about it, many of these lessons will be far beyond what’s appropriate for beginners and some intermediates. But when you’re ready to add elements of your favorite influences into your own playing, TrueFire almost cannot be beaten.

Outside of the courses, TrueFire has some excellent resources available to up your improvisation game. These resources are mostly centered around the concept of jam tracks, which is probably something you’re already familiar with.

How intensive and on-hands you wish to get with TrueFire’s jam tracks is entirely up to you. Basic recordings are offered (200 of which are free), which are almost no different than what you might find on YouTube.

However, TrueFire also offers other jam tracks that allow you to actually control the mix and volume of each instrument in the recording. This means you can isolate specific instruments or remove instruments altogether.

The idea behind these interactive jam tracks is to simulate what it is like in an actual jamming scenario. TrueFire does offer chord charts and lead sheets with these jam tracks.

Does TrueFire Offer Song Lessons?

If TrueFire was to have a weakness, it would have to be in the number of song lessons it has on its platform. At the current time of this writing, only 65 songs are available in this specific section of TrueFire’s lesson library.

All of the songs offered are quite popular and come from either blues, rock, country, or jazz. Unfortunately, it may leave a little bit to be desired for somebody whose main focus is learning songs.

Is TrueFire Worth The Money?

While TrueFire does offer some free courses, it is a paid, subscription-based platform. In terms of pricing, its monthly cost is relatively comparable to that of Guitar Tricks, if not a small bit more expensive.

Like Guitar Tricks, TrueFire does offer the option of purchasing an annual subscription, which adds a massive discount. At the time of this writing, the annual subscription receives a $100 discount from the list price.

Of course, if you’re like me, you might find TrueFire’s 3rd option to be of more value. Instead of opting for a subscription, TrueFire does allow you to purchase courses outright.

Some of these courses can be pricey, but TrueFire frequently runs promotional sales events that offer some serious discounts. By purchasing the course, you’ll have lifetime access to it in the “My Courses” section of the user profile dashboard.

This means you can take your sweet time learning and absorbing the material without having to worry about a recurring cost. It almost makes the most sense going this route considering how dense many of the courses here actually are.

But, no matter which route you choose to go, TrueFire is well worth the money spent. The amount of material available at your fingertips for one price is a little insane.

Summary Of TrueFire

TrueFire is one of those lesson resources that will make you feel like a kid in a candy shop. There are seriously so many things offered on this platform that you will likely never get through all of the material in one lifetime.

With that being said, having this many options could make you a little too optimistic about how much you want to learn. Having this much information available in one place is enough to make anyone fall into the trap of purchasing more courses than they can realistically finish.

TrueFire is undoubtedly one of the absolute best resources for guitar lessons to be found on the internet. But, because it isn’t exactly tailored to beginners, it can’t be recommended for everybody.

This resource really excels at providing intermediate and advanced players with skills, techniques, and concepts. Better yet, the majority of these courses are taught by some of the most respected guitarists in the industry.

Out of all the resources on the internet, TrueFire has the biggest collection of famous, well-known guitarists. You’re bound to find lessons from somebody whose guitar playing you admire.

And really, that’s part of the beauty of TrueFire as a platform. While they offer the most in-depth intermediate and advanced lessons on the web, TrueFire’s purpose goes beyond that.

Much like ornithologists collect recordings of the songs of different birds, TrueFire is documenting the different musical dialects of different players. 50 years from now, we will all be praising TrueFire’s tireless efforts at building such a detailed database for this kind of documentation.

Plus, TrueFire’s offerings provide opportunities to utilize knowledge in simulated real-world jam settings. If you’re willing to put in the time and practice, TrueFire’s lessons will skyrocket your guitar skills.

Furthermore, the option to go with either a paid subscription or to purchase courses outright is a definite added bonus.

JustinGuitar – Best Free Lessons

In its 20th year as a guitar lesson resource, JustinGuitar remains one of the absolute best free resources on the internet. In fact, there’s a good chance you may have taken a lesson from JustinGuitar on YouTube at some point in your journey.

But can a free resource really offer as much as what a premium, subscription-based service can offer? When it comes to JustinGuitar, the answer might actually surprise you.

How Many Instructors Have Lessons On JustinGuitar?

Perhaps the biggest drawback to JustinGuitar is the fact that all of the lessons are taught by one instructor. However, Justin Sandercoe (the owner of the platform) has a sort of universal teaching method that anybody can appreciate.

This does present its challenges, specifically when it comes to specializing in certain genres. One person’s expertise can only cover so much ground and, as such, you will be limited to what Justin’s personal expertise covers.

What Are Lessons On JustinGuitar Like?

For a free resource, JustinGuitar’s lessons are actually quite comprehensive. The lessons offered here have basic production value (despite using high-definition cameras and the like).

Compared to TrueFire and Guitar Tricks, JustinGuitar falls short primarily because multiple camera angles typically are not offered in one window. Rather, you’ll be limited to whichever angle Justin chooses to be for any specific moment in time.

Because JustinGuitar utilizes YouTube as a video host, you will probably be familiar with the user interface for each video. This means you won’t be able to create video loops but you will be able to adjust the playback speed.

Plus, each lesson is filled to the brim with supplemental material, including a full written transcription of the lesson itself. You’ll also be provided with chord charts, tablature, and anything else that correlates with the lesson you’re taking.

Why Is JustinGuitar Perfect For Beginners?

If paying for guitar lessons is out of the question, JustinGuitar is the most ideal resource for beginner guitarists. Anybody who has never played the guitar will be able to consider themselves a competent guitarist after working through the resource’s provided lessons.

What makes this so great for beginners is the fact that all of the lessons are organized in a chronological format. This means you’ll be learning in a linear fashion, building skills upon previously learned knowledge along the guided pathway.

JustinGuitar has lessons divided into different “Grades,” with the beginner lessons spanning Grades 1-3. If this seems basic to you, once you click on a grade, you’ll quickly see how much is actually available here

Each grade is divided into separate modules, all of which contain individual lessons. Some of these modules can last well beyond a few hours of material depending on the module being studied.

Organizing the lessons in this format is incredibly convenient in terms of time efficiency and for staving off self-doubt. You will always be aware of what you’re going to be learning, leaving no room for questions.

These grades will teach you all of the fundamental aspects that every beginner guitarist should know, including concepts such as:

• Chords and progressions
• Practice
• Strumming patterns
• Essential music theory
• Rhythm concepts
• Exercises

What's even better is that JustinGuitar has an entire beginner’s course dedicated to teaching the guitar left-handed. In this course, Justin essentially taught himself how to play left-handed (as a right-handed guitarist) using the same lessons he taught playing right-handed.

You won’t find anything of that nature on any other platform, even if you did pay money for the lessons.

Why Is JustinGuitar Good For Intermediate Guitarists?

Once you’ve progressed beyond the beginner grades, JustinGuitar has 3 more grades dedicated specifically to intermediate lessons. This continues in the same guided format as the beginner lessons, allowing you to learn in confidence knowing you’re not missing out on any key fundamentals.

Again, there is a massive amount of lessons provided in these grades, covering topics such as:

• Barre chords
• Transcription of guitar solos
• Mastering rhythm concepts
• Fingerstyle folk techniques
• CAGED system
• Playing guitar solos
• Jazz concepts
• Blues concepts
• Funk concepts

Without a doubt, once you’ve made it through these grades, you’ll be feeling pretty confident as a guitarist. You’ll have a firm grasp on the fundamentals and you’ll likely have an idea of which musical direction(s) you’d like to specialize in.

While most of the website is organized in a linear fashion, you are not limited to having to follow this path. You could opt to take lessons that cover specific topics, such as:

• Arpeggios
• Gear
• Chords
• Scales/Modes
• Ear training
• Essential knowledge
• Songwriting
• Transcription
• Recording/Production
• Music theory
• Technique

Having this option is especially helpful if you’re already well-versed in the fundamentals but have a few knowledge gaps. You can learn what you need without having to go through the guided process of learning what you may already know.

Is JustinGuitar Good For Advanced Guitar Players?

At the moment, JustinGuitar’s resources for advanced guitarists are rather slim. Like the beginner and intermediate grades, the advanced level is proposed to have 3 dedicated grades.

However, at the time of this writing, only 1 advanced grade is available, with the others still in development. But if you’ve progressed through all of JustinGuitar’s skill level grades up until this point, it’s recommended to at least learn what is currently available.

The reason for this is that these advanced lessons still follow the linear chronology of JustinGuitar’s guided pathway. You will be building on the materials you learned in the intermediate grades and expanding your knowledge to start putting these concepts to use.

Some of the concepts currently available include:

• Mixing rhythm and lead
• Playing blues guitar solos over changes
• Incorporating jazz elements into blues phrasing
• Foundational jazz chord voicings and progressions
• Jazz chord harmony
• Walking bass lines in jazz comping
• Jazz lead guitar basics

Don’t be tempted to skip forward to these lessons if you haven’t spent the time learning the fundamentals. You will more than likely be lost when trying to apply the concepts outside of the lesson.

However, for any advancing guitarist finding their own unique voice on the instrument, this advanced grade serves as an excellent primer for more complex concepts.

Does JustinGuitar Offer Song Lessons?

While the guided lesson portion of JustinGuitar is the platform’s primary bread and butter, song lessons are available. In fact, for a resource built from material contributed by a single person, JustinGuitar’s song library is actually quite impressive.

At the time of this writing, there are currently over 730 song lessons from nearly 330 different artists available on JustinGuitar. This number continues to grow as Justin Sandercoe regularly adds new song transcriptions to the platform.

If the limitations of Justin’s expertise are evident anywhere, it’s mostly with regard to the variety of song genres these songs come from. The majority of JustinGuitar’s song lessons are rock and pop songs, though songs from nearly every decade are featured.

If there’s a song that you want to learn that isn’t available, you can submit it for a community vote. The website has a leaderboard with songs that people have requested, with the most requests generally initiating a song lesson.

JustinGuitar probably isn’t going to be the place where you will learn all of your favorite metal songs. With that said, Sandercoe does seem to go the extra mile in providing variety for all tastes and skill levels.

The songs offered here do come from a wide variety of different genres, including:

• Grunge
• Country
• Indie
• Funk
• Christmas
• Blues
• Alternative
• Pop
• Metal
• Jazz
• Folk
• Soul
• Rock
• Rock ’n’ roll
• Reggae
• Punk

Plus, if you tune into his YouTube channel, you can often join him in transcribing these songs note-for-note. This gives you a guided firsthand experience in understanding the laborious nature of the process, as well as the many benefits that come from it.

Is JustinGuitar Worth The Money?

Considering that JustinGuitar is absolutely free to use, it is by far the platform offering the most value per cost. JustinGuitar could easily charge the same amount as GuitarTricks and the platform would still be worth consideration.

However, it is the no-cost aspect that really makes JustinGuitar worth everybody’s time. It could be argued that you would make the most use of your time working through everything offered here before spending any sum of money anywhere else.

Considering everything that is offered here, JustinGuitar is a true blessing for anyone wanting to learn the guitar. Here, money does not have to be a deciding factor in whether you learn and progress on the instrument.

Summary Of JustinGuitar

There’s one thing that will become glaringly obvious once you take some moments to peruse JustinGuitar’s website. This resource is the work and result of one person’s passion for teaching the guitar.

The fact that a resource like this exists on the internet is absolutely miraculous. It’s also a breath of fresh air in a climate where everything on the internet is designed for profit.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some premium lessons available on JustinGuitar, because there are. However, the fact that anyone from any walk of life can begin to master the guitar for free is mind-blowing.

Justin Sandercoe has made it his life’s mission to make sure that anyone who is willing has access to the knowledge they need. He’s also made it ridiculously convenient by organizing his lessons into a guided pathway for all to follow.

Plus, if you don't have access to a computer, JustinGuitar has a mobile app that puts all of the platform’s resources in the palm of your hand. Can you really ask for much more than that?

JustinGuitar has a phenomenal community surrounding its platform, and it's clear that this community is what keeps the platform thriving.

You will not find another lesson resource that is this comprehensive and organized without it costing some money. If you find yourself unbothered by Justin’s teaching style, it is seriously worth your time to learn from this resource.

After all, why pay to learn something when you could learn the same exact thing for free? With JustinGuitar, you can learn the fundamentals of all skill levels while getting a taste for different styles within different music genres.

Top Online Guitar Lessons, Final Thoughts

With all these great online guitar lessons, there really has never been a better time in history to begin learning the guitar. With as many resources that are made available to anyone willing to learn, there simply is no excuse for not progressing. 

So, take this as your cosmic sign that it’s time to pull the trigger and build up your chops and core knowledge. Spending even just a little bit of time on any of these platforms will do far more than waiting for the perfect time to get started.