The BEST Online Guitar Lessons (Complete Buyers Guide)

Disclaimer: This is a professional review and some of the links within may generate commissions for the authors at no additional cost to you.

If you want to learn how to play guitar, online lessons are your best bet. They've come a long way over the years, and in this complete buyers guide we'll show you the top guitar training platforms out there for every need.

These platforms work great for both children and adults and are the perfect options for beginners, intermediate and even seasoned students.

But not every option is good for every person...

You really need to make the correct choice to maximize your learning experience. Depending on your learning style, you may do better with one learning platform or another.

To ensure you actually walk away knowing how to play guitar effectively, choose wisely.

Read on to find out which choice is best for you...

Here's Our Picks for Top Guitar Lessons:

Best Overall Learning Platform: Guitar Tricks
Most Enjoyable Learning Experience: Fender Play
Best Private Teachers Online: LessonWithYou

Each of these platforms offers students something unique, and they are all on top of their game. You won't go wrong by choosing any one.

But you should select who you learn with based on your preferred learning style.

Below, we'll break down why these choices are our top 3, what's included and who each one is best for.

The Best Overall Online Guitar Lessons Platform - #1 Choice

Guitar Tricks

is a veteran music lesson platform and one of the most comprehensive libraries of video tutorials on the internet - over 11,000 different videos.

They have acoustic and electric guitar lessons on literally everything you could possibly want to know from genres and styles, to pro skills, techniques and even artist deep-dives.

And they also have an incredible song library, so once you've got the basics you can dive into all of your favorite popular guitar music. You can learn the greats, including The Beatles, Metallica, Jimi Hendrix and so many more.

Quick Overview:

Guitar Tricks Cost/Price: $19.95 USD/month (Get a 2 Week Free Trial !)
Over 11,000 acoustic + electric guitar video tutorials
Guided "Core Learning System" for beginners
Learn by genre/style, skill, artist, technique, etc.
Huge song library (500+ songs) and hundreds of lick/riff lessons
Active community forum, blog and optional 1-on-1 coaching for extra fee
60 Day Money Back Guarantee
*Best choice for MOST people who want to learn guitar*

What Makes Guitar Tricks the Best?

Beyond how comprehensive the site is, the best part of Guitar Tricks is the "Core Learning System."

With so many different lessons, it's easy to get overwhelmed and paralyzed by the sheer amount of choice.

But the Core Learning System is the site's hand-held and guided approach for complete beginners. You start at A, and work your way to Z. By the end of the 4 modules you'll have a pretty solid grasp of guitar.

This guided approach for beginners, plus the thousands of lessons beyond the Core Learning System (not to mention the many extras included with membership) makes Guitar Tricks the best online lesson choice for most people.

Try Out Guitar Tricks Risk Free Today or Learn More!

The Runner Up: Most Enjoyable Learning Experience

Fender Play

Fender Play is nowhere near as comprehensive as Guitar Tricks, and it is a newer player in the lessons market, but it can still hold it's own.

The site has a very similar hand-held and guided approach for beginners - called the "Learning Path." It consists of 4 or 5 modules that walks you through all of the basics of being able to play acoustic, electric or even bass.

Fender is a legendary name in the world of guitars and offer some of the best equipment and gear out there.

But Fender Play is more of an add-on to the company - not a main focus. And so it doesn't have the biggest song or lesson library, like Guitar Tricks above. It's very basic in nature, and not great for intermediate or advanced players.

It is, however, a very enjoyable learning experience.

Quick Overview:

$9.99 USD/month or $99 USD/year (Get a 14 Day Free Trial )
Learn electric, acoustic, bass or ukulele
Short, easy-to-follow and engaging video lessons and guided "learning path" for beginners
Great Song Library (not as many songs as Guitar Tricks, but more modern ones)
Learn various styles/genres/artists/skills or deep dive on one with specific "Collections"
Much more limited, less robust platform than Guitar Tricks
*Best choice for complete beginner with short attention span or focus*

What Makes Fender Play Most Enjoyable?

The biggest downside to Guitar Tricks is that some of the lessons are longer and drawn-out. This can be an issue for some people (like me) who have short attention spans or problems with focus.

Fender Play's lessons, on the other hand, are very short, snappy and enjoyable to go through. Each video is only a couple of minutes, explaining a concept and then you get right to playing and practicing.

And that means you quickly and pretty easily work your way down the Learning Path - and thus you quickly start seeing yourself making progress.

That helps a lot to make you want to keep going.

Try Out Fender Play Risk Free Today or Learn More!

Best Private Online Guitar Teachers (Live, 1-on-1 Classes)

Live Online Music Lesson

If you're the type of student that does best when working with a teacher (and havingoutside accountability) don't worry there is the PERFECT choice for you.

LessonWithYou is a company that offers expert music teachers for one-on-one lessons with students at any level.

It's true that Guitar Tricks offers 1-on-1 coaching as well, but it's best used for one or two sessions to work on a specific thing. If you want a dedicated teacher that will remember your progress and help you from start to end, LessonWithYou is the better choice by far.

Quick Overview:

Price: $30 - $55 USD per lesson (Get a FREE 30 Minute Trial Lesson )
Lessons are 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 60 minutes in length
Weekly lessons subscription (can cancel at any time - no committments)
Live video lessons over Zoom software with a private guitar teacher
Offer personalized instruction for both adults and children at all skill levels
$5 discount per lesson for additional students in the household taking lessons
*Best choice for students who want a private teacher and outside accountability*

What Makes LessonWithYou Best for Private Guitar Lessons?

Besides the fact they have some extremely knowledgable instructors (and all are certified as experts in their chosen instruments), the entire process is very easy (and effective) to get started with.

They don't just throw you with any old teacher and hope for the best. They tailor your learning experience to your goals and hopes for learning to play music. Someone from LessonWithYou will call you directly for a conversation about how (and what) you'd like to learn.

It's a very personalized experience, and not at all cold and anonymous like much of the internet.

And the lessons work pretty well, considering they're done via Zoom software. You can see/hear them clearly and they can see/hear you clearly. Any lesson material the teacher has can be "screen-shared" during and emailed to you after the lesson.

And it can even end up being much cheaper than in-person lessons locally for some people.

Try Out LessonWithYou Risk Free Today or Learn More!

What to Look for When Choosing Guitar Lessons

The biggest thing to look out for when choosing what online guitar lessons to take isyour personal learning style.

Learning an instrument is a lot of practice and work - so you want to choose a platform that will help you stay engaged best and keep you motivated.

If you have problems with focus/motivation, take that into account. If you work better when you have to be accountable to someone else, take that into account. If you're a self-learner that wants to explore everything in-depth, choose a platform that is best for that.

Other Things to Consider

Another thing to look out for is the comprehensiveness of the platform - how much does it actually teach you? Some platforms are extremely basic and not worth the money. Others are SO huge and overwhelming that you end up getting analysis paralysis.

Who the teachers/instructors are is also a very important factor to consider. You want to make sure the people teaching you how to play are literal experts in their fields. Some platforms (like Guitar Tricks) may feature world famous guitarists for some lessons. That can be really useful.

But again, the most important thing to look out for is your own learning style. That's paramount above everything else.

Benefits of Taking Online Guitar Lessons

There are many benefits to teaching yourself guitar online.

In general, learning how to play music (on any instrument) helps with brain health so much. You start to develop new neurons and learning other things and processing other information becomes easier.

You also get a lot of mental health benefits from learning to play an instrument. Sitting down to play music has been shown to help relax people and even help army vets escape depression .

Taking your lessons online is also a great way to save some money. Music lessons can be expensive. But taking your classes on the internet offers a cost-effective way to get into a new hobby/passion.

Types of Online Guitar Lessons

There are 3 main types of lessons you can take when learning guitar online.

Some platforms out there make you purchase individual courses on different subjects. These are often very in-depth, but can become expensive after a while.

The best option (in my opinion) is an all-access subscription platform that lets you learn everything at one price. That's going to give you the best bang for your buck.

You can also take private lessons with an individual guitar teacher. These often end up being the most expensive over time, but is also the best way to learn for some people.

And finally there are major music institutions that offer guitar classes online, but they're so expensive that they're beyond the reach of most people. And they just don't offer the same value as a program like Guitar Tricks or Fender Play

Final Recommendation: Which Guitar Lessons to Choose

If you're looking for lessons with a private teacher, LessonWithYou is highly recommended.

But if you're more of a self-learner that wants to go at their own pace, go with Guitar Tricks or Fender Play.

These are some of the best tutorials you'll find anywhere .

Either way, online guitar lessons are the best way to learn how to play effectively. Don't delay. The quicker you start, the quicker the fun happens.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The above is a sponsored post, the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.