If you’ve been wanting to learn guitar but can’t commit to in-person lessons, look no further than your smartphone. You could explore an online guitar course, or simply download an app that teaches everything you need to know! Today’s guitar learning apps provide access to thousands of hours of lessons and instruction.
Best Guitar Learning Apps
Ready to leverage your smartphone for guitar learning? Here are the top guitar apps you can download today that will transform you from beginner to performer in no time!
JustinGuitar
If there’s one guitarist you want learning from, it’s Justin. Justin Sandercoe is a UK-based guitarist who began teaching online in 2001. His YouTube channel has garnered over 400 million views and nearly a million subscribers.
The JustinGuitar website houses a massive library of over 1,111 free video lessons. You can select individual lessons or follow his structured learning paths:
- Beginner – Chords, Strumming, Intro to Music Theory
- Intermediate – Fundamentals, Music Theory, Rhythm Guitar, Riffs, Guitar Solos,
- Advanced – Scales, Arpeggios, Modes, Jazz Theory
- Much, much more!
After watching just one lesson, you’ll be amazed by Justin’s teaching approach. He presents material that’s thoroughly comprehensive yet refreshingly practical. His methods and tips feel completely applicable, making each lesson feel like a personalized one-on-one session.
For mobile learners, JustinGuitar offers the “Beginner Song Course” (from Musopia). It features over 200 hand-picked songs across genres including Pop, Rock, Classic Rock, Traditional Music, Country, and R’n’B. Each song tutorial covers chords, strumming technique, tempo control, and much more.
Price: The JustinGuitar website and app are free. It’s almost ridiculous when you consider the caliber of his content.
Fender Play
When choosing a company to teach guitar, none possesses more wisdom and credibility than the world-renowned manufacturer itself: Fender.
Fender Play is a comprehensive online learning system covering every aspect of guitar playing. Their videos deliver instruction as effective as live, hands-on guidance. Students can explore lessons freely or follow structured paths based on their preferred style: Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, or Pop guitar.
Beyond lessons, you’ll discover an extensive library of tutorials for popular songs including:
- “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots
- “Way a Night Should Feel” by Jason Aldean
- “Wonderwall” by Oasis
If guitar isn’t challenging enough, Fender Play also provides bass and ukulele instruction.
Price: Fender Play is free to try for the first 3 months. Afterward its $9.99 a month (or $7.50 per month if you prepay for one year).
Guitar Tricks
Guitar Tricks is a robust online learning platform that has helped countless musicians excel.
Since 1998, they’ve delivered online guitar instruction, growing into a comprehensive library featuring over 11,000 lessons and 1,000+ songs with world-class instructors. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or experienced player, you’ll find valuable content here.
Guitar Tricks uses their “Core Learning System” approach:
- Students will start by learning the Fundamentals Level 1 and 2.
- Then they will choose between the Blues, Country, or Rock path Levels 1 and 2.
Beyond fundamentals, Guitar Tricks offers tutorials for popular, iconic songs including:
- “Hotel” by California Eagles
- “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran
- “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix
- Etc.
Price: Guitar Tricks is free to try for 14 days. Once it expires, you can pay $19.95 per month for a subscription or pay $179.99 for the whole year (saving you $60).
Yousician
If online guitar lessons feel impersonal and lack the one-on-one feedback crucial for beginners, Yousician delivers exactly what you need.
Yousician employs innovative teaching technology that not only instructs but actively listens to your playing, providing instant feedback on accuracy and timing. This immediate response system ensures you know right away whether your playing was in tempo, on-pitch, or needs improvement.
Like other leading apps, they offer structured curricula for all skill levels, from complete beginners to professionals. They even feature weekly challenges where you can compete with community members for leaderboard spots.
Similar to Fender Play, Yousician extends beyond guitar, offering lessons for bass, ukulele, piano, and vocals.
Price: Yousician starts with a 7-day free trial. After that you’ll have to pay for their premium service at $19.99 per month. The price is substantially discounted to $9.99 per month if you pay for an annual subscription.
Songsterr Tabs & Chords
Once you’ve mastered basic chords, you’ll want to dive into playing your favorite songs—and for that, you need accurate guitar tabs.
Songsterr delivers with a massive database of over 500,000 tabs covering virtually every popular song imaginable. From personal experience, these tabs are remarkably accurate, enabling you to play exactly what you hear in the original recordings.
Here’s the standout feature: Unlike other online tablature sites, Songsterr tabs play audio at the click of a button. You can strum along at any tempo while watching notes appear in real-time.
Note that this app focuses exclusively on song tabs without basic lessons or instruction found in other apps. However, even guitarists with just a few weeks of experience will find Songsterr invaluable for learning beloved songs.
Price: Songsterr is a subscription-based app. You can start with the free version which allows you to see the tab to any song in their database and play a short clip of it. However, if you want full unlimited access over all the features, the cost is $4.99 per month.
Final Thoughts: Best Guitar Learning Apps
If you’re considering guitar as your instrument of choice, these top guitar learning apps offer a straightforward path to proficiency. Put your smartphone to work and download an app to start your guitar journey today! Let your music flow.
