Where to find the best online guitar lessons

We have had a lot of people asking us where to find the best online guitar lessons and learning materials. There is so much available online it can sometimes be difficult to sift through the dirt to find the gold. Here are a few sites that we recommend to new users, and use ourselves!

Guitar:

G4 Guitar. This is a local Sydney based music teacher network with registered teachers right across Australia and some parts of the USA and Canada. By signing up for free you can get instant access to the G4 Guitar Method. Click here to visit G4 Guitar Here.

Justin Guitar. This is a use-by-donation site that boasts hundreds of lessons for guitar. The site is basically free however it is recommended that you make a donation if you can afford to, in order to keep it free for those that can't. This site is constantly updated with great new material to help you along the way and is one of the most popular online resources for beginner guitarists. Click here to visit Justin Guitar.

Sheet Music Plus. Need sheet music for a song you just can't get out of your head? Sheet Music Plus could be the cure to that little earworm. They are not free, but they are exhaustive. If it exists, you'll find it here! Prices are in US dollars and though most titles are instantly downloadable, make sure you choose the download and not the hard copy unless you are prepared to wait for delivery. Click here to visit Sheet Music Plus.

Ultimate Guitar Tabs. If you want to play your favourite songs but can't read sheet music, No problem! This site is built on user-provided tabs for every song ever created! It is free, but not always accurate. It's a good way to test your ear and pick out any mistakes and maybe even upload your own version. They have a great article on how to read tabs if you're new to this. Click here to visit Ultimate Guitar Tabs.

Metronome. It's an age-old debate whether to play with a metronome or not. Some say that it can destroy your groove and make you sound too mechanical. However, used effectively a metronome can greatly improve your timing and ability to play well with others. I would definitely recommend spending some of your practice/jamming time with your good friend the metronome! Click here to view our Online Metronome.

Basic Chords. We have a great video tutorial on how to play a few basic chords. Once you learn them, practice changing between them and really cement these positions into your muscle memory. This is the foundation for your playing. Click here to see the video. Once you've mastered these chords, you can move onto more technical chords. Here's a great online chord book to help you on your way. You can use these chord positions to play songs from the sheet music you've found or to create your own songs.

Basic Scales. While learning chords is the foundation to guitar, playing scales is the gateway to melodies, hook lines and solos. It can be boring to begin with, playing repetitive scales over and over again. But once you get to a level where you can use these scales for improvising solos, it's hugely satisfying. Click here to view a basic major and minor scale.

Bass Guitar:

Many of the tips above correspond to Bass guitar as well: Tabs, scales, using a metronome and even chords to some degree (though not as important). The difference is in the approach to playing. Because the bass is generally a bigger instrument with lower, fatter strings and you generally don't play chords, there is a different method to learning. The best thing to do is to find a good teacher to help you on your way. This website: Beginning Basics can give you some good tips on how to start.

Ukulele:

The Chord Genome Project shows 1500+ songs that can be played with 3 basic chords. This is a great resource, check it out here!

We hope you've found these suggestions useful in finding the best online guitar lessons and learning materials. Be sure to share or comment if you found this useful! We have much more information on getting started on your instrument if you go to our Support Section.

Artist Guitars are Australia's biggest seller of Guitars on eBay and experts in advice for the beginner guitarist. Visit our Guitar blog for more information and to subscribe.