Ever wanted to learn how to play guitar, but never got the chance? There are so many ways outside of taking live lessons with a teacher that it can become a reality, if you really want it. While there are several apps in the space of music lessons, some are better fine tuned to instruct future string pickers and strummers in the fine art of guitar playing. Guitar Lessons by GuitarTricks is one of the better ones.

This app offers well laid out steps in system that is meant for beginners, but evolves to meet your every learning need, every step of the way. As an intermediate or advanced player, you might find the app a bit boring, and slow at times; but, I would ask you then, “why are you using an app?”

What separates GuitarTricks from other apps is the history behind their product, it’s 20 years old, and the multitude of lessons it keeps in its coffers, ready to share with all who are willing to download the app and start picking away.

The system which is the foundation of learning is also their trademark, called the Core Learning System. In it, you follow a series of courses, each designed to build off the previous one, so the skills learned are practiced over, and expanded upon at a rate that is promotes learning. Lessons start with things like how to hold your guitar the correct way, learning the keys on the fretboard and more. As you complete them, you move on to more advanced lessons, all the way to a point where you are able to compose on your own.

Please note that the app, which is a free download, provides a subset of lessons, through which you can cycle as many times as you wish. When you feel ready to move forward, you will have to make in-app purchases to gain access to more advanced lessons.

The app is a collection of lessons from various instructors. Each instructor has been carefully chosen to make sure they speak clearly, at a pace that’s easy to follow, and they demonstrate easily how to perform the steps required in the lesson. They are not there to showcase their talent, they are there to teach.

Lessons are well organized and easy to get to. Overall navigation was straightforward and intuitive. Lessons are also are marked in such a way as to easy distinguish what level of lesson you are getting into.

Some of the more advanced lessons include:

• Songs: Learn how to play some of your favorites, because after all, that’s probably the reason you chose to pick up the guitar in the first place.
• Advanced Techniques: Lessons that focus on specific techniques in playing guitar: Alternate Picking, Bending, Hammer-ons and Pull-offs, Legato, Palm Muting, Vibrato, Tapping, and more…
• Styles and Genres: Try out different genres and styles like Jazz, Classical, Bluegrass, and Funk. Different types of music provide more practice with different types of techniques.
• Artist Studies: Lessons about the styles of popular and famous artists and bands, such as BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Maiden, and more…

I found the intro to learning how to play to be very easy and it kept me interested. What I would like to see in future offerings is more targeted genres of music and maybe even more recent pieces as well.

I would highly recommend Guitar Tricks to anyone who has even the slightest interest in learning to play guitar – you’ve got nothing to lose.