Free Tools, Videos and Lessons To Learn To Play The Electric (And Acoustic) Guitar…
(or maybe you could call it ramblings of a guitar junkie!)
Welcome to www.LearnElectricGuitarOnline.net. With over 15 years experience playing and teaching the guitar, I am excited to share with you the premier FREE learn guitar materials, tools and resources to I have accumulated to help you learn to play the guitar. If you are just starting out, we recommend Jamplay guitar lessons(see an INSIDE video tour of my account HERE) because they help you learn faster and best of all their fun! You can access their FREE LESSONS HERE…
Explore the site and take in everything it has to offer and feel free to comment on anything you see!
I have wanted to learn electric guitar since I was a kid. It’s just something about it that really gives me a rush. For me, it wasn’t about looking cool or getting girls, it was more for the music. I have always had kind of a creative bent, and really liked the music you could make with an electric guitar.
I didn’t really pick it up though until I was older because I got busy with all sorts of stupid things that eat up your time. And I didn’t really have a family that supported me in playing. So, when I got out on my own I decided to learn how to play.
I bought an electric guitar and amp, but needed some way to learn how to play. I explored the options and boiled them down to two – I could learn electric guitar online or I could take private lessons.
I chose to learn electric guitar online with video lessons instead of private lessons really only because of cost and convenience. It was much cheaper than private lessons and I could learn any time I wanted; I did not have to wait for my next lesson. Also, if I wanted to explore other genre’s other than just rock or blues, for example, I could do that.
It’s a bit overwhelming though when it comes to wanting to learn electric guitar online. At least is was for me. There are a ton of free lessons on Youtube, but I never really found any rhyme or reason to them. There was no structure, just a bunch of videos. But, if you are looking for something specific, you may be able to find it there.
There is also a site called justinguitar.com. This is a pretty good site as there are a number of lessons there to learn guitar as well and it’s completely free. My only problem with it is there are not many electric guitar lessons, I did not like his style and I wanted more variety with instructors and styles. But if you are strapped for cash and want to learn electric guitar online, it’s worth checking out.
The final option I found, which I ended up going with, is a site called Jamplay.com. This is a paid subscription online video guitar learning site that has something like 5,000 video lessons and over 40 different instructors. They also teach different styles and genre’s, so you are not stuck to one style. I also did a video showing the inside of my account so you can see what it looks like on the inside. Just go here.
In addition to Jamplay.com, there are other similar sites, like Guitartricks.com. These were good too, but I just preferred Jamplay for some reason. It’s only $15-$20 per month and I have learned a lot.
So, if you want to learn electric guitar online, do your own research and check out some of the various sites. Either way, learn to play electric guitar with online videos is a good way to go.
Have fun playing man!
And if it you get the itch, learn electric guitar online, cause it’s actually pretty cool!
I was driving down the highway the other day and “Am I Evil” from Metallica came on the radio. If you have ever heard that song, you know it has some awesome riffs. Kirk Hammett really shreds it up a couple of times in that song.
And it took me back to when I was a kid and wanting to learn electric guitar. Metallica, along with Pantera, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and a whole host of other bands were really the reason I wanted to learn to play the electric guitar.
The sounds that they produce with the electric guitar truly are amazing and it is even more amazing when you can play them yourself.
Back then I set out to find the quickest way I could learn to play because I wanted to get up and playing slongs as fast as possible. I took some lessons, then studied the chords and practiced every day until I could move between the chords fluidly.
I was fanatical too because I practiced morning, day and night (and my parents weren’t real happy!).
But it paid off because within about 2 months I was playing the Am I Evil riffs. Not flawlessly, but I could move along the fretboard pretty fluidly.
Today you have so many more options to learn electric guitar even faster than I did. Private lessons are usually the way to go because you have someone who gives you constant and instant feedback. They also hold you accountable so if you don’t practice they really get on to you.
The only problem with lessons like this is they are expensive. I have seen some of them run as high as $100 an hour.
Your other option is to join one of those online guitar membership sites, like Jamplay or Guitartricks (I am actually a member of Jamplay, see a video tour of my account HERE). These are pretty cool because you can pay month to month and they have literally thousands of lessons available given by 30-40 different instructors. They also have a ton of genre’s you can focus on, like metal, rock, jazz, blues, fingerstyle or classical.
Another cool feature is if you are a beginner, they have a learning path that you can follow to start with the absolute basics, and progress as you get more and more advanced. It’s also not just for beginners. They have loads and loads of advanced lessons as well.
Learning to play the guitar this way will get you playing your favorite songs even faster than when I learned because it’s on demand and you have someone sitting there in the video showing you exactly what to do.
So next time you hear your favorite song on the radio and you get that itch to learn electric guitar, check out Jamplay or Guitartricks if you want a solid foundation that will have you playing those songs even faster.
Guitartricks and Jamplay are 2 of the most popular and respected online guitar lessons sites and I get questions about which one is better almost every day. Below I have put together a fairly comprehensive side by side comparison of the two, it’s Guitartricks vs. Jamplay….Enjoy!
Guitartricks
Jamplay
Years online
12
4-6, not disclosed
Hours of instruction
Not disclosed
412
# of lessons
Over 5,000
Not disclosed on website
# of instructors
45
42
Money back guarantee
Not disclosed, not readily apparent
Yes, no questions asked if within first 7 days
Teacher help?
Not that could be found
Yes, live on webcam
Cost
$14.95 per month
$19.95/month; $11.66/month if purchase annual subscription
Playing guitar for hours can strain your back if you do not maintain an upright posture. As a result, you have to learn how to hold a guitar so that you can practice for extended periods of time.
To start, sit down on a comfortable chair, pick up your guitar and place the back of the guitar against your stomach. If you are right handed, the guitar neck should be pointing towards your left. Rest the guitar body on your right upper thigh.Now place your left hand around the guitar neck and place your right arm around the body so that your hand is lying by the strings. Adjust your body positioning so that you are completely comfortable.
If you are left handed, all of the above would be opposite.
Hand Position
If you’re left handed, don’t worry, you have two options here. The first option is to buy a right-handed guitar and re-string it, so that the order of the strings is reversed. The second option you have is to buy a left-handed guitar.
If you’re right handed, you will use your left hand to play chords. The left hand fingers are bent and pressing down on the strings on the fret board. The back of the neck is curved, so that your hand molds into the shape of the neck. Your thumb is arching aver the top of the neck. This is a common thumb position for constructing chords.
It is also ok to press your thumb into the back of the guitar neck when constructing chords, although this is more common when playing scales. Try out both thumb positions and use the one that is most comfortable for you.
This is the hand that you will use to “strum” the strings to make the different chord sounds. Rest/Lie your right arm over the guitar. Your right bicep should be resting on the top of the body of the guitar. Your hand should be positioned directly above the sound hole in the guitar. This is where the sound is produced.
If you are just starting to play the guitar, then these positions may feel awkward at first, but when you learn how to hold a guitar correctly, and practice, it will become more and more comfortable.
GuitarTricks is one of the oldest online video guitar lessons website, having been founded in 1998 by long-time guitarist Jon Broderick.
This Guitartricks review is based on my experience with the site, which I compared with Jamplay and Elmore.
Today GuitarTricks is one of the most popular guitar lesson sites with over 3,000 video lessons and nearly 400,000 visitors each and every month. And you can’t beat the price at a measly $14.95 a month. There are over 45 guitar experts that teach each and every lesson on the site. You won’t find some novice in a YouTube video here showing you how great he plays “Free Bird!”
What is impressive about GuitarTricks is that it’s so diverse in skill level, and you can browse lessons based on both genre and influences. The navigation is very fluent and the lessons are dense with fantastic material.
GuitarTricks.com is also a great place to talk to & learn from other guitarists. If you are a beginner, it is a fantastic resource to master the basics (tuning, reading tabs, chords, scales, etc.), and if you are an imtermediate or advanced player there are awesome resources for more advanced styles like heavy metal or classical finger-picking!
Here’s what you’ll get when you join Guitar Tricks:
Unlimited access to over 3,000 high-quality video lessons taught by experts
Community Support (Huge forum & help from 45 instructors)
JamStation software: Customizable backing tracks
The “Technique Reference Library”
Ultimate Metronome & Reference Tuner software
One drawback we found with GuitarTricks is the sheer volume of material. It’s easy to get distracted by the amount of video lessons & tutorials. Additionally, if you’re not careful, you can spend countless hours in the forums talking to other guitarists. All in all, however, they do a pretty good job of organizing the videos so they flow from beginning, to intermediate, to advanced skill levels.
In the end, GuitarTricks is a very close second to JamPlay in our opinion. You can’t beat the price for what you get and there is some truly fantastic instruction. Because of the volume of information, we generally recommend GuitarTricks.com to intermediate and advanced guitarists.
When searching online for guitar lessons, you’ll quickly realize that there are a lot of online guitar lesson membership sites. These membership sites are not a new thing, and they allow you to start training at a very attractive monthly price.
Jamplay has taken the online membership concept to a whole new level. This post provides an unbiased Jamplay review and shows you why it just may be the best online guitar learning site. It’s the one I use and I recommend it to all my friends. So read this entire Jamplay review and then visit the site yourself.
The difference that sets JamPlay guitar lessons apart from other membership sites is that it provides you access to more than just a bunch of videos. It’s online learning environment is structured in a way that you can start as a beginner, intermediate or advanced player and progress to more difficulty as you learn.
Jamplay uses more than 30 different instructors who each focus on their own specialty and provide lesson content for that specific area.
When you sign-up for Jamplay, you’ll notice that it is organized in 3 separate phases:
Following these Phases the way Jamplay has laid them out will allow you to learn to play the guitar quicker because you are learning from various teachers that each focus on their own specialty.
This inevitably means that you will be playing the electric guitar faster than if you were taking private lessons (and less expensive too!)
Watch a sample lesson here, and you’ll notice that each video lesson is divided into separate chapters. By structuring the videos this way, you have the ability to watch the full lesson or individual chapters, which allows you to learn at your own pace.
Some of the additional features you have access to when you join Jamplay include:
These additional features allow you quick access to chords, scales and riffs as you practice.
One unique feature which I particularly like about Jamplay is its weekly, live Q & A sessions with its teachers. This is a feature that you don’t see in other membership sites.
Additionally, you can post questions for instructors in the private support/membership site and teachers will provide video responses to your questions.
JamPlay is a fantastic choice for guitar players that want to get started learning quickly at an extremely reasonable price (it is $19.95 per month). Since the entire course is online based you can start watching video lessons just minutes after you sign up. My hope is that this Jamplay review opened your eyes a bit to this awesome site…
Jamplay guitar lessons have come a long way in the past few years. Up until a few years ago, they were always a close second to the guitar lessons at GuitarTricks. But with the growth of their video lesson database and the ever increasing quality of their instructors, the GuitarTricks lead is all but over.
First of, all with a Jamplay membership, you get full access to all videos and instruction in their database from each and every instructor. This basically gives you access to literally everything you need to learn and master the guitar, whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced player exploring new genre’s.
The multi-instructor approach allows you to pick and choose which instructor you like learning from the most.
Second, each video lesson (over 4,000 of them) is shot in high definition and averages about 41 minutes each. An added benefit of Jamplay guitar lessons is that each one is broken up into chapters, so you can skip ahead if you have already mastered something, or go back if you need some additional work in a particular area.
Third, you have access to a full, printable chord library that features both the tablature, and real-life photos of how each chord is played. The library features chords from the A,B,C,D,E,F, and G family of chords.
A truly unique aspect of a Jamplay guitar lessons membership is the ability to interact with the instructors. Inside you have the ability to ask your questions and have them answered by the instructors. Many members rave about this aspect of Jamplay.
All of this is presented in a MySpace type community where you can set-up your own profile and interact with other members through private messaging or the robust private forum.
At a membership cost of about 32 cents per day, Jamplay guitar lessons are an absolute bargain when compared to other online guitar sites or private lessons if you want to teach yourself to play guitar.
The best way to learn guitar all depends on your learning style and which way suits you best. Depending on how you learn and your aptitude to practice on your own will determine which way is best. Below are generally your 3 options when deciding the best way to learn guitar:
Books and DVD’s – one option you have to learn to play the guitar is to get some books and/or DVD’s. The benefits of using books or DVD’s is that you can learn at your own pace. Additionally, you can try various books and DVD’s at a relatively minimal cost.
The drawbacks, however, of learning this way are numerous. First of all, you have no one to give you feedback. Because of this it becomes difficult knowing if you are using proper technique or if the sounds you are making are right.
Second, especially if you go the DVD route, you are tied to your DVD player for instruction.
So, while books and DVD’s may be a fairly inexpensive route to take, it is generally not the best way to learn guitar.
Private instruction – another option you have to learn guitar is through private instruction. The benefit of private instruction is you can sit face to face with someone who shows you exactly what to do. They also hold you accountable, which is a huge benefit.
The drawback of private instruction are that they can be fairly expensive, sometime $50 for a half hour to an hour. Additionally, your flexibility is somewhat limited as you will have set times and a place to be for your instruction.
Online instruction – a third, and popular option, is online instruction. There are numerous membership websites that teach guitar at a relatively attractive price. The benefits include 1) learning at your own pace from anywhere you have an internet connection, 2) training from full-time guitar instructors, 3) low cost and 4) exposure to multiple genres and techniques all for one price.
One drawback of online electric guitar instruction is no one-on-one instruction like a private instructor. However, at many of the sites you can ask questions and get answers directly from the instructors. Additionally, you can have questions answered from other, more experienced guitar players.
In summary, the best way to learn guitar will ultimately depend on you and your learning style. In the book/DVD option, you are totally on your own. With private instruction, you have direct one-on-one training. And with online instruction, you kind of have a combination of the 1st two options.
Tired of the old and conventional way of learning to play a guitar? Most beginners depend on self study. Yet they find it hard to create something out of completely nothing.
If you really love to play the guitar but you don’t have anyone to guide you, the best advice would be trying online electric guitar lessons.
Below is an inside look at my Jamplay account. Jamplay is the way I learned to play the guitar:
What are some of the things you’ll need to achieve an absolute and efficient way of acquiring the proper strategies and knowledge through the net?
Obviously the only thing you need to get started is an Internet connection and a guitar!
But then you have to have a goal and organize yourself. Many online electric guitar lessons websites have a unique way of helping you organize your learning. But keep in mind that you are alone on this educative process. No teachers. No musical instructors. Nobody is present to comment on your mistakes and your fingering. So you have to be religious about it and be hellbent on wanting to teach yourself to play guitar.
You don’t have to practice for perfection right away but for knowledge and adaptability. On the first couple of days of online electric guitar lessons things might get pretty messy and quite difficult. But as days progress; you’ll start to notice massive improvements.
Most online teaching sessions include information about different sequential courses like how to read tabs the right way or how to put those fingers on the proper strings. This not only gives out techniques but also provides songs that are easy to play.
Another advantage is that an online learning experience is always updated and more advanced. And you typically have a whole set of genres and teachers you can choose to learn from. This is incredibly helpful and cost effective when you want to branch out and learn other types of music.
Bottom line is that online electric guitar lessons are much more cost effective and will offer you a much bigger selection of different styles and instructors. The drawback is that you do not have someone sitting right in front of you telling you what you might be doing wrong.
Some of the more popular online electric guitar courses you can look further into are Jamplay, Guitartricks and Jamorama.
