A good course that assists you consistently from day one is a powerful ally in your guitar learning endeavors if you know how to take the most from it. Take a look at the three best online guitar classes around.

Guitar Tricks

This website is a top-notch player in the world of online guitar lessons. It has more than 20 years of history and a catalog of over 11,000 lessons and 700 songs. GuitarTricks.com has truly user-friendly navigability and the videos boost high-definition and feature such as looping and slow motion.

The site has more than 30 instructors who are experts in varied musical genres.

The classes for beginners are some of the best and let you start playing quite fast without spending much time hooked on theory.

Almost 2 million guitar players trust the platform. The blogs, forums, community and extra tools also add great value to Guitar Picks. The price is $19.95 a month or $179.95 annually.

Fender Play

Only established online in early 2017, Fender Play is already a heavyweight when it comes to guitar classes. The reputation of the site has grown massively and the course for beginners is nothing short of impressive.

The design of the platform is modern, fresh and stylish. Just like with Guitar Picks, the videos have fantastic quality. As it is still building up each day, Fender Play doesn’t have many additional features yet but it has more than necessary for you to succeed in your training.

It is a low-cost choice well worth your money. The cost per month is $9.99, while the annual subscription is $89.99

Jam Play

Jam Play offers unique and differentiating features besides having one of the most comprehensive catalogs around. There are almost 90 instructors and they are all extremely professional.

Would you believe if we told you that some of the teachers are actually former or current members of incredibly successful bands? Well, you can learn Megadeth songs from Glen Dover himself and take on Machine Head lessons from Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel.

The design and navigation isvery sharp, fluid and customizable. The videos are filmed from multiple angles that appear on the screen at the same time for better understanding. From blues to metal, country to pop, jazz to surf, everything is catered for on Jam Play.

The site also offers live lessons. With so much to access, your practices will never become repetitive. It will cost you $19.95 per month, $49.95 every three months or $159.95 a year, which represents a big saving of $79.45 compared to the monthly fee.

Before making a decision, check out all three websites and try out their free trials to test the format and the classes. There is not one correct choice. All are correct as long as they suit your needs, preferences, expectations and musical style.

But as you’ll be spending your money, it’s crucial that you make an informed decision.

These five mistakes lead you on the wrong path to becoming a great musician. Learn how to get rid of them.

Too much physical effort

New players often feel like pressing and strumming the guitar strings requires a lot of tension and effort for better performance. Of course, learning new scales and rhythms can be really hard but the physical act itself should not be strenuous at all. It should feel quite easy.

You must place your fingers near the fretwire but shouldn’t press right above it. You should rather do it slightly behind the fret wire. Adjust your fingerpositions properly and playing will be much more effortless.

Try it out for yourself and you will see that it requires less pressure to create a clean and defined note.

Too much speed

You shouldn’t try to play a song in the actual tempo before learning where all the notes are and how to play them. Your technique is far more important than speed. If you prioritize the latter, you will end up hitting several wrong notes throughout the song without even noticing.

Beginners should play at 50% speed or less. It doesn’t mean that you are less skilled at playing. It means that you´re focusing on doing everything on point so that you can perform the song flawlessly at 100% speed.

Players that want to play the original tempos right away usually have a very sloppy technique that will stay glued to them and will be much harder to let go of in the future.

Inconsistent practicing

To put it simply, playing any instrument boils down to muscle memory. Playing the guitar requires meticulous motor skills. So, the best way to make the movements become natural and effortless is by practicing consistently without long intervals.

Playing for several hours straight is not necessarily a synonym of progress. If you spend a week or so without playing, the training will be inefficient. If you don’t have much time per day to play, try practicing daily from 10 to 20 minutes.

It is much better than having an unreasonably long session only once a week.

Too much at once

In the beginning, it is totally natural that you are super motivated and ready to learn. But being motivated doesn’t mean trying to learn too much at once and moving to new skills or techniques without mastering previous ones.

You will totally agree if we put it this way: being great at a few things are much better than being mediocre in many. With guitar playing, that’s exactly the case.

Obsession with perfection

Even the best guitarists hit lots of wrong notes throughout their successful careers. If you get too caught up with perfection, you will be more anxious and your body will become more tense, which will result in you making more mistakes.

What happens in music and virtually anything else in life is that we perform much better when we’re not focused on pleasing others or prove ourselves.

Of course, the objective is to achieve a great technique. But think of playing the guitar as a combination of two goals that you can’t forget about: having the privilege of enjoying your own music and play it to the best of your ability. The first goal should be the top priority.

You’re lucky if you get to read this before starting to play so you can avoid these pitfalls right away.

These five expert tips will carry through the process of moving from a beginner to a pro.

Learn at your own pace

Trying to learn fast should not even cross your mind. To actually have good technique you must always hit the right notes and use your fingers accurately. That is something that can’t be rushed.

This is especially the case for tricky and more complicated bar chords and scales. If you learn to play correctly, the speed will increase naturally. Taking your time is essential and not a sign that you’re not making progress.

Avoid the death grip

The left-hand death grip is known by practically every guitarist because all beginners incur in this mistake. Pressing the strings against the board is not as simple as it seems.

It can make your fingers and your wrist hurt. A natural reaction is placing your thumb over the top of the fret. That hand position will make you press the strings with your fingerprints rather than the fingertips, which is the part of the finger that should always be used to press.

Although the death grip lets you hold the guitar better, it undermines the reach of the fingers. The correct grip is having your thumb on the back of the fretboard so that you can play with your fingertips.

Otherwise, you may end up muting other strings with the bigger and flatter part of your finger below the tip. Yes, it is hard at first and causes a bit of wrist and finger discomfort. But it is the way to play properly.

Use your fingers correctly

Playing with your fingers correctly refers to knowing which finger should play each note on the fretboard. This is actually something that has been the subject of various studies throughout the years. Nowadays, you can easily access the expert recommendations on this topic.

The fingering instructions are applied to chords, scales and variations. If you divert from these tips and try to play variations your own way, you can end up helping prove that the fingers you were trying to use are simply impossible to play with on those variations.

Use a metronome

The advantages of playing to a click track are many, although it can be very difficult at the beginning. You will get to train your rhythm and your timing. So, the sooner you start using a metronome after the initial steps, the better.

Start by setting the beats per minute to a very slow pace. The goal is not to learn to play fast, but steady and in time. The metronome is a step that you should take only when your technique is already relatively strong.

Play sitting down and standing up

Starting to play while standing up can be a huge challenge. But if you’re taking your practice seriously, you’ll have to do it eventually. When you’re sitting, it’s easy to look over and control your finger movements with your eyes.

But you should let go of that habit as soon as you feel more comfortable. Once you insist on playing standing up, your technique will improve and you will play much more naturally. A good strap is key. It must be padded on the shoulder and be adjusted to a proper length.

Focus on technique from day one. Being disciplined and avoiding mistakes will make your evolution more natural, stable, fast and enjoyable.

Did you know that some of your favorite hits by your favorite artists are actually really simple to play on the guitar? Come along and discover four amazing songs for new players.

Stand by Me – Ben E. King

This is a smooth and classic song, easy to play on the guitar. It came out in 1960 and, to this day, almost everyone knows it. It is easy to play because it only has four chords, which are the same throughout the entire song.

The strumming patterns are fun and will help you get better at the rhythm. And since it is so widely enjoyed, you can play it for your friends and family.

Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes

This is the first song a lot of beginners learn.

It sounds good on an electric or an acoustic guitar. It’s perfect to start out because the main riff can be played on just one string. While many songs train you to move around the strings, this one is great for practicing moving your fingers on the fretboard.

Shake It Off – Taylor Swift

For this song, you’ll only have to play three simple chords. Needless to say, Shake It Off is a huge hit that people of all ages love. You can play with just two fingers and the chords are always the same throughout the song. The strumming pattern is simple, fun and pleasing.

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

This is another perfect song for beginners. The chords are easy and remain the same all the way through to the end of the song. It’s not very fast to play but the patterns are still quite interesting and different.
With time and practice, you’ll get to master these four suggestions.

These are the four points you simply cannot forget about when you decide to start your guitar jamming sessions.

The first step

After you decide to start playing the guitar you must determine whether you want to be self-taught and learn on your own or take guitar lessons. Nowadays, there are dozens of good guitar courses online that keep beginners interested and encouraged, while teaching them the basics, the best tips and the tricks that make the difference.

If you prefer taking private or group classes, that’s also a great choice. It can help you be more focused and committed. The way you learn should be tailored to you so that you can start adopting learning habits that are both enjoyable and serious from the beginning.

Acoustic or electric

Both types are suitable for beginners and both have advantages. It all depends on what you prefer and what kind of music you will play the most. Acoustic guitars are more affordable because they don’t require extra equipment.

And the heavy strings will train you better from the start.On the other hand, electric guitars are easier to strum as they have thin strings. The reach and the grip will also be easier because of their slimmer neck.

The best strings

When choosing which strings to buy, you need to consider the gauge and the sound. It’s probably better, to begin with, lighter strings since they create less tension and make it easier to play.

Acoustic players should look for a gauge of 0.011 to 0.52 inches. For electric guitars, the ideal gauge is of 0.009 to 0.042 inches.

When it comes to the string materials, they produce very different tones. The best acoustic guitar strings are made of phosphor bronze or 80/20 bronze. The first ones create darker and more mellow sounds, while the latter is great for bright and metallic tones.

For the electrics, nickel and stainless steel are the perfect strings. Nickel strings allow for definition and articulation, especially for blues, rock and jazz music. The stainless steel produces strong and big sounds for heavier rock.

Equipment

Additional equipment can make a big difference in technique and sound. There are dozens of amazing pieces of equipment to improve your music, but these are the essentials.

Picks

As you go along, try out picks different in size, shape, material and thickness. You’ll be able to understand which ones are better for you and your guitar. Generally, plastic picks are a great beginner choice because they offer grip and flexibility.

Start out with picks of medium thickness and standard shape and size. They will warrant solid and easy holding.

Strap

A strap is crucial to stabilizing the guitar and you have countless designs and materials to choose from. But whichever those are, the strap must be comfortable with a minimum width of 2 inches and extra padding for the shoulder.

For acoustic guitars, you also need to get two strap pins.

Tuner

The best alternatives are electronic, chromatic, clip-on or app tuners.

Feeling more prepared already? Never forget these essential steps as you move along.