Learn Guitar Software
There are literally hundreds of guitar lessons available online – some free; some pricey. All of them share an important characteristic: a lack of interaction. Whether you consider this a weakness or not depends on how much you want to be able to quickly switch between step-by-step lessons to reference material and back again. You may also want additional features such as a software metronome or a handy library of chords. If you want any of these things, I’d recommend one of the following guitar learning software products.
Guitar Method ($45)
This program offers 165 lessons that take you from the basics of tuning and stringing your guitar to advanced techniques. Here are a few of Guitar Method’s features:
- Includes over 70 songs to play along with
- Allows switching between tablature notation and standard musical notation
- An electronic library of over 250 chords
- Electronic metronome and tuner (requires microphone)
- Ability to track your playing and compare it to the teacher’s playing
Guitar Coach ($45)
This program contains six discs full of lessons, chord libraries, and other useful tools. Unfortunately, the six discs mean that you have to switch out discs whenever you want to use a resource that’s not available on the current disc. Obviously this can be inconvenient. Here’s a few of Guitar Coach’s most noteworthy features:
- Animated fretboard
- A library containing over 7000 chords
- Ability to build your own chord progressions
- Electronic metronome and tuner
- Some limited recording tools
Teach Yourself to Play Guitar Deluxe ($25)
Here’s yet another software product to learn guitar with. This one is structured around full-motion video lessons from a professional guitarist. Unlike the two programs listed above, this product includes four games to help you swallow the lessons a bit more easily. Unfortunately, this program doesn’t include its songs in a searchable database. They can only be accessed from within the lessons. This can be a bit inconvenient if you just want to play along with a song without worrying about the lesson. Here are a few of the product’s main features:
- Electronic tuner and metronome
- 60 songs to learn
- Large chord library
- Dictionary of Music that covers music theory and history
- Switching between tablature and standard notation
Some Guitar Software Advice
These programs give you all the tools you need to establish great guitar-playing techniques at the beginning of your journey. If you use them effectively, you will definitely learn how to play professionally.
That being said, these programs probably won’t make you a great guitar player. Great guitar playing requires creativity, drive, and most of all, feeling. Take as much knowledge from these programs as you can, but don’t expect to draw tears from your listener’s eyes just because your technique is perfect. Guitar playing has evolved constantly throughout the last 50 years. Always remember that guitar techniques are meant to be broken.
