Learning to play the guitar from your phone is possible thanks to apps designed to learn music. Would you like to know how to play the guitar, but have you abandoned it because it seemed difficult? Don’t worry, technology offers you a way to learn to play this instrument using only apps. And if you want to know how to learn to play the guitar from scratch and in an easy and simple way, you are in the right place.
Of course, like everything, no matter how much information you receive, if you don’t spend time and patience practicing, it will take a long time to see results.
If you think that knowing how to play any instrument well is a challenge for many people, it is not something easy and simple that we can learn overnight. Most people who can play the guitar decently have either had a teacher, or gone to the conservatory, or spent hours and hours understanding tutorials.
The guitar, as with other instruments, takes time and effort for you to see results. Fortunately, there are applications and programs that will help you understand how the guitar is played and tuned.
There are even apps that are useful for both classical and Spanish guitar.
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Guitar apps: which are the best to learn to play the guitar?
The market has a wide range of applications for learning to play the guitar. For this reason, you should pay attention to some aspects, especially if you are a newbie and want to move quickly.
The best apps to learn to play the guitar are those that indicate aspects such as tuning the strings and incorporating chords and strums, as well as songs and fifths.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to know how these aspects work, especially if you learn seven basic chords with which you can play literally millions of songs.
A chord is like the mix of three or more notes, but they sound at the same time. These basic chords are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.
A major, there are also major and minor chords, but do not complicate your life and stick with the basic ones, since most songs only use between three and five.
For this reason, it is essential that when choosing an application it brings a series of basic chords so that it is easier for you to learn.
Free apps to learn to play the guitar
When we talk about free applications to learn to play the guitar, we are usually referring to “freemium” applications. That is, those that allow you to use some sections for free but eventually ask you to register and pay to unlock new features.
Some of these freemium guitar applications will serve as a starting point in their free version and will allow you to get the idea of whether or not you would pay for more advanced users.
Coach Guitar – Play easy guitar with chords
This application is very easy to use as it is perfect for beginners using a video lesson system. Thus, thanks to this visual method you will not get bored reading and you will learn faster than only if you do it while learning theory.
By seeing on the screen the position of your hand on each string, you will learn to play the guitar in less time than you think.
The application, whose full name is Coach Guitar-Play the easy guitar with chords, is available on Android and iOS and has 100,000 downloads and a rating of 4.1 out of 5 in the Google application store.
Through drawings and diagrams that tell you where and how to play the strings, you will have no problem moving forward little by little.
But the most important thing is that you will gain confidence since one of the biggest enemies when learning to play the guitar is the lack of motivation and boredom when you see that you are not making progress.
Learn to play the guitar
This course in the form of an application is another of the most downloaded and famous in the Google Play Store. Learning to play the guitar is an app that mixes theory and practice with lessons in the form of texts and audio that will help you learn to play this musical instrument from scratch.
It is ideal for beginners, but also for users with a slightly advanced level since it delves into the world of sheet music and teaches you how to read it.
In addition to learning the basics and knowing how to read sheet music, you will also know notions of different musical styles, and best of all, you do not need musical training to get started.
Guitar Lessons by Guitar Tricks
This application offers one of the best experiences when it comes to learning to play the guitar. It is a very intuitive program with which you can learn step by step from your electronic device.
It is available for Android and iOS. You have videos and lessons and record your learning. It also allows you to know the basics of the guitar with various levels of learning and simple songs, for both beginners and more advanced users.
Although it is a free application, it has some paid functions, so it is necessary that you register once you install it. The good thing is that you have a free lesson every week.
It has more than 95 different lessons and about four hours of video in a row that will help you play this instrument.
The great thing about Guitar Lessons by Guitar Tricks is that you can choose your own personal teacher from a selection of different professional guitarists sorted by style, popularity, and difficulty.
Yousician
Possibly the most revolutionary application when it comes to learning to play the guitar. This program has more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store and has been installed by users from more than 30 countries.
If these figures do not convince you, know that it has a modern, easy and intuitive design and learning approach, different from everything you think.
If you want to master the guitar, you should install this application yes or yes. Of course, it is a bit addictive, since it looks like a video game and you learn very quickly. In addition, it does not matter what level you have, as it is designed for beginners and advanced users.
Due to popularity, ease and simplicity, the four applications mentioned above are the most popular applications for learning to play the guitar, but there are other free applications such as Guitar for Beginners and Guitar Simulator that are also worth naming.
Applications to Learn to play the guitar (Paid)
Of course, in addition to free applications, there are also paid ones. This means that they do not have a very long trial period or that their free functions are not very useful, with which, you are “forced” to pay almost from the first moment. However, in most cases, these applications will be cheaper than paying for a classroom guitar course.
iReal Pro
This paid app teaches you to progress and combines more than 1,500 chords with other instruments such as drums, bass or piano. It is ideal for those who want to improvise, as it adds many styles and repositories. The price is 12.99 euros, but it is worth it if you are serious.
Yousician, in its paid version
It has a paid version and a free one. Without a doubt, the favourite app for many people. It has personal teachers and more than 1,500 levels of difficulty. Also, it saves the exact point where you left the last lesson, so you can see how you progress.
Of course, the paid version is priced at 119.99 euros per year.
The classification of the strings
Knowing which are the best apps to learn to play the guitar is very good, but it is of little use if you have it poorly tuned. Knowing how to tune an instrument well is the first step to learning how to play it correctly.
For this reason, you must not only know how to adjust the guitar, you must also learn what the strings are like and where they are placed. As you probably know, a guitar is made up of a soundboard, neck, and strings.
This last element is precisely more important than the other two. This is due to several reasons, one of them is that without the strings it is impossible to play the guitar and another is that throughout the life of an instrument the strings wear out: you have to change them and, therefore, adjust them.
It’s easy, the first string is the thinnest and highest, while the sixth is the thickest and lowest. The first string is located below everything and the sixth is the one that is highest.
What are the strings of a guitar called?
Next, you have the placement of the strings, as well as their notes and names.
- The first string is the thinnest and is equivalent to the E note. Its international name is E4.
- The second string is the note Si and its international name is B3.
- The third string corresponds to the musical note Sol and its international name is G3.
- The fourth string receives the international name of D3 and its note is Re.
- The fifth string is the second thickest and has a sound almost as low as the sixth. Its international name is A2 and its grade is La.
- The sixth string has the international code E2, while the note that sounds when it is played is E, like the first.
These strings correspond to an acoustic, classical or Spanish, electric and Creole guitar. In case you want to tune a bass, remember that it has 4 notes and its setting is a little different from a guitar because, technically, it is not a guitar.
Some applications have a different section for each plucked string instrument such as guitar or bass.
Guitar tuning app: Which one do I choose?
Yes, you want to learn to play the guitar as soon as possible but to play you first have to know how to tune. The reason is very simple: you still think you are playing well and you are not. Not to mention that a poorly tuned instrument can generate annoying sounds and confuse you with the notes. Remember: tune and create your own guitar, with the sounds and results you are looking for.
For this reason, both classical and Spanish guitars must be tuned correctly. On the other hand, the classic method to tune a guitar is using the ear in three possible ways, by unison, by harmonics or by combining both.
Don’t worry if these names sound like Chinese to you, fortunately, there are applications that will help you identify the names of the strings and how they sound.
Next, you have a list of some apps that will help you adjust both your guitar and any other string instrument.
Guitar Tuner PRO
This application can help you to adjust different string instruments such as the violin, the ukulele, or any type of guitar. In addition, it is compatible with Android and iOS and you can use it in combination with an electronic tuner.
GuitarTuna
It is a free app available for iOS and Android. It is one of the most popular and highest-rated applications, with more than 50 million downloads.
There are some paid tune-up applications, however, this program can be worth it if you are a newbie and are still learning, since it shows you the instructions in a simple way and with diagrams, so that you understand everything steps by step.
GStrings Tuner
Without a doubt, one of the best programs to tune a guitar that you can find in the market.
It has very good reviews and together with GuitarTuna it is one of the most downloaded applications in the Google application store since it has 10 million users.
Pano Tuner
This app-shaped tuner is ideal for all types of users, as it offers expert tuning for professional users or a step-by-step guide for those who have recently started playing.
How often do you need to tune a guitar?
Finally, comment that if you do not want to use the applications for whatever reason, you have the option of buying an electronic tuner. You have them of different prices and sizes.
If you don’t want to spend money, our recommendation is that you choose to use an app, if you see that you like it and want to continue advancing, try buying a tuner, or you can also borrow it from a friend in case of emergency.
Think that you need to tune the guitar almost every day, especially if you use it a lot, for about an hour continuously. This is because if you play it regularly, the strings loosen, so you will need to correct the sound and adjust the strings.
Factors such as temperature change, humidity or storing it for a long time make you have to tune the guitar more often.
Otherwise, if you play the guitar little, if you have it well stored and don’t move it too much, you may not need to tune it daily, unless a string breaks, then you will need to tune the guitar, either with an app or a tuner.
Now that you know how to learn to play the guitar in an easy and simple way, you just have to practice a little every day and be patient: you will see results in less time than you expect.
