Pricing
Good news for those worried about their budgets: Guitar Tricks comes with two account types, and only one of them charges you per month.
Basic Access: Free Lesson Sampler
Consider the basic account your free trial. With Basic Access, you’ll be able to view 24 sample lessons from 12 instructors, free of charge. The sample lessons aren’t arranged in any sort of series or theme; instead, these are snippets taken from the range of Guitar Tricks’ lessons, beginner and advanced. You won’t be able to use the free lessons as a structured beginner plan, but they will give you a quick taste of the breadth of Guitar Tricks’ lesson catalog.
Aside from the free lessons, you’ll have access to the public section of the site forums. You’ll also be able to sign up for the Guitar Tricks newsletter.
6th Place8.6 out of 10Full Access: Starts at $19.95
If you want unlimited access to Guitar Tricks’ immense library of over 8,000 video lessons, more than 400 song lessons, plus all 45 of the site’s active instructors, you’ll need the Full Access plan. You’ll be able to save video lessons to your computer for use when you don’t have internet access. The same goes for Guitar Tricks’ interactive apps like the metronome and Jam Station, which we’ll discuss more below. Even better, you can access the site’s support forums, where you can pose questions that active instructors can answer directly.
You can pay either monthly or annually, though bear in mind that Guitar Tricks sets your subscription for auto-renewal by default. Here’s what Full Access will cost you:
- Monthly: $19.95
- Annual: $179
Features
Guitar Tricks promises you a fast, easy, and fun registration, and it ticks all three boxes with ease. Creating an account only requires an email address. From there, you’ll go through a short questionnaire to help the Guitar Tricks system gauge your abilities and map out a lesson plan that fits your current skills and goals.
Lesson Coverage
Once you’ve created your user profile, you can dive right into Guitar Tricks’ vast catalog of lessons. The site has a unique Core Learning System to guide you. This is a well-organized skill tree that you can follow, complete with step-by-step outlines of the topics that constitute each skill’s different tiers of mastery. Initially, the bulk of your lessons will likely come from the category called Guitar Fundamentals. These lessons will take you from the basics to more specific techniques and skills at the intermediate level.
From there, you can branch out into different styles and genres, like Rock or Pop; you can also dive into mini-courses dedicated to particular techniques like Acoustic Fingerpicking. Each course lasts anywhere from one to eight weeks.
It’s worth noting, though, that Guitar Tricks’ lessons aim to be as short and efficient as possible. Some won’t even take more than 10 minutes. This is great if you’re chronically low on time or would like to dedicate more hours to practice. However, this also means that Guitar Tricks doesn’t delve much into the concepts or technical details that underpin many of these lessons. You’ll know enough to keep playing at increasing levels of skill, but you won’t get enough material to truly know each technique or style backwards and forwards.
Lesson Format
The bulk of Guitar Tricks’ lessons take the form of videos, with instructors going over the topic at hand. The interface itself is easy to navigate: a large, clear video pane gives you a good view of the material, while unobtrusive side panels give you quick links to the rest of the lessons in the series.
Guitar Tricks lets you choose from high, medium, or low resolution. You can set specific portions of the lesson to loop if needed, but you can’t alter the lesson’s speed. There are also options to add the lesson to your favorites, print lesson contents, or download the video itself.
Learning Tools
Guitar Tricks gives you some useful web apps found in, appropriately enough, your account’s Toolbox. The Jam Station is the best of these, giving you access to Guitar Tricks’ full — and, like its lesson catalog, vast — collection of song tracks. Jam Station strips the lead guitar track from the song, so you can step in and play along. Tracks are tagged according to genre, style, and so on, and the search bar makes it easy to mix and match tag filters as needed.
Apart from the Jam Station, there are also a digital metronome and guitar tuner, a chord finder, and a fretboard trainer. That last one functions more like a quiz, asking you to identify the fingerings shown on the fretboard; still, it’s a fun way to spend a few idle minutes.
Money-Back Guarantee
Guitar Tricks has decades of online guitar instruction under its belt, and the company takes its track record seriously. All Full Access subscriptions come with an initial 60-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re unsatisfied with Guitar Tricks’ services, you can claim a full refund, no questions asked. Considering the sheer scope of Guitar Tricks’ catalog, that lengthy 60-day period is just enough time for you to truly see if the site will work well for you.
Customer Support
Guitar Tricks has an extensive FAQ page that covers common questions regarding everything from account creation to technical and billing information. If you’re looking to ask questions about lesson content, the site’s instructors have their own threads in the forums where you can pose your questions to them directly. For other issues or concerns, you can send Guitar Tricks’ staff an email or call their dedicated phone line.
What's the Verdict on Guitar Tricks?
Guitar Tricks Review 2020 – Conclusion
Guitar Tricks has been providing online guitar lessons since 1998, and a quick look at the site’s trove of lessons and resources will show you why it’s still going strong. With thousands of lessons from certified instructors on offer, you’ll have enough material here to take you from beginner to experienced guitarist given enough time. Features like song lessons and the handy Jam Station app help you gain confidence in your playing, while the ability to download video lessons and access material through mobile apps give you a lot of flexibility. Advanced users looking for more in-depth, technical instruction will find Guitar Tricks’ content a bit lacking. Other than that, though, Guitar Tricks is a great place to sharpen your skills. Check it out today!
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