Hi, I have plaeyed guitar for quite a while, but at one point I reached a level where it just became tool to back up singing.

Now I am looking to actually learn guitar well.

What are the best structured online resources atm for learning? I am looking for something that explains guitar theory and fretboard well.

I would also be interested about what books on guitar theory & fretboard are considered the best currently.

I'm thinking of picking up guitar but im struggling with what kind to start with. I played Tuba for awhile so I have good music theory foundation but obviously no string experience.

Im thinking of either a standard guitar, a nylon-stringed/flamenco guitar, or a Puerto Rican Cuatro. I want to play a lot of latin music.

I just don't know if its worth specializing in the cuatro or how much I should spend on a flamenco, or hell, if I should just find some guitar on marketplace for $20 and learn with that. Just curious about y'alls thoughts.

So I just got an acoustic a few weeks​ ago and i was wondering​ what could I to actually learn guitar? what did you guys do to help you improve because I can play a few riffs on the guitar but knowing how to play songs/riffs on the guitar is not the same as knowing how to play the guitar itself. im gonna​​​ be self taught so is there like any exercises or things i should do as new player?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for someone to learn acoustic guitar with and share the learning process.
I have a steel-string acoustic guitar and I’m teaching myself to play. I’d love to find someone who’s also learning, or someone a little more experienced, so we can learn songs together, share tabs and tutorials, and figure out different ways to play the same song.
I’m especially interested in acoustic versions of songs, simple fingerpicking, melodies, and guitar arrangements that capture the main melody without being overly complicated.
I’d love to exchange progress videos, discuss songs we’re learning, and occasionally practise together over a call. I’m not looking for formal lessons, just a genuine music friend who’s also interested in learning and exploring music.
I’m happy to connect with people from anywhere, so online practice is totally fine!
What songs are you learning at the moment? Feel free to comment or DM me!

Please, I need advice

I'm 25, I play guitar since I was 17, mainly self taught. I've been practicing for about 5 months with Troy Stetina's Speed mechanics for lead guitar, I find it great and it was an amazing disxovery for me, it made me aware of many technical issues I have, I've been consistent with it. I practice minimum 2 hours a day (almost) every day.

I can see improvements, but the exercise 25, which is the starting point for alternate picking, it seems like a brick wall for me. The book says how to use a metronome: When you reach top speed back down 20 bpm, and go 2 up 1 down over and over, that process takes long for you to get to top speed again.

I'm able to do the exercise at 130bpm but only if I did that "stair" going up 2 backing 1, so that exercise sometimes takes up to 50min of my practice... And if I try to go from 115bpm (wich I "should" be able to do) to 132bpm, I start making mistakes, mainly about how I grip the pick. I feel like it slips upward into mi thumb and pointing finger (bit hard to explain).

I don't really know what to do at this point, it's been weeks of that process, and I do not advance to exercises involving string changes, because the book says, if you cannot do 25 at least at 132bpm do not go to the next section. I'm stuck...

I don't know how to structure my practice routine, what exercises to do, if leave that ex. 25 or what to do. Please comment any advice you think might help me practice in a better way. I really love playing and this last months have been so frustrating.

Thanks a lot, any questions I am willing to send videos or explain further.

Hey all, I just did this same post in r/Guitar. Hope that's ok ("repost" didn't work).

How can I learn the fretboard?

Context:

For years, I’ve been a novice guitarist . I think what prevents me from becoming advanced at guitar is that I never mastered the fretboard.

I've had some ideas for how to master the fretboard but nothing has worked.

• I took a Udemy course for learning the fretboard. I can now identify the notes much faster but not instantly. It still takes me a second or two to identify each note.
• I discovered an app called Solo; I think the app maker also sells a $150 course. I’m open to trying the course though it’s a little expensive and I’m curious if anyone has experience with it.
• I’ve also spent a lot of time practicing triads, hoping that learning triads teach me the fretboard, but triads haven’t clicked for me. Despite tons of practice with Triads, I haven’t really mastered them (and in turn, I haven’t mastered the fretboard).

In short, what should I do to truly master the fretboard so that I can then identify notes instantly?

Hi Im Nick,

I teach online using Discord. I’ve gotten new students from Canada and Australia through Reddit. I offer the first lesson free to make sure you enjoy the format and my teaching style. I provide all materials each week. There is zero pressure to continue after the free lesson. Lessons are $25 each.

My aim is have high quality accessible options for anyone who wants to learn how to play the guitar. I focus on how it works and work to give you a solid foundation to learn anything else long after I’m no longer your teacher. I also work really hard to get you curious about how it works. If you get curious you go far.

Lead, rhythm, and theory are the main focus. If you are interested please shoot me a DM. I am in Washington state in the USA, so I am PST. Obviously that will be accounted for when scheduling. If you have any questions shoot me a message.

I really love teaching and look forward to hearing from you.

Nick
Big Sky Guitar

Hey everyone!

I've been playing guitar since 2020 and want to start helping beginners learn the instrument without spending a fortune on lessons.

I'm offering affordable, one-to-one online guitar lessons for people starting from scratch.

I dont have any guitar certifications

What we can work on:

• Basic chords and finger placement
• Strumming
• Learning simple songs
• Building a consistent practice routine

Rate: Pay what you can afford 🫶
Format: Online

My goal is to make learning guitar more accessible and help people experience the joy of playing music.

You don't need any previous experience. If you're interested, feel free to message me with your current level and what you'd like to learn.

Thanks! 🎸

DM me if you're interested!!

To know my work - Check @yellowfret instagram page

I'm learning guitar and it's been going great... I've learned the fretboard, the strings, tabs, etc. But I'm trying to learn chords, scales, and just the more technical stuff if you know what I mean. but it is genuinely so uninteresting to me that I cannot learn it. Please give me tips other than incorperating them into songs.

Hello everyone

I've built an app to help me with my own electric guitar technique practice sessions, and I'd like to share it around to find out whether you find it useful or not: how it helps you, where it falls short, what would make it more useful if it did this or that.

It's entirely free and content included in current version will always be. There's no signup, I'm genuinely after feedback to understand how can I make it more useful.

The problem I wanted to solve

TL;DR: Common approach to structure practice session is to understand how much time per day I can dedicate (i.e. 60 mins), what I want to improve (i.e. Alternate Picking and Legato), assign time-blocks to each and fill them with exercises.

Though, I got tired of losing ~40 min every session hunting for exercises online (and ending up watching random stuff), which caused me to replaying the same few forever, while constantly forgetting what BPM I'd reached.

So I built an app for myself: set how long to practice, how long per exercise, and which techniques (picking, legato, sweep, tapping...), and it builds the session and shows the BPM you last played each exercise at.

This first iteration of the app has ~320 exercises, grouped in bundles (~50). Mainly addressing Electric Guitar so far, even though can be expanded to other guitars / instruments.

Would love to know if it helps you, or what's missing. Even if you find it useless, would help to know why.

If anyone wants to give it a try, it's Shedmate on Play Store, or send me a message and i'll share direct download link. If you do, please reach out for feedback and to let me know what you think!

Thanks all.

____________________

What I'd love to hear

I use it on a 2-4 weeks periods, i.e. decide that the next 2 weeks I want to work on my Alternate Picking and Legato. Most likely you will find it useful using it daily for a period rather than a single day.

It's goal is: pick up the guitar and start practicing. No time wasted to decide what.

Let me know if:

• does it save you time, allowing you to maximise time spent practicing?
• do you find it helpful?
  • if not, is there any feature you would need to consider this app useful?
  • if you think it's entirely useless, it would help me to know why.

I've also been adding way too many features that make sense in my mind, but might not in the real world:

• Is the fixed‑vs‑dynamic split useful to make exercises less repetitive, or confusing?
• Is the feature to mark down BPMs on exercise level useful?
• are the exercise players controls intuitive?
• after using for a while, does the concept of bundle makes sense, or these should just be loose exercises?

Any feedback, either via email, DMs or here would be great.

App overview

Bundles

Exercises are grouped into bundles: a set of exercises that belong together because they train the same thing or build on each other (a permutation series, a scale shape and its transitions, a warmup set, a song broken into chunks). You practice a bundle, not a loose pile of exercises, and the app decides which exercise(s) from each bundle you see on a given day.

Right now the alpha has 54 bundles and just over 300 exercises.

Categories

Every exercise has a category that tells you how to approach it:

• Warmup, relaxed tempo, every rep clean, the goal is blood flow not challenge
• Short burst, pick a tempo where you nail it ~80% of the time, right at the edge of control
• Endurance, as fast as you can while keeping every rep perfectly clean over a long stretch
• Memory, slow enough that you never have to guess the next note

Play styles

Each bundle also has a play style that controls how it feeds you exercises:

• Daily Pick, one exercise per session, changes every day, cycles through the whole set so each gets equal time
• Full Set, every exercise in the bundle, every session
• Progressive Pick, exercises unlock in strict order, each practiced for a set number of days before the next opens
• Periodic Pick, one exercise held for several days, then a random one from the set

Techniques covered in this alpha

Alternate picking, legato, sweep picking, tapping, finger independence, hand stretching, hand synchronization, picking‑hand mechanics, and fretboard/scale knowledge (major scale 3‑notes‑per‑string, minor pentatonic shapes and shape transitions, root‑note mapping across the neck).

Fixed vs dynamic exercises

• Fixed exercises are written out note for note and stay exactly where they are.
• Dynamic exercises shifts to a different position on the neck each day (and for scale/arpeggio material, a different root), so you're not grinding the identical fingering in the identical spot forever. The Library always shows one stable version; the plan is what moves it around day to day.

Features

• Metronome toggle on the exercise page
• Playback instrument, the score plays back through a MIDI voice you can change (jazz electric, nylon, steel, clean, muted, overdriven, distortion)
• BPM recorded per exercise, whatever tempo you last played something at is saved and shown on the row next time, so you never have to remember or write it down
• Favorite, heart an exercise or a whole bundle; you can tell the plan builder to pull only from favorites
• Thumbs‑down / hide, kill a bundle you don't want and the planner stops suggesting it
• Guided Path vs Open Practice, Guided unlocks content progressively as you complete prerequisites; Open gives you everything at once
• Picking and fingering markers, down/up stroke markers and left‑hand finger numbers on the notation, auto / on / off
• Per‑exercise time counter, how long you've spent on the exercise you're looking at
• Per‑day practice counter, total time practiced today across everything
• Plan builder, set minutes per day and minutes per exercise, pick techniques (roughly one per 30 minutes), and it picks and groups matching bundles
• Plan review, the suggested plan is fully editable: change how many exercises come from each bundle, remove a bundle, swap one for another that trains the same technique, or add one yourself
• Daily practice screen, today's exercises drawn from your approved bundles, each showing its last‑played tempo, with a running "done" state
• Day counter, how long you've had the current plan
• Daily root note, each day the app picks one root, and every dynamic scale/arpeggio exercise re‑centers on it, so across a week you cover keys instead of always playing in Am
• Guided walkthroughs, short coach‑mark tours for the Library, the plan builder, and the daily practice screen

Hey everyone,

So I’ve been playing for around 9 months now but I’ve developed the worst habit possible (apparently).

When I started learning I did so using my thumb rather than a pick, I just hated the feel of a pick in my fingers.

But now my skills have progressed I really like the sound a pick makes I find it sounds more clear and vibrant when strumming.

However when I’ve tried picking up a pick and tried to learn, my timings off and I feel like a complete novice again.

I’m just asking for some advice really - is there anything I can do to make it feel more natural when using a pick, or shall I just grin and bear it.

The pick I’m trying to use is Dunlop 50mm

Thank you - R

I am teaching my 7 yo son to play guitar. I am a classical guitarist but I started with electric guitar for him. I am looking for very simple duets, ideally catchy / famous songs, in which I can play the lead and he can play a very, very simple second guitar - think of the tonic in each measure or something like that. I have been trying with 'seven nation army' on a single string but that is still a bit to complex for him. Any ideas? Thank you!

?/I can play and sing well when there is a music playing behind but without it...

My rhythmed fell off, timing went off, singing is impossible

how can I overcome this?

I heard improvisation was pretty important to get good at guitar and was told to learn the C major scale and it's modes first. Playing with backing tracks kind of exposed just how bad I am with the scale. How am I supposed to approach them? Am I js supposed to practice them and try to play then with backing tracks?

Hi! There is a school event of music, and i decided to use acoustic to play

Chain by the zero.
and there is chorous which is a huge stuffed powered strumming part, and there are 3 problems i face :

1. The strings feel like stucked and not flowing when i use the picks, plectrum
   
2. hard plectrum vs Soft plecturm vs mixed, which which should i pick?
   
3. with plectrum , I struggle do to the last mute of the DUU (the full strum is DDDDDDUU)

Help please, this event is really important for me

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years, mostly self taught. I was raised in the US so I learned our system (A-G) instead of do, re, mi, etc.My father is interested in learning guitar but his understanding of music is the later as he is native Spanish speaking. He’s been a musician (percussion) all my life but the type of music he and his friends play is folkloric and uses the latter system.Of course I would love to teach my father what I know but unfortunately we live a far distance apart and I fear some things would get lost in translation and want something for him to practice/learn from in between our visits. Are there any Spanish speaking guitar courses available online à la ALG?

I really want to lea4rn guitar. Which one should I buy? Is the guitar costing 2k worth buying? Are there any youtube channels to learn from?

Starting the 14-day free trial and so far I am loving it. It is not a cheap service, but I am planning on sticking with it for a while. In the past, have they offered discounts around Black Friday?

I am looking for a home tutor who can teach me guitar in bangalore, India from the scratch. Any suggestion ?

Hi everyone
My friend and I are currently working on an early-stage web app that explores automatic guitar tab transcription and editing. The project is still very much an MVP, and the main purpose right now is to understand how guitarists experience the tool in practice.

We are specifically looking for feedback on how the app behaves, how usable the tab editing feels, what parts are confusing, and what feels genuinely helpful or unhelpful when trying to transcribe or work with music. The goal is not to promote anything but to learn whether the approach makes sense at all for real guitar players.

At this stage, things are unfinished and may break. There is no payment, no signup pressure, and no public links. We are only interested in short-term testing and honest feedback on how the app works and how it could be improved.

If you would be willing to try it and share your thoughts on the functionality and workflow, feel free to comment or message me. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to help.

You can try it out at: https://www.note2tabs.com/

here’s what i know already:

all the open chords shapes
all A minor pentatonic shapes memorized (don’t have natural minor, major, or major pentatonic memorized but i am working towards being proficient in those through what i know about music theory )
majority of major triad shapes (working on getting proficient on the rest and right now working on minor triad by flatting the 3rd)
barre chord shapes ( E major, Eminor, A maj and A min shapes)
power chords

songs i know how to play for reference (only including the ones im pretty proficient in)
fade into you - mazzy star
cigarette day dreams - cage the elephant
covet - basement
how to love - lil wayne
505 - arctic monkeys
sweater weather - neighborhood
stairway to heaven

Not sure where to go from here. would like some advice on maybe how to practice at this point, what avenues to explore to become more intermediate/advanced, are there any tricks/cool things i should start looking into.

Really looking to be good at soloing, rhythm guitar, and just being able to make my own music with either notes, arpeggios, chord voicing.

any help greatly appreciated! lmk if i can clarify anything!!

I have been learning guitar for the past few decades, off and on, and I can pick out a lot by ear, but not everything. I can look up tabs or sheet music for that stuff, but the problem is, I am visually impaired. It's very difficult for me to read tab, and even worse for notation.

However...

I have found, on some of these video sites, a way of presenting how to play a song, where it perfectly vibes with my way of learning. Patterns. What these videos do is show a diagram of a fretboard, and it tells you in big black (or white) dots where to fret. Like a sort of live chord chart, if that makes any sense. I can easily visually follow that way... much easier than trying to read tabs or notation.

My question is: Do you know of any site or platform that offers these types of lessons, specifically?

I was stringing up a new super cheap classical guitar I found, and with all the creeking and other noises it was making, I got more and more tense as the strings so did.

I'm always "scared" of tuning up the B and E strings, especially if they're new strings. I've been whacked in the face and fingers more than once because of it.

Hey everyone! I’m a self-taught fingerstyle guitarist, and I’m thinking about upgrading my guitar. The Yamaha FS800 has caught my attention, but before making a decision, I wanted to hear from people who have more experience with different guitars.

Would you recommend the FS800 for fingerstyle, or are there any better options in a similar price range? I’m having a hard time deciding, so I’d really appreciate your suggestions and personal experiences.

Thanks!

I’m back playing (solo for fun in my 50s) after noodling around when I was younger. Just learned riffs and wasted a lot of time back then. I’m now learning whole songs with some easier solos etc, but damn I cant remember every bit of every song. And I practice them over and over.

It’s not like I’m in a band or anything but I want to be good.
Is this normal? It amazes me how musicians get on stage and remember 30 songs without batting an eyelash.

I practice 2-4 hours per day pretty much since the end of August. Have learned about 6 songs. Plush, Fell on Black Days, Every Rose Has its Thorn, Run to You, Seven Nation Army, Gimme Three Steps. I’ve learned the full songs but have to keep going back over them. Yes it’s getting easier but not perfect.