Before I began learning guitar exclusively online, this is a question that I had. I doubted that it was possible to learn guitar online because my mind was still stuck on the idea of a traditional course of learning with a guitar instructor or maybe a mix between the two.
It turns out I was wrong and 6 months later and I have completed Justin Guitars Beginner Course and I can play the guitar. I may not be the best guitarist, and I still class myself as a beginner, but I have built a foundation upon which I can go on and learn lots of songs and you can too.
Is it possible to learn guitar online? Yes, it is possible. The best way to learn guitar online is through a structured course. Justin Guitar and Guitar Tricks are the best courses. YouTube alone is not the best for a beginner as it doesn’t offer a structured path.
Now, let’s answer some common questions about learning guitar online.
Why It Is Possible To Learn Guitar Online
The reason it is possible to learn guitar online is that highly qualified and experienced guitar teachers have taken everything that they have learned themselves and from teaching others and put it into a structured course for others to learn online.
Justin Sandercoe aka Justin Guitar has developed his online system of learning guitar for over 10 years and the result is a truly excellent resource. It has been grown and refined through trial and error and many thousands of people have learned to play guitar through his courses online.
It is a well-trodden path with many success stories who have proven that is possible to learn guitar online. I personally have learned to play guitar exclusively online through his course and you can too for no cost at all.
Can I Learn Guitar On My Own?
Yes, you can learn guitar on your own.
If you see learning guitar ‘on your own’ as listening to songs and then trying to decipher from scratch with no musical knowledge what they are playing and then replicate that on a guitar, this will be difficult, but still possible.
However, the days where you had to do that to learn to play guitar are long gone.
If you see learning guitar on your own as learning online with a pre-recorded structure like the Justin Guitar Beginner Course then 100% you can learn on your own. It is a simple process of following the structured path presented to you and anyone can do this if they apply themselves.
That is what it truly comes down to, how much do you want to learn to play guitar? If you can dedicate 3 to 4 times a week for up to an hour then you will develop a habit quickly and see excellent progress.
If you are irregular in your practice, do it while you watch TV and vary the amount you practice then your results will reflect your efforts.
In short, you get out what you put in. The failure will only be on not putting the time in to learn.
But how long will it take?
How Long Does It Take To Learn Guitar?
The answer to this question to this firstly lies in what you see as your ‘finished product’. Do you want to be able to strum a few songs in the comfort of your own home or to some friends around a campfire or maybe you want to be playing as part of a band in front of a crowd or be a solo performer?
Whatever your guitar goal ambitions you will have to start with a basic course of learning to get the best foundation and this is possible online. I know, I have done it.
I learned to play guitar using the Justin Guitar Beginner Course. It has a structured form of learning which takes you from first picking up a guitar right through to being able to play hundreds of songs.
Along the way you will learn to play the following:
| Stage 1 | Chords: D, A, E, 4 Bar Strumming Ear Training |
| Stage 2 | Chords: Am, Em, Dm Playing with a metronome Ear Training |
| Stage 3 | Chords: G, C Names of open strings Finger workout Strum patterns Ear training |
| Stage 4 | Chords: G7, C7, B7, Fmaj7 Strum patterns Dynamics Ear training |
| Stage 5 | Chords: A7, D7, E7 The Note Circle Triplet rhythms Strum patterns |
| Stage 6 | Chords: F, Using a capo Strum patterns Picking individual strings Ear training |
| Stage 7 | Chords: Asus4, Asus 2, Dsus4, Dsus2, Esus4 Notes in open position Power Chords Strum patterns Ear training |
| Stage 8 | G Chord variations 12 Bar Blues style Basic fingerstyle Power chords Ear training |
| Stage 9 | Chords: D/F#, G/B, C/G Power chord shifts and palm mutes Applied fingerstyle patterns 12 Bar Blues variations Minor pentatonic pattern Basic blues improvisation Ear training Consolidation phase (final 10 songs you can see in my video further below) |
The average amount of time to complete the Justin Guitar Beginner Course is 3 to 6 months. It took me 5 months at the age of 40 with a full-time job and a young family with two children. I was playing 4 to 5 hours a week, so an approximate total of 130 hours of learning.
Below is the end result of the beginner course, 10 Songs that I know how to play all the way through. I actually learned more than this but this gives you a good idea of what level I am at after learning guitar online for 5 months.
I am not perfect by any stretch but I have learned all I know about guitar, online and if I can do this with the schedule that I have, then you can too.
If you want to see a full breakdown on how long it will take to learn guitar including the 6 major stages of learning and the amount of time required, then read our blog post here How Long It Takes To Learn Guitar – The 6 Stages Explained
Where To Learn Guitar For Free
There are many areas to learn guitar for free and one of the most obvious resources is YouTube. There are, what seems like, hundreds and hundreds of guitar teachers who having broken down topics, techniques, chords, scales, songs, and solo’s for you to learn from.
These are all great in their singularity but where would you start if you wanted to develop a basic foundation of how to play guitar? Somewhere that you could learn from and know that you are following a course of learning that will get you where you want to go?
Well, some of these YouTube guitar teachers have their own websites where you can learn from them with a course that they have put together.
In fact, I have written about the best free places to learn guitar online here, Where To Learn Guitar With Structure For Free Online, there are over 18 resources in that article and they all chosen because they have structured form of learning and they cover areas from beginner guitar through to more advanced techniques like the blues, slide guitar, country, banjo, mandolin, and music theory to name a few.
In addition, to this, I have put together a YouTube video of some of the best places to learn online that are entirely free and offer structure where each lesson builds upon the last. Check it out below.
If you are a beginner or have just picked up the guitar after a long way away from it, then one of the best places to learn online for free is the Justin Guitar Beginner Course. It has extensive coverage of all the basics and gives you enough to feel intrigued when you finish it. Intrigued enough to choose another path of learning with guitar and develop your skills and build a life long habit.
The course is 100% free, most people end up donating or buying other material from him, like books or merchandise because he offers so much value to all of us wanting to learn guitar.
Best Paid Guitar Lessons Online
If you are willing to pay for your guitar lessons online there is a vast array of places to learn guitar online and the best place to learn, is Guitar Tricks. They have excellent high quality (4k) videos with multiple guitar instructors. The course layout is one that allows you to choose a path once you have got a firm grasp of the basics. There is a great forum of people and it is currently regarded by many as THE place to learn online.
Why would you pay to take this course of learning over the Justin Guitar Beginner Course? The reason you would choose Guitar Tricks over the Justin Guitar Beginner Course is that you may want to learn a specialty from a guitar teacher that has learned in this area for many years.
Justin is only one guy after all and covers many topics but it is not possible for him to cover a specialty as in-depth as someone who has focused on it for most of their life. Whether they are a better teacher, only you can decide and it can be an important question to ask yourself.
Some times we just don’t ‘gel’ with our instructor and if you are learning in person this can feel a little awkward, especially when you want to quit learning with them and find someone else. The joy of learning guitar online is that you can do this at any time. The joy of learning with Guitar Tricks is that there are multiple instructors so if for some reason you just don’t enjoy the teaching style of one that you can try using another.
When it boils down to it, it is about people and how they can connect with you so that you can get the information and the instruction that you need. So go with your gut instinct and choose what works for you.
Feeling Frustrated With Your Guitar Progress Online?
A common occurrence when learning guitar online is a feeling of frustration in not being able to play as well as you want or as quickly as you want to.
I have been through this and it will happen again but I have written a couple of posts that will help you get the most out of learning and beat that frustration when it begins to set in.
Check them out here:
How To Beat Guitar Learning Frustration – 11 Tips For The Older Beginner
