Learn to Play Guitar Online for Free: Resources and Tips for Beginners

You can learn to play guitar online for free from start to finish. Even if you don’t know how to tune up, by using these web resources you can advance as far as your dedication can take you. Guitar classes or tutors can be expensive, and there is no reason to pay for a “how-to” book or audio cd when all the information you need to become a top-notch strummer, plucker, or shredder is right at your fingertips. All you need is to beg, borrow, or buy a six-string guitar, then set aside some time when you can learn to play guitar online for free. Here are some resources that cover everything from chords to niche techniques, and a guide to full-blown, completely free online lessons that will take you from learning to tune all the way through to writing your very own original songs.

Chord Charts: Expand Your Ears
Chords are the building blocks of songs, and the more chords you learn how to play, the wider your musical vocabulary will become, and the more versatile your playing will be. Every new chord you learn to play on your guitar will enlarge your understanding of how your guitar can sound, so when you learn a new chord, you train both your hands and your ears. The ultimate guitar chord chart, online for free at http://www.guitarnotes.com/guitar/notes2/ultimate11.shtml, contains probably every chord you’ll ever play. If you want to learn to play guitar online for free, you’ll want to bookmark this website immediately. This chord chart may not show you how to play, but it will show you what to play. Trying a couple of new chords every day will keep you excited and motivated as you learn to play guitar, and this free online resource will give you an almost infinite supply of new chords.

Technique Tips: Develop Your Style
Cyberfret, online at http://www.cyberfret.com/, has an extensive series of niche tutorials that offer tips on specific techniques. Once you have some basic skills under your belt, check out their advice on soloing, improvising, and improving your finger control. If you want to learn to play guitar online so that you can make music in a specific genre, like blues or jazz, that has its own kind of playing style, cyberfret is a great place to go to learn some vocabulary and tips that will help you get the sound you’re dreaming of.

Lessons: From Beginner To Advanced
So, setting up your own curriculum from all these bits and pieces can be a lot of fun, but when you’re just starting out, some structure can be a big help. If you want to learn to play guitar online using a more traditional, step-by-step approach, take advantage of About.com’s free beginner’s lessons, at http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm, which will teach you crucial fundamentals like how to hold your guitar, and how to play simple chords. These lessons are easy to understand and follow, and will give you a great technical foundation.
Once you’ve got the basics down, head over to the ActoGuitar tutorials, online at http://www.actoguitar.com/, which will help you unlock your creativity. These four “core” lesson modules will teach you to start developing your own playing style by creating riffs and learning new techniques. By the end of the course, you’ll have written your own original song, which is a worthy goal indeed. If you want to learn to play guitar online in order to explore your own creativity, these lessons can get you well on your way.