Online guitar lessons have exploded in recent years. Not surprisingly, as web video has become more and more accessible, a couple of big players have moved into the business, moving the model beyond “guy with a video camera” to the next level: a complete online music school, with multiple teachers, complete curriculums, and even proprietary video systems.
Two of the best known online guitar courses are Guitar Tricks and JamPlay. Both school are making an effort to do things right. They have multiple guitar teachers, allowing the student to pick and choose a teacher who works for them. They both offer lessons focused on different styles – whether you want to play rock or blues or classical you’ll find teachers at either site.
A certain number of the differences are subjective. When it comes to teachers, for example, a lot of it is personal. You want to take the video guitar lessons from the teacher who inspires you to play the most, so just because I prefer the teachers at one site doesn’t mean they’re the right teachers for you.
JamPlay seems to have better organization. Within a few minutes I felt like I had the hang of the site, and could easily find lessons on whatever subject I was interested in. Whereas on Guitar Tricks the organization was a little more hidden, and I felt I had to poke around more to find lessons on a specific subject.
JamPlay also has it’s lessons more clearly built into full lectures. There seems to be a higher level of curation. Different lessons are set up so you could spend hours working through thematic material with a single teacher, and there’s even substantial duplication, meaning that if a certain teacher rubs you the wrong way, you’re forced to deal with him to learn some of the material.
Guitar Tricks on the other hand, has more stand-alone lessons. They may be better if you want a quick snack – “here are a few of Hendrix’s ideas. Go play with them!” – but it’s definitely less satisfying if you want a full meal. I feel like Guitar Tricks lessons are less consistently high level, although there are absolutely some fantastic lessons and teachers there (Lisa McCormick, who teaches acoustic guitar, is particularly fantastic, as the lessons on Albert-King style licks are great). Guitar Tricks also lets your download many of their lessons to your hard drive, which is a nice feature.
The truth is that while both these sites are worthwhile endeavors, JamPlay strikes this guitarist as the clear favorite because of its better depth, breadth, and organization. That being said, both are definitely worth checking out, and many students may find that a month or two of JamPlay membership is nicely mixed up with a month at Guitar Tricks.
JamPlay (official site)
Guitar Tricks (official site)
