I’ve been a TrueFire customer for the past several years. As a self-proclaimed “guitar nerd,” I have purchased guitar lessons from many online providers and completed several courses on the TrueFire platform. Over the years, I have honed in on my favorite guitar lesson platforms, and for various reasons discussed below, TrueFire was my #1.
Based on how much I enjoyed TrueFire’s guitar lesson platform, my next natural step was to become an affiliate of theirs. I honestly believe TrueFire is the best all-around platform for learning to play guitar, and if you decide to make a purchase with them, I humbly ask you to please use one of the links from this article. Doing so would earn me a small yet very much appreciated commission. Thank you in advance for that!
With that said, let’s discuss all the reasons why TrueFire is the best platform for learning to play guitar.
TrueFire Has the Best Guitar Teachers
Before we even get into the incredible selection of guitar lessons offered by TrueFire, we have to talk about their instructors. Not only do they have the most total instructors of any platform, but they also have the most impressive roster of well-known guitar players. If you’re a fan of any of the players listed below, how cool is it to be able to take an entire series of guitar lessons with that person as your teacher!?
In addition to having the most well-known players as teachers, I have found literally all of the teachers on TrueFire to be excellent musicians and music educators. Clearly, they have a very high bar when hiring guitar teachers because every course on TrueFire contains quality education from knowledgeable guitar players.
Truefire’s Most Well-Known Guitar Teachers
These are the instructors that stood out to me, but there are so many others who are excellent.
- Jennifer Batten
- Joe Bonamassa
- Larry Carlton
- Mike Dawes
- Tommy Emanuel
- Robben Ford
- Johnny Hiland
- Greg Koch
- Sonny Landreth
- Wolf Marshall
- Pat Martino
- Andy McKee
- Tim Pierce
- Alex Skolnick
- Josh Smith
- Mike Stern
- Andy Timmons
- Walter Trout
- Steve Vai
- Andy Wood
- Dweezil Zappa
- Mike Zito
TrueFire Has the Most Guitar Lessons
At this time, TrueFire already has nearly 55,000 guitar lessons, and new ones are being added regularly. 55,000 is a lot of guitar lessons, and they span every genre you can think of. Whether you want to learn blues, rock, jazz, country, classical, flamenco, soul, funk, reggae, or more, TrueFire is going to have plenty of lessons applicable to you.
TrueFire Has Regular Sales
Every time I’m browsing their lessons catalog, it seems that TrueFire is having some kind of sale. One thing I like about their platform is that they give customers various options for purchasing guitar lessons.
If all you care about at this time is purchasing one specific lesson, you can purchase just that lesson. You’ll have access to the lesson using TrueFire’s learning platform (more on that in a bit), which is available via a web browser, the TrueFire 3 Desktop App, or via the TrueFire app on your phone. If you’re using the TrueFire 3 Desktop App and you prefer saving a local copy of the lesson to your hard drive rather than streaming the content from TrueFire, the app will allow you to download all lesson files.
If you’re interested in looking at the bigger picture, beyond just a single guitar lesson, TrueFire All Access is a monthly/annual service providing access to all courses and song lessons.
TrueFire Learning Paths
TrueFire Learning Paths provide “accelerated Study Plans for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Guitar Players” for the following categories:
- Acoustic
- Bass
- Blues
- Country
- Jazz
- Rock
If your goal is to learn guitar or bass for any of those categories, TrueFire Learning Paths are an excellent way to fast-track your skillset. These days with the Internet and YouTube, one of the biggest problems guitarists face is the overabundance of information. Too much information can slow you down and make it more challenging to select suitable courses and materials to study.
TrueFire Learning Paths solve that problem for you by curating an entire lesson path, based on your level, for the style of music you have selected. Think of it like a college curriculum. All you have to do is stick to the program and complete each of the lessons. Doing so will certainly raise your skill and proficiency with your selected plan.
TrueFire’s Learning Platform Tools
One of my absolute favorite parts about taking guitar lessons on TrueFire is getting to utilize all of their platform learning tools. In all honesty, I haven’t yet taken advantage of everything they offer, but I’ve found several of their tools to be game changers.
I was a child of the 1980s, then started getting serious about playing guitar in the 90s. I remember guitar lesson videos being on VHS tapes in those days. As technology has improved over the years, so has the learning experience. Gone are the days of watching a single camera shooting low-resolution footage, with our music staff or tablature located in some separate file or booklet.
TrueFire has revolutionized the guitar learning process by combining multiple angles of high-definition footage with tab, music staff, and/or chord charts, which are all kept in sync with the music and video. As your teacher plays on screen, your selection for any combination of guitar tablature, music staff notation, or chord charts will keep in sync with what they are playing! This makes it incredibly easy to follow along as a student.
More Features from the TrueFire Video Player
- Video provides multiple angles of HD footage.
- Video can be sped up, slowed down, zoomed in, or out.
- Music can be transposed into any key you want.
- The music staff and tab are moving along with the video and are always in sync.
- You can endlessly repeat a certain section if you want to practice it.
- A metronome can be turned on, and it’s always in sync with the song/lesson.
- Full-Screen mode
- Optional view of a guitar neck diagram, highlighting each note as it is played.
- Optional view of a piano keyboard, highlighting each note as it is played.
- Ability to customize staff/tab view to show any combination of staff, tab, and chord charts.
- Play with a count-in.
- Customize the player layout to your liking.
Other Great Learning Tools From TrueFire
Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart
This chord chart developed by TrueFire defines 133 of the most essential chords a guitar player could ever need. Every shape you can imagine is included here.
Chord Finder
If for any reason, you aren’t able to find the chord you’re looking for in the Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart, TrueFire’s Chord Finder is here to save the day. Find the definition for literally any guitar chord using this handy tool.
Scales Chart
Having trouble remembering your scales? No problem, TrueFire’s Scales Chart has you covered with every scale you could possibly need. Combined with the other learning tools on TrueFire’s platform, there is no better way to learn and practice scales on the guitar.
Metronome
I have heard it said by some guitar teachers that if you aren’t using a metronome, you aren’t really practicing. While that statement may be arguable, there is no question that a metronome is an important part of your practice toolkit. One thing I like about TrueFire’s metronome is the fact that it is always in sync with the lesson you’re watching. You can change the tempo or key, and the metronome will adjust seamlessly.
Tuner
Obviously, everyone needs to stay in tune, and while there are plenty of tuning options out there, it’s nice to have a free tuner built right into the TrueFire platform. It would be a disruption to the student if they had to disengage from their lesson to go and tune their guitar. Luckily, TrueFire students don’t have to deal with this problem.
In The Jams by TrueFire
The “In The Jams” series by TrueFire provides multi-track video jams with popular artists like Joe Bonamassa, Larry Carlton, and many more! You control the mix for every instrument, giving you total flexibility on who can be heard.
Whether you’re looking for an opportunity to jam with one of your favorite artists or just trying to get more comfortable in a jam situation, this series is worth consideration. This is just another example of the type of unique offerings you’ll find on TrueFire that cannot be found elsewhere.
TrueFire Live Events
Dating back to 2016, TrueFire has been putting on and recording live events with various guitar players, instructors, and well-known artists. These events tend to be monthly as of late, but in some cases, there is more than one per month. As a TrueFire member, you are able to virtually attend the live events, plus you have full access to the entire live event backlog.
TrueFire Blog
The TrueFire blog is another avenue for learning and collaboration within the TrueFire platform. One thing I love about the blog is all the student spotlights. You’re able to get a feel for what other people are doing and studying musically, and it helps build a sense of community on the site.
The blog also features plenty of written guitar lessons, interviews, posts about guitar gear, and much more! It’s a unique and fun section of the platform that is well worth checking out.
TrueFire Private Guitar Lessons
Yep, you read that right – TrueFire also offers private guitar lessons! Offering both individual and ongoing private lessons, you just choose your instructor, complete your student profile, and upload a video of you playing; then, you’re able to start collaborating with your instructor.
Once again, this is such a unique way of combining all the amazing things that come with their online platform with the traditional model of guitar lessons that many of us old people grew up with. To learn more about this awesome service, please visit TrueFire.
TrueFire Summary
Hopefully, all the points listed above do a good job of backing up my argument that TrueFire is the best platform for learning to play guitar. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at or what type of music you play; TrueFire has an abundance of learning material for every musician.
The way they include everything into a single platform, providing all of the learning tools and paths, can’t be found elsewhere. I’ve checked out pretty much every guitar lesson platform/website out there, and nothing compares with TrueFire when you’re looking at the total package. Some places have well-known instructors, and some have cool technology, but none of them bring it all together in a singular package the way TrueFire does.
In closing, I can confidently say that TrueFire provides everything needed for any guitarist looking to learn and improve. You could literally spend all of your guitar learning time on TrueFire and never run out of new lessons or material. It is, for lack of a better term, a one-stop shop when it comes to learning guitar.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my review. Comments are welcome, and if you’re ready to get started on TrueFire, please use the link below.
