Last Updated on May 25, 2024 by Jhonni Jets
Learning how to play the guitar is a rewarding process that allows you to create beautiful music. However, it can also be challenging as a beginner to learn chords, scales, songs and proper techniques without an instructor. Thankfully, today’s technology has made learning guitar more accessible than ever before with a wide variety of helpful apps available for Android devices.
In this article, we will explore 9 of the best Android apps for guitar learning across various skill levels and musical goals. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your knowledge, these high-quality apps can serve as excellent digital learning companions. They provide lessons, chord charts, metronomes, tuners and more to help take your playing to the next level.
Table of Content
Yousician
Yousician is one of the most full-featured and popular guitar learning apps available. It takes a gamified approach to learning by presenting lessons as a series of songs to “level up” through. As you complete exercises, you earn points and unlock new content. Lessons cover the basics like chords, scales and strumming patterns but also introduce many popular songs to learn.
Yousician has various learning paths depending on your guitar type (acoustic, electric, bass, etc.) and goals (beginner, intermediate, advanced). Its AI-powered note recognition listens to your playing in real-time and provides feedback on your accuracy, timing and other metrics. This interaction makes the app feel more like an actual instructor sitting alongside you.
A major strength of Yousician is its large library of supplemental materials. In addition to lessons, it includes chord and scale references, a metronome, tuner and integrated songs you can play along with at any skill level. You can also upgrade to get access to instructional videos and one-on-one coaching through the app. At $15/month or $90/year, Yousician is an investment but provides immense value for independent guitar learners at any stage.
Guitar Toolkit
Guitar Toolkit is a more versatile utility app that packs five essential guitar-related tools into one. It includes a high-quality chromatic tuner, metronome, chord library, note/fretboard diagram viewer and songbook section. What sets this app apart is the depth and customization of each feature.
The tuner supports various tunings beyond standard and has adjustable calibration controls for precision. The metronome provides beat subdivision options and tap tempo functionality for flexible use. The chord library contains over 1,000 entries searchable by name or guitar fret position. You can also build custom chord progressions.
Guitar Toolkit really excels with its note reference tools. Fretboard diagrams showcase all notes across the neck in detail. You can select string sets and isolate views for specific areas as needed. The songbook area allows importing your own songs and looking them up section by section with relevant notes/chords.
While not focused on lessons per se, Guitar Toolkit is an indispensable accompaniment for any practicing guitarist. Its high-quality individual tools at a very low price make it perfect for reinforcing skills gained elsewhere or as a standalone utility.
Guitar Tricks
For a more traditional online guitar lesson setup, Guitar Tricks provides video-based training across various skill levels, genres and techniques. Lessons are taught by experienced professional instructors in beginner to advanced courses. Key areas covered include fundamentals, scales, chord groups, soloing, blues, rock, country, jazz and more.
Within each course, video modules break techniques down step-by-step with visual demonstrations. Concepts are reinforced through supplemental reference materials like notation sheets. You can track your progress, comment on videos and get feedback from other users in an interactive online community. Subscription plans let you learn at your own pace over months.
While primarily geared towards video lessons, Guitar Tricks also includes additional bonus features. An adjustable metronome and chromatic tuner provide important practice tools. A digital songbook holds notation for full songs accompanying many lesson courses. You can also access backing track JamPlay with diverse rhythms for improvising practice.
Overall, Guitar Tricks delivers quality instruction from professional experts focused on building complete well-rounded guitar skills over time. Its comprehensive online training resources make it a highly valued choice for dedicated at-home learning.
Fender Play
For those seeking lessons from one of the most iconic guitar brands, Fender Play offers beginner and intermediate courses in acoustic and electric guitar. Its curriculum is created by Fender artist clinicians in bite-sized 10-15 minute modules. Early lessons establish essential techniques like proper holding, note reading and basic open chords.
Fender Play uses demonstration videos paired with interactive note identification games for engaging practice. You learn full songs based on popular genres and hear how skills are applied in full pieces of music. Other features incorporated into lessons include synchronized chord/note charts, audio backing tracks and various practice tools.
Overall themes covered in the step-by-step guided courses include blues, rock, country, funk and more. Additional extensions help build on fundamental techniques as well through ear training, improvisation tactics and music theory foundations. At $9.99/month, the focused, streamlined Fender-branded courses yield fast results for new players looking to get started quickly.
Ultimate Guitar: Chords & Tabs
For on-demand access to a massive guitar song library, Ultimate Guitar is one of the top options. Its flagship feature is a database containing hundreds of thousands of professionally submitted guitar song chord sheets, tabulatures and lesson resources. This allows learning to play popular songs from myriad genres and eras.
Within the app, you can search, filter and view arrangements optimized for both notation readers and visual tab users. Integrated audio previews let you hear how pieces should sound. You can also save favorites, adjust display settings and transpose charts to suit your preferred tuning.
More advanced features include a metronome/tuner, backing tracks, scales reference and Ultimate Guitar’s website/community content. The website supplement adds additional lessons by topic, forums, artist bios and more for extended learning. Overall it’s an invaluable tool for any guitarist wanting to expand their repertoire through engaging real songs.
Guitar – Chords & Scales
For focused practice on core guitar foundations, Guitar – Chords & Scales by Truefire is an excellent app. It acts as an interactive visual guide for learning essential chord shapes and scale patterns up and down the neck. Major, minor, pentatonic, blues and other common scales are all covered in step-by-step lessons.
Using gorgeous high-resolution fretboard diagrams, you can slowly step through each shape one note at a time, see proper left and right hand finger positioning, and receive audio feedback. Touchable chord diagrams show finger positions overlaid on a mock guitar for easy reference anywhere. Lessons feature built-in adjustable metronomes as well.
The interface is thoughtfully designed to emphasize reading notes across the entire neck for seeing patterns and relationships between areas. Videos further demonstrate techniques. Additional tools include a chromatic tuner and reference guides covering music theory fundamentals. This app excels at building fundamental skills in a thorough yet accessible hands-on format.
Simply Guitar
Perfect for absolute beginners just getting their first guitar, Simply Guitar starts with the basics through its many free introductory lessons. The step-by-step guides teach proper posture, picking hand technique, notes on individual strings and open chords. Audio is included for hearing examples played correctly.
Lessons follow a logical progression through open chords, power chords, barre chords, strumming rhythms, basic chord progressions and even a few simple songs. Many additional resources like interactive chord and note diagrams supplement the written lessons. Premium content further develops techniques with more advanced courses.
The well-crafted instruction is easy to understand yet thorough in covering essential skills needed before moving to more complex arrangements. For someone just starting out with no prior experience playing music, Simply Guitar’s approachable self-paced lessons make it perfect for getting comfortable with the very fundamentals of the guitar.
Bass Buddy by Fender
While primarily a guitar learning app, Bass Buddy by Fender also caters to beginning bass players looking to join the lower note ranks. Like its Guitar sibling, lessons are taught through bite-sized video modules by Fender artists in genres like funk, rock, blues and more.
Early courses demonstrate proper holding technique, notes on individual strings and basic open string riffs. Later tutorials expand into using all four strings, playing in time with a drummer and reading tab/notation. Fundamental theory principals are also incorporated along the way.
The same interactive note identification exercises and full song lessons carried over strengthen practical skills. Supplementary resources include integrated chord/note charts, backing tracks and community features. Overall this entry-level education provides a quick start on bass guitar essentials through the proven Fender lesson interface.
GuitarTuna
Last but not least, while not focused on lessons per se, GuitarTuna serves as an indispensable practice companion for any guitarist. Its powerful chromatic tuner analyzes string pitch with incredible accuracy down to vibrato detection. Pick any string and it will display cent deviation in real-time.
The tuner works equally great for standard-tuned guitars as well as alternate tunings through presets. Additional key features include a customizable Strobe mode, tuner calibration controls and adjustable calibration methods. The customizable reference tone can be set to guitar or other instruments as needed.
For practice on the go, GuitarTuna is definitely one of the best tuner apps around. Its precision tuning detection makes setups and maintenance quick and easy. The presets also facilitate playing in different tunings with alternate chord shapes as you progress. An essential tool for any aspiring guitarist in any context.
Conclusion
In summary, the Android platform offers a wealth of high-quality guitar learning resources through dedicated instructional apps. Whether you’re just starting out or advancing your skills, options like Yousician, Guitar Toolkit and Fender Play deliver comprehensive, well-rounded education. Apps focused on core foundations like Fretzy and Guitar – Chords & Scales strengthen your theoretical base.
Meanwhile, libraries like Ultimate Guitar and Simply Guitar help expand your repertoire through real song arrangements. As you continue to develop, catch Bass Buddy for exploring a new lower-pitched instrument as well. Throughout your journey, a precision tuner like GuitarTuna remains indispensable. With this collection of top apps, the possibilities for self-guided guitar advancement are endless.