Learning guitar can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but between the gear and lessons, it can be a pretty expensive one, too. Fortunately, at least part of those expenses can be reduced, or even cut out altogether thanks to YouTube channels for free guitar lessons.
Thanks to online video sharing websites like YouTube, content creators have been able to share free lessons to help budget conscious players go from day 1 beginners to accomplished guitarists without spending a dime.
In this KillerGuitarRigs Review, we’ll be looking at the 7 best YouTube channels for free guitar lessons. In each review we considered their following, how easy lessons are to follow, production value, and variety of subjects.
If you’re wondering who to subscribe to for your YouTube lessons, make sure you keep reading our definitive list!
Contents
Andy Guitar
- 2.33M Subscribers
- 1498 Videos
Andy Crowley is a professional guitarist and guitar teacher from the United Kingdom. He has been playing guitar for over 20 years and he has been teaching guitar for over 10 years. Andy’s mission is to make learning guitar as easy and enjoyable as possible for complete beginners all the way up to advanced players.
Andy offers a wide range of content on his YouTube channel including technique videos, song tutorials, play-throughs, gear reviews, and more. His videos are well made, and he does an excellent job of breaking down concepts so that they are easy to understand.
We recommend Andy Guitar’s YouTube channel to pretty much anyone who is interested in learning guitar or improving their skills. His videos are high quality, he offers a lot of helpful free content, and he is a likable teacher.
Marty Music
- 3.5M subscribers
- 2222 Videos
The channel is run by Marty Schwartz, a professional guitarist and guitar teacher. He and his guest teachers offer a wide range of lessons for both beginners and more advanced players, covering topics such as technique, theory, ear training, and even songwriting.
The production quality of the videos is high, and Marty does a great job of explaining things in a clear and concise way.
The beginner lessons start with the basics such as how to hold the guitar and how to tune the strings. From there, Marty gradually introduces new concepts such as chords, strumming patterns, and melodies.
One thing we like is that he doesn’t try to cram too much information into each video; instead, each topic is broken down into small, manageable pieces that are easy to understand and learn.
On top of this, Marty does a great job of teaching viewers how to play dozens of popular songs in an easy to follow way.
Jamplay
- 353K Subscribers
Jamplay is best known for its paid subscription course, but did you know that they offer a lot of their content on their free YouTube channel, too? They offer video guitar lessons from over 50 instructors. Lessons are organized by skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and style (blues, country, rock, etc.).
Their videos are clean and well produced, although as they have been around for so long, some of their earlier content is definitely showing its age in terms of resolution and production value. The video quality is generally good, although there are a few lower-quality videos mixed in here and there.
Overall, Jamplay is a great option for anyone looking for high-quality guitar lessons. It’s especially well-suited for intermediate and advanced players who want to learn new styles or improve their technique, although their beginner content is also still worth checking out.
Truefire
- 486K Subscribers
- 9336 Videos
Truefire is one of the most popular online guitar lesson providers. Their lessons are available on both their website and YouTube channel. The majority of their lessons are taught by professional guitar instructors who have years of experience both playing and teaching guitar.
One of the best things about Truefire is that they offer a wide range of lessons in specific styles, like blues, jazz, country, and rock. This is great for guitarists who want to learn multiple styles or improve their skills in a specific genre.
The only downside to Truefire is that some of their lessons can be a bit too technical for beginners. If you’re just starting out, we recommend checking out one of the more beginner focused channels first.
Considering their YouTube content is completely free, Truefire’s high-quality guitar lessons seem like an absolute steal, and if you like their style, they do offer more in the way of paid content on their website.
Justin Guitar
- 1.58M Subscribers
- 1163 Videos
Justin Sandercoe, better known as Justin Guitar, has been teaching people how to play guitar for over 15 years. His website, justinguitar.com, is one of the most popular guitar learning resources on the internet, with hundreds of free lessons available. In addition to his website lessons, Justin also has a YouTube channel with over 1000 videos. These videos range in topics from beginner’s tips to more advanced concepts such as soloing and songwriting.
In terms of production value, Justin’s videos are high quality and professionally made. He is an excellent teacher, and does a great job of breaking down complex concepts into manageable chunks.
Justin’s YouTube lessons are an excellent resource for people who are curious about learning guitar. They are well-made, informative, and best of all – free! If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to help you along your musical journey, Justin Guitar is a good place to start.
Paul Davids
- 2.95M Subscribers
- 385 Videos
Paul Davids is a professional musician who has been playing the guitar since he was just 13 years old. He’s also an experienced music teacher, and he’s put together a comprehensive series of YouTube guitar lessons that are perfect for beginners and intermediate players alike.
Paul’s soft spoken manner really helps when he’s trying to explain difficult topics. He also does a great job of breaking down each lesson into smaller, easy to digest sections so that you can practice and master each concept before moving on to the next one.
If you’re serious about learning how to play the guitar, Paul Davids is definitely worth checking out. His YouTube channel is full of well produced video lessons that span everything from basic chords and strumming techniques all the way up to more advanced concepts like lead guitar playing and music theory.
Ben Eller Guitars
- 433K Subscribers
- 633 Videos
Ben Eller is one of the most popular YouTubers in the guitar community. His channel, Ben Eller Guitars, boasts over 400,000 subscribers and millions of combined views. On his channel, he offers free guitar lessons, gear reviews, and demonstrations.
Eller’s lessons are primarily geared towards intermediate and advanced guitarists. He covers a wide range of topics, from alternate picking, to sweep picking to music theory. One of his unique selling points is that he’s not afraid to push his students outside of their comfort zones and into new territory. This can be frustrating for some viewers, but ultimately it results in a becoming more well-rounded guitarist.
His lessons are very well-produced. The audio and video quality are both excellent, and he uses on-screen graphics to help visualize the concepts he’s teaching. This makes his lessons much easier to follow than some of the other guitar instructors out there.
Fender Play
While there’s no doubt that YouTube is a phenomenal resource if you’re looking to play guitar, but at KGR, we firmly believe that the key to real progression on the guitar is structure, and unfortunately this is YouTube’s weakest point as a resource.
Many of the YouTube instructors provide cherry picked lessons from their paid content on their YouTube channels, so to get the most out of the lessons, you’ll eventually need to invest in one of their programs.
With this in mind, we think it’s best to dive right into a full program if you want to start seeing fast results. When it comes to excellent structure, quality instruction, high production value, and engaging content, we think that Fender Play is leagues ahead of the other providers.
Their content is available on their website, and they also offer a fantastic mobile app. Across both the website and the app, the interface is slick, and easy to use. If you follow their structure to the letter, you’ll see rapid progress, and you’ll have fun along the way, thanks in part to their huge library of real songs, and their smart AI feedback system.
Final Thoughts on the Best YouTube Channels for Free Guitar Lessons
There’s no doubt that YouTube has literally changed the world. It has provided a platform for literally anybody to share their video content, and the best part is that it’s all free. This is great news for guitarists, who have access to dozens of amazing content creators at no cost. Unfortunately, it falls short as a genuine solution for real success.
Learning guitar from YouTube is definitely best reserved for learning fine details on an ad hoc basis – want to learn a specific solo? YouTube is your best option. Need a quick refresher on a specific lick or riff? You’ll find it on YouTube. But, when it comes to a true cradle to grave solution, you’re definitely better off looking into a full course like Fender Play.
