5 Best Online Guitar Lessons For Intermediate Players

When you’re online scouring the net for guitar lessons, you’ll find more than a fair share of beginner lessons. The reason for this is that there will always be more beginners than those who build years of experience.

Unfortunately, this can leave more skilled players at a disadvantage as they have to sift through everything available. To help save you some time, this article aims to provide an overview of the best resources for intermediates.

Guitar Tricks

Guitar Tricks has become a very popular online lesson resource in recent years. Its commercials have had a comic appeal to draw in even the most apprehensive guitarist.

But, is Guitar Tricks worth everything it claims it is? The short answer to this is, yes, they do provide a pretty great offering of lessons for intermediate players.

Guitar Tricks has a stellar fundamental course that is designed to take absolute beginners to advanced levels. While this is great for beginners, it can also be ideal for intermediates who have gaps in their fundamentals.

Beyond this fundamentals section, Guitar Tricks continues its linear course designed for intermediates. There are 4 different pathways to choose from (each having 2 courses), including:

• Country
• Rock
• Blues
• Acoustic

This lesson resource teaches guitar through the use of videos shot in high definition, often with multiple camera angles. Within each of these videos, you have the ability to change the speed and create custom loops.

Where Guitar Tricks truly shines is in their offering of instructors and the material being taught. With both of these in consideration, the intermediate has no shortage of things to learn on guitar.

Throughout its platform, you’ll find thousands of lessons taught by over 35 different instructors. Each has their own special expertise that you can use to incorporate into your own playing.

Along with this, Guitar Tricks offers lessons regarding specific genres of music, including:

• Bluegrass
• Classical
• Metal
• Jazz
• Rockabilly
• Surf
• World
• Funk

Do you have a favorite guitarist whose playing you absolutely adore? Guitar Tricks does offer lessons that teach the elements of different guitarists and their playing habits.

There are even hundreds of song-based lessons to be found on Guitar Tricks. This gives you the ability to see the skills you’ve learned be put to good use.

Is Guitar Tricks Worth It?

For the intermediate guitarist, Guitar Tricks is definitely a worthwhile place to further your knowledge of the instrument. There are plenty of options here, which is crucial for any guitarist to ascend to their highest potential.

One of the best things here is the fact that Guitar Tricks offers some core lessons in a linear fashion. This ensures that you will continue learning foundational skills in the fastest and most logical way possible.

Plus, blues, country, rock, and acoustic are all great starting points that most guitarists emerge from. You can learn these genres and incorporate elements of other genres into your playing to develop your own musical voice.

The ability to learn from many different styles of music ensures you can become an extremely well-rounded player. This aspect, in a tiny part, is what separates the masters from the mere hobbyists.

Intermediate players will find no shortage of lesson material to work with here. Most lessons do offer supplemental materials that can be downloaded for personal use.

Guitar Tricks is definitely a great resource that introduces the intermediate to the idea of specialization. Every guitarist has their own unique style and this platform can definitely help you find your own.

Considering the fact that the monthly cost is about equal to a single 1-on-1 in-person lesson, this is a no-brainer. You’ll be able to learn far more than you possibly could have from one single instructor.

Each lesson is conveniently sized in small bite-sized lessons, allowing for information to be learned thoroughly. You’re far less likely to become distracted here than you would in, say, a 40-minute video.

Guitar Tricks also helps you keep track of your progress over what you’ve watched and what you haven’t. A forum is also provided to connect with the resource’s community.

JamPlay

Since 2006, JamPlay has been a very well-known name when it comes to online guitar lessons. With this much time in the game, one would likely think that JamPlay has something substantial to offer.

Anybody operating under this assumption actually wouldn’t be too far off the mark. JamPlay is a resource that really has a lot of depth in terms of the information they have to provide.

In fact, JamPlay has been continually adding new content to its resource over the years. This has helped keep JamPlay relevant and become quite diverse in the lesson offerings as a result.

There are nearly 10,000 video lessons to be found on JamPlay, with over 450 different courses. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your specific musical interests.

Fortunately, there is something to be found here for just about any style of guitarist. By providing over 130 instructors, JamPlay has made sure every corner of guitar-based music is covered.

You’ll be able to learn elements from quite a massive list of different musical genres, including:

• Pop
• Folk
• Funk
• Rock
• Blues
• Country
• Celtic
• Fingerstyle
• Classical
• Flamenco
• Jam
• Acoustic rock
• Gospel
• Surf
• Jazz
• Reggae
• Hawaiian slack key
• Brazilian
• Bluegrass
• Metal
• R&B

On top of this, JamPlay gives you the option to learn from courses oriented to specific skills and techniques. Some of these categories include:

• Rhythm guitar
• Singing with guitar
• Speed
• Lead guitar
• 12-string guitar
• Recording
• Maintenance
• Reading music
• Music theory 

Most of JamPlay’s lessons are shot in high definition 4K quality. In fact, JamPlay’s lesson supplements are some of the best to be found.

Some of the supplemental aspects offered here include:

• Downloadable tabs in both PDF and Guitar Pro formats
• Interactive Soundslice tabs within the web browser
• Suggestions on what to be practicing and learning next

Is JamPlay Worth It?

JamPlay is another resource that is definitely worth checking out if you’re an intermediate player. This resource gives you an incredible number of options as to what you can learn.

Where Guitar Tricks has plenty of guided, linear courses, JamPlay differs a bit from this model. Courses are still offered, but you have more control in which order you take the lessons.

Some people prefer (and likely benefit more) having a guided path to follow. If you aren’t completely sure what you should be learning, JamPlay could be confusing.

Fortunately, JamPay has remedied this issue by offering suggestions at the end of each course. This way, you have an idea of what to learn but you aren’t held and limited to that specific path.

JamPlay has, perhaps, the largest number of different lessons pertaining to different musical genres. Some of these genres will really allow you to implement unique concepts into more well-known genres.

In fact, JamPlay really does allow the intermediate player to become highly specialized in different areas. The technique-specific courses are a great addition as you can learn things that almost any genre uses.

JamPlay does offer a few hundred song-based lessons to utilize your skills. However, this number does not really compare to other resources, which may be a deal-breaker for some guitarists.

The supplemental material JamPlay provides with each lesson is really quite incredible, especially Guitar Pro tab downloads. You’ll be able to load the tab in the program and hear how the tab is supposed to be played.

Plus, having over 130 instructors means that you can really learn many different concepts here. Some of these instructors are actually very famous guitarists, which means you can learn directly from the greats.

Do not pass up this excellent resource!

TrueFire 

Looking for a resource that has just about anything you could ever want to learn on guitar? TrueFire is going to be one place you will definitely want to check out.

Since 1998, TrueFire has garnered a stellar reputation for providing in-depth video guitar lessons. No matter where you are on your journey, TrueFire will have something for you to learn.

One area that TrueFire really excels at is its actual video lessons. These are often shot with multiple camera angles, allowing you to see both of the instructor’s hands.

The interface on each video lesson is packed with features, such as:

• Ability to change the speed of the video
• Looping
• Metronome that plays during video performances
• Virtual fretboard showing the notes being played
• Virtual keyboard scroll showing the notes being played
• Soundslice standard notation and tabs that scroll with the musical passages

What’s even better is that you can download the supplemental material as well as the lessons themselves. You’ll be able to learn and practice without having to use a computer connected to the internet.

In terms of the actual material offered, TrueFire is actually quite vast. There are over 280 instructors who have provided over 50,000 lessons.

You’ll find that many of the instructors are some of the most famous and well-respected guitarists in their genres. This allows you to learn and implement techniques and concepts directly from the masters themselves.

TrueFire works best as a sort of a la carte model, allowing you to choose what you want to learn. Each concept has its own course chock full of hours of material to keep your brain stimulated.

If you prefer the linear approach, TrueFire does offer guided pathways to follow. You’ll be shown recommended courses to help supplement your studies along the way.

Is TrueFire Worth It?

TrueFire is absolutely worth every penny, as no other resource offers the lessons that can be found here. Lessons for just about every genre, skill, and technique will be able to be learned at TrueFire.

Even if you don’t want to commit to a monthly subscription, TrueFire does allow you to purchase individual courses. You’ll have lifetime access to that course, which is great if there’s one specific thing you want to learn.

TrueFire is probably best suited for more advanced players looking to specialize their expertise. The number of lessons offered here can actually be quite overwhelming for an intermediate who doesn’t know what to learn.

However, this is a great resource for any intermediate looking to expand their knowledge. Even outside of the actual lessons themselves, TrueFire has other tools that any guitarist can benefit from.

These include features such as TrueFire’s Jam Packs, which offer the ability to improvise in a dynamic musical setting. You can adjust levels of different instruments and even jam with different instructors here.

TrueFire does have a small smattering of song-based lessons available, however, it does pale in comparison to other resources. Nonetheless, there are still worthwhile songs in TrueFire’s catalog.

Regardless, the real meat and potatoes of TrueFire are, undoubtedly, in their lesson offerings. Whether you follow a guided course or learn from the infinite number of single courses, you’re going to be busy.

If you know your fundamentals and feel like you need a push into more advanced realms, check out TrueFire. This resource has everything you need to go from intermediate to professional.

JustinGuitar

JustinGuitar is perhaps the most unique resource out of all of the sites featured in this article. What makes this so unique is the fact that it is absolutely free to use, with no recurring monthly costs.

If you’ve ever spent some time on YouTube, you’ve undoubtedly come across Justin Sandercoe at least once or twice. Since 2006, Justin has been teaching lessons on YouTube, with JustinGuitar being the comprehensive home for it all.

While JustinGuitar does not have the benefit of having multiple instructors, Justin does teach concepts for just about any genre. You can be sure that you’ll be well on your way to advanced material after finishing JustinGuitar’s free courses.

The actual material on JustinGuitar follows a linear, guided pathway split into 3 skill levels with their own 3 courses. If you have any gaps in your fundamentals, this can be a great place to learn the missing skills.

As far as intermediate lessons go, you’ll learn about different barre chords, and scales, and how to utilize them. You’ll also start to learn more advanced topics that fit well within jazz and other complex genres.

At a quick glance, you might think that these courses are rather thin. However, further inspection will show that each small section of a course is densely packed with hours of lesson material.

If you are looking for lessons covering specific concepts, chances are, you can find them at JustinGuitar. Outside of the guided pathways, JustinGuitar offers lessons on:

• Music theory
• Scales and modes
• Chords
• Essential knowledge
• Technique
• Arpeggios
• Ear training
• Gear-related concepts
• Songwriting
• Recording
• Transcribing

If that wasn’t enough, JustinGuitar also offers a massive catalog of song-based lessons. There are over 650 songs here, and that number is continually growing every week.

Is JustinGuitar Worth It?

Considering the fact that JustinGuitar is absolutely free to use, it is absolutely worth your time to check it out. In fact, your time may be better spent here before spending money on any premium resource.

Sure, that may be a bold claim, but why pay to learn something you can learn for free? Your money will be better spent if it's utilized to learn concepts not offered on a free resource.

Despite being the only instructor, Justin Sandercoe has done an amazing job of creating lessons for everyone. Plus, he has a great personality that can make the lessons much easier to digest.

JustinGuitar has everything you need to be able to become a very competent guitarist. If you have ambitions to play music with others, the information on JustinGuitar can make you confident in your abilities.

In fact, the resource has recently begun to publish its advanced courses, which is great news for the intermediate guitarist. This means that you won’t have to rely on other resources to learn more advanced concepts. 

JustinGuitar goes above and beyond to offer more than just basic video lessons. You’ll also get supplemental materials such as tabs that you can download for your own use.

There’s also a wide number of different tools you can utilize in your own practices. Things like the intervallic ear trainer and the chord library are invaluable tools for any competent musician’s development.

JustinGuitar is very connected to its community and you’ll find that, if you have a question, it will get answered. The resource also offers quite a bit of philosophical material not often considered when learning the guitar.

Overall, JustinGuitar manages to offer more than some premium resources provide. The fact that it is free is a blessing for those with the desire to learn.

ArtistWorks

If learning guitar from some of the best-known names is an interest of yours, check out ArtistWorks. Since 2008, ArtistWorks has been integral in changing the game with regard to online guitar lessons.

On the whole, ArtistWorks has a wealth of different instructors on different instruments outside of the guitar. For the guitar specifically, ArtistWorks has 13 instructors, including:

• Paul Gilbert
• Andy McKee
• Bryan Sutton
• Guthrie Trapp
• Chris Eldridge
• Dave Stryker

While ArtistWorks does offer courses, the platform is more utilized to provide masterclasses from these instructors. This means you’ll get an in-depth look at many concepts and techniques that they frequently employ in their own playing.

Some of the genres covered by ArtistWorks include:

• Blues
• Rock
• Bluegrass
• Jazz
• Country
• Fingerstyle
• Classical

These courses will teach you the fundamentals and help you excel at finding your own voice within these genres. Each course is packed with hours of lessons designed to take you from beginner to advanced levels of play.

Many of these courses provide guitar tabs you can use to practice with. Plus, you’ll gain an insight into different gear settings used within each genre to help your own tone.

Where ArtistWorks really shines is in the fact that you can upload your own videos to gain feedback from instructors. You’ll also be able to view videos uploaded by other students to gain wisdom to apply to your own playing.

Is ArtistWorks Worth It?

Compared to the other platforms featured in this article, ArtistWorks does lack a little bit. This is mostly in regards to the number of instructors and the genres of lessons offered.

However, the fact that you can receive feedback from world-class players really does make all the difference. In fact, you really won’t find this capability on any other platform.

With this feature, ArtistWorks essentially combines the best of both worlds in relation to online and in-person lessons. Receiving this kind of feedback ensures that you’ll always be on the right track, without any bad playing habits.

Plus, if you’ve wanted to learn other instruments, such as banjo, piano, mandolin, or voice, this is worth checking out.

What To Consider When Looking For Online Guitar Lessons For Intermediate Players

In today’s climate, there is a massive amount of resources available for the guitarist to learn from. If you’re having difficulties narrowing down which is right for you, keep the following points in mind.

Price

How much each service costs is going to be a critical factor in the resource you end up choosing. Most resources are relatively affordable, but others can be on the steep side of things.

It doesn’t always make sense to spend the most money to have access to quality lessons. Some free resources can provide lessons that are more than sufficient for any intermediate player.

Time

You’ll also need to factor in how much time you are able to commit to not only learning but practicing. It can be tempting to watch a load of videos but never spend any time actually practicing the concepts.

If you don’t have much time to commit, a resource that isn’t too expensive is ideal. This way, you’re not spending gobs of money and not getting your money’s worth.

Offerings

What does a resource offer and how does it relate to the goals you have as a guitarist? Most resources do a great job at offering lessons for just about any style of guitar playing.

If you gravitate towards certain genres or techniques, make sure those lessons are available. Likewise, if you want to learn many songs, consider whether the library has enough songs that interest you.

By now, you should know the fundamentals of guitar. Resources for intermediates should build upon this established foundation.

A great resource is going to help you take a pathway to become a more specialized player. Always be sure that the lessons offered have what it takes to see you through to your end goal.

Top Online Guitar Lessons For Intermediate Players, Final Thoughts

Today’s learning guitar player has a serious advantage over guitar players of past decades. Never before has a massive collection of guitar knowledge been so easily accessible at the click of a button.

If your guitar playing could use a kick in the pants, you’ll definitely want to check out these resources. Take some time to find the right fit, and you will undoubtedly grow exponentially.