A few years ago I recovered an old guitar and I launched myself into the enterprise of becoming a rock star. I must admit I had a long and satisfying career over, alas, prematurely at dinner time. Perhaps learning to play guitar alone at 6 is not easy, especially if you do not have the necessary perseverance.
Although, in hindsight, in the end it does not take much to learn, just know a dozen agreements to be able to play many famous songs. Of course, to get there a friend had to teach me how to move your fingers and a couple of rules. Today, compared to then, I think it’s easier to learn how to play the guitar yourself. How? All you need is an Android phone and some applications designed to teach music. If instead you own an iPhone or an iPad take a look at these other apps.
Guitar: Solo Lite
Of course, you will have noticed it too. Many applications for Android exist in two versions, a free one with limited functionality and a paid one with all the possibilities enabled. However, it is not always necessary to pay. Sometimes what’s offered for free is fine.
This is the case with Guitar: Solo, and it’s even more if you’re a beginner. Yes, because this application allows to learn to play both and to have fun freely without any “virtual teacher” to constrain our artistic freedom. In the first case the free version is sufficient, in the second option maybe, it is worth spending less than 5 dollars for the complete application. But let’s go in order.
Guitar: Solo is an app that can be used both to learn to play and as a guitar simulator. The free version includes an acoustic guitar simulator and a vast library of chords to learn. For each agreement you can see the diagram to follow and try directly on the smartphone screen. Also you can add new chords to the library by simply entering the fingering.
The paid version includes other instruments and the ability to play your own music freely, without any restrictions. But there is another interesting thing. In addition to spending real money we can get the full version of Guitar: Only without paying a penny. As? By testing the other applications of the same developer we will get bonuses to use just for this.
Learn Guitar Chords
I certainly do not recommend Learn Guitar Chords to those who already know how to play the guitar. If you already know the chords and just want to play then skip this application directly. This program, in fact, is made to guide us step by step through the fingering of different agreements. Starting, as the basic rules of teaching want, from the elementary agreements to arrive, a little at a time, to the more advanced ones. And when I say step by step I mean just literally: for each chord it is shown exactly where to put each finger. Then, after fixing our hands, we can try to play this virtual guitar and listen to the sound we got.
Actually there are not many agreements available but as a starting point it is very useful. At least we will not be completely fasting and some rope will be able to pinch it.
Chord! Free
Chord! Free, however, intends to address those who already master the basic agreements. But it requires a minimum of curiosity and a desire to learn. Yes, because through its database we can search for the different chords, see the available variations, listen to the sound we can get. Not just this. It is interesting to try different types of tuning for different instruments and, for all left-handed people, the option that allows you to flip the settings. Which, strange to say, many applications do not allow, making it more difficult to use them by left-handed people.
The full version (costs less than 5 dollars) in my opinion is not necessary. Even if, to be honest, not seeing advertisements is a good thing. Useful, although not essential, the additional research method: by entering the fingering we can find out which agreement it is. Then, as often in these situations, paying we can get more scales and more agreements.
Robotic Guitarist Free
Robotic Guitarist is certainly not at the level of previous applications. Or, better, if you want to learn how to play, forget it, it’s not the program for you. If you want to simply strum and play, then it’s interesting. Yes, we can also choose between the various agreements available within its library, and listen to their sound. But the best thing is to play improvising, perhaps using the metronome built into the app. Metronome that, appreciable thing, can also be used with other instruments.
And the paid version? Well, it does not offer much more. Actually, actually paying those 3 euros only serves to make advertising disappear.
The Chordinator
The last application of this list is designed exclusively for those who already know how to play and has a “real” guitar. Or at least it has two smartphones, one for this application and the second one with a virtual guitar.
Actually The Chordinator does not fit in needs of learners but is a useful complement for those who play and want to try new songs. It is basically a collection of songs and related agreements. Yes, a songbook. But not just any songbook because we are still in the Internet age. Using this application we can search directly online the music that interests us and save them on our smartphone. It seems silly but having the chords of the songs even when we are disconnected is a comfortable, very comfortable thing.
With this I finished. If you look in the Android market you will find many other applications to learn how to play the guitar, and maybe some will be even more beautiful than these. Like every list the choice can be questionable but, I can not spend a whole week trying all the possibilities. To get this selection, I based myself first on the evaluations of other fans and then, to skim the twenty choice in the first instance, on a series of tests done personally.