6 Great Apps for Practicing Guitar

One of the most frustrating things about being a guitar educator is getting your students to practice. It might sound counterintuitive, but the biggest distraction, smartphones, might be your best friend. Check out these great apps for practicing.

1. JamStar Acousitcs
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Ask for a show of hands how many students in your guitar class play video games. Bet you’ll get more than a few. For these students, the JamStar Acoustics app will feel like second nature. The app responds to your progress by either advancing you to the next “level” or holding you back until you get it right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MZvsO0ba6g.

2. FourChords Guitar Karaoke App
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FourChords is like singing Karaoke for guitar. It has an easy to use interface and the app will even turn your phone into a guitar (of sorts). Full disclosure: FourChords has been a sponsor of the Teaching Guitar Workshops and we think they make a great product!

3. Mobile Guitarist
If you follow the freshest pie charts, you know that Android phones and iPhones are constantly jockeying for world domination. Most recently, Android took the honors, so to honor the many students who have a cell phone running Android, here’s a good (and free) app for practicing guitar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=summer.instrument.guitar&hl=en

4. GuitarStudio
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That said, GuitarStudio is an extremely popular app for iOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5x_Lc5Kgdk. GuitarStudio claims to have the highest quality sound on its platform and rave reviews to back it up. The video above is handy because it jumps you right into how to use the app.

5. Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords
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A mobile version of the well-known website, Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords allows you to tap into that massive musical database from your mobile device. It also lets you practice with multiple instrument tracks, as well as play the ukulele! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ultimateguitar.tabs&hl=en.

6. Pocket Guitar
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Pocket Guitar has two things going for it: it’s seriously simple to use and you can make it yours for just 99 cents. If you are just wading into the world of mobile guitar apps, this might be the perfect place to start: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketguitar-virtual-guitar/id287965124?mt=8.