Updated November 2026 · By the Infinite Guitar team
Can you really learn guitar online?
Yes. With good lessons and a plan, you can learn guitar online all the way from your first chord to soloing. Online lessons give you things a weekly class can't: you can pause, slow a part down and replay it as many times as you need, practice at any hour, and learn from players who specialize in exactly the style you want to play.
What online lessons don't give you on their own is someone watching your hands. You can cover most of that yourself: record a short video of your playing every week or two, compare it with the lesson, and fix one thing at a time. The plan below is built around that.
What you need to get started
- A guitar. Acoustic or electric both work. Electric strings are usually lighter and easier on your fingertips, and an acoustic needs nothing plugged in.
- A tuner. Our free online guitar tuner listens through your phone or computer microphone.
- A metronome. Practicing with a click keeps your timing honest. Use our free online metronome.
- A way to read the music. Guitar music is mostly tab and chord diagrams, no sheet music needed. Keep our guitar chord chart and guitar scales chart open while you practice.
- 15 to 30 minutes most days. Regular short sessions do more than the odd long one.
A step-by-step plan for beginners
Work through these in order. Each step links to free tools and the lessons that teach it.
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Tune your guitar every time you play
An out-of-tune guitar makes the right notes sound wrong, which is the fastest way to lose motivation. Standard tuning from the thickest string to the thinnest is E, A, D, G, B, E. The online tuner shows you which way to turn each tuning peg.
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Learn your first open chords
Start with a handful of open chords like G major, C major, D major, E minor and A minor. They show up in a huge number of songs. Mike Edwin's What are Chords? explains what a chord is and walks you through four essential open shapes, and the Beginner's Guide to Understanding Chords path takes it from there.
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Practice changing between chords
Switching smoothly matters more than knowing lots of chords. Pick two chords and move back and forth between them with the metronome set slow, then nudge the tempo up a few beats per minute at a time. Our chord changes for beginners lesson shows how.
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Add strumming patterns
Once a couple of chord changes feel easy, give them a rhythm. Chris Feener's Strumming 101 path starts with the basic down and up motion and builds real patterns from it.
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Learn your first scale: the minor pentatonic
The minor pentatonic scale is the five-note scale behind countless rock and blues solos, and its first shape fits neatly under your fingers. Start with Pentatonic Scales, Position 1, then the Pentatonic Mastery path.
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Follow a path instead of jumping around
The biggest trap when you learn online is clicking whatever looks interesting and never building on it. Pick one path and work through it in order. Your First 30 Days is made for complete beginners, and the Beginner Guitar Path picks up from there.
How to practice guitar at home
Learning by yourself works when your practice has a shape. Here's a simple 20-minute session you can repeat most days:
| Minutes | What to do |
|---|---|
| 3 | Tune up and warm up your hands |
| 5 | Chord changes with the metronome |
| 5 | Strumming a pattern over those chords |
| 5 | Scale practice, slowly and evenly |
| 2 | Play something just for fun |
- Warm up first. Cold hands and big stretches don't mix. Steve Hubbard's basic stretches lesson and the Health, Stretching, and Warming Up path show how.
- Slow it down. Practice at a tempo where you can play it cleanly, then raise the metronome a little at a time.
- Loop the hard part. Don't play the whole song when only two bars are giving you trouble. Interactive tab lets you loop a section and slow it down.
- Record yourself. A quick phone video every week or two shows you what you can't hear while you're playing.
- Play along with something. Backing tracks turn exercises into music, and they're a lot more fun than a click.
Can you learn guitar online for free?
You can get a long way for free. All the tools on this page are free: the guitar tuner, the metronome, the chord chart and the scales chart. Our free guitar lessons page has full lessons you can watch right now, and a free account unlocks more.
What free lessons rarely give you is an order to learn things in. That's what a membership adds: 2,300+ guitar lessons from 18 pro players, Learning Paths that put them in order, interactive tab, backing tracks and progress tracking. A good approach is to start free, follow the plan above, and upgrade when you want the full library.
Common questions
Can you learn guitar online for free?
Yes, you can get a long way for free. Free tools cover tuning, timing, chords and scales, and there are plenty of free lessons, including ours. What free resources rarely give you is an order to learn things in, which is the main thing a structured course or membership adds.
How long does it take to learn guitar online?
It depends far more on how often you practice than on where you learn. Short practice most days gets you playing your first chords and simple songs much sooner than one long session a week. Getting comfortable across the neck is a matter of months of steady practice, not days.
Is it better to learn guitar online or with a teacher?
Both work. Online lessons let you pause, slow down and replay any part, learn at any hour and pick teachers who play exactly the style you love. A live teacher can watch your hands and correct you on the spot. Many players learn online and book the occasional live lesson for feedback.
Should I start on an acoustic or an electric guitar?
Either is fine, so start with the one that makes you want to play. Electric guitars usually have lighter strings that are easier on your fingertips. Acoustic guitars need nothing plugged in, so you can pick one up and play anywhere.
Do I need to read music to learn guitar online?
No. Most guitar lessons use tab, which shows you which string and fret to play, plus chord diagrams. Reading standard notation is useful later, but you don't need it to start.
Can left-handed players learn guitar online?
Yes. On Infinite Guitar you can turn on left-handed mode once and every lesson video and thumbnail flips, so the guitar on screen matches the way you hold yours.
