by Kody Hackbusch

Created on: March 18, 2010   Last Updated: March 19, 2010

Guitar is one of the most popular instruments of all time and learning how to play has never been easier than it is today.  The internet is now the ultimate resource for every guitarist from beginner to professional.  In recent years the content has progressed from text and photo based lessons to streaming videos on sites like youtube, myspace and google.  Better yet the vast majority of this content is absolutely free.  The downside (if there is one) is that due to the sheer volume of information available you could spend days searching and sifting through garbage just to find something useful.  So you don’t have to waste your time here are a few of the best resources categorized by music style to get you started and provide the inspiration and knowledge to keep you jamming well into the future.

For the absolute beginner: 

Here is how to tune your instrument, the critical first step everyone should know. 

Learn the basics. This guy is great if you are just getting started with the guitar, there is a lot of useful information here.

Blues:

Here is a quick course: blues guitar 101

Legendary guitarist Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top discusses his style and gives tips on some basic 12-bar blues 

Here is a short example of BB King’s style 

If you love blues you'll like this: a rare Stevie Ray Vaughn interview and lesson

Country: 

Here you will find loads of country lessons including “chicken pickin’ and Vince Gill style and technique.

Jazz: 

How to play basic Jazz chords 

Lesson on comping, and playing chords and melody together. 

Lead guitar and soloing: 

Joe Cefalu’s Shred Academy, tons of great lessons covering scales, speed and improvisation, well worth the look.

Guitar god Joe Satriani gives you 10 useful guitar tips. 

Hard Rock and Heavy Metal: 

Dimebag Darrel shows you how to play some Pantera Riffs. 

Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom on classical influence in heavy metal 

A master class from Rage Against the Machine/Audio Slave's Tom Morello

Other:

Awesome resource from Guitar World Magazine, just about anything you might want.  Pick your poison.

Acoustic Guitar Magazine, includes video tutorials and lots of other great information including product reviews.

Guitar Player Magazine’s lessons

Well, there you have it, obviously these are just a few of the millions of videos and articles available online but hopefully they will help you out.   Regardless of your chosen style or your skill level the best way to learn is by doing.  The more you play the better you will get and don’t forget that learning is always progressive.  As you learn new terminology or about some new guitar player you can search for it online, watch videos or find tablature.  There is no better time to start than right now.

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