
The very idea of traveling to a music store or inviting someone into my home to get one-on-one guitar lessons makes my stomach hurt. Like millions of other people, I live with social anxiety. Fenderās Play app is marketed as the next-best-thing to live tutoring, so I decided to see if it could help me.
First off, letās be crystal clear: most experts agree the best way to learn guitar is from a tutor, preferably in-person. Paying a professional for lessons directly contributes to your local music community. More importantly for your education, it also means youāve got someone there to help you break bad habits before they start.
However, if ā for whatever reason ā thatās not the best option for you, thereās nothing wrong with being a musical autodidact. And the Fender Play app makes it easier than any other solution Iāve tried.

The first thing Fender Play gets right is the interface. Thereās plenty to do inside the app, and youāre always free to skip around and take lessons in whatever order you please, but itās also very simple to just follow the āpathā you select.

Your path includes your instrument and the style of your choice. The instrument options are:
- Acoustic guitar
- Electric guitar
- Bass guitar
- Ukulele
And the style choices are:
- Rock
- Blues
- Folk
- Country
- Pop
These can be changed at any time. And thereās plenty of overlap between acoustic and electric guitar, but I didnāt find it to be a problem. I chose the acoustic guitar blues path ā it goes well with my cheap acoustic guitar and taste for whiskey. It should go without saying youāll need to provide your own instrument.
Rather than try and figure out what everything did all at once I just tapped āstartā on the first lesson. A pleasant-sounding person in a well-lit room patiently explained what a guitar was. I moved on to the next lesson. Someone else explained a few more things about the guitar (those lines under the strings are called āfretsā yāall). And then someone showed me how to tune my guitar. I just downloaded Fenderās free Tune app and used that. Eventually a different smiling person asked me to play my first note on my guitar and strum along with him. My journey of personal discovery and tasty licks began.
This is pretty much the Fender Play experience. You watch videos while you play guitar. Thereās no gamification here, so it doesnāt matter if you actually play along or not ā nobody is keeping score. But, rather than learn a system you can buck, your challenge is to sound as good as the people on your screen.
The lessons begin slowly. A smiling woman on the screen, at one point, says āThis is a whole note. I want you to strum once every four beats. Iāll count you in, ready?ā and when she counts thereās a good three āMississippisā in-between each number. Oh my god itās so slow.
But, things pick up quickly. A few lessons later and, after losing track of how many fingers I have on my left hand (seriously, only five? Whose idea was that?), I watch as some dude grins devilishly at me before saying āSoon, youāll be able to pull off more complex combinations,ā before weedly-deedlying up an Eddie Van Halen-esque solo to end the video.
I, too, want to make magic sounds with my hands. The stranger on my screen has inspired me to try the next lesson. Before long, Iām playing the riff from āTrain Kept Rolling.ā Iām a blues guitarist now: hand me a smart hat and Iāll play you a sad song.
Fender Play works across Android, iOS, and most browsers. That means you can pick up where you left off across your devices and computers. Itās quite cool to take guitar lessons on your phone while strumming along outside under a tree ā but the app didnāt seem to work without an internet connection, so beware if youāre on a limited data plan.
The elephant in the room is that, essentially, you could learn to play guitar for free by watching YouTube videos and tutorials. Fender Play has a 14-day free trial, afterwards itās $9.99 per month. Iāll just come right out and say it: seems expensive. As a consumer, Iām delighted by the idea of learning guitar in just seven minutes a dayā¦ but Iām also concerned I wonāt get my 10 bucks-worth if I donāt soak up as many lessons as possible. This is a weird place youāve put me in, Fender.
Let me demystify the situation: itās still worth it, I think. The congruous nature of the lessons, the obvious expertise of Fenderās teachers, and the absolutely perfect videography (youāve always got a clear angle of your teacherās hands as they finger and strum the guitar, often zoomed-in and split-screen) make it a no-brainer.
Plus there are hundreds of included, well-known songs you can learn and play along to. Iām currently learning āAināt No Sunshineā by Bill Withers. I also like that all the information I need is always on the screen, and the teachers are warm and cheerful without becoming obnoxious or distracting from your lesson.
I highly recommend this app to anyone whoās ever wanted to learn to play guitar, but always had an excuse not to. Playing an instrument is great for your mental health, technology like the Fender Play app makes it easier than ever to learn, and weāve even set up a short guide to help you pick the right instrument for you. Thereās never been a better time to rock than right now.
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