Learn The Guitar As A Family With These Apps
Has it always been a dream to play the guitar? You can pick it up alongside your kids with these apps that are great for everyone.
By Terri Kue -
The guitar is easily one of the most popular instruments to learn, and for good reason. For one, most songs can be played on it. Whether you want to jam to Ed Sheeran or Queen, a guitar is all you need. It is also relatively affordable to own; a quick search on Carousell shows second-hand ones going for $30. Of course, there are brand-new options on Shopee, Amazon, and Lazada going at about $60.
Our favourite thing about the guitar, though, is that anyone can pick it up. Are you in your mid-30s? Maybe mid-40s? Even older? The baseline is that you're never too old to learn a guitar.
If you're planning on learning it, why not make it a family activity as well? You and your kids can inspire each other to learn as a team. And sooner or later, you might be jamming together on the weekends.
There are many ways to learn the guitar such as through professional lessons and YouTube videos. However, our favourite way is through apps.
Not only can they be downloaded on any device, but subscriptions are often more affordable than lessons and you can really learn at your own pace. Ahead we have a list of apps that we think are great for families. With eye-popping ones to engage your kids and others with more minimalistic designs for yourself, there's an app for every member of the family.
KoKo is an app produced by Aurereus Academy to be engaging and fun. The interface makes use of vibrant colours while the course videos are short and sweet; perfect for kids with a short attention span. Among all the apps on this list, we found that this one was the best at teaching the basics of the instrument.
The kids will learn to identify parts of the guitar, how to strum, and how to read tabs. Learning frets are also easy with many simple exercises that can be replayed over and over. The teacher for the beginner guitar course, Joshua, also speaks in a clear and slow manner. While a bit too slow for adults, it's the perfect speed for young children.
KoKo also has a wide variety of Disney songs to learn that will surely be to any little one's liking.
KoKo is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Subscription plans start at $9.90 per month and go up to $49.90 per month.
The layout of Yousician's app may look a little corporate at first glance, but it's a great app for kids, teens, and adults alike. Yousician makes use of graphics and voiceovers to teach users how to play. When given access to your phone's microphone, the app will also listen to what you are playing and give you instant feedback - great for those who appreciate a little guidance along their journey.
There are many exercises for you to complete throughout the courses. A little white ball will bounce across the screen according to the beat of the music to help you keep count. When learning how to play basic melodies, the fingers on the left hand are also given specific colours to help you keep track of which finger to use on which string and fret. Since the app offers instant feedback, you'll know immediately if you come in too early or late, if you played the wrong note, and whether your note is "dead".
The learning process has also been gamified. At the end of each exercise, your score is tabulated according to how many notes you played or missed. This can help motivate younger members of the family to push themselves in order to get a perfect score.
Exercise speeds can also be adjusted to a comfortable one so you can learn at your own pace.
To give you a sense of how long it will take you to play a song: you can easily learn songs such as 'Dancing On My Own' by Calum Scott and Happy Birthday (a classic, of course) on your first or second day depending on how fast you learn.
The best part is that you can opt for the family plan that will allow you to track up to four family members' progress. Sign us up!
Yousician is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Subscription plans start at $228.98 per year (personal plan) and go up to $338.98 per year (family plan).
Ultimate Guitar: Best app for older teens and serious learners
We find that Ultimate Guitar is more suitable for older teens and above. This app is for serious learners who want to master everything about the guitar. Each lesson (from their extensive list of courses) can last anywhere between 30 minutes to almost an hour. The instructors of the courses take deep dives into all the concepts so that you really master each element. Because of this, while the interface is sufficiently full of vibrant pops of colours, little kids might tire of the lessons quickly.
But for adults and older children looking to wow everyone at the next gathering, Ultimate Guitar is perfect for the end goal. There are tons of songs on the platform and even multiple versions of the same song that are contributed by other users. Each version will provide the chords and strumming pattern at the very top. You can adjust the speed of the song so that you can follow along, and you can listen to the audio of how it is played at the same time.
You can also adjust the backing track and reduce the volume of the other instruments so you can listen properly to the guitar alone.
Ultimate Guitar is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Functions and courses necessary to learn the guitar can be found without paying for the pro version. Ultimate Guitar Pro is priced at $12.98 per month and $39.98 per year (offer price).