Learning Guitar with Yousician

Yousician is an interactive learning app that utilizes AI technology to teach you how to play guitar, bass, ukele, piano, and also how to sing. The app is available on Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.

You use your own instrument and the app analyzes your playback to determine if you've played the right notes. I got an acoustic guitar earlier the summer and this is how I've been learning to play.

When you first start the app, it will ask you what type of instrument you are playing and what experience level you are currently at. If you have some experience playing, you can skip some of the early lessons.

There are 3 learning paths for guitar including lead, rhythm, and knowledge. Lead will focus on playing single strings, rhythm focuses on chords, and knowledge is what it suggests.

There are about 12 difficulty levels and you must unlock each level to learn the harder material. After levels 3-4 you'll be able to play some real songs and have lots of learning materials to choose from.

Yousician has many popular songs from bands including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, ZZ Top, R.E.M., and Sublime to name a few. Their team also creates their own music which you'll find in many of the challenges.

They add new song challenges every two weeks where you can also compete for high score. Last month they had Halloween themed songs which were pretty interesting played on guitar.

The notes you play scroll along in a style similar to Guitar Hero and are displayed in tab format. This style is much easier to learn than standard notation.

You earn a score based on your performance and the app will track your progress. Get a 3 gold star rating to "master" it.

Searching for new songs in your difficulty level is easy. You can select a difficulty range near your current level and then scroll to select what you'd like to play.

I've been using the app for about 2 months now and am currently playing in the difficulty 5-7 level. At this level you will be playing "cowboy chords" and the melodies or riffs to many popular songs on the app.

Some of my favorite songs to play on the app right now are Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, Losing My Religion by R.E.M. and Hemorrhage by Fuel.

The app has a free trial period, but you must purchase a subscription for unlimited access to premium songs and regular features. If you decide not to subscribe, you still get 5 minutes per day worth of app time.

Sometimes I will play for 2 hours at a time or until my fingers get sore. The premium access is worth it to me. Private lessons from an instructor would end up costing you way more and you'll probably progress faster with the app.

Have you tried Yousician? Let me know if you've tried it and what level you're playing at.