The internet has revolutionized music consumption, distribution, and music education. Years ago, before you could learn any musical instrument, you had to enrol either in a specialized music school or employ the service of a local music tutor.
These were the days when apprenticeship was still a thing—not like it is no more “a thing.” However, some might argue that the old learning method had its limitations—just like the “internet learning age” has its limitations.
With the arrival of the internet and online music learning, new possibilities sprouted for people hindered by the limitations of learning music the “old school way.”
The flexibility, cost-effectiveness, convenience, ability to learn at your own pace, and access to a wider range of courses that come with learning music online are truly unbeatable. This is where platforms like TrueFire come in.
Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced guitar player doesn’t matter. TrueFire is designed to take your playing to the next level with an accelerated, simplified, innovative study plan.
TrueFire is designed to work and get you to that envied musical level. There is no reading music, boring exercises, or tedious theory to struggle with. It is designed to get you going in a fun and inspiring way.
Unlike other online guitar/music learning platforms that offer a rather generic approach to teaching/learning, TrueFire is personalized. They also offer one of the best online learning paths for wannabe guitar players and pro/intermediate players.
World-class guitar tutors handle these courses. They have a Jazz Learning Path for those interested in jazz. Also, there is the Acoustic, Blues, Country, Rock, and Bass Learning Paths, respectively.
It doesn’t matter what your style or playing/taste gravitates towards; you will find a perfect course on TrueFire. This article will present some of the best TrueFire courses across all Learning Paths.
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TrueFire Learning Paths
TrueFire’s Learning Paths are structured and personalized curricula designed to enhance guitar players’ skills at all levels. Renowned educators on the platform deliver video lessons covering diverse styles and techniques tailored to each player’s proficiency.
The progressive paths span from absolute beginners to advanced players, offering a well-structured curriculum that enables gradual skill and knowledge development.
The platform emphasizes practical learning, focusing on playing rather than excessive theory or monotonous exercises. Through hands-on experience, you can engage with the curriculum and apply your newfound knowledge in real musical contexts.
TrueFire also allows personalization by offering genre-specific Learning Paths, such as jazz or rock. For instance, the jazz Learning Path explores chord voicing variations and extended chords, which benefits jazz guitarists.
If desired, you can mix elements from different Learning Paths to create a comprehensive learning experience encompassing multiple genres.
Best TrueFire Jazz Courses – Jazz Learning Paths
The Jazz Learning Path in TrueFire caters to guitarists of all skill levels, from novices to more experienced players. It focuses on jazz-specific chord progressions, scales, modes, and applications.
It includes courses like 1-2-3 Jazz Chord Melody, Brazilian Jazz Guitarra, Essentials: Jazz Soloing, and 175 other Jazz-based courses, categorized into Jazz Blues, Smooth Jazz, and Bebop.
On the website, you can sort these courses by Top-rated, Most Reviewed, Top Picks, Release Date, and Highest Selling. The top Jazz coach on the platform is Tim Lerch, who has multiple best-selling and most-reviewed courses.
Solo Jazz Pathways: Chordal Improv by Tim Lerch
“Solo Jazz Pathways: Chordal Improv” by Tim Lerch on TrueFire is a great course for jazz guitar enthusiasts looking to enhance their improvisation skills.
The course delves into Tim’s unique and creative approaches, encompassing techniques such as combining melodies with chords and playing single-note lines without accompanying harmony. Given below are some highlights of this course.
- Includes interspersing melodies with chords and playing single-note lines without supporting harmony.
- Features transcriptions of Tim Lerch’s playing for insights.
- Allows options to purchase downloads or access the premium multi-track version.
- Provides tab, notation, and examples for various jazz improvisation techniques.
Overall, the course has a comprehensive curriculum taught by an expert instructor with practical applications and a step-by-step learning approach.
Bebop Dojo Essentials by Sheryl Bailey’s
“Sheryl Bailey’s Bebop Dojo: Essentials” is a jazz bebop guitar course offering an accelerated and intuitive approach to learning jazz. Here are some key highlights of the course:
- Focuses on essential bebop skills, techniques, insight, and improvisational methods.
- Topics covered include comping, developing melodious phrases utilizing shell voicings, employing steady 4-to-the-bar rhythmic patterns, arpeggios, seamlessly navigating smooth transitions between chords using voice-leading techniques, a swing feel, syncopation, and constructing riffs using shared tones.
- Demonstrates how to develop a strong eighth-note feel and create melodic ideas using common tones within arpeggios.
- Includes versatile bebop licks for major and minor 2-5 progressions, play-along tracks at different tempos, and notation/tab/charts.
- Consists of 56 video lessons divided into sections, covering chords and comping, arpeggios, the bebop toolkit, and improvisation.
- It provides a comprehensive foundation for bebop guitar playing and aims to help students become better improvisers.
Overall, the course has a strong foundational knowledge. Sheryl Bailey is an accomplished jazz guitarist who shares her expertise and knowledge, guiding you through the course and providing valuable insights.
Best TrueFire Acoustic Courses – Acoustic Learning Path
The Acoustic Learning Path on TrueFire is a comprehensive program designed to help guitarists develop their skills in acoustic guitar playing.
It offers a structured learning path with courses covering various aspects of acoustic guitar techniques, styles, and musical concepts. Whether you’re interested in fingerstyle, folk, blues, country, or other acoustic genres, you’ll find courses tailored to your preferences.
Overall, the learning path starts with a free beginner course and then moves on to advanced levels, covering topics like the fundamentals, principles, and approaches of rhythm, fingerstyle, etc.
In addition, there are various supplementary courses for each level of skill. Now, we will discuss some of the best acoustic guitar courses on the platform.
Fingerstyle Milestones by Tommy Emmanuel’s
Fingerstyle Milestones is designed for early intermediate to advanced guitar players interested in developing finger and thumb independence while exploring the polyphonic wonders of fingerstyle guitar playing.
In this course, Tommy Emmanuel provides a structured approach to learning fingerstyle guitar, focusing on key milestones in mastering this technique.
These milestones include acquiring the skills to enhance thumb control and achieve independence in the right hand. By emphasizing these early milestones, the course lays a strong foundation for students to progress and excel in fingerstyle guitar playing.
The course has 97 lessons, introduces eleven songs, and guides you on how to perform them effectively. Furthermore, you can learn fresh playing approaches, such as inversions for boom chick patterns, muting techniques, classic fingerstyle licks, and thumb techniques.
In addition, it also has sections like “Adding the fingers” and “Learning songs,” which cover various helpful playing techniques and styles. These techniques are crucial for mastering the songs taught in the course and expanding your fingerstyle repertoire.
Acoustic Rhythm Guitar Playbook by Sean McGowan
The Acoustic Rhythm Guitar Playbook consists of 32 lessons covering various rhythm patterns and grooves, including many strumming patterns, chord switches, and song-building exercises helpful for pros and beginners alike.
Here are the key features of the course:
- Massive collection of 60 acoustic grooves organized into six sections
- It covers essential rhythms, versatile song-building grooves, movable chord progressions, incorporating advanced chords, adding riffs, and creating original songs with multiple rhythm parts.
- A detailed breakdown of each groove, including note-for-note instruction
- Tab and notation provided for each groove
- Rhythm tracks for practising and experimentation
Lastly, Corey Congilio is a respected guitarist, producer, and instructor known for his solid musical foundation, integrity, and versatility. His experience and expertise will surely help you in this course.
Best TrueFire Blues Courses – Blues Learning Path
The Blues Learning Path on TrueFire has an extensive library of online blues guitar lessons and a roster of renowned & experienced educators in the field.
The learning experience includes multi-angle video lessons, synchronized tablature, jam tracks, and more, allowing you to learn and practice at your own pace.
The path’s emphasis on practical application ensures that you learn the theory and develop the passion and personality required to convey the true essence of the blues.
The “Play Blues Guitar” series consists of ten parts covering everything from advanced soloing principles to slide approaches, rhythm study, lick vocabulary, and more.
Combining that with the supplementary courses, TrueFire caters to all skill levels, providing a rich learning experience with detailed instruction and examples. Here are two of the great courses that the platform offers.
Jack Ruch shares his expertise in this 43 lessons-based comprehensive course and guides you through a curriculum focused on adding depth and colour to your blues solos.
With a strong emphasis on expanding your creative potential, Jack Ruch encourages you to move beyond pentatonic approaches and explore a range of techniques and concepts to enhance your soloing.
The course offers a variety of approaches for colouring blues solos over different types of chord progressions, including fundamental blues progressions, refined progressions, and an array of styles encompassing leisurely blues rhythms, groovy New Orleans playing methods, jazz blues melodies, etc.
Through video lessons, Jack Ruch provides detailed instruction and demonstrations, allowing you to follow along and incorporate these techniques into your playing.
Additionally, the course covers important topics like learning the fretboard and mapping out the neck of the guitar, providing valuable insights to aid your understanding and mastery of the instrument. Lastly, the course is meant for intermediate to advanced Blues guitarists.
Kirk Fletcher’s TrueHeart Blues: Rhythm course
Kirk Fletcher, an acclaimed blues guitarist, shares his insights and techniques to help you become a great rhythm player, laying the foundation for exceptional performances.
Recognizing the vital role of a rhythm player in supporting singers and soloists, Kirk emphasizes the difference between a mediocre performance and a truly memorable one, strongly emphasizing developing solid rhythm skills.
He shares his insights on playing chords while answering with single-note lines, exploring shuffle rhythms, funk rhythms, and techniques like double stops, slight bends, and call-and-response.
With his expert guidance, you’ll learn to add spice and colour to your rhythm parts, target specific notes in chords, and understand the importance of the right hand in creating a solid groove.
By studying Kirk’s approaches and gaining new insights, you’ll be inspired to develop your unique style within the blues genre. Whether you’re an aspiring blues guitarist or an experienced player looking to refine your rhythm skills, this course offers a valuable learning experience.
Best TrueFire Country Courses – Country Learning Path
TrueFire’s Country Learning Path provides various courses covering various aspects of country guitar playing, including rhythm and advanced rhythm principles.
The curriculum is carefully crafted to meet the needs of beginners to advanced students, offering valuable insights, techniques, and concepts specific to country guitar playing.
The path helps you develop rhythmic skills, master country guitar techniques like bending and fingerpicking, and explore stylistic nuances unique to country music.
The core structure includes ten courses covering rhythm approaches, style variations, soloing principles, advanced techniques like hybrid picking, and musical concepts such as improvisation and chord progressions.
In addition, there are various complementary courses for additional skill-building and practice. Here are some good country guitar courses that you can consider doing.
Street Theory for Guitarists by Jeff Scheetz
Jeff Scheetz’s “Street Theory for Guitarists” aims to simplify music theory and make it practical and applicable for guitar players.
Presented by Jeff Scheetz, TrueFire’s Director of Education, the course provides clear explanations and demonstrations of theoretical principles on the fretboard specifically tailored for guitarists.
It consists of 45 video lessons, totalling 5 hours of instruction, and is accompanied by a 123-page manual containing charts, neck diagrams, tablature, and notation. Lastly, the key features and content of the course include:
- Fundamentals: Exploring foundational theoretical principles and clarifying confusing terms like the musical alphabet, note names, intervals, and chromatic scale.
- Chords: Covering essential theory and practical applications, including building chords, barre shapes, harmonized scale, Roman numerals, progressions, extended chords, and substitutions.
- Scales: Guiding guitarists through essential scale theory, including pentatonic scales, blues scales, major scale patterns, modes, and soloing techniques.
- Other Theory Essentials: Expanding soloing skills and fretboard understanding with arpeggios, harmony lines, CAGED system chords, and pentatonic scales.
- On-screen diagrams, animations, and jam tracks provide a practical approach, enabling immediate application and accelerated growth for guitarists.
Nashville-style guitar by Brent Mason
Brent Mason, a Grammy Award-winning artist and highly acclaimed guitarist, shares his expertise in this comprehensive course. With over 60 video lessons, you can explore Nashville-style country guitar, rhythm grooves, solos, and country pickin’.
Brent teaches signature techniques like fingerpicking and chicken pickin’, various rhythm approaches, soloing techniques, and a versatile vocabulary of licks and motifs.
The course covers country shuffles, train beat techniques, modern country approaches, Eagles-style country, and more. Students will also gain insights into songwriting and the business of being a session player.
By studying with Brent Mason, you can immerse yourself in the world of Nashville guitar and take their skills to the next level. Lastly, it also provides insights into songwriting and the business of being a session player.
Best TrueFire Rock Courses – Rock Learning Path
The content of the Rock Learning Path covers a wide range of relevant topics. It starts with foundational lessons such as proper technique, chords, and basic rhythm patterns to give beginners a strong base.
Afterwards, you dive deeper into rock guitar playing, including learning popular rock licks, exploring different chord shapes and progressions, studying rock guitar solos and improvisation techniques, and understanding essential rock guitar techniques like tapping pedal points and arpeggios.
However, you can follow the laid down order or customize the structure per your needs. The path also introduces you to the stylistic elements of rock genres such as classic rock, blues rock, funk rock, and more.
Renowned guitarists and educators like Jeff Scheetz, David Grissom, Andy Timmons, Dave Celentano, Rusty Cooley, Jennifer Batten, Angus Clark, Oz Noy, Shane Theriot, and more cover these lessons. Now let’s discuss the best Rock Guitar Courses on the website.
Guitar Zen: CAGED by Eric Haugen
Guitar Zen: CAGED is presented by Eric Haugen, and focuses on the CAGED system. It explores the 5 CAGED shapes in major and minor tonalities and the corresponding Pentatonic scales.
The lessons start in the open position and gradually progress up the entire fretboard, demonstrating effective practice techniques and creative playing approaches.
Each section offers play-along backing tracks to explore new CAGED approaches, starting with a particular shape and advancing to playing over simple two and three-chord progressions.
Eric Haugen shares various patterns for crafting rhythmic grooves using the CAGED shapes and teaches how to find and play double-stops within the pentatonic CAGED framework.
It includes 50 video lessons, standard notation, tabs, and TrueFire’s learning tools for a personalized learning experience. Eric’s teaching style aims to make the material accessible and rewires the brain to bring musical ideas to life on the fretboard.
Ariel Posen’s Triad Targets: Rhythm
Triads are vital for versatile rhythm playing without interfering with others. They allow guitarists to play in different positions and keys.
Learning triads and inversions expands a guitarist’s tonal range. Ariel Posen’s Triad Targets – Rhythm Edition offers 6 Study Sets covering triad applications like voice leading, inversions, embellishments, and connecting with lead lines.
Each set includes jam tracks for practical context. The course progresses from major and minor triad shapes to transposing keys, using inversions, and crafting seamless rhythm. Now, let’s consider its key highlights:
- Explore triads on different string sets.
- Learn 24 major and minor triad shapes with inversions.
- Jam tracks for musical practice.
- Develop skills in voice leading, embellishments, and connecting triads.
- Transpose and mix inversions
- Access backing tracks for individual practice
Best TrueFire Bass Courses – Bass Learning Path
The Bass Learning Path on TrueFire offers a comprehensive curriculum with core courses and supplementary materials that cover various styles, techniques, and essential skills.
The core courses focus on fundamental skills and specific topics, providing a structured learning experience. The core courses progress from beginner to advanced levels, gradually allowing players to develop their abilities.
The curriculum covers various styles and techniques, equipping bassists to handle various musical contexts.
In addition, TrueFire’s Learning Paths recommend supplementary courses to delve deeper into specific topics and expand knowledge. These supplementary materials allow you to explore specific areas of interest and further refine your skills.
This path suits bass players of all levels, including beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. In addition, the courses cater to a variety of musical styles, ensuring that you can find material relevant to your preferences. Now, we will discuss two of the platform’s best online bass guitar courses.
Ryan Majora’s Bass Cafe: Foundations
Ryan Madora’s Bass Cafe: Foundations focuses on developing bass players’ skills to create chord progressions and enhance their musicality across various popular styles.
The course emphasizes establishing a solid groove, fostering musical conversation within a band, and serving the songs being played. It covers fretboard skill, technique, diatonic harmony application, chord progression identification, arpeggio patterns, and playing in different registers.
The course features 58 video lessons taught by Ryan Madora, an experienced bassist who has worked with renowned artists and producers in Nashville.
The course offers practical tips, warm-up exercises, major scale workouts, vertical playing techniques, 4-chord songs, and chromatic lines. It provides a comprehensive curriculum to help bass players improve their skills and musicality.
Ariane Cap’s Pentatonic Playground For Bass
The course focuses on the power of pentatonic scales as fundamental tools for creating interesting grooves, fills, solos, and melodies in various contemporary music styles.
Ariane introduces five versatile pentatonic shapes and provides a systematic approach for applying them across the fretboard in different musical contexts. The course has three sections: exploring major and minor pentatonic scales, learning the five patterns in detail with exercises and groove demonstrations, and practical application studies.
Further, Ariane demonstrates each concept and technique with rhythm tracks and breaks down the key features and approaches used in the application studies.
How We Selected These TrueFire Courses
Shortlisting the courses mentioned above from a huge collection and library of courses offered by TrueFire was challenging. We considered what’s best for the genre, what skills are the most complementary, and the core courses for each genre.
The most important parameter was online reviews. We handpicked some of the most popular, highest-rated, and most reviewed courses on the website. The second parameter was the trainer and their expertise and skills in their respective genres and styles.
The third factor we considered was how easy, accessible, and comprehensive the courses are. We ensured to pick up content which is explained well and addressed the topics well. Lastly, we also considered how the course is priced. The course must provide a high value-to-price ratio.
Is TrueFire All Access Worth it?
If you’re seeking a platform with a wide range of courses led by top-quality instructors, along with resources and tools to aid your practice at under $30/month, TrueFire All Access is worth it.
TrueFire All Access is a subscription plan offered by TrueFire, an online guitar lesson platform. Subscribers gain streaming access to a vast library of courses and song lessons featuring over 50,000 videos taught by 300+ top artists and educators.
The TrueFire website or app can access the content on various devices. In addition to the streaming video lessons, TrueFire All Access provides valuable resources and tools.
Subscribers can access over 30,000 tabs, standard notation, Guitar Pro files, and 20,000+ jam tracks for practice.
The platform offers benefits like multi-angle HD videos, slow-motion playback, and loop sections for focused learning. Subscribers also enjoy a 20% discount on course downloads for offline access.
TrueFire All Access offers monthly plans at $29/month or an annual plan at $99/year, providing flexibility for users. With its wide range of courses, top-quality instructors, and helpful learning tools, TrueFire All Access is worth considering.
Conclusion
In conclusion, TrueFire offers comprehensive learning paths and courses for guitarists of all skill levels. Whether you’re interested in jazz, acoustic, blues, country, or rock guitar, TrueFire has curated courses taught by expert instructors to help you develop your skills in these genres.
For example, for Jazz enthusiasts, the Jazz Learning Paths provide progressive curricula focusing on jazz-specific concepts such as chord progressions, scales, modes, and their application in jazz music.
Similarly, the Acoustic Learning Path offers structured courses covering various techniques, styles, and musical concepts in the acoustic guitar realm. Courses like “Fingerstyle Milestones” by Tommy Emmanuel and “Acoustic Rhythm Guitar Playbook” by Sean McGowan provide guidance and practice materials for developing fingerstyle and rhythm guitar skills.
Just like that, we covered various courses for the Rock and Blues genre and the best bass courses on TrueFire. Lastly, with its All Access subscription, you can enjoy all the platform content at less than 30 USD per month.
Overall, TrueFire’s extensive courses, taught by expert instructors, interactive learning tools, and practice materials provide guitarists with a comprehensive and enriching learning experience to enhance their skills in various genres.
