Many aspiring guitarists keep asking, “Can you learn guitar with Yousician?” Allow us to give you a suitable answer to this question as you plan to take your music goals up a higher notch through online guitar lessons instead of private lessons.
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Yes. Yousician is very helpful but you must consider a few things. How hard is it to learn guitar? How to get good at guitar? Are guitar lessons worth it? You’ll see that it isn’t too bad if you put the time into it.
What Exactly is Yousician?
It is a new tech in music education available in the form of a software app. It teaches users how to master the guitar or piano rather than a plastic game controller. The app listens to you as you play through the guitar microphone and provides feedback in real time. Yousician is compatible with electric and acoustic guitars and doesn’t require the use of special equipment. Guitar Tricks is another excellent choice. Rocksmith can be as well. Moreover, it is designed for both advanced and beginner players. You will find a plethora of practice songs you can play on Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, and Windows.
Hailed as the biggest music educator, the popularity of Yousician in the last 4 years stands at over 25 million users. Such statistics are hard to attain in traditional music schools. It is by far the most entertaining music education app you can ever play.
How it Works
You must download the app first and log in. Then follow the prompts to choose your musical instrument which you may change later. If you choose a guitar, specify your skill level which could be zero, basic, several songs, or almost anything (pro). Depending on your level of skill, there are other things you will be asked if you are comfortable with. In the basic level option, for instance, you get basic chords (Em, C), changing positions, lead guitar, one finger per fret, basic power chords, simple strumming, down/up picking, and down/up strumming.
The gameplay is basically a sight-reading tablature that the app synchronizes with the backing of a song track. When you successfully hit the notes, you pass that level. You have to be keen on your timing to be ranked on the leaderboards of your chosen song. The experience is divided into 3 modes namely:
- Missions Mode: It walks you through various exercises depending on your level of expertise. You learn the basics and master different techniques while building up your speed.
- Songs Mode: Here, you get to share your songs with tablature.
- Challenges Mode: It gives weekly updates including two new and original songs that have been composed on Yousician. Several versions of those songs are available to cater to any level of player. To practice a song, hop to the practice mode and slow down the speed of the track. Isolate it and start listening to the guitar track only. You can also set a looper pedal that trains you more on the challenging aspects of the song.
Some of the features you should take advantage of to master an instrument on Yousician include the auto-speeder, inbuilt tuner, and chord diagrams among others. Note that you can play on the app as long as you like but it only provides feedback for a single lesson every day. This is equivalent to 20 minutes on the free tier. With the free version, you are limited to particular songs and how much you can learn. This is still enough if you are just starting out. It is good to start here before you pay for extra features. To unlock an unlimited range of lessons and videos, subscribe to the premium tier which also comes with additional features.
The Guitar Experience with Yousician at a Glance
The tablature on Yousician (rhymes with musician) displays the frets and springs you should play. This is the easiest way to write guitar music using the fretboard. To know when to play a note, follow the bouncing ball and get immediate feedback on the quality of that note and the timing. Check the song bar to see the progress of the song and also what is coming next. You may set a loop to experiment with tricky parts of skip ahead. Remember that you will be gaining points by following the ball and hitting notes on time. Practice multiple times to score higher before competing with fellow Yousicians.
Tuning
Tuning the guitar with any tuner like an acoustic guitar tuner is a fundamental skill. The instrument should be in tune to sound great. That is why Yousician created an in-built tuner which allows you to know if the tune is too high or too low. It listens to your play and in a step-by-step guide, gives feedback on the same. The simple process also provides a bit of “ping” that notifies you when you get a string in tune.
Yousician teaches you to read the tablature as you play fun songs from traditional tunes to custom-written new songs in all styles. As you advance, you will have mastered how to use different fingers and play notes on higher guitar fret. You will also grasp the use of hammer-ons, slides, and how to play scales. If you like, you may use the standard notation or view the tablature and the standard notation together. The broad range of notation views enables you to learn guitar in the most suitable way whether on a desk or a driver’s seat.
Playing the Chords
Playing a single note sounds good. But a few notes played simultaneously sound awesome. This is what is referred to as a guitar chord. Guitar chords are the building blocks of popular songs. It is important that you understand the vocabulary of chords which is written in diagrams. Basically, you will see images of the fretboard directing you the right place to put your fingers. The dots show what notes to hold while the color highlights what finger to use.
While the Yousician app is ideal for beginners, it has a few limitations. For one, there is no full human-to-human interaction like other similar applications. If you are comfortable learning guitar on a screen, then it is just perfect for you. But for interpersonal demonstrations, you can try an alternative.
Are you looking to start learning how to play guitar (either electric guitar or acoustic) in an engaging way without the cost of private guitar lessons or in person instruction? You might also be an experienced player but need a fresh perspective on the practice. Then Yousician is worth giving a try. It not only helps you to become a better guitarist but also keeps you entertained.