Despite the challenges brought on by lockdowns and quarantines during the past few years, time spent at home presented opportunities for personal growth and learning an instrument.
People began to pick up music, with many choosing to learn how to play the guitar. A survey by Fender revealed that 16 million Americans learned the guitar
during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With more time to practice and a desire to achieve self-improvement, people took advantage of their time by picking up the instrument. Finding educational resources also changed a lot during the pandemic, and those learning things like music theory likely accessed help from online resources due to limited interactions with other people.
But even now, as restrictions have eased, many find it more comfortable to learn theory from online courses and teachers. Studocu’s e-Learning statistics note how more people enjoy pursuing an education at their own speed, thanks to the internet. The global market is expected to reach $1 trillion in value by 2028, which means more and more people are getting into the groove of e-Learning.
Online education is growing since it also brings many benefits for learners; guitarists, in particular, can enjoy the ease of not having to bring all their equipment out of the house for lessons. And by not traveling outside the home, e-Learning curbs carbon emissions and additional energy use, helping students do their part in keeping the planet clean.
If you’re looking for great online courses on music theory to guide you through your guitar journey, here are a few to consider:
The Guitar: Music Theory Essentials – Udemy
Udemy is an online educational platform known for its extensive range of courses, bringing together instructors and learners worldwide. One of their music theory courses, “The Guitar: Music Theory Essentials,” is tailored specifically for guitarists. If you’re looking for something less general and more specific, this course can help.
Instructor Owen Mul is a guitarist, music producer, and music educator himself and has over 15 years of experience teaching students of all experience levels. In this course, you’ll learn the musical alphabet, chords, rhythm and timing, how to navigate the fretboard, and more. Udemy courses usually require payment to access. However, the platform also regularly gives discounts and promos for special events or holidays so that you can join the class for less.
Online Music Theory Course for Guitar – Hub Guitar
Not many online music theory courses for guitars are as extensive as Hub Guitar’s course, and the best part is that it’s completely free to access. The lessons range from basic, advanced, expert, and master levels, and each stage comes with a quiz once you’re finished going through all the classes for each level.
Some examples of topics include pitch and rhythm notation, changing time signatures, telling the difference between major and minor, and so on. The topics are pretty detailed and specific, but there’s little to no visual accompaniment like videos. Each lesson is easy to go through and perfectly suited for a beginner guitarist.
Dave Conservatoire – YouTube
Online music theory courses can sometimes come at a price, but you can also choose to access them for free on YouTube, which already provides video lessons and tutorials on various topics through the platform’s content creators. There are a handful of channels that provide music theory and guitar lessons, including Dave Conservatoire. The channel offers over 250 videos of music theory topics, ranging from basic-level knowledge to advanced classes.
YouTube courses won’t be as linear or tailored as premium ones, but they’re great if you want lessons that are widely accessible and budget-friendly. YouTube may soon delve into digital education further, so more high-quality educational videos might be expected. By streamlining their online learning offerings, they can filter out lower quality or irrelevant videos, showing you the best sources of information on this alternative version of the site.
Conclusion
Music theory is an essential aspect of learning the guitar or any instrument. It might sound easier to follow a tutorial of your favourite song, but music theory fundamentals help you truly understand what’s behind great music and how you can make your own.
