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Do you think you’re too old for games? Think again!
Guitar games are great for getting you to learn several guitar concepts, that you would otherwise have to learn by mending over a book and studying/memorizing. And no, they’re not just for children, adult guitar students use guitar games all the time as well.
For example, think about how you would learn the notes on the fretboard. You need to learn the very basics of course, and if you have a fun online game, where you can even compete against other, you’ll be sure to learn the notes much faster than just trying to memorize everything.
I’ll list several great guitar games for all to enjoy in this article, and if you know of any more, please leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list after reviewing it.
1. JamPlay games
JamPlay has 4 well made guitar games, which can really help in learning guitar theory and developing your ear. The games they have are:
- Fretboard memorization: A level based, timed game to test your knowledge of the fretboard. The game starts out easier, and gets harder and harder as your progress. If the timer runs out, the game ends.
- Music notation quizzer: The game will train you to recognize the various symbols used on sheet music.
- Note identification: Transition from tabs to music sheets with this game.
- Pitch recognition: This is an ear training game, and will teach you to identify intervals between 2 notes.
Sign up to JamPlay to play these games, and make sure you use these coupon codes to save some money. They also have a free trial right now here.
2. GuitarTricks games
GuitarTricks has a pretty cool fretboard trainer game, which is available to all of it’s paying members.
The point of the game is to tell which note the program is asking for. So for example above, the question mark is on the A string at fret 1, and you have to click on which note you think it is.
Your answers are timed and stored, so you can compete against other GuitarTricks members:
Sign up for a GuitarTricks membership here, or have a look at their free trial membership.
3. Rocksmith
Rocksmith is a pretty innovative way to learn guitar, it’s sort of an evolution of Guitar Hero, only with a real guitar. You can usually find a console version set up at Guitar Center, if you want to give it a go.
It teaches guitar through learning songs. It doesn’t slow down the song though, but gives you very few notes to play as a beginner, and progressively gives you more and more notes.
Also, lot’s of people experience a lag between plucking a note and the song, which defeats the whole purpose. This lag is worse when you use an HDMI cable for audio (which is how most people use their gaming console).
The game is on discount at Amazon right now, check it out.
4. GuitarGames.net
Guitargames.net has a few guitar learning games, but they are not that high quality as you might expect nowadays. The games seem a bit random and don’t really have any structure or unified branding, which makes me think they were collected from other websites.
Either way, you can register for a free account and check it out.
5. DouglasNiedt.com
This website has 8 Flash based online guitar games for you to try. The games are not fancy by any means, nor are they simple, but they can be effective if you want to learn guitar theory.
This site is more for the intermediate to advanced player, who wants exercises to test and further his knowledge. Check it out: http://douglasniedt.com/guitartheoryandeartraining.html
So there you have it, several guitar games to get you learning. There are different instances where you would want to use each type, for example the full fledged console games act as entire guitar lesson courses, while the more targeted games will be able to help you with specific areas of the guitar.
I can honestly say that games make learning the guitar fun for everyone. Of course, you can’t rely on these games completely, but they will help make the learning experience just a bit easier.
There are also loads of guitar related apps available for mobile devices, but that will be the topic of another post.
TheGuitarLesson.com is your source for beginner guitar lessons.