- Learn about the popular guitar learning platform Yousician
- See how it compares to other similar online resources
- Find out if Yousician is compatible with your skill level
Yousician is an interactive platform for learning the guitar that has garnered a lot of traction online in recent years.
The application provides structured learning material in a way that beginners will find both intuitive and appealing. The coursework is based on a combination of video tutorials and interactive games that sync up with the sound of your instrument.
Despite sounding somewhat gimmicky, many people have succeeded with Yousician, and its user base is rapidly growing. In this digital age, applications like Yousician may be the way to musical education.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at Yousician!
Yousician Review
Quality of Content – 9/10
Yousician runs as a separate application on various devices, including phones, tablets, and PC and Mac computers. Since its introduction, many learning material has been added to the application, including a vast song library and technique and theory-based lessons.
Yousician’s content is interactive, providing a much more engaging experience for the tech-savvy generation. Upon signing up to the platform, you’ll be prompted to answer questions about what instrument you want to learn and your current skill level.
Yousician provides guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, and vocals coursework. However, their main focus is directed towards acoustic and electric guitar. As a result, there is considerably more guitar-related content on the Yousician platform, though this isn’t to say that coursework for the other instruments is lacking.
I was particularly impressed by the technique and theory content featured in the learn section. For example, level 1 subjects such as Pitch & Rhythm, E minor, E, and A Minor were covered. It’s a fantastic starting point for any beginner indeed.
These topics are laid out from levels 1 to 10, and each is well-planned with video tutorials and interactive exercises. The quality of this content is fantastic, boasting clear visuals and an intuitive UI. However, seeing this onscreen information on smaller screens such as phones was somewhat tricky.
As I progressed through the levels, it became clear that there was little here for more experienced players. However, what is included will serve the beginner perfectly as they embark on their first steps of learning an instrument.
Not only is Yousician fun and easy to use, but it also provides a sense of achievement that beginners need to persevere through the early stages.
Variation: 9/10
Yousician is easy to navigate with three main options – Learn, Songs, and Challenges.
Learn
Learn is the place to learn various playing techniques, chords, and music theory. This section is laid out intuitively, and I found it particularly easy to navigate. The featured workout section covers further sub-topics, including standard notation and scales.
Though this might not be the most popular section, it holds a lot of valuable information for the motivated student.
The Songs
The Songs section houses Yousician’s vast song library, the selection is constantly growing, and I was impressed with what was available. This material is split into sections including Four Chords and Famous, Iconic Riffs, Popular Genres, Playing Styles, and more.
There is even a special section called “Learn To Play With Metallica,” where you can learn details of their hit songs and play along with the band themselves. This section will surely be the favorite of many students, covering a wide range of genres, including Rock, Pop, R&B, Metal, Folk, and Jazz.
Challenges
This section provides some friendly competition. Yousician allocates weekly challenges where you can aim to get the highest score possible. These challenges are based on various musical genres and can motivate players who love gaming.
Profile
The Yousician profile section is another exciting addition to the application’s main menu. It gives users of the Yousician app a means to track their skill level and progression. In addition, it also provides users with a variety of statistics, including the amount of time spent practicing or the number of notes or chords you have played.
The information in the profile tab is an excellent way of giving users feedback and may even double as a means of motivation.
Courses for Beginners: 9/10
After spending some time with Yousician, it became clear that its target audience is beginners comfortable with technology. As many of us know, the most challenging aspect of being a beginner student is maintaining motivation and staying persistent during the early stages.
Yousician is an excellent tool for people who have struggled with learning an instrument independently or cannot access private lessons. While the app makes learning an instrument accessible to people of all ages, we felt that one subtle downfall of Yousician is that there is no way to tell if you are developing bad habits on your instrument of choice.
The advantage of one-on-one private lessons is receiving real-time feedback from an experienced musician. In this scenario, your teacher can also cater your learning material to your specific needs and requirements.
Ultimately, Yousician’s format is best for children and young adults due to its interactive video game-like format. Young people can utilize Yousician to get their bearings, essentially serving as a stepping stone towards private lessons once they outgrow the limitations of Yousicians coursework.
Courses for Experienced Players: 5/10
Yousician does feature some lessons and other material catered toward intermediate players, but the content is lacking for anyone past this skill level. This is understandable, given that the application has been designed for beginners, and this may be something they intend to expand upon in the future.
Learning A Song + Guitar Tuna
Yousician breaks down its song library into multiple difficulties. These include basic beginner, different parts of the song, and full intermediate. Learning songs on multiple skill levels greatly benefits beginners as they will learn each track in depth. In addition, having levels from 1-10 will motivate players to push their skills to new levels.
Yousician’s song library is constantly growing, so you can rest assured that there will be plenty of learning material to traverse as you take your first steps in learning to play the guitar. Another alternative is the app GuitarTuna – GuitarTuna is a popular application made by Yousician, separate from the main Yousician application.
This app contains over 10,000 songs, including chord charts and tablature for each piece. For players who want to find more songs to play, checking out GuitarTuna might be a good idea.
Pricing
Yousician is currently priced at $7.49 per month or $89.99 per year. A basic membership only gives you access to a single instrument, but other plans, such as Premium+, can give you access to the whole course for each instrument.
Compared to similar websites and applications, basic membership is much more affordable. For example, competing applications such as Guitar Tricks or Jam Play cost $10-$20 per month. Considering all of this, Yousician is a fantastic option for beginners.
Yousician vs. YouTube
Due to its popularity, YouTube is another way many beginners learn the guitar. Considering this, it only makes sense to compare YouTube with the Yousician platform to see how they weigh against each other.
Due to its size, YouTube certainly has more resources than Yousician. It also is capable of catering to any skill level. On the other hand, Yousician gives a structure and user interface better suited to younger people and children.
With Yousician, this demographic of players is more likely to stay focused and avoid getting bored or distracted by other stimuli when they should be practicing.
Final Thoughts
Yousician is a fantastic way for beginners to take their first steps in learning to play music. Having said this, there are better options for more experienced players as Yousician lacks coursework that extends past intermediate skill levels.
However, this isn’t Yousicians target demographic, and upon taking this into account, we can’t doubt the Yousician platform’s power to introduce a new generation of players to the guitar.
FAQ
Can I use Yousician for free?
Yousician has a 7-day free trial that serves to test out the app before paying.
Can I use Yousician offline?
A working internet connection is required to use Yousician.
Is Yousician appropriate for children?
Yes, all the content featured in Yousician is suitable for children.
Does Yousician offer personalized feedback and assessments?
Yousician offers feedback on whether you played the right note, but other than that, no additional feedback is given. For example, you won’t know whether your form is good or if you’re developing a bad habit on the instrument.
In terms of assignments, it does give you personalized goals and lessons to complete in terms of directions. But you don’t get a personalized lesson plan from another teacher or a human being.
Can I use Yousician on multiple devices?
Yousician is compatible with Apple and Android devices as well as PCs.
