10 Great Sites for Musicians That Will Take You To The Next Level

It's a great time to be a guitar player. The 21st century has brought us so many avenues to learn and develop our talent. No matter what level you're at there is a new lesson to be learned, tab to be played or video to be watched. I have created a list of the 10 best guitar websites out there today, IMO. I know, there are many, many sites and obviously so many I haven't discovered yet so feel free to respond with your favorite site.

By the way, they're not listed in any special order. 

1) Guitar Player Magazine 

Guitar Player has been on the news stands since I was a kid. I used thumb through the pages drooling over gear and trying to get just enough guitar tips to be dangerous. Unfortunately I didn't always have enough money to purchase the mag. In any event, today you can jump online and take advantage of all the great articles, interviews, videos and tab for free. There is plenty to do and see in this great website.

2) 2 Minute Guitar

I across this website one day looking for great online learning tools. Its a great concept. I mean most of us have an attention span of less than 2 minutes, so these guys have figured it out. Give the masses short lessons packed with a punch. 2- Minute Guitar site caters to beginners, intermediate and advanced players. Something for everyone. Lessons are presented in the form of video instructors, performance videos and tab. What's great is membership is as low as $4.95 a month. 

3) Ultimate Guitar

Ultimate Guitar began as a guitar tab site but it has morphed! I have used this site countless times. I still use it today. What's great about this site is, you guessed it, the guitar tabs. In addition, it's got a great forum and it's packed with backing tracks. You can't go wrong... 

4) Chord Book

If you're a guitar player there is no greater goal than learning the fret board. Today its easier than ever. Hiring an actual guitar teacher for that one on one experience is invaluable! In the meantime, you've got to practice! Chord Book to the rescue. This is a very useful website. Packed with chords and scales. This is the building blocks of learning the guitar. I love this site! It's so intuitive yet simple. 

5) Justin Guitar 

As you've probably discovered there are many websites that will teach you guitar for a monthly fee. Finding one that is good and will do it for free is a challenge. Justin Guitar is worth the online book mark. It's not as flashy as some of the other sites but it stands its ground. It's also easy to navigate through. There is a list by genre and difficulty level. If you're a beginner there is a whole course you can take and it's laid out really well. There might not be a whole for the advanced player but if you're a beginner or novice this is a great place to start.

6) Wikiloops

What we have here is a great way to communicate. What Wikiloops does is it links a community of musicians who have longed to collaborate with other musicians with a similar styles and goals together. I like it! You lay down a bass line and want a drummer to complete the rhythm. Viola'! In addition, this site includes a backing track configuration tool and it's all free. 

7) Guitar Backing Track

If you're into backing tracks Guitar Backing Track is the right place. To keep this short and sweet...It's a one trick pony but does the job well. It's a really fun site to explore and hone your lead playing.

8) Premier Guitar

If you're into the boutique gear chances are you've been to this site or subscribed to their magazine. It's glorious and jam packed with some of the coolest gear on the planet. Premier Guitar is widely known for the "The Rig Rundown". This is a video collection where they go over the guitars, amps and effects of famous guitarist by either the actual player or their tech. It's really cool and informative. You get a glimpse to see what the pro's play. The magazine offers much, much more. You just got to see yourself.

9) My Guitar Solo

My Guitar Solo is a website geared to improve one's technique. You can learn scales, licks, practice tips, and fretboard secrets all on one site. I wouldn't say it's packed with info but what is important is the learning material is good and if studied correctly will improve your playing and that's something all of us want. 

10) Jam Studio

Ok, here we go. This is a pretty neat site. In the early years of the web I thought about building a site like this. Looks like I missed the boat and these guys built the ship. What makes Jam Studio so cool is you can build loops and beats using drums, bass, guitar and keys online. It's a fairly simple tool and if you have a song idea this site might be just the thing to get it off the ground. Any player at any level can use this tool. They claim to have over 250,000 loops with many genre's of music. It's definitely worth a look and at $49.99 a year it won't break your bank. 

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