TrueFire Guitar Lessons Reviews

The lure is great guitar teachers. The trap is a buggy subscription service that only seemed to work the first day I got it.
I purchased the all access access subscription through TrueFireGuitarLessons Store here. I’ve cancelled it because it wouldn’t give me access. Restore didn’t work either. To add insult to injury, I was already billed again this month so they got an extra $30 out of me for a broken app.
Also, I was not able to use my sign in credentials to access the site via the internet either so even though the SAY the subscription is universal, it practice it wasn’t.
This was very sad for me because the educational material is great and so are the teachers, many are pros. I’ve been looking for a service like this for a long time. Just TrueFireGuitarLessons and interface is a massive broken rip-off.
CAVEAT EMPTOR

I read the other reviews, but I was hopeful they had fixed some things by now in regards to the UI, my mistake. I’ve been using TrueFireGuitarLessons for a couple weeks now. The content is great and I’ve been working through some amazing courses, TrueFireGuitarLessons itself though is just terrible. I’m using it through a brand new iPad and it consistently freezes and crashes both in the middle of a class, and even just while browsing the courses or lessons. That’s when it doesn’t get stuck on the loading screen. I can’t in good conscience recommend TrueFireGuitarLessons to anyone, especially when many of the instructors have their own websites that you can go through instead to subvert this. It operates like a beta product even though it’s been out for years and many people have tried to bring it to the attention of those who could help. Developers, if you’re reading this, please fix TrueFireGuitarLessons . I am open to changing my review once these issues are fixed, and I know that you guys have something great here. You can do this!

I took private lessons for years and with my horrible ADD I just couldn’t focus and see the big picture as well as I felt they were holding me back to keep me going long term. With TrueFire learning paths and studying with whom and what I want to learn I have progressed a thousand percent in the last year. You just be careful though as I like a lot of different music and tended to buy courses that I liked and were on sale during any given sale event and now I own dozens and haven’t completed any, lol. I just keep reminding myself it’s a long journey to mastery and eventually I will get through them all. You have to be careful not to get overwhelmed and bounce around too much. I find it best to dedicate myself to one course for a couple weeks or a month and then when I’m ready for a different style I move to another course and do the same. This has proved invaluable for me and my skill level has improved exponentially in all my favorite styles. Thank you TrueFire and all educators for this wonderful learning method.

Classes are random and teaching style varies from class to class. It really lacks structure. Music Theory isn’t a real focus. I’m canceling after my year subscription is up. I just feel the curriculum is sloppy and I haven’t gotten much out of it. A lot of the teachers talk at you like you’re supposed to know the terminology and most of the visual reference is subpar. They don’t really break it down in a easy way to understand. It’s easy to become confused. I feel like TrueFireGuitarLessons and its catalog of random how to videos are targeted more towards intermediate players, and not so much beginners to mid range. There are better articulated music lesson programs out there that are easier to understand.

I’ve liked most of the lessons I’ve tried but having problems with TrueFireGuitarLessons . To learn the guitar techniques, I need to watch some of the videos several times over a period of days. The first few times TrueFireGuitarLessons plays the videos fine but then the video will freeze and stop or I’ll loose the sound. This has happened to me on two different iPads. To unfreeze the video, I’ve tried to shut down the TrueFire APP but this rarely resolves the problem. The only temporary solution I have found is to reboot the iPad but the problem will return at some point. I’ve had videos freeze in the middle and I can never restart them the beginning. Going forward, I’m going to try the video lessons using the internet version and avoid TrueFireGuitarLessons .

UPDATE 1: I emailed the requested info Oct 11.

TrueFire is fantastic in terms of their courses and instructors. The apps on all platforms have suffered with bad performance for years but the latest update has been running somewhat better on my iPhone 11 so I am grateful for that.

I would like to see improvement in the navigation and customization in the apps so that it is easier to assemble playlists of individual lessons from different courses. Right now it can be done but it’s a little tedious.

I love TrueFire and their instructors! I have tried some other resources over the years and none compare with the quality I have found on TrueFire. If the apps can keep improving I would be even happier. Thanks.

UPDATE: The issues with the video player seem to have been fixed on the iPad so I have updated my rating. It’s good to see that the developer is still improving TrueFireGuitarLessons . I love their content and have purchased several of their classes. (Note that you can often get the classes for a little bit cheaper if you purchase them from the website rather than TrueFireGuitarLessons .)

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I give the content 5 stars, but TrueFireGuitarLessons is a hot mess. The videos rarely play on the first try, even when downloaded. I often have to quit TrueFireGuitarLessons and restart it to get them to work. When they do finally play, the playback controls are often missing. Strangely I have the same issues in the Mac app and in the web interface, so it’s not limited to the iOS apps. And it’s been this way since I started using TrueFire, so the developers must not in a hurry to fix it. It’s a shame, because the content is great if you are able to view it. You’d think a business that relies on video would have a stellar video viewing experience.

LATEST UPDATE: After a couple of weeks of receiving no help from Truefire, I finally received a private developer response (not posted here) stating that in iOS 14, it is necessary to go to Settings, find the Truefire app, and enable the “allow network access” choice. I did that, and TrueFireGuitarLessons now progresses beyond the frozen startup graphic.

I have raised my rating from one star (because TrueFireGuitarLessons would not work at all) to four stars (now that TrueFireGuitarLessons finally works). However, I am still docking one star because of the long delay in providing the info necessary to get TrueFireGuitarLessons working. None of the earlier responses I got from Truefire hinted at this solution.

Also, TrueFireGuitarLessons still has serious bugs. Once you enter a course, there is no way to get back out to the main menu. You have to quit TrueFireGuitarLessons . Another area of ios incompatibility? Who knows.

Prior (unhappy) review:

Don’t download it if you’re on iOS 14 because it will never get past the little opening graphic.

UPDATE: Truefire initially claimed that there are no compatibility problems, then said that some iOS 14 users were having problems but they were being fixed that very day. That was many days ago, and since then dead silence from Truefire.

So heed my warning — if you have iOS 14, don’t be surprised if TrueFireGuitarLessons breaks. It has nothing to do with the quality of the content; the quality is meaningless if the courses will not run on your device.

I just wasted another second hour trying to get the screen to cooperate. The help page is a complete waste of time, and even the directions for a refund don’t work. I’m a grown man but I’m ready to cry because after viewing samples I had such high hopes. Over the years I’ve accumulated a couple dozen books but hit an impasse with each one. I cannot afford private lessons, so TrueFire seemed like it could solve my problem. Like another reviewer I was going to give it another star or two, because what I saw of the content. But if it doesn’t do what I thought it could do, it’s worse than nothing.

TrueFire is the leader in the online music study scene. They snagged some incredible artists to teach...Pat Martino, Larry Carlton, and so many more. Unfortunately, there are some logistical issues with TrueFireGuitarLessons itself. They desperately need an auto-play setting...as of right now, you need to press play after each section of the lesson ends. The video and PDF viewing controls can get messy and would be so much more user-friendly with a few simple tweaks. Whenever you tap to enter full screen videos, you get a prompt asking which full screen format you want. When you have your instrument in hand and you’re focused on the content, a little prompt like that gets very annoying very quickly. It could be taken care of very easily with a “default full screen format” setting. Overall, TrueFire is a fantastic app that every serious studying musician should use.

I’m fairly new to TrueFire and I’m already fan of the lesson format. Audio and video synced with the sheet music, plus the looping and playback speed controls are all brilliant, especially when used together. The lessons are very high quality and I find the instructors knowledgeable, easy to follow and engaging.

Why not 5 stars? I love the experience on the iOS app, but there is one flaw: I can’t access In the Jam content on my iPad, at least not for the Joe Bonamassa bundle I just purchased as a first time user. Odd though that the In the Jam sample content is available and works fine. :shrug: TrueFire support assures me an update is coming soon, but that I’ll have to use a Mac or PC for now. That’s a reasonable workaround, though somewhat disappointing.

I’m a professional musician and discovered Truefire because I wanted to learn to play the harmonica and had the luck of running into Annie Raines’ incredible course here. I then decided to also take a few of the guitar courses and I am truly impressed by the quality of the lessons. I am feeling that I am progressing every day as a musician. The lessons are not only top-quality but really fun and engaging. They really focus on musicality aside from being very specific on technical skills. They zoom in on the specific “feeling” behind a given technique and what it communicates and make learning much easier. I am also impressed by the selection of themes for each course. For instance, Sue Foley’s Trail Blazers course, which focuses on six legendary female guitarrists. Sophie Lloyd’s Bulletproof Rock Guitar course, too. It really feels like the curators for the courses want everyone to feel
included. I also really like that we can purchase individual courses to own forever instead of having to get the monthly membership, even though the latter is also a great option. I couldn’t be happier with the platform and will keep coming back for more courses!

I ordered from TrueFire for years and have always been very pleased. A while back I couldn’t figure out a computer problem related to a product and I sent an email within an hour I had a response.
Then I wanted to know about taking lessons from one of the artists but had some questions. Again I received a response with the person telling me if I wrote my questions down they would contact the artist and then get back to me.
I don’t think you can get better help.

As a guitar player for more than 50 years and being self taught you get complacent over a period of time and think that there’s nothing new to learn, and sometimes grow a little bored. But after getting the TrueFire app not only on my phone but on my computer as well. Really, being in all access member and space buying true fire lessons has made my playing soar to places I never thought I’d be able to go on my instrument. Learning music theory and modes will make any guitar player better. Forget the myth about losing your soul when you learn more about your instrument and get on fire get TrueFire.

I love TrueFireGuitarLessons but it’s a little glitchy sometimes and it’s a lot harder than it should be to fast forward and rewind, when grabbing the icon bar to place where you want it in the video when using a iPhone or iPad. I bought an iPad just for TrueFireGuitarLessons specifically because I love it! Just not as easy on the iPad as I hoped but definitely not a dealbreaker. I will continue my all access sub for years to come as its not ridiculously priced with plentiful and very valuable content. So glad I found out about TrueFireGuitarLessons and gave it a shot.

First of all it’s nice that you don’t have to have a subscription to get what you need out of this. Any courses you buy (and they aren’t terribly priced) are yours. You can go on a subscription basis and have access to everything if you want, but you don’t have to.
The lessons so far are good and in nice digestible chunks that you can go back to as often as you need to. The instructors so far are clear and it’s nice how they integrate a lot of the music basics without it being a bunch of straight music theory.
I love the fact that you play right along and you can speed things up or slow things down. They also don’t try to rush you through the lessons. As a matter of fact you need to get used to “OK, when you have that down come back for the next lesson”.
It’s not like you’re playing some kind of video game, but if I wanted to play video games that’s what I’d do. If you want to learn how to play guitar this is the way to do it.
Another big plus is the incredible variety of styles and instructors. Great stuff!

I’ve had the course for a year. Taken two beginning blues courses. The instruction is by far superior to anything I’ve experienced anywhere. The lessons are extremely thorough. My only issue…the site….I don’t quite understand how to return to the last lesson I competed or take advantage of the backing soundtracks or, for example, go to full screen with revolving tabs….I could use a guide to the symbols that make this happen…..

Regardless, especially these issues rest with me due to limited tech experience…..Trufire, clearly, is the most thorough and professional site I’ve experienced as an advanced beginner…the instructors are off the charts superior and lesson skills are graduated perfectly

I’ve been playing “beginner” guitar for almost 40 years. My wife just gave me a new guitar for Christmas prompting me to look on-line for guitar lessons. I read the reviews for TRUEFIRE and decided to take the plunge. It was amazing how many bad habits I had picked up over the years that became evident with the first course (I started with the beginner course and worked through it over a period of 4 days - could have done it quicker but I needed to slow down and correct my technique). Now with fingers that hurt like the dickens, I am practicing the basics along with our fearless teacher. I look forward to progressing through the lessons as things become more complicated - but plan on going slowly to develop the muscle memory needed to cement things the right way this time around. It is nice to be able to proceed at my own pace and to control the schedule around my lessons.

I haven’t got an instructional product yet that hasn’t been immensely helpful and enjoyable, and I have a lot. The breadth of instructors and styles is impressive but they’re also always expanding the variety of things they offer from video lessons to live master classes to jam tracks to private instruction. And they have amazing sales and five dollar download deals that should be illegal to offer at that price. I recently purchased $99 sale deal which included in the jam instruction and some private lessons. I was blown away by the experience and quality of instruction with TrueFireGuitarLessons and video exchange. The private lessons I received from Frank Vignola and Sheryl Bailey were so helpful and insightful that I’ll be referring back to them for guidance for months to come. They went the extra mile to discover and meet my specific needs. If you want to grow on your instrument and get the biggest bang for your buck on the Internet then there is no need to look any further! Thanks TrueFire!

I’ve looked through a ton of guitar app. If you are looking for top notch instructors - I believe most, if not all, are professional musicians and instructors- this is the perfect app for you.

What I really liked is how granular you can get in the teachings. Style, type of guitar, specific areas in a genre (I.e. jazz improv, acoustic rhythm, caged study etc etc). The lessons met you where you’re at too. Beginner tracks all the way up. I’m late beginner/ intermediate and it’s good to know that I could use TrueFireGuitarLessons for the rest of my life and still have room to grow. It really is amazing.