When I started learning guitar a couple years ago, I tried as many of the different online learning platforms as I could: Fender Play, Justin Guitar, Gibson: Learn & Play, Yousician, Simply Guitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I settled on Fender Play because it
Fender Play is an online guitar lesson service that caters primarily to beginner players, offering a structured, easy-to-follow learning path designed to get you playing quickly. Developed by one of the most iconic guitar brands in the world, the service focuses on simplicity and accessibility, making it a popular choice for those new to the instrument. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at how Fender Play helps beginners, its structure, and some limitations for progressing players.
User Interface & Design
Fender Play lessons are clean, modern, and intuitive. They are designed to guide you through a series of lessons that are broken into seven levels, specifically designed for beginners. When you first sign up, the service customizes a learning path based on your preferred music style—whether it’s rock, pop, blues, country, or folk—making it easier for beginners to focus on playing music they enjoy.
The lesson videos are professionally produced, offering high-quality visuals and audio, with step-by-step instructions that break down even complex techniques into manageable chunks. Most lessons are short and digestible, lasting between 2 to 10 minutes, which keeps learners from feeling overwhelmed. Lessons will generally follow the pattern below:
- Technique Lesson – a video teaching a given chord or technique.
- Practice exercise(s) – one or more metronome timed practice exercises that focus the student on practicing the technique.
- Practice Song video lesson – Fender Play usually follows lessons with a practice song using the chord or technique that’s been taught
- Practice song exercise – This is a metronome timed exercise that allows students to practice the practice song.
- Feedback exercise – The feedback exercise measures the student playing the practice song and how well they’re able to play the correct notes and timing.
Focusing on Beginners
Fender Play places a heavy emphasis on helping beginners get comfortable with the basics of guitar. The seven levels guide students through a variety of essential skills, from learning basic open chords and strumming patterns to playing recognizable songs.
What’s notable, however, is that Fender Play stops short of teaching some critical techniques that many guitarists consider fundamental for intermediate-level playing. For example, the lessons do not cover the barre-F chord, a key chord that players typically need to master before transitioning to more advanced material. This omission is significant because the barre-F chord is often a sticking point for beginners; it requires finger strength and dexterity, and mastering it opens up the possibility of playing more complex songs that involve barre chords.
Without this essential skill in place, students may find themselves limited when they try to move beyond beginner-level songs. Though the lessons go up to Level 7, the progression feels more geared toward keeping things approachable and fun rather than pushing players toward technical challenges like the barre-F chord. For someone looking to reach an intermediate level, this can feel like a roadblock, and they might need to supplement their Fender Play experience with additional resources to learn crucial techniques like barre chords.
Lesson Structure and Song-Based Learning
Fender Play’s structured lessons focus on teaching through songs rather than overwhelming learners with heavy music theory. This makes it easier for beginners to stay motivated, as they quickly begin playing recognizable tunes from artists like Green Day, Nirvana, and John Mayer, as well as newer pop hits from artists like Billie Eilish. Learning through songs helps build confidence early on, which is one of Fender Play’s greatest strengths.
The lessons within each level are designed to build progressively on one another, ensuring that beginners can solidify basic techniques before moving on to more complex material. The seven-level progression is relatively slow-paced, which is perfect for people just starting out. However, more ambitious learners might feel that the content doesn’t push them hard enough as they progress.
Skill Development
While Fender Play is primarily song-focused, it does offer a solid foundation of skills. The lessons introduce chord changes, picking techniques, basic scales, and strumming patterns—all the essentials a beginner needs to start playing songs. The service also includes warm-up and practice exercises aimed at building finger strength, which is useful for new players who need to develop dexterity.
However, as mentioned earlier, the absence of crucial chords like the barre-F can be a limiting factor. Players looking to move into more challenging material will likely need to find other tutorials or books to cover gaps that Fender Play leaves open.
What I Don’t Like About Fender Play
While Fender Play has many strengths, it also has a few drawbacks that could be frustrating for some learners, especially those who want a more comprehensive or long-term learning experience.
Fun Riffs, Limited Full Song Tabs
I’ve enjoyed many of the songs that Fender Play suggests for its lessons. It adjusts the lesson songs based on your preferred genre and I’ve discovered / rediscovered that I still enjoy listening to even after the lessons are over. I do wish Fender Play would do is provide the full tabs needed to play the entire song after the exercises are done. The lessons tend to focus on teaching key sections or simplified versions of songs—typically the intro, verse, and maybe a chorus. This approach is great for beginners who want to start playing recognizable parts of songs right away, but for students looking to learn how to play full, authentic versions of their favorite tunes, it can be a letdown.
For example, many of the songs taught on the platform are abbreviated, leaving out bridges, solos, or any advanced techniques that might appear in the full version. There’s no option to learn the complete song from start to finish. For those who really want to master a specific track and play it like the original recording, this limitation may lead to frustration. More advanced platforms like TrueFire or JamPlay often offer full song breakdowns, making Fender Play’s approach feel somewhat superficial in comparison.
Limited Practice Guidance After Exercise Completion
Another issue with Fender Play is that it doesn’t offer much guidance on what to do once you’ve completed your lessons. The platform’s structured approach works well to keep beginners on track while they’re progressing through the levels, but after completing the course, many students may feel unsure of how to continue developing their skills.
Fender Play doesn’t offer clear guidance on how to create an effective practice routine or which specific exercises students should focus on after completing the final lesson. Without this kind of roadmap, it can be difficult for learners to know what they should be working on next to improve their playing. Should they focus on refining their chord transitions? Learn new scales? Practice more songs?
For many learners, especially beginners who rely on structure, this lack of direction can lead to stagnation. Once you’re done with the lessons, the platform doesn’t give you the tools or advice to set up a regular practice regimen that would help you continue improving. A more effective approach would be to provide students with post-completion recommendations, such as daily practice routines or advanced skill-building exercises, which could bridge the gap between completing the beginner course and becoming a more well-rounded, independent player.
Conclusion
While Fender Play offers a well-designed, beginner-friendly platform, these two drawbacks—no full song lessons or tabs and a lack of ongoing practice guidance—can limit its long-term value. For beginners, it’s a great way to get started, but once you reach a certain point, you may need to turn to other resources to fill in the gaps and continue growing as a guitarist.
Resource
- Fender Play
- Fender.com