10 Awesome Guitar Apps Players Will Actually Use

When it comes to being a guitarist, we all know that creativity and self-expression are the reasons we were drawn to becoming a musician.

At StrapGraphics, we get it. That’s why we offer custom gear to help you make your set up even more personalized (right down to a custom guitar strap to complete the look).

Gear is one thing, though. If someone you or someone you know is an avid musician, bringing in technology on the go to supplement your craft is one way to get your fix when playing isn’t always an option.

Both classical guitar and the electrical guitar are among the world’s top 6 most popular instruments– meaning there is an almost endless market for lessons, theory, gear, and apps.

Strap Graphics wanted to give you a leg up on integrating tech into your guitar practice, so we’ve broken down our Top 10 Guitar apps that you will absolutely use.

Our Top 10 Guitar Apps

1. Real Drum

Now starting off with Real Drum may seem like a strange choice– a drum app topping the list of guitar apps? But it actually makes a lot of sense.

If you’re wanting to take your music to the next level, adding drums in with your guitar jamming is one way to create a larger sound that more closely mimics what you could do with a full band.

It’s available for both Andriod and Apple devices, and it gives you the ability to create a drum backing for your music without needing to learn complicated programming.

2. Smart Chord Scales

This guitar app is currently only available on Andriod devices, but Smart Chord Scales offers users a detailed breakdown of chord options that is worth checking out for Andriod users.

With this app, users can view the chord notation, fretboard viewing, and more. You can even branch out from the guitar and check out the apps options for the bass, mandolin, and other instruments. Using this app to advance your knowledge of chords and scaling is a top recommendation from us at Strap Graphics.

3. Guitarist’s Reference

Guitarist’s Reference is an incredible app that you should treat like a portable encyclopedia of all guitar-related information.

This app is available for both Apple and Andriod devices, and it offers users a diverse variety of functions. Our favorites are the reverse chord finder tool, the quizzes, and theory information.

4. Guitar Lessons by Guitar Tricks

For those who are at the beginner or intermediate level of guitar playing, or even if you’re a seasoned player, this app should be on your radar.

It is available for download on both Andriod and Apple devices, and it houses over 11k comprehensive guitar lessons that can benefit any player.

The true benefit to an app like this is that it offers similar levels of instruction and detail to an in-person lesson, but makes it portable and affordable for those who are unable to find the funding, time, or location to commit to in-person lessons but feels comfortable tackling an instrument on their own.

5. Amplitube UA

Only available for Andriod devices, this great app allows users to experiment with a variety of sound effects and pedal-like options without actually having to invest in one.

For a casual guitar player, this is huge since we all know the costs associated with buying pedals isn’t the cheapest. However, this app does have one downside: it requires you to purchase the iRig UA.

6. Real Free Guitar

This great app is available for players that use Android and Apple devices and it will change the way you play when you can’t, well, play.

Real Free Guitar is a next level guitar simulator that allows users to strum, pluck, and practice chord placement from the comfort of your smart device. Instead of wondering how you will get your practice in during travel or even the work day, now you know.

7. Gibson Learn & Master Guitar

Coming to you from the legendary Gibson guitar brand, the Gibson Learn & Master Guitar app lets Andriod device users benefit from their expert-level knowledge of guitar playing and techniques.

This app is the complete bundle, it gives you the option to tune your guitar using a great interface as well as the options of using a metronome or checking out their master lessons.

The only downside to this free app is the fact that it is not yet available for Apple users, with no work on whether or not this is in the works.

8. iShred

This Apple-only app lets users enhance their recordings through the use of different effects and distortions to transform your recordings into professional sounding clips. With this app, simple samples that you’ve recording can also be shared through Airplay to let all of your friends have a listen.

9. Songsterr Tabs & Chords

Songsterr is an app that gives you the ability to learn and play along to songs in real time and gives you the ability to slow down songs without losing the sound quality during those times where you need a few extra seconds to get something just right.This app is available for both Andriod and Apple device users.

This app is available for both Andriod and Apple device users.

10. Youtube

Youtube may seem like an obvious yet surprising selection for our #10 must have app for guitar users, but hear us out. In this day and age, Youtube is the biggest repository of free content available, with over a billion users watching or uploading content.

As a guitar player, free is always good as is having a variety of content and approaches to learn from.

While you may be in the process of learning how to fingerpick to incorporate some of these techniques into your metal band, it is a tricky process. One video you find on youtube may not break it down enough for you, which is why that diversity of content is incredible. You will always be able to find what you need –sometimes from your favorite band members!– with a quick youtube search, which is why it has to be included on our list.