In the absence of affordable human guitar instructors, Internet guitar courses have been growing steadily in popularity. But finding the right one involves the same effort as finding the right human instructor – you should be prepared to work at finding the program that suits you best.

Online guitar instruction programs contain the basic ingredients of a series of structured video lessons and music tracks you can play along with. This is supplemented online with additional material and a user forum community. How they can differ is in the way they provide the material, and in how they charge you for it.

The Learn And Master Guitar program, for example, puts the bulk of their instruction on DVDs and hard copy books, or allow them to be downloaded for storage in your own computer. A complete course is particularly useful for those who have low bandwith connections, or for those who would get a better view of the lesson on their TV sets through a DVD player rather than through a computer monitor.

Other programs, such as Jamplay, keep all of their material online and is not downloadable per se. But they add to their inventory of lessons regularly to which their students get access by paying for a subscription. This allows for a more diverse and detailed variety of guitar styles can that can be studied, which can be a boon for beginners not sure what they want to specialize in.

As for online guitar lesson tuition, there are two basic payment methods: "complete" programs that supply you with materials all at once tend to charge a one-time payment of $100 to $250 US, while all-online "subscription" programs charge a continuing fee of $15 to $20 US monthly. Compared to what a human guitar teacher can charge for just one hour, that is certainly nothing to complain about. But what's the smartest way to go – which kind of program will give you the most "twang" for your buck?

It all depends on whether or not you can afford to put the money up front.

If you're a raw beginner and can afford to pay all at once, you'll probably be happier with a complete course – they tend to spend a little extra time with beginners, right down to showing you the best way to hold your guitar and pick. Once you've mastered it, you'll be better able to move on to the advanced challenges that subscription courses offer. But if money is an object, go right ahead pay a little every month for a subscription course – just make sure that it has a sizeable inventory of beginner lessons.

On the other hand, if you've got a little previous experience, you may find a complete course to be too basic, and would probably get more out of a subscription course. They tend to have more intermediate and advanced lessons, and they have to meet the challenge of constantly offering fresh and diverse quality material. This gives you the opportunity to expand upon what you know and explore different musical territories.

The motivation, passion, and self-discipline you put into your online guitar instruction will also play a role your success, of course. But choosing the right complete online guitar course or subscription online guitar course will get your learning playing guitar off to the best possible start.