Take the next step in your guitar journey.
Qualified beginners
Take the next step in your guitar journey after you complete our Beginner Learning Pathway.
3 months
Karl and Sam will guide you through 6 grades of instruction with daily practice plans and assessments.
Finish your foundation
By the end of this pathway, you'll be a well-rounded rhythm and lead player ready to take on any Pickup course.
Take the next step
Once you've built your intermediate foundation, take your skills to the next level with genre-specific pathways.
In this music-first Learning Pathway, we'll equip you with the skills to become a well-rounded rhythm and lead guitarist.
In this 3-month program, master educators Karl Kerfoot and Sam Blakelock will break down fundamental rhythm and lead techniques that'll take your playing from 'okay' to 'no way!' . With guided jams, daily practice exercises, and straightforward lessons, you'll know exactly what to work on at every step of the way.
The 5 T's
To kick off the Learning Pathway, Karl will break down five core guitar concepts that'll inform your playing for the rest of your musical journey.
Each lesson day, you'll spice up your existing guitar knowledge through the lens of Touch, Time, Tuning, Tone, and 'Tude.
Intro to Lead
In this grade, you’ll build a foundational set of lead guitar vocabulary and start soloing right away.
We won't bog you down with scales here. This music-first grade is all about giving you soloing material and getting you playing ASAP.
Intro to Rhythm
Rhythm is the biggest weak point of most guitarists.
In this grade, you'll get comfortable with fundamental rhythmic subdivisions that'll help you lock into a groove and make sure your timing is on point.
Here, we'll put the spotlight back on soloing by getting intimate with the major scale, using intervals to dance around the fretboard, and tackling a suite of tasty techniques to put a special shine on your soloing skills.
No matter how great of a guitarist you become, you can never neglect rhythm. In this grade, you'll explore rhythm as it applies to various genres and time feels.
It's smooth sailing in this grade. To send you off into the sunset and set you up for success, the final grade of Intermediate Learning Pathway features a series of conceptual lessons to take your playing even further.
Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.
Grade 1. Leveling Up With the 5 T's
Explore the five conceptual keys to great guitar playing.
We're with you every step of the way in this Learning Pathway. In every lesson, Karl will break down a new concept and run through mini drills with you so you can lock it into your muscle memory. To cap off each day's work, you'll put what you learned in a musical context with a guided jam session.
Day 1. Touch
Develop your feel and focus on how you play notes. This lesson will help you play effortlessly, avoid injury, and hone in on your individual sound as a guitarist.
Day 2. Time
Playing with solid rhythm is what separates the meager from the mighty. In this lesson, you'll explore fundamental subdivisions and what it means to groove.
Day 3. Tuning
Learn how to stay in tune and manipulate pitch. Tuning goes far beyond a clip-on tuner. You'll explore how to use vibrato and bends without sounding like an amateur.
Day 4. Tone
Once you accept the truth – 90% of tone comes from your fingers – you can start honing in on the tone you always dreamed of.
Day 5. 'Tude
Sass up your playing and stop strumming like a dead fish. This lesson is all about learning how to play confidently.
Day 6. How to practice effectively
Our most-requested lesson. You'll learn how to use Pickup music's practice system to stay focused, progress faster, and have fun along the way.
Performance pieces
Perform songs that incorporate the concepts you just learned in a purely musical context. Here, you'll have the opportunity to jam with a live-recorded band of pro musicians. You can submit your performance to the Pickup Music team for personalized video feedback – who said online learning wasn't interactive?!
Final quiz
Cap off the grade with a quiz to make sure you've adequately absorbed the core concepts involved.
Grade 2. Intro to Lead
Welcome to the wonderful world of soloing. Ready to learn how to shred like the greats?
Day 1. Open Em pentatonic
Get acquainted with the most important scale for soloing.
Day 2. Moveable minor pentatonic
Shift your pentatonic knowledge around the fretboard.
Day 3. Major pentatonic
Meet the other side of the pentatonic coin.
Day 4. Blues scale
Make your guitar cry out to the heavens with a b5
Day 5. Instant neo soul
Make your playing more buttery than a stack of flapjacks 🥞
Day 6. Aeolian
Modes?! Don't be scared, it's just a minor thing.
Day 7. Dorian
Swap in a natural 6 to make it funky, jammy, and jazzy.
Performances
Put your soloing skills to the test with three tasteful solos.
Get feedback
Get personalized video feedback on your playing from the Pickup team.
Final quiz
Make sure you're ready for Grade 3.
Grade 3. Intro to Rhythm
Rhythm is, by far, the biggest weak spot of guitarists. Welcome to the most important grade in the pathway.
Day 1. Classic strum patterns
Learn how to think like a drummer and strum your way to success.
Day 2. Blues
The rhythm train is leaving the station. Time to learn the iconic blues chug.
Day 3. Power chords
Think power chords are just for beginners? Think again. These humble chords form the backbone of guitar harmony, and they're great for honing rhythm skills.
Day 4. Intro to fingerstyle
Less pickin', more pluckin'. Learn how to add dynamics to your playing with various fingerpicking patterns.
Day 5. 6/8 time signature
Break out of 4/4 timing and expand your rhythmic knowledge.
Day 6. Funky 16th-note syncopation
Give your playing a fresh injection of groove with fundamental funk rhythms.
Day 7. Same progression in 3 styles
Learn how to add nuance to your chordal playing by attacking the same chord progression in three different styles.
Performances
Demonstrate what you've learned in a musical context by learning original songs.
Get feedback
Get personalized video feedback on your playing from the Pickup team.
Final quiz
Make sure you're ready for Grade 4.
Grade 4-6.
Take your rhythm and lead skills to new heights, then cap off the grade with some core tools.
In this grade, we get into the nitty gritty of lead guitar. You're going to get to know the major scale like the back of your hand and dive into extended techniques that'll drop jaws when you shred your next solo.
Day 1. The major scale
Learn how to navigate the center of the Western musical universe.
Day 2. Single-string C major scale
You don't really know a scale until you can play it horizontally up your neck.
Day 3. Major scale in 3rds
Learn how to break up scales into melodically interesting intervallic ideas.
Day 4. How to think rhythmically
Even in lead guitar, rhythm is king. Today, we explore that concept by focusing on subdivisions in single-note shredding.
Day 5. Double stops
Beef up your single-note lines with dynamic dyads. These intervallic mini chords are used by great soloists in almost every style of guitar playing.
Day 6. Extended techniques
Now that you have the vocabulary, it's time for the special sauce. Bending, vibrato, slides, hammer ons, and rakes will add a new level of singability and dynamism to your playing.
Day 7. Putting it all together
Let's tie a bow on your lead guitar toolkit. Here, you'll work on combining everything we'll have covered so far in your lead guitar endeavors.
Performances
Demonstrate what you've learned in a musical context with two more solos.
Get feedback
Get personalized advice on your playing from the Pickup team.
Final quiz
Make sure you're ready for Grade 5.
Did you think we were done with rhythm? Think again! It is the most important element of music, after all. Grade 5 puts the spotlight on groove by examining crucial rhythmic ideas through the lens of different styles and time feels.
Day 1. Must-know 7th chords
Expand your harmonic toolkit with colorful 7th chords.
Day 2. Swing vs. straight
Rhythm is all about subtle differences. Learn how to wield them to your advantage with swung and straight time feels.
Day 3. Intro to R&B, soul, and neo soul
What makes these genres so compelling? Today, you'll learn all about soulful rhythm guitar.
Day 4. Singer-songwriter voicings
Harness the power of full, lush chords to support your singing.
Day 5. 6/8 time signature
Break out of 4/4 timing and expand your rhythmic knowledge.
Day 6. Funk
Tackle a series of iconic funk techniques like muted staccato picking and 7th-chord grooves.
Day 7. Country
For more than just cowboys – Learn how to boom chuck and blend in an alternating bassline.
Performances
Tackle new tunes to apply what you've learned in a musical context.
Get feedback
Get personalized advice on your playing from the Pickup team.
Final quiz
Make sure you're ready for Grade 6.
It's all smooth sailing from here. Over the next seven days of lessons, we'll equip you with some key concepts and tools that'll help you take your musical skills even further.
Day 1. Note name drills
Need help locking in note names on your E and A strings? Look no further.
Day 2. Chord drills
Learn how to fluidly navigate chord progressions across your fretboard.
Day 3. Ways to use the number system
Get hip to the most useful way of thinking about chord progressions.
Day 4. Intro to reading music
Take an intensive lesson on the fundamentals of standard notation.
Day 5. Capo applications
Learn how to harness the beauty of open-string voicings in any key.
Day 6. Chord/scale relationships
Extend your lead skills with arpeggios.
Day 7. Intro to shell chords
Make it jazzy with root-third-seventh voicings.
Performances
Demonstrate what you've learned in a musical context with two new tunes.
Get feedback
Get personalized advice on your playing from the Pickup team.
Final quiz
Cap off your hard work and make sure you're ready to move on.
Hear from REAL students
Your Instructor
Karl Kerfoot
Take your playing to the next level by learning fundamental lead & rhythm concepts from Pickup Music's Head of Education.
Explore LessonsStart your free 14-day trial today.
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Recommended
Annual Plan
All-inclusive access to every course.
$149.99
/yr billed annually
You save $30 per year.
1,426 people started a free trial in the last 30 days.
Annual plan includes:
See what a Pickup Music membership is all about.
14-day free trial
Guided learning
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Personalized feedback
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Progress tracking
Monitor your guitar gains.
New releases every week
Never run out of lessons to work on.
Interactive TAB
Follow along with every note.
Multiple HD angles
Get an up close and personal learning experience.
Supportive community
Get into the holiday spirit with step-by-step guitar lessons covering your favorite songs.
Members-only forum
Unlimited personalized learning support from our team of pro guitarists.
SAVE 17%
Unlimited access for less than 1/2 the price of one private guitar lesson per month.
Monthly Plan
All-access to online guitar lessons to level up your playing.
$14.99
/mo
1,426 people started a free trial in the last 30 days.
Monthly plan includes:
See what a Pickup Music membership is all about.
14-day free trial
Guided learning
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Personalized feedback
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Progress tracking
Monitor your guitar gains.
New releases every week
Never run out of lessons to work on.
Interactive TAB
Follow along with every note.
Multiple HD angles
Get an up close and personal learning experience.
Supportive community
Workshop your playing, get feedback, and perform live in our online practice groups.
Members-only forum
Unlimited personalized learning support from our team of pro guitarists.
SAVE 17%
All-inclusive access to every course.
If your questions aren’t answered below, please chat with us.
Is Pickup Music right for me?
Do you feel like your guitar playing has hit a plateau?
Are you stuck in a guitar rut where you're just playing the same old chords and licks?
Are you looking for fretboard freedom?
At Pickup Music, we specialize in:
How do we do it?
Finally, we give you support and feedback through an exclusive members community and live practice group sessions with other members. This focused approach to learning guitar will help you bust through the beginner basics, break out of the intermediate plateau, and level up your playing.
This guided learning approach is the fastest way to make real progress on the guitar.
What makes Pickup Music better than other guitar lesson sites?
We're glad you asked! So many things:
What's included in my Pickup Music membership?
Everything! You’ll have unlimited access to every lesson on Pickup Music from every instructor. That means every Learning Pathway, Master Class, SongSquad, Licks Package, 5-Minute Lesson... we could go on, but you get the idea. It's an all-inclusive membership for one affordable price.
How long are the lessons? How long will it take me to complete them?
Pickup Music's lesson plans are designed to suit the amount of time you have available to practice.
Only got a few minutes? Try our 5-Minute Lessons to quickly add a new skill to your toolbox.
Got half an hour? Try one of our Essential Lick Packages or SongSquads to expand your vocabulary in different genres.
Got a couple of days? Try a Master Class with one of our world-renowned artists. Each class is broken up into short, digestible modules focused on one topic. We encourage you to complete the exercises for each lesson video before moving on to the next one because the lessons typically build on each other.
Ready to really commit to a multi-week program? Try one of our Learning Pathways. Over 6 weeks, these detailed courses will take you on a day-by-day journey to master each level in the genre. Learning Pathways include daily practice exercises so you know exactly what to focus on. These courses are the best way to make lasting progress.
Whichever approach you choose, we recommend building the exercises you learn into your daily practice schedule. The best way to improve as a guitarist is through a consistent practice routine rather than sporadic, longer sessions. Learning guitar is a day-by-day, life-long journey!
I'm brand new to guitar. Is Pickup Music the right choice for me?
Absolutely! We make learning the guitar made fun & simple – the way it should be.
Too many people get frustrated with guitar because they develop bad habits and poor technique. Avoid these costly and time-consuming mistakes by taking Pickup Music's structured and step-by-step approach to learning guitar.
You'll start with Pickup Music's introductory program Beginner Learning Pathway. Over three weeks, we break down everything from simple chords and melodies to rhythm and lead playing. By the end of the program, you'll be able to play any simple pop or rock song (and even write your own).
Most importantly, we make sure you don't get stuck in the beginner's plateau - a common pitfall for guitarists who are just starting out. You'll keep making progress through Pickup Music's guided Learning Pahtways. These programs are designed to quickly take you from a beginner player to an intermediate one who feels comfortable across the whole fretboard.
What the difference between the annual and monthly plan?
The only difference is that the annual plan saves you $30 a year.
Both options come with a free 14-day trial. That means, we won't charge your card for the first 14 days - you can cancel anytime before then.
With an annual membership, we bill you once a year up-front, and you save 17% as a result. We'll send you reminders before we bill you each year so that you don't accidentally forget about it.
With the monthly membership, you pay month to month. It's a subscription, so we bill you each month until you cancel.
Cancelling your plan at any point is very easy to do online - no tricks, emails, or phone calls required. Just click a button on your account page.
Is a Pickup Music membership worth the money?
When you first start learning guitar, it's okay to bounce around with random free lessons on YouTube and searching for TABs online.
That approach is going to make you an OKAY guitar player, but it's not going to help you take that leap to becoming a serious guitarist - a player who can:
To become a serious guitarist, you need a clear learning pathway to get to the next level. You need to free your mind and unlock your fret board - you can do this with Pickup Music's expert step-by-step instruction. Having this clear learning pathway is key to making real progress on the guitar.
What about the price? Is it worth it?
Private lessons will cost you about $50 per lesson or $2,600 a year. Going to a music academy will cost you about $40,000 a year.
A Pickup Music membership costs just $150 for the whole year. That works out to 41 cents a day!
Signing up for a Pickup Music membership also means that you can stop wasting your time and effort trying to guess what you should practice next. Our guided programs eliminate the guess work so you know exactly what you need to focus on each day and week to make lasting progress with guitar. This will increase your efficiency and speed up your progress.
Is it easy to cancel?
Absolutely! You can cancel at any time (although we'd be sad to see you go). Cancelling is easy, no tricks. Just go to your account page and click a button.
You won't be charged anything if you cancel during your 14-day free trial.
If you cancel after your 14-day trial, you won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
Once your membership expires, you will no longer have access to the classes you were enrolled in during your time as a member, but you can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.
Can I buy lessons individually?
We don’t sell lessons individually. But the good news is you get access to every single lesson on Pickup Music through the one membership. If you’re only interested in one lesson, you could purchase a monthly membership and cancel when you’ve finished it – we have a hunch you’ll want to stick around though :)
Can I cancel my membership at any time?
Yes! All you have to do is click a button on your account page. No tricks, no emails, no calls. It's a straightforward process.
You won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active and you'll continue to have access to the site until your membership expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
You can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.
Note: Once your membership expires, we'll save your progress on your Dashboard if you decide to rejoin at a later date.
How does the 14-day free trial work? What is your refund policy?
Your credit card won't be charged for the first 14 days
When you first sign up to a Pickup Music membership, your credit card will not be charged for 14 days. That means that if you decide to cancel within 14 days of signing up, you won't pay anything.
If you decide to cancel after that, you won't be charged at your next billing cycle
That means: if you’re a monthly member, you won’t be charged for the next month. If you’re an annual member, you won’t be charged for the next year.
We don’t offer refunds for payments that have already gone through. But if you choose to cancel, you will retain full access to the membership until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
Will I be automatically charged each month / year?
The membership is a subscription. After the 14-day free trial, you'll be automatically charged monthly or annually (depending on which plan you choose). We send you reminders before your annual subscription renews so you don't accidentally forget about it. You can easily cancel by turning off auto-renew at any time in your account page.
How do I restart my membership?
It’s easy to rejoin Pickup Music and we’d be thrilled to have you back! We even saved all of your lessons for you while you were gone on your Dashboard.
To restart your membership, simply head to this page, select the plan of your choice, and sign up with the email address you used to sign up the first time around.
Get your 14-day free trial.