The Amped Guitar App allows you to learn guitar at your own pace, from your phone, using an audio AR (augmented reality) process.
If you are learning how to play guitar, you know that practice makes perfect. Finding the optimal time to practice and space to hone your craft, however, can be challenging. Amped Guitar App wants to solve this problem by making the learning process more engaging and more effective through the use of technology.
What is Amped Guitar App?
Amped Guitar is an iOS app that uses an AR (augmented reality) approach to make learning guitar more effective. Their signature AR process simultaneously:
- Plays a play-a-long track in you earbuds,
- Listens to your guitar as you play along on your guitar, using your phone microphone,
- And then plays your guitars notes back in your ear along with the music in realtime.
As you play you get visual confirmation that you hit the note(s) or didn’t (a la the old Guitar Hero game).
The result is a lot of dopamine-releasing “yes!” moments as you hit the right notes at the right time, playing along with familiar songs. This immediate feedback keeps you engaged and the learning process fun. In one sense, it pushes you into that famous “flow” state where the ideal creative work happens.
Amped App aims to offer a full learning curriculum covering everything from basic guitar skills to advanced techniques.
You get step-by-step guidance, adding one skill at a time, so you can always have optimal conditions for learning. And with the AR interface, you can control the difficult parts in playing and keep each step of learning guitar achievable and motivating.
All the lessons on the Amped App are developed by expert teachers to offer a high quality learning scenario.
Compatible with both acoustic and electric guitar. If you use an electric guitar without an amp, make sure to be in an area with no background noice.
Amped Guitar is an iOS-only app, you can download it at the Apple app store.
Amped App Main Features
- Full learning curriculum with multiple genres.
- Step-by-step guidance based on AR.
- Songs from greatest guitarists such as Eric Clapton, BB King, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Santana, Dolly Parton, Bon Jovi, Thin Lizzy, Brian Adams, and many more.
- Guidance learning from basic skills to advanced
Pros
- Great onboarding videos to explain their process and get you started
- Immersive playing experience with well-done graphics and interface.
- Real-time feedback feels very smooth
- It’s easy to track your progress (and has some snazzy graphics)
- No cables or amps needed for hearing your guitar (even on an electric).
- You can plugin an iRig interface to perform for friends.
- Lessons are well-done and systematic.
Cons
- Bluetooth headphones are not supported! There is a lag-time inherent in Bluetooth headphones that doesn’t work with Amped’s audio feedback system.
- May not be comfortable for people with hearing aids, since you’ll need to wear headphones over them.
Conclusion
Guitar learning apps face a few challenges, which are common to all education in our time. Do apps and computers actually enhance our learning, or hamper it? Do ‘gamified’ learning experiences build deep knowledge, or just elicit short-term game responses? How complex can the material be? Are certain concepts or techniques to advanced for technology-led learning?
These questions apply to everything from DuoLingo (the uber-popular language learning app) to all the U.S. school districts that have been issuing iPads as standard school supplies in recent years. And, of course, they apply to the Amped Guitar app.
I think the answer is a matter of balance. Some app-led learning is helpful – but some learning must be offline. Some topics are effective in technology-formatted environments – but not all are.
Specifically, balanced answer for Amped Guitar is this:
I think the app is great for beginning guitarists who have difficulty finding time to practice guitar and develop new skills. The app addresses this by making learning fun and fast and more importantly – effective.
Intermediate to advanced players may find the play-a-long process fun, but are likely to need other resources to truly push the limits of their playing.
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