A clip-on tuner
Costs little and removes a daily frustration. Practising on an out-of-tune guitar trains your ear wrong, and you will not notice it happening.
Used in every lesson
Reading list for lessons
Practice Tools and References That Support Lessons
Lessons do the teaching; practice does the learning. Here is the practical kit that comes up most often in teaching rooms, and where each piece fits.
Nothing on this page is required, and nothing is sold through this site. Think of it as the reading list that goes with your lessons: the references we actually reach for, in the order they usually become useful.
Books, apps and syllabus documents each solve a different problem. A tuner fixes a daily irritation. A method book gives you something to play when the internet is off. An exam board gives your practice a destination. We will tell you which ones suit what you are working on, and when a tool is worth your money at all.
Method books and printed material
Printed method books still earn their place, mainly because they do not need charging and they do not scroll away mid-exercise. A page stays open on the stand while both hands are busy, and that matters more than most people expect in the first year.
Beginner books that teach chords alongside songs tend to work better than pure exercise collections, since they give you something to play the same evening. Fretboard and theory references are worth having once you are past the first few months, and most students benefit from a chord dictionary plus a simple scale reference rather than a shelf of them.
We recommend specific titles in lessons based on what you are working on, rather than handing out a generic list. If you already own a book we will use it where it fits, even if it is not one we would have picked.
Exam boards worth knowing
Three boards come up constantly in UK guitar teaching. Graded exams are optional, and plenty of students never take one. If you are considering them, we will pick the board that matches your repertoire rather than the other way round.
ABRSM
One of the best-known music exam boards in the UK, offering graded exams and performance assessments recognised across schools and private tuition. A sensible route if classical repertoire and sight-reading are the centre of your practice.
Trinity College London
Graded music exams and qualifications used widely by instrumental teachers, with options for contemporary and classical players. Helpful when you want graded structure without committing to one style of repertoire.
Rockschool
The modern alternative, focused on graded performance-based exams and contemporary styles. Often the better fit if you play electric, work with backing tracks, and want the exam to sound like the music you already listen to.
Not sure which one suits you? Bring the pieces you can already play and we will work it out together.
Ask about exam boards
Apps and interactive practice
Interactive learning apps have their uses between lessons. The best-known example is an app that listens as you play, scores your timing, and turns songs into graded practice. For drilling chord changes and strumming patterns on your own, that feedback loop is genuinely helpful, and the song library keeps practice from feeling like homework.
It is a poor substitute for a teacher who can see what your hands are doing. An app can hear that a chord change was late; it cannot see that your wrist is locked and that is why the change is late. The larger risk is spending your practice time chasing app scores instead of working on the one thing your lesson identified. Use it for repetition, not for direction.
A sensible split: app time for chord changes, timing and keeping the guitar in your hands on a busy evening; lesson time for the technique and listening that the app cannot assess.
Guided online courses versus browsing
A long-running online guitar platform with guided learning paths and structured courses covering fundamentals like tuning, open chords, and chord changes is a different animal from a video feed.
The difference between a structured course and random videos is sequence. A path tells you what to work on next, in what order, and stops you jumping to sweep picking in week two because an algorithm decided it looked impressive. That sequencing is the whole product, and it is why self-study alongside lessons works better with a path than with an endless scroll.
If you like a hybrid approach, bring what you are working through to your lesson and we will fold it in. We can also tell you when a course is padding out material you already have, which is common once you are past the beginner stage.
- Use a guided path when
- You want to practise without deciding what to practise, and you prefer a fixed order to browse at random.
- Skip the course when
- Your lessons already set the plan. Adding a second syllabus often splits your practice in two directions.
Tuners, metronomes, and the boring essentials
None of these are exciting, and all of them get used in every lesson. If you are deciding where to spend first, start here rather than with another book.
A metronome
Standalone or a free app, it is the single most useful tool for chord changes and strumming patterns because it exposes timing you cannot hear on your own.
Start slow, stay honest
A phone for recording
Uncomfortable and effective. Hearing yourself back reveals timing drift, uneven strumming, and chord changes that do not land where you thought.
No editing needed
Recording yourself, and what to listen for
Most students resist recording for a week and then keep doing it. You do not need editing software or a good microphone; the phone's built-in recorder is enough. Record thirty seconds of the thing you are working on, listen once without playing along, and note the spots where the pulse moves.
Bring a recording to your lesson and we can work from what you actually sound like rather than memory. It is often the fastest way to find a problem that feels invisible from behind the guitar.
Theory references
Music theory gets taught in lessons when it explains something you just played, but a reference helps between sessions. A basic chord theory guide and a scale reference cover most of what a beginner or intermediate player needs, and free online glossaries handle the rest.
What matters is applying it. Knowing that a song uses a certain progression is only useful if you can hear it and play it. We will point you to references that match the level you are at, and skip the ones that assume two years of notation reading.
Where tutors and marketplaces fit
Some learners arrive having already tried tutor marketplaces, and it is worth understanding the difference before you commit either way. Directories and quick-request services are built around matching enquiries to teachers. That can be fast, and it is genuinely useful if you are new to an area or want to compare several people quickly. What it does not do is decide who teaches you or how the lessons are planned.
A direct studio arrangement means you know who is teaching you before the first lesson, and the plan is written for you. Behind it sits a fixed set of resources and a method that repeats week to week, so progress does not reset when the schedule changes.
Neither model is inherently better, and many players use both at different points. It is worth knowing which one you are using, and what you are trading away: speed of matching, or continuity of teaching.
Questions worth asking
- Who will actually teach the lessons, and is that the same person every week?
- Does the teacher set the practice plan, or is it left to me?
- Are exam boards and graded exams on the table if I want them?
- How do we review progress, and how often?
Ask these of any teacher, including us. For a fuller comparison, the choosing a tutor page walks through what to look for and what to ignore.
How to compare tutorsQuestions we get about this list
If your question is not here, ask it directly and we will answer before you commit to anything.
Send a resource questionDo I need to buy any of this before my first lesson?
No. Turn up with a guitar that stays in tune and we will start there. Bring a notebook if you like to write things down. Anything else on this page can wait until you know it is worth the shelf space, and we will say so in a lesson rather than in a list.
Is a graded exam necessary to improve?
No. Graded exams suit players who like a deadline, a syllabus and a clear marker of where they are. Plenty of students work on songs, technique and fingerpicking without ever sitting one. If you do want to take an exam, we will match the board to your repertoire rather than the other way round.
Can an app replace lessons?
An app can hear whether your chord change landed on time. It cannot see that your thumb is sitting over the neck and causing the delay. Apps are good at repetition, which is why they work well between lessons, and poor at diagnosis, which is why they are a thin substitute for a teacher.
How much practice time should a beginner plan for?
Short and frequent beats long and occasional. Three or four sittings of fifteen minutes across a week will move you further than one long session at the weekend, especially for chord changes and strumming. Use a metronome for part of it and record one take each week to hear the difference.
What if I already own books or use a course you do not list?
Bring it along. We will use what you already have where it fits your goals, and say plainly when it does not, rather than adding another purchase to the pile. This page is a starting point for conversations in lessons, not a shopping list.
Tell us what you are working on
Send a note about the piece you are stuck on, the exam board you are considering, or the app you keep opening. We will reply with a straight recommendation and, if you want lessons, we will get in touch directly to arrange the first one. No prices are published on this site; we discuss the arrangement when we speak.
Studio hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00–20:00, and Saturday, 10:00–17:00. We are closed on Sundays.
Fretwork Guitar Tuition
Lessons run from our studio in central London and online. The resources on this page are the ones we reach for in teaching, not a sponsorship list. If you would like the same recommendations applied to your own practice, the quickest route is the enquiry form.
- Studio
- 12 Denmark Street, London, WC2H 8LS, United Kingdom
- Opening hours
- Monday to Friday 10:00–20:00
Saturday 10:00–17:00
Sunday closed - [email protected]
- Phone
- +44 20 7937 3425