Teach yourself guitar sites

It's one of the most oft-failed New Year's resolutions: 'I'll teach myself how to play an instrument.' If yours is on the wane, these sites should help you put down the air guitar and get strumming again.

Guitarists.net

A great resource that boasts of step-by-step guides to get visitors started, chat forums, and software downloads including recording programmes. Its winning hand, however, is the tablature (an easier alternative to the boring task of reading music) database. Every tune you could wish for is there, from Kenny G to Justin T, and the sheer choice of the 32,000 songs on offer should maintain interest. www.guitarists.net

Wholenote

Anything that bills itself as 'the on-line guitar community' is bound to be a bit haphazard in places, but if you're willing to persist then you'll find this is the most detailed site out there. A lessons section gives visitors a choice of a 'basics' option, or a selection of styles they can improve in - whether it be rock, reggae or even bluegrass. A large tablature library is borrowed from the massive OLGA network (www.olga.net). www.wholenote.com

Guitarnoise

One of the most comprehensive online guitar teaching pages, guitarnoise.com invites qualified tutors to submit their own pages. Anything but amateur, the contributors have put obvious time and energy into providing the best advice for everyone from the absolute beginner to somebody looking to start composing their own tunes. There's even advice on buying a new instrument. www.guitarnoise.com Tim Ingham