Guitar World Lick of the Day for iPhone/Touch/iPad Review

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Recently, I have reviewed many apps for guitarists.  From tuners, chord libraries, effects, to tableture.  IOS devices have proven to be an exciting platform for musicians.  Virtually any guitar related activity has been available on my devices except a way to improve my playing.  How about I use my iPad and or iPhone to tune up, find my chords, plug in my guitar to get the right sound and then receive lessons?!?!  Agile Partners, developers of several of my favorite musician apps, has just released Lick Of The Day in partnership with Guitar World Magazine.  Through in app purchases, guitarists can subscribe to receive a lick every day.

Lick Of The Day comes in both iPhone/Touch and iPad versions.  Each of the applications contain the same information, but in a totally different user experience.  The iPad version is a superior experience, but both apps will make you a better player.  Award winning instructors as well as some of the best guitarists in the world are featured in high quality video lessons at various difficulty levels.  Just about every genre of music will be covered including Rock, Metal, Blues, Country, Jazz and more.  Tab or standard music notation is included to aid in the lessons.

The main difference between the iPad and iPhone/Touch version of the apps is the UI.  All of the same information is available, but the iPad includes all of the information on one beautiful screen.  The iPhone version shows notation, videos, and descriptions on separate screens for obvious reasons.  The advantage is being more portable and smaller with the iPhone version while the iPad version provides a much more full experience.  I also like the iPad version better because I can watch the video and read the notation at the same time on the same screen.  The same technology used in TabToolkit is utilized in Lick Of The Day so if you are a fan of that application, you will love this one.

As the screen shot shows above, the licks are found on the left of the screen by date.  The free app comes with five free sample lessons and the subscriber lessons are show below them.  While in Video Mode, the video will appear with the description next to it.  Below the video is the notation and fret board.  Since I am not a trained musician, I have to use the tab notation, but standard music notation is also available.  While the video plays the lesson, the notation will play along highlighting which note is being played.  The fretboard will show the finger positions as they are being played.  All of this happens in real time as the instructor or star actually plays the piece.  Not only a sweet technology, but also much easier to learn the lick being able to watch the video, tab and finger positions simultaneously.

When set to practice mode, the video is not available, but the notation and fretboard will play the lick.  Users can set the speed of the playback as well as the metronome settings.  Basically, any style of practice can be customized with the app.  This again is some of the TabToolkit technology being utilized.

Lick Of The Day is a beautiful app with an intuitive user interface.  Every part of the app works perfect and some awesome technologies are present.  While the app is free, continued use will require a subscription.  Subscriptions cost $4.99 a month, $12.99 for three months or $19.99 for six months.  That is a lot of expert lessons for a super low price.  If you are not sure about the subscriptions, give the app a try just to experience how well it was designed and developed and my guess is that you will find yourself wanting to purchase a subscription.  As will all of the Agile Partner applications I have used, I highly recommend Lick Of The Day for any guitarist.  Check it out here in the app store and go get a subscription.

What I like: Amazing design and user interface.  Real guitar instruction.

What can be improved: My fingers will not move as fast as Zakk Wylde!

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About the Author

Travis Ehrlich
Travis is a high school teacher and coach in a small South Texas town. His love for gadgets began at a very early age, and he has been a cross between a jock and a geek for most of his life. He has two boys and a wonderful wife who lets him be a gadget freak. He is a Mac convert and has drank the whole pitcher of Kool-Aid! He is also an avid guitar player and loves the outdoors, especially hunting with both a bow and rifle.

5 Comments on "Guitar World Lick of the Day for iPhone/Touch/iPad Review"

  1. Yep – got my email on this as well and grabbed it instantly!

  2. RT @geardiarysite: Blue Plate Special: Guitar World Lick Of The Day For iPhone/Touch/iPad http://bit.ly/d0Z02Z

  3. Retweeting @travisehrlich: RT @geardiarysite: Blue Plate Special: Guitar World Lick Of The Day For iPhone/Touch/iPad http://bit.ly/d0Z02Z

  4. Nice review of Lick of the Day in Geardiary http://j.mp/aKQqPp

  5. RT @LickoftheDayApp: Nice review of Lick of the Day in Geardiary http://j.mp/aKQqPp

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