Learning to play an instrument takes time and dedication. You need to practice regularly. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t getting better right away.
Practice should be fun! Choose songs and types of music that you enjoy playing.
So how long does it take to learn guitar? That depends on a lot of different factors, such as how often you practice and the type of learning materials you use.
This article will take you through the first two years of learning guitar and what you should be doing at each stage, and then it will go into the different factors involved in determining the time it takes to learn guitar.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Guitar?
How long it takes to learn guitar will vary from person to person. There is no clear-cut answer, which we know isn’t ideal!
But, how long it takes to learn guitar depends on how often you practice, the materials that you are using, and if you are teaching yourself or are having lessons with a teacher.
It’s worth remembering that everyone learns at different paces, so don’t be too hard on yourself if it takes you longer than you initially thought!
You can probably master the basics in a few months if you practice regularly, but to work your way through the grades and become an expert can take years.
Let’s look a little closer at the time it takes to learn guitar now.
The First 3 Months Of Learning Guitar
For the first three months focus on basic open chords. Use stepping stones to learn chord progressions. You need to know how to play guitar chords before you attempt to play any songs.
Learning them can be easy if you practice hard enough. Playing by ear is an important skill to develop.
A beginner should start by trying to play songs he/she knows well once basic chords have been mastered.
You should learn how to play guitar using the easiest chords. This will help you to improve your skills quickly as you become familiar with them.
You can use a free guide to learn the most common chords. You can also download an app to make playing easier.
A chord chart is a visual representation of chords. Chords are made up of notes played simultaneously.
You use them to make music by combining different pitches. For example, if you play C (middle C) and E (the second note of the scale), you get CE, or G, F, and Bb.
These four notes form the chord C-E-G-F-Bb.
6 To 18 Months
After six months, you should master the basics of guitar. You may not be shredding out awesome solos yet, but you’re familiar with the chords and you’re comfortable playing.
At this point, you may have dared to play in front of people, and you’ve played some songs. Your first scale starts with C major (C-E-G-Bb).
Then you move into G7 (Dm-F-Ab-C) and then back to C major (C-Em-G-Bb) before moving onto another scale.
2+ Years
Guitar learning takes time, but after 2 years you should be playing barre chords. Your fingers will open up to you!
You’ll be able to play any song you want and make your music too. You’ll be able to improvise and compose your songs.
Factors Affecting How Long It Takes To Learn Guitar
There’s no way around it. The more hours you put into practicing, the faster you’ll progress. But other things affect how fast you’ll learn guitar. Some of these include:
Your age. If you haven’t practiced for a while, your memory of how to play might have faded.
Your level of experience. When you first start learning guitar, you don’t understand anything about music theory. However, over time you’ll pick up new techniques and concepts.
Your motivation. If you don’t feel like practicing, you won’t get very far.
Your ability. If you’re good at playing other instruments, you’re probably going to be better at guitar than someone who isn’t.
Your attitude. If you’re happy and positive, you’ll keep motivated. If you’re stressed and angry, you’ll lose interest pretty quickly.
If you’re learning guitar online, you’ll need to set aside a lot of time. In addition to practicing, you’ll need to study theory and listen to recordings.
If you’re learning guitar offline, you’ll only need to spend a few hours each week. You could just sit down and play along with a recording of yourself. Or you could try to write your songs.
Tips For Learning Guitar Faster
There are a ton of beginner’s guides and exercises along with video tutorials and PDFs to download and practice on the internet!
Always keep challenging yourself. The following tips will help you to pick up the guitar more quickly and easily by focusing on specific goals:
Understand Your Goals
You should be learning guitar because you love music and you want to be better at playing.
You want to play songs that you enjoy, and you want to be able to make people happy by playing them.
Writing your songs is a great skill to have. You can even make money off of them.
Playing in a band is also an awesome experience. You can play famous songs in front of your friends if you’re really good.
But before you start playing, select your goals carefully. Don’t add a bunch of complicated chords, scales, or chord progressions in a short amount of time. This could lead to discouragement.
Guitar goals should be challenging yet achievable. You shouldn’t be afraid to change them as you learn.
Set your guitar goals by working backward from the smallest, easiest steps. Most songs follow a similar structure: intro, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro.
You should start by breaking down each section into smaller sections.
For example, if you’re working on learning the first verse of a song, then you should focus on learning that particular part of the song.
Once you’ve learned that part of the song, then you can move on to the next part, or even the chorus.
Guitarists never stop learning. A guitarist never reaches a certain level. He/she always wants to improve. Learning the guitar takes time and effort. You need to practice every day.
Have A Regular Practice Schedule
You’ll never learn to play guitar unless you practice. Practice makes perfect.
Practice hours are the key consideration when learning anything new, especially if you are learning an instrument such as the guitar.
If you are motivated and dedicated, you may learn the basics of the guitar in a short period of time. You should practice your instrument every day.
Practice guitar daily. Don’t practice for more than an hour each session. Schedules don’t have to follow a school timetable.
You don’t have to be thirteen again, but creating a schedule is a good way to help you practice regularly.
The Seinfeld method is an extremely simple productivity technique that many people use to make sure they don’t procrastinate too often.
Mark a calendar with a cross every time you practice guitar. You must practice at least 20 minutes daily to learn effectively.
Don’t overdo it. Don’t cram too much information into your head at once. This can cause brain overload. Instead, break down the information into smaller chunks and learn them slowly.
Guitarists need to know what type of music they want to play. Learning styles vary from person to person.
Knowing your learning style can help you choose the right material to suit you. Good equipment can make playing easier and more enjoyable.
Beginners should start with an inexpensive model. You’ll get better results if you practice regularly. Guitarists should learn how to play by themselves first before learning with other people.
Play regularly to avoid forgetting everything you’ve learned. You should try to learn songs you enjoy listening to and playing. Keep your passion alive by practicing regularly.
Use Guitar Learning Resources
This is undoubtedly one of the biggest factors impacting the time it will take me to learn guitar.
The number of different courses and websites claiming to be able to help you to learn guitar is massive, but there are also some which are far better than others.
If you end up picking a course that’s too fast or too slow for your needs, this can impact your progress.
You might even end up jumping into an advanced course and getting lost or missing out on important information.
Justin Guitar is worth checking out if you’re a beginner guitarist learning the ropes. His beginner’s course allows you to learn almost 250 songs, and you can complete the course in a matter of months.
Udemy is an online teaching platform for pretty much anything. Courses aren’t usually free, but they do come with some excellent deals.
There are lots of teachers with unique styles and who specialize in different subjects.
Udemy also encourages transparency with reviews, which means you can see what works for others before taking the leap.
You can see how long it might take to learn the basics. You can also see how many learning hours there are recommended.
Ultimate Guitar is an excellent site for learning guitar. You can learn songs you already know and love, or try out new ones.
There are tons of tabs available, and they’re easy to use. You can also see how difficult each song is before attempting them.
Consider Taking Lessons
Guitar playing is a skill that requires practice. Even though there are many methods of learning, some people still prefer traditional teaching methods.
The Beatles were forced to take a long bus ride across Liverpool to learn a difficult chord. Modern-day technology makes it easy to learn any musical instrument online.
However, does this mean traditional teaching methods should be abandoned?
Guitarists should interact as often as possible with other players to improve their skills.
Learning by yourself might be great, but there is nothing better than being taught by someone else. Online learning is a great tool, but it does not provide enough contact with others.
You could easily make mistakes for a long time before realizing it. Lessons can be customized to fit your schedule.
Teachers have many different methods to teach you. You can choose what works best for you. A weekly lesson can be expensive, but it keeps you tied to a particular schedule.
Our top tip for those who want to learn guitar is to take lots of lessons at the start. These lessons will help you develop your basic skills and understanding of how to play guitar.
You’ll also need some practice as you work out what chords go together.
After this initial stage, you’ll be ready to learn more by yourself. This means you won’t need lessons every week. A lesson once or twice a month is usually enough.
However, if you’re not interested in taking lessons, you should still play along with other people because they’ll help you to improve your skills.
Playing with others also helps you become more comfortable and confident with your instrument.
Where Can I Buy A Guitar?
You can find guitars everywhere these days. They’re sold in shops, online stores, and even from street vendors.
You can also search for guitars online. First, you’ll need to decide what type of guitar you want to buy.
Acoustic Vs. Electric Guitar
The first thing you should consider is whether you want an acoustic or electric guitar. Acoustic guitars are generally cheaper than electric guitars, so you may be tempted to get one.
If you don’t like cleaning strings, then an electric guitar might be better for you. Electric guitars are easier to maintain.
You don’t have to worry about changing strings, and you can plug your guitar directly into a power source.
An electric guitar has a higher output than an acoustic guitar, so it produces louder sounds. It’s also easier to tune an electric guitar.
If you’re looking for something cheap, you can always buy second-hand guitars.
FAQ
Can I Learn to Play Guitar By Myself?
Yes, you can learn to play guitar on your own. However, you’d need some form of guidance from an expert. The good news is that numerous teachers are online with free video content on YouTube that can be useful when learning.
You will also find some of these teachers have websites with paid subscriptions or courses for guitar lessons. While priced, they can be more affordable if you are trying to save money.
How Long Should I Practice?
Can I Learn How To Play Guitar In a Month?
While you can learn how to play within a month, it will mostly be the basics. It takes a while, months even, to get good at playing the guitar.
Even then, there is always more to learn. Like everything else, it’s always a never-ending learning curve. That’s why renowned musicians still have practice sessions.
Final Thoughts
Learning guitar is a fun hobby. It doesn’t require any special equipment, so you don’t need to spend a lot of money.
If you enjoy music, then why not give it a shot? Don’t worry about making mistakes. Just keep practicing and you’ll soon get good at playing guitar. You never know where it may lead.
Remember the time it takes to learn guitar depends on a multitude of things, such as your willingness to consistently practice, your motivation, the learning resources you use, whether you take lessons, and your individual goals.
