Are you still a beginner?
At some point every guitar student wants to know what they've achieved. With no one to compare their playing to, there's always a desire to find out if they're ahead, behind or comparable to someone that's been playing the same amount of time. The problem with this is that everyone learns at a different pace, has a different music background if any, and has put in more or less time. A student who practices an hour a day should be better than someone who practices a half hour or less. However, just like the number of years playing doesn't count, the amount of practice time may not indicate how well one is doing.
Quality practice vs quantity practice.
Beginning guitar players need to have a clear direction when it comes to practice. Getting the guitar out and running through your favorite songs isn't necessarily the way to practice. I encourage my students to play music they like, but that's after they've spent time concentrating on improving their playing. Take a page out of the sports coaches' book and warm up, work on specific skills, and then do the fun stuff. To warm up do some fretting hand stretches, right hand picking whether it's with your fingers or a pick, and loosen up. Too many students, beginners and advanced, ignore the advice about stretching, then they're amazed that they "play better after 15 minutes."
So, are you still a beginner?
I tell my students that on average it takes about 6 months to get off of the total beginner stage. At that point you should be able to play the notes in first position, be able to keep a basic rhythm, and play most of the open position chords. In addition, you need to be able to move from one chord to the next without losing time. Keep in mind that these are suggestions, not rules that are cast in stone. For example, you may not read music at all if you're more interested in playing and singing, or you may have concentrated on notes and not really worked with chords that much. That being said, the guidelines and milestones above should give you an idea of where you stand.
At some point every guitar student wants to know what they've achieved. With no one to compare their playing to, there's always a desire to find out if they're ahead, behind or comparable to someone that's been playing the same amount of time. The problem with this is that everyone learns at a different pace, has a different music background if any, and has put in more or less time. A student who practices an hour a day should be better than someone who practices a half hour or less. However, just like the number of years playing doesn't count, the amount of practice time may not indicate how well one is doing.
Quality practice vs quantity practice.
Beginning guitar players need to have a clear direction when it comes to practice. Getting the guitar out and running through your favorite songs isn't necessarily the way to practice. I encourage my students to play music they like, but that's after they've spent time concentrating on improving their playing. Take a page out of the sports coaches' book and warm up, work on specific skills, and then do the fun stuff. To warm up do some fretting hand stretches, right hand picking whether it's with your fingers or a pick, and loosen up. Too many students, beginners and advanced, ignore the advice about stretching, then they're amazed that they "play better after 15 minutes."
So, are you still a beginner?
I tell my students that on average it takes about 6 months to get off of the total beginner stage. At that point you should be able to play the notes in first position, be able to keep a basic rhythm, and play most of the open position chords. In addition, you need to be able to move from one chord to the next without losing time. Keep in mind that these are suggestions, not rules that are cast in stone. For example, you may not read music at all if you're more interested in playing and singing, or you may have concentrated on notes and not really worked with chords that much. That being said, the guidelines and milestones above should give you an idea of where you stand.
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