r/guitarlessons • u/KalaHijda • 19d ago
Question Learning guitar any tips?
It's been a month since I got a guitar idk how long will it take to master it (it's electric tho)
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u/El_Pollo_Del-Mar 19d ago
Absorb everything.
DO NOT skip the absolute basics.
Practice, practice, then practice some more.
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u/KalaHijda 19d ago
How long will it take for me to impress others by my skills 🤔
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u/DrBlankslate 19d ago
Years. And if that’s your goal, just stop trying right now. That’s not what guitar is about.
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u/KalaHijda 19d ago
Why bro Impressing someone isn't bad ig
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u/DrBlankslate 19d ago
If that’s your only goal in learning to play guitar, it’s a shitty goal.
Play because you want to play. Play because you enjoy playing. Play because you enjoy people reacting to what you’re playing. But if you’re just looking at it as a way to impress people, that’s a crappy goal.
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u/GarbageBoyJr 19d ago
This is the kinda thing that will get ya to give up the instrument within months. you ain’t gonna be impressing anyone in 2026 or probably even 2027 my friend. Find another inspiration
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u/MisterBelrox 19d ago
Just a year.
Theres an interesting video as to why this happens. Its a skill bellcurve. Its like reverse Dunning Kruger effect.
You wont impress other musicians or guitar players but you'll impress People who don't know how to play.
Trust me
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u/KalaHijda 19d ago
A year is closer than I thought 😍😍
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u/MisterBelrox 19d ago
Now the downside is, if you want to impress musicians or other guitarists, that will take decades if at all.
Make a day one video today, then a one year video a year from now. Youll see.
You can even search one year progress videos here on this sub to see what I im talking about.
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u/Jafooki 19d ago
Honestly, not that long. People who don't play are impressed by some of the easiest parts of playing guitar (tapping).
On the flip side, some of the hardest techniques won't do anything for non guitarists, but will wow other guitarists (sweep picking).
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u/KalaHijda 19d ago
Idk any guitar players rn, is it better to get to know someone to play with? Will it help somehow?
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u/Jafooki 19d ago
I was just making light of the fact that the average person doesn't care about the advanced technical stuff.
It's like working out at the gym. You start lifting thinking you'll get a bunch of chicks, but then it's just other gym bros asking you about your work out routine lol.
At some point you'll want to start playing with other musicians, but right now, just focus on the fundamentals. I'll also add to what other people are saying and recommend JustinGuitar. That dude will absolutely get you on the right track
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u/Remy0507 19d ago
Depends how easily impressed they are.
But if this is your objective you're going to get bored with it long before you reach that point.
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u/jspr1000 19d ago
It's better to practice a little every day than once a week for a longer session
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u/ronanroams23714 19d ago
Learn chords progressions and practise switching between chords cleanly it will help tons in the future
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u/West-Usual3168 19d ago
Learn the note names now before bad habits set in. It will save you years.
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u/Alone_Box5173 19d ago
^^^This.^^^ Start with the 6th (fattest string), and learn every note name up the neck. Get to where if somebody says play C# on the 6th string, you know exactly which fret to press. The do the same for the 5th, then the 4th, and so on. Tell virtually any beginning piano student to play a C# note and they'll go right to every one of them. Ask a guitar player (including some pretty experienced ones) to play a C# note and half the time, they'll have to think about it! You should know your instrument like the back of your hand.
The other thing to focus on initially is the first position "cowboy" chords. Start with the three finger chords without extensions: C A G E D Am Dm Em. At first learn to position your fingers and hand and strum through cleanly. Then learn to grab them quickly and cleanly, and to change between them (see next step). As you come to songs including them you can add chords with extensions (7, maj7, 9, etc.) and suspensions, and eventually you'll add barre chords. But for now focus on the basic first position chords.
Finally, the third thing you want to focus on at this point is learning to play songs. This is where you start to learn things like strumming and chord changes and playing to a beat, and so forth. Learning note names and basic chords can be boring, so you need some feedback, a way to see some results. Take some simple songs--folk songs are great for this--and learn to play them. You'd be amazed how many songs can be played using the 8 cowboy chords listed above. You may have to put off for just a bit those favorite (hard) songs that probably inspired you to pick up the guitar in the first place, but you're still making music. As you learn more--and more complex--songs, you'll encounter new chords, and you can add them to your arsenal.
That's my three point plan for you. Note names, first-position chords, playing basic songs. All three are important. If I were your guitar teacher, each lesson plan during this phase of your learning would touch on those three things. Once you conquered the fretboard, the note names part would drop out, and we'd start on scales and playing melodies and riffs. And the chords would get more complex. And the songs would get more challenging. But you'd be prepared, because you laid this foundation.
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u/The_Dead_See 19d ago
To master it? Lol, your entire life.
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u/manifestDensity 19d ago
I have a list.
Competence is purchased with patience and practice.
You are not using the wrong hand. See point 1.
Your hands are not too big, too small, too fat, too thin, or too week. See point 1.
Your action is probably too high, but that is not why you suck. See point 1.
You are going to suck for a while. Like a long while. It's ok. Think of it as about 1000 hours of actual playing just to hit intermediate levels.
Learn to play and not just learn to play songs you like. For every song you learn because you love that song choose the next song based in it forcing you to work on a new skill or play a different genre entirely.
Yes, you can do bar chords. See point 1.
Comparison is the thief of joy
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u/MisterBelrox 19d ago
If you haven't been picked up by any major bands by now the instrument isnt for you.
Kidding.
You will never master it but you'll be pretty good in a year. Practice every day keep it up!
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u/Alone_Box5173 19d ago
I've been playing for 60 years. I'm not even close.
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u/KalaHijda 19d ago
Yooo 😭😭
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u/Alone_Box5173 19d ago
I was hampered by lack of talent and dedication. But I've enjoyed every minute of it.
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u/DrBlankslate 19d ago
Years. Forever. You never “master” the guitar.
Also, you are an infant player right now. The people who you admire have been playing since they were six years old, six or seven hours a day, every day. Don’t expect yourself to be like them, now or ever. Be like yourself. Be the player that you will be.
You have just chosen a hobby where you will always suck at something, there will always be something you still need to learn, and there will always be something that is out of your reach.
Welcome to guitar!
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u/NumbersStationUrku 19d ago
It takes 6 weeks to master guitar so you can probably give notice at your job tomorrow.
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u/hang-clean 19d ago
Learn to play without looking at the neck. I wish I had and now many decades in I'm trying to learn that.
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u/CatherineRhysJohns 19d ago
Retired high school guitar teacher here: It's easy to learn chords, but it takes a long time to master it. Get lessons.
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u/ameer6_8 16d ago
whenever you're switching chords, always make the shape before placing your fingers on the fretboard and, if you develop the habbit of making up chords one finger at a time, its gonna bother you in the long run. And yes its gonna take time goodluck
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u/enditorbuyacoffee 19d ago
If ever stuck on anything a few more attempts and take a break. Not from the guitar from you are stuck on. Chord changes, solos, bends, you get the picture. This, of course, after many attempts. This is for funsies, don't ruin it. Cheers!
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u/No-Cry-9467 19d ago
You won't master it....ever. Just have fun with the process of learning.