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Want to learn guitar, how long would it take?

RoloMather

RoloMather

Golden Member
I'm in my 20s and I want to learn to play the guitar. How long would it take me to learn, say if I practice for 30 mins a day?

Would it be difficult to learn to play by myself? Or do I need an instructor?
 
It really depends on how much musical talent you have from the get-go. I've been playing for about 3 years... learned everything myself, and i'd say i'm pretty good at guitar. Practicing is the key though. Start off practicing for short periods of time, until your fingers start to get rougher and callused. After you get used to the strings, start practicing for longer and longer periods of time.
 
The first part is finding a chick named Mary. Hang out with her for a while, then learn The Wind Cries Mary by Jimi. I've seen that work on both of the Marys I knew growing up.

Learning guitar, IMO, is all about your own time with the instrument. An instructor can show you some things. If you don't spend time on your own it won't catch on.

 
I just ordered a DVD and a book to learn.
My wife bought me a guitar about 5 years ago, I never touched it. I am finally now interested in learning.


Good Luck..
I'm going to start learning, when it comes in
 
I'm self taught but I highly recommend a few lessons at the beginning to learn the fundamentals properly.. or you'll spend years developing bad habits like I have and then have to spend a lot of time unlearning your mistakes 🙂

Once you have the basics down it's pretty easy to learn on your own.. your progress is all based on how much effort you put into it.
 
I've been playing for 2 years and I'm ok. I need to learn more chords, but the main thing to learn is getting used to using all your fingers. When you first start playing, you'll probably be trying to just pick with your thumb and do the frets with a couple fingers. Once you can use all 10 fingers effectively, it gets much easier.
 
It might not take too long these days, with youtube lessons and everything. Back when I first started learning (7 years ago or so) internet tabs were getting pretty popular, and my teacher at the time complained that it's too easy to learn songs with tabs now. Now with youtube, it's even easier.
 
Originally posted by: OREOSpeedwagon
It might not take too long these days, with youtube lessons and everything. Back when I first started learning (7 years ago or so) internet tabs were getting pretty popular, and my teacher at the time complained that it's too easy to learn songs with tabs now. Now with youtube, it's even easier.
Click to expand...

so how did one learn to play songs prior to the internet? I'm guessing by ear and as much as I'd like to develop that ability, it sounds really hard and I've only been about 7 months into playing guitar.
 
Originally posted by: darkxshade
Originally posted by: OREOSpeedwagon
It might not take too long these days, with youtube lessons and everything. Back when I first started learning (7 years ago or so) internet tabs were getting pretty popular, and my teacher at the time complained that it's too easy to learn songs with tabs now. Now with youtube, it's even easier.
Click to expand...

so how did one learn to play songs prior to the internet? I'm guessing by ear and as much as I'd like to develop that ability, it sounds really hard and I've only been about 7 months into playing guitar.
Click to expand...

with books 🙂

as forr the OP, Guitar is probably the most accessible instrument out there, so you can probably pick it up and be semi-decent within 6 months. This is why guitar is the instrument for the masses.
 
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Originally posted by: OdiN
I've thought about picking up a guitar and giving it a shot.

No idea what guitar to get though.
Click to expand...

Fender Stratocaster is a good one for beginners
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase.

Acoustic guitar.

No electric.
 
Originally posted by: OdiN
I've thought about picking up a guitar and giving it a shot.

No idea what guitar to get though.
Click to expand...

Something in the $100-$200 range would be fine. All you'd be looking for is something to see how committed you are. Once (if) you keep with it, really spend time researching what to buy.

I've been playing since 2002, and just last month bought my first 'real' guitar. I'd been using my $150 Alvarez for 6 years (I have a spare Jasmine that I got free with 10 packs of strings that I rarely use...normally $100) and finally came into some $$$. Got lucky, but it was also time.

Anyway, OP, as others have said, lessons are a good idea now for fundamentals, but it's all about practice. 30 mins a day is a great goal, and if you are anywhere serious about it, you will be playing some simple 3-chord and fingerstyle/flatpicking songs in no time.

Without question, the practically unlimited amount of knowledge on the web makes learning guitar much more efficient. In some ways easier, but it still takes practice and dedication.
 
Originally posted by: OdiN
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Originally posted by: OdiN
I've thought about picking up a guitar and giving it a shot.

No idea what guitar to get though.
Click to expand...

Fender Stratocaster is a good one for beginners
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase.

Acoustic guitar.

No electric.
Click to expand...

I have to echo that sentiment. You should learn on acoustic, since it's a lot harder to pick the strings correctly. Once you get decent at acoustic, playing an electric will be a piece of cake.
 
A lot of the best guitarists are self taught. I'm self taught as well. Also, the problem with going acoustic first is enjoyment. I learned on acoustic back in the late 70's when I was about 12. Then got bored and didn't pick up the guitar again until years later when I played on an electric the first time. I say play on whatever will motivate you to learn. Just because you develop finger strength on acoustic doesn't mean you will enjoy playing it.
 
Originally posted by: Rudee
A lot of the best guitarists are self taught. I'm self taught as well. Also, the problem with going acoustic first is enjoyment. I learned on acoustic back in the late 70's when I was about 12. Then got bored and didn't pick up the guitar again until years later when I played on an electric the first time. I say play on whatever will motivate you to learn. Just because you develop finger strength on acoustic doesn't mean you will enjoy playing it.
Click to expand...

I think Acoustic > Electric personally. I really enjoy listening to acoustic guitar.
 
Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Originally posted by: OdiN
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Originally posted by: OdiN
I've thought about picking up a guitar and giving it a shot.

No idea what guitar to get though.
Click to expand...

Fender Stratocaster is a good one for beginners
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase.

Acoustic guitar.

No electric.
Click to expand...

I have to echo that sentiment. You should learn on acoustic, since it's a lot harder to pick the strings correctly. Once you get decent at acoustic, playing an electric will be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

Echo again. Start with an acoustic. You're fingers will end up much stronger, making electric much easier.

 
Originally posted by: OdiN
Originally posted by: Rudee
A lot of the best guitarists are self taught. I'm self taught as well. Also, the problem with going acoustic first is enjoyment. I learned on acoustic back in the late 70's when I was about 12. Then got bored and didn't pick up the guitar again until years later when I played on an electric the first time. I say play on whatever will motivate you to learn. Just because you develop finger strength on acoustic doesn't mean you will enjoy playing it.
Click to expand...

I think Acoustic > Electric personally. I really enjoy listening to acoustic guitar.
Click to expand...


It was the opposite for me. As soon as I played my first power chord on an electric guitar with distortion I was hooked. The acoustic guitar started collecting dust from that point on and 25 years later I still think about that day when I made the switch and things really took off.
 
I started teaching myself roughly 3 months ago and am just getting to the point where I would say that I can play the damn thing (i.e., I can move between most chords quite easily without looking, I can do quite a few strum patterns, I can do decent hammer ons and offs).

I found that I learn much quicker if I pick a song I like and practice until I can play it as opposed to simply working on technique void of a song to apply it to.
 
This may be a stupid question but if I can play guitar hero well, does that mean I will be able to *some day* play real guitar well? I don't really consider myself having any musical talent whatsoever but I was thinking about trying to learn guitar for the hell of it.
 
Originally posted by: Kev
This may be a stupid question but if I can play guitar hero well, does that mean I will be able to *some day* play real guitar well? I don't really consider myself having any musical talent whatsoever but I was thinking about trying to learn guitar for the hell of it.
Click to expand...

Nope. The only thing that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are remotely good for in terms of real musical skills is rhythm. Otherwise, those games will do nothing for you, and since they take away from your practice time, you could say they could be worse for you!

I love both, by the way. I feel guilty sometimes when I'm playing RB, but I love the damn game too much. Plus it motivates me to practice harder on my real guitar.
 
It will take one million of your earth years.

Actually, I took lessons for about three years and felt myself plateauing physically, so I stopped taking them and just focused on developing my songwriting, which proved to be an infinitely more vague and elusive goal, and something I'm still learning about after 13 year of playing and writing. See sig for my last band (mp3s on website). I wrote, arranged, and played all the guitars and vocals.
 
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