i'm just wondering how long it took people to be able to play their first song at the write speed ect, so it sounds like the real thing. i know that it will take different amounts of time for different people but i just want to get an idea.
So how long did it take you to learn your first song and what song was it ?
First song I ever learned was Mr. Tambourine Man. I've always like Bob Dylan and though it was a good place to start. Being the overconfident, cocky guy I am I figured I could do it all on my own in minutes.
A month later I finaly broke down and asked for help from a good friend that has played guitar for many years. About a 2-3 weeks after that I could play the song well enough for someone to sing along with me.
The good news here is that the second song (Blowin' in The Wind) took far les time, the third song was even easier and so on.
Mind you, this all goes out the window as soon as you improve to the point that you take on more challenging songs. You end up working on the finer points and making the song either sound great or make it "your own" by spicing things up a little.
Bottom line: No need to be in a hurry, it will all come in due time. Enjoy the music and have a god time learning.
It depends on both the student and the song... and on whether you're trying to capture it exactly off the record, or just play it so it's recognizable.
This year's crop of Christmas gift guitars has me teaching 8 total beginners at the moment (7 kids, 1 adult). Of those, 2 did a complete and recognizable tune in 1 week; 1 in 2 weeks, and 3 more in 4 weeks. The other two will probably take a lot longer, one because of age - he's 6 - and the other because of effort.... teachers are like Santa: they know who's been good or bad about practicing :)
On the whole, the current beginners are learning just a hair faster than the average for my students. I think that's because 3 of them are REALLY motivated to play guitar, and 4 (including two of the motivated ones) already play other instruments.
In rough order of difficulty for the first tunes they're doing:
Horse with No Name - America
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day*
Let It Be - Beatles
Red Ragtop - Tim McGraw
* - this tune has a B chord in it; we're simplifying the arrangment a bit.. it's also the only one that's not in standard tuning on the recording (we're playing it a half step lower than Green Day does)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Tom Dooley and He's Got the Whole World.
Both from a beginners book and both songs are only 2 chords each.
Took about 2 weeks to get a fair rendition but the chord changes where still a bit slow. Another 2 weeks and I could play both with seamless chord changes.
After a couple of months I could play several fingerpicked songs including Dust in the Wind.
It all depends on how hard you want it and how much effort you are willing to put into it.
