Chord progressions...how long?

Mike,

Your doing fine, the key is to just keep it up and you'll get it. One thing you'll find while learning to play is that progress comes in bunches. You may practice your chord changes religiously every night and then start to get frustrated because you think your not improving then all of a sudden you can do it and you've rea ched another milestone.

From what you describe from your practice schedule that sounds good just keep it up.

And as boring as those scales may be don't stop doing them.

Chris

Mike

" I'm trying to concentrate on good technique so I'm not in a real hurry to bang out a ton of songs...yet! "

You have the perfect attitude, it will take you far indeed.

As far as chord changes are concerned, practice them slowly, with a metronome. Concentrate on proper form and not speed, speed will come eventually.

Also, a good teacher will help immensely in making you a well rounded guitarist.

Cheers
Vic

Your doing good, here is a rough sketch about my practice times....Generaly about an hour or two a day (on and off sometimes throughout). Just leave the guitar out so you can see it every now and again.

6 months : Learned all majors minors 7ths , and fingerpicking technique.

12 months: fingerpicking technique moving very fast and I was starting to sing and play at the same time (another diffucult task). Learned 4 scales.

11 months to now 19 month: Finally putting songs together with more complex strumming patterns and i'm starting to learn theory and solo's. My feel for the guitar also improved greatly - I can form newer chords alot faster and get in the rhythm easier.

I started with a classical guitar, yamaha cg 111s and then moved to a acoustic electric ad 25sm breedlove.

Hope this gives you some reference on what to expect...

Peace,

Jet.

Your doing good, here is a rough sketch about my practice times....Generaly about an hour or two a day (on and off sometimes throughout). Just leave the guitar out so you can see it every now and again.

6 months : Learned all majors minors 7ths , and fingerpicking technique.

12 months: fingerpicking technique moving very fast and I was starting to sing and play at the same time (another diffucult task). Learned 4 scales.

11 months to now 19 month: Finally putting songs together with more complex strumming patterns and i'm starting to learn theory and solo's. My feel for the guitar also improved greatly - I can form newer chords alot faster and get in the rhythm easier.

I started with a classical guitar, yamaha cg 111s and then moved to a acoustic electric ad 25sm breedlove.

Hope this gives you some reference on what to expect...

Peace,

Jet.

I kind of play guitar at a leisure, and that seems like a very fast pace to me. Even friends that I know who are quite serious at it, and play 1-2 hours a day, I don't think advanced that quickly. So, I think you just might be learning at a pretty fast pace.

In my own experience, though, it took me around three months to be comfortable with C, A, D, E, G, Am, Em, Dm progressions. I haven't leanred many others, but I can play quite fluently through those chords.

Like someone said above, it will probably just come naturally to you one day. I remember that I couldn't do powerchords for the longest time, and then one day, it just happened.

First welcome to Guitar Noise!

Six weeks is a short period of time when it comes to learning to play, the chords you mentioned will take you a long way. The chord changes will get faster and smoother with time, you will eventually get to the point where you dont need to look at the guitar or your hands, you're chord changes will be on auto pilot, at that point if your like me you probably realize that your right hand technique needs a little work. Learning to play guitar seems like a never ending challenge, I've been at it almost two years, and still feel very much like a beginner. I think with 1-2 hours practice a day, which seems like a lot to me, and a teacher to help you along I think you'll fine. The only other thing I would suggest is find a friend to jam with.

I really appreciate all those that took the time to respond...thank you! I know chord changes are one of those funda"mental" things we beginners all go through. It's good to hear your opinions and experiences. The bear for me right now is G to C. I can get it, it's just slow (leading with my middle finger), I feel like I'm placing each finger individually, not as a group. Sounds like more practice to me!

On a side note...I went to see Gov't Mule (Warren Haynes' Band) last night in Philadelphia. For those guitar lovers who haven't experienced a Mule show (or Warren in particular), it's a must. This man is jaw-dropping incredible!

Take care all...much more from me as "it" happens!

Mike

man ... where do you guys find the time to practice 1 - 2 hours a night?

between work, my 2 year old, house work and honey do's I'm lucky if I get 30 minutes of "Thomas" time to pick up my guitar.

Although I dont get two hours of practice every day, I would say I get at least an hour. With home, work, wife and two kids I find I have to get up very early if I want to have any real practice time. I get up every morning at 4am, so I can practice before work, I usualy leave the house about 6am.

Mornings are my favorite time of day..

First cup of coffee, about tweny minutes of inspirational reading, about 45 minutes to an hour of playing guitar..... It's a great way to start the day!!!

I always leave the guitar out so I noodle around (1 to 5 minutes intervals 5-10 times during the morning/evening) before the wife and kids hit the sack.
Then I get a solid hour+ in to really practice w/o interuption. I can't get enough of this thing!

Take care,

Mike

Your doing good, here is a rough sketch about my practice times....Generaly about an hour or two a day (on and off sometimes throughout). Just leave the guitar out so you can see it every now and again.

6 months : Learned all majors minors 7ths , and fingerpicking technique.

12 months: fingerpicking technique moving very fast and I was starting to sing and play at the same time (another diffucult task). Learned 4 scales.

11 months to now 19 month: Finally putting songs together with more complex strumming patterns and i'm starting to learn theory and solo's. My feel for the guitar also improved greatly - I can form newer chords alot faster and get in the rhythm easier.

I started with a classical guitar, yamaha cg 111s and then moved to a acoustic electric ad 25sm breedlove.

Hope this gives you some reference on what to expect...

Peace,

Jet.

I kind of play guitar at a leisure, and that seems like a very fast pace to me. Even friends that I know who are quite serious at it, and play 1-2 hours a day, I don't think advanced that quickly. So, I think you just might be learning at a pretty fast pace.

In my own experience, though, it took me around three months to be comfortable with C, A, D, E, G, Am, Em, Dm progressions. I haven't leanred many others, but I can play quite fluently through those chords.

Like someone said above, it will probably just come naturally to you one day. I remember that I couldn't do powerchords for the longest time, and then one day, it just happened.

I did take lessons at school for classical music (mondays and wednesdays). I'd suggest that to all beginners (myself included). They teach you chords later on...but really show you how to not get frustrated and develop good practice habits.

For instance, whenever I get tired of chord progressions...i'll fingerpick them. Pretty fun now.

I guess the downside is that I didn't have a chance to play the music I wanted earlier - I was also working on fingerpicking and that is frustrating at the start. It seemed to help me carry on though - well , I like to think so. Power chords came in about the 9th month... so now I can play some cooler distorted music through my amp :)

Jet.