How Long Does It Take to Learn Guitar - 4 Key Elements You Cannot Do Without

Every potential guitarist would want to know how long does it take to learn guitar as we want to see results fast. I have seen guitar players who are able to perform gigs after a few months of learning while others take about a year or so.

The rate of progress is different for everyone. Some of us may learn guitar faster than others. Hence, do not feel disheartened if you hear that your friend has been learning guitar for a year and still unable to play a whole song.

So how long does it really take to learn guitar? 4 key elements that will determine the rate of your guitar learning progress:

1. Motivation
   
   Why do you want to learn guitar? Play your first gig, impress your loved one, jam with your friends or simply for pleasure?
   
   Whatever your goal is, the time it takes to learn guitar will be shorter if you have the passion and motivation. You will be enjoying the learning process and eager to learn more each day. Some people give up the idea to learn guitar when they find out that they have to put in time and effort.
   
   
2. The Easiest Way to Learn Guitar
   
   How you want to learn the guitar will determine the rate of your progress. Some people learn better with guidance and supervision from a tutor while independent learners prefer to teach themselves guitar at their own pace. With the abundance of self-help resources available, you can easily teach yourself how to play guitar by books, DVDs or software.
   
   Whether you choose to engage a tutor or teach yourself guitar, you have to find the method that works best for you. We all have different learning styles. Find out what's the easiest way for you to learn guitar as it will speed up your learning progress.
   
   
3. The Right Lesson Content
   
   The amount of time it takes to learn guitar depends greatly on the type of teaching materials that you are using. The right lesson content should cover all the fundamental skills from the basics (like sitting, standing and hand position, holding the pick and tuning) to reading tabs, forming chords, fingering and any advanced techniques.
   
   You need a high quality and well-planned course of guitar lessons that you can follow through with perfect understanding. Hence, it is important to get the right course so as not to spend time seeking for short lessons with no relation. A professional teach yourself guitar course will take you from an absolute beginner level to becoming a competent guitar player.
   
   
4. Practice
   
   The fourth key element that determines how long it takes to learn guitar is the amount of practice. If you are not disciplined and neglect your guitar, it will definitely slow down your learning progress. We all know of the initial discomfort or pain you will feel with your fingers. For a start, practice about 15 to 20 minutes daily then increase the amount of practice when the discomfort wears off.
   

There is no definite answer to the question "How long does it take to learn guitar". Not everyone learns at the same rate depending on their motivation, method and materials used, and the amount of practice they put in. As for everything, we need the drive and passion to continue learning new guitar techniques and songs.