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Hi Brandon – I started playing in college, never took any lessons and just learned some chords and songs from friends over a few years. Then the guitar went away for 20 years and I just picked it back up again about 2 years ago. I’ve been a TAC member for about 18 months and recently paid for the lifetime membership if that says anything about how much I believe in Tony’s approach to teaching and the value I find in this site and community.
If you love to play and you find yourself feeling better after holding and playing your guitar then you should keep doing it. As Tony will often say (as you’ll hear over and over the more you come back) – we’re all on a journey and we all move at along our path at different speeds at different times. Some of the keys to success in growth are knowing your ‘why’ as an anchor – why do you want to play guitar? It’s different for everyone – for me it’s so I can play songs I like, make music for myself, process emotions and feelings, and it’s also a form of meditation for me – when I’m focused on playing guitar I’m often not thinking about other things in my life, my breathing slows down, my joy increases so I know that playing guitar has some positive physical and mental health benefits.
So for me –
#1 is figuring out the ‘why’.
Then #2 is building consistency and routine. Tony hammers this home – it’s important to play as consistently over time as you can. Even if it’s just for 5-10 minutes on some days, that can be the difference between slowly growing over time and frustrated stagnation. Some days are going to be hard and you’re going to feel like you suck (still happens) – but Tony had a talk one time about how sports coaches share that sometimes athletes just have ‘off’ days in training and how that equates to guitar practice as well. What’s important is showing up and getting in a workout. Some days you’re going to set personal records (playing through a song, or a tricky lick) and some days are just going to suck. Most days are going to be somewhere in between. But the more consistently you ‘show up’, but more of the better days there will be. Tony also talks about tips and tricks to building that consistency, like finding ‘anchor moments’ that trigger your guitar playing each, leaving your guitar out where it’s accessible and visible. You’ll hear them repeated over and over as you start to join the daily challenges.
#2 – consistency is key
#3 – find good teachers and communities like this one. There are so many guitar teachers online right now – find one that fits you and commit to it for a few months before jumping to something else. There’s a lot that will distract you, which can be good and help inspire sometimes, but can also pull you in a lot of different directions, and when you are just starting out I think it’s important to stick with one thing for a while and not jump around too much.
#3 Find a teacher and a community
#4 – Just play!
I think that’s it. Figure out your ‘why’, and if it’s strong enough to keep you wanting to play then the rest is just about finding a good teacher and community and consistency.
I hope this was helpful in some way! Rock on!