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Please can you help me get started
Hi guys, I am a newbie and hoping you can help me understand, how I get started, with regard to what I should be doing and when. So I can confidently get started
I have reached out to support and why they can’t help, I really don’t understand. They have said I need to ask the community for help, which although I found a tad surprising, is what I’m doing. So I really hope you can help set me off on the right foot.
I am confused as to the 10 min daily challenges and how that then fits in with the 30 days. And which I should do first, or do I do them at the same time, which really means way more than 10 mins a day and thats what is confusing me.
I thought it was a 10 mins a day course, and do more if you can, and then I find the 30 day challenge to. At this point I’m worried if it will make me overthink and not even get started, as I want to start off doing the right thing.
Thanks a million guys
Lisa
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3 Replies
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Welcome @lisajcurtis67gmail-com to TAC. Let me see if I can give you some peace of mind. But first, where are you in your guitar journey? Are you a “never ever picked up a guitar before”, or “have dabbled over the years and want to get consistent now”, or “I can play around campfires but want to get serious”? My counsel depends on your goals. @Loraine can tell you learning guitar isn’t easy but can be done with fun and enrich your life. So my initial advice is to just focus on the 30 DAYS TO PLAY, then the FIVE DAYS something or other, then jump in the Daily Challenges. If you are not a “never ever”, then you could accelerate that process. But my main caution is not fall into the trap of comparative thinking where fun goes to die. Wherever you are on your journey, enjoy it. Trust the process. The 10 minutes will work if it is consistent.
I would also formalize your overall goal in writing (if not in your profile then in your head). That is the “Start with the end in mind” thing. [Wow… I have a lot of “” and () today] Anyway that is a start.
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Hello Lisa,
I am Peter, have been a member for about 14 months and I spend a lot of time on this site, learning guitar and also helping others. Your questions are so basic and most of the answers are all available from the homepage of TAC.
Have you read through the Quickstart Guide?
https://tonypolecastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TAC_User_Guide-v5.pdf
If not I would suggest starting there and then come back and ask more questions, I will look for your reply and give a response without delay.
About the 10 minute thing. Yes it is possible to learn to play with 10 minutes a day. But things will go much faster for you if you can devote a bit more than that. I think 20 to 25 minutes should suffice quite nicely, since there is a video to watch and action to take.
You could break things up, watch 5 minutes of video and then play your guitar for 5 minutes and be done for the day. Pick up again the next day and repeat. It would work but not totally practical.
As you advance through the 30 days and then the 5 Day intro courses, you will develop your own learning schedule. Personally I spend about 20-30 minutes every morning and I usually come back once or twice later in the day and often I’ll take one of my guitars and play it while I’m watching TV
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Hi Lisa,and welcome to the TAC community. Where else to get a good answer from but from the people that have started before you?
Can’t be overwhelming and confusing when you first start, but you’ll soon fall into your own comfort level with the lessons. I do suggest starting with the 30 days to play. Gives you a great introduction to the program and it shows you that it is possible through breaking things down into small play sessions such as 10 minutes per day at a minimum that you can progress.
I guess a 10 minutes per day to me means that you give a lesson a minimum of 10 minutes and then mark it as complete. That doesn’t mean that you have to stop practicing. It just means that you gave it the minimum for that day. You can continue to work on a lesson for as long as you like however, I do warn against putting in too much time or trying to shoot for perfection. The whole purpose of TAC is progress don’t let perfection. Stop you from moving forward because perfection often stops a person in their tracks and that is what leads to frustration in people quitting something before they’ve realized the miracle. You can always revisit something by marking it a favorite. You can always revisit something over a weekend if necessary..
If you’ve never played before, I suggest a 30 days to play then the next six chords, then the getting started and stretching courses and then I might start on the daily challenges or the skills courses. It’s your program so you can develop it however you want to.
If you do start the daily challenges, there are times when they will be too difficult and you’ll become frustrated, but don’t stop from doing your best at trying it. The lessons come back around for the purpose of you to compare where you were at a set point in time to where you are at that time.
The forms are a great place to get answers to get support to get lifted up. If you’re feeling down the guitar is not an easy instrument, but I can guarantee if you stick with it, it does become easier.
Good luck and don’t shy away from asking questions
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