I started Justin’s course around the 13th of January this year, I am using a 5 year old guitar my mum got me for one of my birthdays.
The guitar is a semi acoustic blue guitar that my mum got for cheap in ALDI which amazingly still works well today, I am very glad that I decided to get into to guitar a little bit when I was younger, because otherwise I would’ve had to go through the trouble of buying a new guitar before starting the course.
I took guitar lessons when I got that guitar but I only ended up learning a few simple riffs before giving it up and never got around to learning chords.
I was in school holidays when I begun the course so I have been flying through the course doing multiple practice sessions per day and managed to make it to beginner grade 2 module 1.
I’ve got most of the stuff I’ve learned in grade 1 down however I am worried about my chord changes to C because they’re always a little bit too slow when I play them in songs so I’ve been going back and forward between doing the final module of grade one and the first module of grade 2 recently.
I think I might stay on the first module of grade 2 for a couple of weeks before moving forward and I am considering making it my goal to post a recording of me playing on this forum before moving on to the next module.
Thank you for reading! So far I have practiced for 15 hours in total.
Hi Amy, great to hear you are enjoying the guitar.
A couple of things came to mind reading your learning log.
The first is being on Grade 2 already and only starting a few weeks ago. I think that’s a bit fast (and I’m on the side of progressing fast when you can). There is a difference between knowledge in your head, and getting that knowledge into your fingers. I’d encourage you to spend more time practicing - extra days - and slow down on the lesson progression. Learn loads of songs, and make sure all your chords are good, and fast, before moving into Grade 2.
I learned guitar the first time when I was around your age - I gave up after a few months from frustration. Looking back now, it’s because I spent more time on the head knowledge than the finger knowledge at the time. Then it was books rather than YouTube.
The other thing - consider getting a better guitar if you’re going to stick with this. A very cheap guitar can hold you back, but there is a point where they’re still quite inexpensive but much, much easier to play (eg a mid level Yamaha FG800).
Thanks for the advice :),
I am going to stay on beginner grade 2 lesson one for a bit because I did kind of rush through the last module of beginner grade 1.
I am also going to buy a new guitar for my birthday (February 27th) and I’m probably going to buy an electric guitar since I already have an amp and stuff and electric guitars look cool.
Great start to your learning log, Amy!
Agree with JK, there’s no rush, take your time and let it soak in. Learn plenty of songs, get those chords under your fingers and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to move forward (although I personally tend to truck ahead and then roll back later on, so take my advice with a grain of salt! ). Great to hear your going to consolidate for a couple of weeks though, that sounds like a wise move
Excellent idea! Electrics don’t just look cool, they ARE cool! You’ll love it! Try plenty and really take time to think about how it feels under your fingers, what the neck’s like and, most importantly, how epic it looks! Enjoy shopping!
Hi Amy,
How good that you start an LL and share things, this way you get great tips that you can use well I hope you take JK’s advice to heart. I wish you lots of fun and a fantastic learning curve,
Greetings,Rogier
Hi Amy, good you started your learning log. You are already receiving good advice. Different people learn at different paces. Spending the right time with each lesson will help you to build a stronger foundation than covering a lot of material without consolidating it.
Ok so it’s been 12 days and I’ve moved onto module 2 of grade 2 and things are going well, I’ve posted a video of me playing good riddance, Beginner's safe space - #538 by amytherockstar I’ve improved at being able to play it since then and yeah time for module 2!
I’ve started looking at guitars online, I am going to buy a new one next weekend!!!
That was a short update to the log,
Goodbye for now and have a nice day!
Good idea to maintain the Log, Amy. Useful to keep a record.
And for your future reference plus others who are interested and maybe missed it, you can always include a link to the post with the recording. Simply copy and paste that in here, either to the post in AVOYP or YT: Beginner's safe space - #538 by amytherockstar
The fun sure does begin when one starts to look. If possible I’d encourage you to go to a store and try out different models. You want to find the right combination of playability, aesthetic appeal, and sound, which can be be difficult when you have limited knowledge and experience of guitars.
Ok so I haven’t updated this in a while…
I now have my electric guitar which I got on the 25th of feburary and I am now 16 finally!
I turned 16 like a month ago but still anyway here’s my guitar
So since I last updated my log I have gotten to 53 hours of practice total and I am now up to grade 2 module 13.
I only just started the blues guitar module but so far it has been really fun!
It was also fun learning power chords, last module I learnt american idiot, smells like teen spirit, anarchy in the UK and basket case and they worked really well on my new electric guitar!
If you have taken time out of your day to read this thank you! I hope you have a good rest of your day!
Sounds like you’re on the right track! I’m currently working on a cover of smells like teen spirit so I know how fun those power chords can be. Awesome looking electric guitar.
). Great to hear your going to consolidate for a couple of weeks though, that sounds like a wise move 
Enjoy shopping! 
