Very much a beginner (about 3 months in) about 2/3 through module 1. Im still very much practicing and working on the skills covered in module 1 and I have a long way to go but I also feel like I’ve covered a lot of ground too. I occasionally find myself “messing around” and I’ll figure out something that’s not anything I got from JustinGuitar. Question is, what do you guys/girls think about venturing out on your own? Do you think I should stick to strictly staying on track with JustinGuitar or is it ok to pick up a couple of new things from other sources, but always have a home to come back to with JustinGuitar? Just wondering what other people are doing.
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imho, it’s a good idea.
Your thinking outside the box of what you’ve been taught. That to me, is a step towards making/playing music.
Assuming ya keep coming back to the lesson (to learn some more) where ya dropped off at. And keep moving fwd. with the lessons. I’ll guess your outside the box will get better and better. And, I’ll guess your lessons you’ve already got under your belt will get better and better sounding too.
imho, it seems your on a good path to me.
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Hi George,
Funny that you ask and I happen to be reading 2 topics in a row … first yours and then this great tip Rick gives to someone… I can totally agree with this…
Comment from Rick
you need to start somewhere and stick with it.
If you’re following Justin’s beginner course stick to Justin’s beginner course. It’s the best course on the internet and you’ll learn a lot fast follow 1 course at the beginning of you journey and not bouncing all over the internet looking for answer.
There are no real answers just opinions.
Greetings ,Rogier
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I definitely think it’s a good idea to explore more widely. Not every instructor teaches every topic in a way that will necessarily resonate with you. Especially when you’re talking about pre-recorded lessons. Live and in-person, the instructor has a chance to adapt the lesson to the students, but in pre-recorded lessons that’s not really an option. For live online lessons, that’s a big maybe. For some they will, and others not so much. Just depends on how they’re structured (and also how many students are following live).
I get stuff from Justin, from other online lessons, from in-person instructors, from friends who also play guitar or even other instruments, and some things I’ve even figured out on my own. I’ve even tried books and they mostly don’t resonate with me…but I’ve still picked up a little bit from those, too. They’re all valid ways to learn and you’ll find what works best for you.
That said, bouncing around with no direction can be detrimental, too. Gotta watch out for that. For me, I try to avoid that by having some larger goals in mind and continuing to work towards those things. Right now my progress in specific lessons is pretty slow. I’m in Justin’s Grade 2 and have been working on some Grade 2 songs. I’m currently preparing some stuff for an open mic performance with a couple other people, so I’m making a point NOT to move on in Grade 2 just yet. I started taking the Solo Blues course awhile back and on that I’m also not pushing myself hard to complete lessons. I’m mostly just working on repetition of what I’ve done so far. slowly introducing a new lesson in that one without taking away from the other stuff I’m doing. I purchased Justin’s Strumming SOS, also. That’s one that I’m also not trying to just push through the material. I work on a few lessons and then spend a lot of time on songs just working on using those things I learned.
And like I said, I use other sources, too. Haven’t had a private instructor for awhile now, but I think I want to start back up, as I have some things in mind that I want that in-person help learning.
I feel like I should also point out that I am strongly averse to too much structure in my guitar lessons. If I don’t have the freedom to move on to something I enjoy, then I’ll stop playing completely. I’ll sit there and do the repetitive drills I need to do for a spell, but I need to step away and just do what feels good after that. Most “practice tools” fall under that onerous structure category for me.
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I agree with this. Branching out is good and bad at the same time.
On one hand it shows you have a curious mind, on the other hand it shows you have attention issues, just like all of us 
. I think Justin says many times in a lot of different lessons something to the effect of ‘what is the point if you are not making music’. That is where the “noodling” can fit in really well. BUT, one thing I learned after a lot of playing, is that there is a difference between playing and practice.
In order to get the best of both worlds, I allow myself time to play / noodle, but only after I have put in the time to practice. When I sit down with guitar I try to break up my time into thirds, so if I had 45 minutes:
- I would take the first 15 minutes to actually practice (with a metronome) things that need work (timing, finger accuracy, triads, whatever),
- the next 15 minutes I try to dedicate to songs (whether learning new songs or ones I already know) and
- the last 15 minutes I am a bit more flexible, if I am having a good time with songs, I might continue, or branch out into something more creative like “noodling” I also try to focus my “tone chasing” in here. I rarely use any fx in practice, I do use pedals for songs etc. but this is where I would play with knobs and switches.
Note that I generally would not "practice for more than 20 minutes (I feel like that is sufficient for a day), so on the rare occasion where I had an hour or more, I would use more time “playing”.
Hope that helps!
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I think eventually it’s good to branch out and find something of your own way but if you’re still in module 1 that might be too early. Module 1 is the time for really getting solid fundamentals and time spent on other things might just be a distraction from what’s important in the early days. I get it - the early stuff isn’t particularly exciting but it’s necessary and once you start dividing your practice time then those fundamentals will often suffer. Clearly I don’t know what other stuff you’re looking at, maybe it’s all good just don’t let it be a distraction. You can easily find yourself in a position of being able to play lots of bits and pieces but nothing of substance
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Joining with my 2 cents here …
The first two grades in Justin’s course are super structured, with a lot of guidance and hand-holding that is excellent, especially if you’re coming into the field fresh, with no prior musical experience (as it was my case). If that’s where you are as well, I’d suggest completing at least the first two grades (and taking your time, not rushing it) before you decide where to branch off too.
After grade two the course becomes a bit more open and you have to start accessing where you want to go and which skills to master. There’s less hand-holding and more of an expectation of building your own path.
I did that myself with grades 1 and 2, and learned a lot from it; now I’m intermixing the main JG course with a bit of PMT (Practical Music Theory) and a in-person sessions with a tutor. And in my wish list I have a goal of being ready to join BLIM (Blues Immersion) in maybe a year or so - still some fundamentals to learn before that.
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I use Justin’s course for structure, but I do listen to a few othersvalso like Lauren Bateman. I tried somone else first when I first started hutvit was just chord after chord and I wasn’t really learning anything
Had to start from scratch with Justin 's course. I did get his tabs and it helps.
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