Beginner Grade 1 Time to completion

For me it was about 6 months also. However I do believe you really can’t go to slow but you could move to fast.

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I think I did grade 1 in around 2 months, maybe a bit longer.

Depends how much practice you do though, and how quickly you pick things up. Make sure you pass all the graduation requirements before moving on.

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Its not a race.

If you work, have a family etc you are not going to put in the same amount of hours as a teenager can etc.

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It takes however long it takes…
Don’t sweat over time…
Sweat over technique & retention.

I did Grade 1 twice & am now doing Grade 2 for the 2nd time @ 2 years with Justin.
What’s cool is when people recognize what you’re playing or ask if you know a song & you can actually play it (easy chords & strumming maybe…) from memory!!!
Good luck & keep it fun!!!

Tod

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@DSC1755 You have a lot of good answers and I can’t give you a definitive answer because I’ve been an open chord strummer for many years before I started Justin’s classic course. But even when I started again with the new Grade 1, I still spent a couple of months on the lessons and I’m still continuing to learn new songs at the Grade 1 level. Give yourself time to learn a lot of songs at the Grade 1 level, especially in the website song lessons. If you have fun playing songs, you will also be improving your chord changing skills.

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I wonder if I’m going too fast I’m on module 4 of G1 after 2 weeks.

Hi @Metro07, you’re going pretty fast😊 Wether it’s too fast or not really depends on you. Previous experience, dexterity, sense of rhythm, … all vary from one person to another and influence the speed with which one can learn to play guitar. Not to mention the amount of time invested. If you’re comfortable with everything you’ve learned so far and met the criteria set out by Justin at the end of each module, you should be fine. If you’re still struggling with certain aspects, keep them in your practice routine until you feel fine with it, but if you start stacking up stuff that’s still a bit iffy, consider slowing down and maybe even returning to certain modules/lessons until you have the techniques under you belt. The first grades are really about building a string foundation, so it’s very important to master these. So take your time, but you don’t have to hang around if you feel you’re up to speed.

@Metro07 the easiest way to figure out if you’re going to fast is ask yourself.
Can I play any songs using the chords A D E using 1 down strum per bar?
If the answer is No it’s time to slow down and work on a few simple songs.

Well, I practice 30-40 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week, and I “finished” Grade 1 in about 7 months. Grade 2 took about 1 year. Grade 3 took about 1.5 years, plus 6 months for consolidation.

YMMV

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I have been going for a few years. Just on the start of grade 2. But went back over grade one before I started 2. I still do not consider I know any songs and am just starting to practice singing and playing. But I can play 12 bar blues in a couple of keys using different strumming patterns with 7th chords from memory including turnarounds. Not sure if that counts as songs. I can also make up my own songs in a couple keys. I also can solo over backing tracks using the a minor pentatonic scale though I don’t know any official licks. Not sure if that counts either but I definitely am having fun with that. I’m getting better at playing along with the app to more complicated songs and I can make the f maj barre chord quite well on electric guitar. I am starting be able to change from open D chord to f barre and f barre to c major open. And my wife and I just play along together to songs on the app. But 12 bar blues we can do together from memory.

Just keep going and have fun as much as possible

Great information…Thank You!!

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Thanks for sharing…thank you for the encouragement