I’m Rohit, playing guitar for about 2 years in the Apex/Wake Forest, NC area. I just discovered Justin’s teaching and wow - wish I’d found this 3 years ago!
Why I’m Here:
My previous teacher had zero structure. Just “let’s learn this random thing today” with no roadmap. I can play some songs, but I have no idea what I actually know vs what I’m missing.
Then I tried a new teacher who taught me 4 modes in the first lesson and asked me to memorize them all. I felt like I was drowning!
Read the Motivation Club #28 article about having a “North Star” and building your guitar path, and it clicked - I need to own this journey and build the foundation properly.
A Bit About Me:
Love Bollywood/Hindi music (that’s mostly what I play)
Also into soft rock - Hotel California is my jam
Full-time Business Analyst so practice time is precious
Active Toastmaster, so I appreciate structured learning paths
Want to understand music, not just mechanically play songs
Where I Need Help:
I honestly don’t know what grade to start at. I can play some songs, but my teacher never taught me theory, scales properly, or how to think about music. Should I swallow my pride and start at Grade 1? Or assess myself at Grade 3-4?
Also - anyone else here play Bollywood or non-Western music? Would love to connect and share how you balance that with Justin’s curriculum!
Really grateful this community exists. Looking forward to actually having a clear path forward!
Hi Rohit. Welcome.
Start at grade 1. You will be able to skip through many of the early lessons. But you might stumble across some useful information which your previous teachers may not have covered. I started playing over 40 years ago and recently relearned the beginner course as a refresher, it was worth doing.
Welcome to the Community, Rohit
It sounds like you were unlucky with your first two guitar teacher choices, but third time lucky, eh? You hit the jackpot!
Drop the toastmastering to free up guitar playing opportunities
I’m not familiar with Bollywood/Hindi music, but this is my current favourite ‘Indian’ flavoured sound
Yes, it is a shame that there are so many bad guitar teachers, some ignorant and don`t know this is not the way, but some hoping to easily rake in money…
You have now come to the right one
Welcome to JG, I have restarted guitar 4 times in my life, last time in Aug 2024, when I discovered JustinGuitar I went to Grade1 and worked through grades from there, I and now on Grade 4 and doing Blues Immersion. Even though I did 2 years Music Performance course at college +20 years ago there were various things I had forgotten or could no longer do, and some I had never learnt. I would recommend you do JG’s Grades from 1 and do not rush make sure you are good on all aspects.
As you said you liked Bollywood, I thought about this one, which you possibly know, it is a favourite of mine.
Welcome to the community Rohit! I agree with Chris, start at the beginning. You may discover new ways to play, how to play an ‘A’ comes to mind. Have fun!
Welcome to the community Rohit! Enjoy your guitar journey
Like others said, start with Grade 1, there are likely to be lots of tips on technique, dynamics, how to learn, how to practice etc through all the early grades.
I owe my wife a Bollywood song or three, so happy to chat about that outside this thread!
Welcome to the community. I have a brother who lives near Kenly also in NC. And have done plenty of business analysis in I.T. And a fair bit of public speaking. Yay.
I’d encourage you to come up with a clear goal as part of your guitar learning. A specific goal that you’ll know when you’ve reached it.
Hi Rohit, welcome to the community. I agree with everyone, start at grade 1. I played open chords and strumming guitar for 40 years before Justin, but I still started at grade 1, since there were a few things that I could improve with my strumming, even though I knew all the chords. It will also give you practice in learning to play songs.
I’m from Raleigh, NC, so I had to smile at the Apex/Wake Forest, NC area in your post. I guess those are two places you have lived, since Wake Forest is north of Raleigh and Apex is southwest of Raleigh. Also, I know that Morrisville west of Raleigh has a large ( > 10,000 ?) Hindi (or South Asian) population (and a minor league cricket team and a Diwali festival (EDIT: and Wake Forest and other locations too I see online)) so you may have also spent some time there
Welcome to our Community Rohit! I once bumped into a Bollywood show with dances and it was spectacular! I suggest you take the time to check the grades and decide which lessons to skip and which you need to work on so that you have an idea of what good fundamentals are.
Hello Rohit.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and this fantastic community. Please take your time to look around and get to know the wider space. View by Categories.
We are a supportive and encouraging group of students and guitarists from across the world. Essentially, we are all here for music and to improve as players. We truly are a ‘community’. Members help and support one another and a friendly, positive attitude underpins this. We hope that all - young or old, experienced or new players - adopt and foster the pay-it-forward ethos that Justin personifies and embedded all those years ago when he started the website and forum.
Also, please make sure to read the Community Etiquette announcement for some important information and guidance.
If you want to record yourself to show your progress and / or seek feedback there is our ever popular Community Recordings section.
Behind the scenes there is a small and dedicated team who work to make the JustinGuitar experience as good as it can be. Check out the Onboarding sessions provided by Fanny.
Justin also has a small group of Approved Teachers he recommends for people wanting 1-to-1 lessons to supplement his courses - of which I am privileged to be one.
