Hi, I’m Lauren from Seoul, South Korea and New York, USA.
I am a 16-year-old high schooler who started learning on JustinGuitar 8 months ago. I got into wanting to learn guitar after a lifetime of wanting to learn an instrument and recently being introduced to rock music, via Courtney Love’s band Hole and their incredible album “Live Through This”
I am progressing a little slowly, as I am still in Module 2 of the Beginner course, but I am still proud to say that I do practice each day! Excited to learn and experiment!
Welcome Lauren this is the time you are young so keep playing every day even if it is just picking the guitar up for 5 minutes and strumming a few chords just do it, and good luck with your guitar journey cheers Hec
Hi Lauren ,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun
Wow 16 years young and then finding Justininguitar , great and then there is certainly no such thing as to slow… slow is good, slow and steady for a lifetime of fun and good playing the guitar …
welcome Lauren you are the right age to absorb and learn quicker than some of us old Uns but don`t give up I know life gets in the way, nights out,clubbing,etc but little and often is good and you can impress all those people you have yet to meet in later years.how cool would it be to just drop into a future conversation “yeah I play guitar”
You are at an amazing age to be learning guitar. I wish I would have found my passion for it when I was 16! Also, please don’t worry about the pace that you are learning. Everyone is different. As long as you are picking up the guitar and practicing consistently, that’s the important thing.
I’m a HUGE fan of Hole/Courtney Love too! She’s definitely one of my rock idols.
Welcome again and feel free to ask questions if you ever feel stuck.
Welcome to the community! It’s so cool you’ve started early, and with the right teacher! Enjoy the ride and ask for help whenever needed. The JGC is very helpful!
Hey Lauren–wish I’d picked it up at your age. I’d a been rocking for a half century by now…
This is a lifetime skill that will bring you joy and to those around you (plus, you’ve already gotten past the painful finger stage).
Keep it up! If you feel stuck, bored, listless, feel free to reach out to this community–it is a very deep well from which you can drink.
One suggestion that I keep hearing from the list: Make regular recordings of yourself as you go along.
You may think you’re stuck, but if you go back to and look at earlier recordings, everyone says you’ll be rocked by your growth…
Hi Lauren, don’t worry about being slow, if anything it’s better that way - it means that you are going through the course thoroughly, that’s very important in the early stages as it’s your foundation for your future guitar journey.
Just have fun and enjoy the experience and don’t be impatient with your progress, no two people are the same, there is no benchmark for learning!
It is important to record yourself periodically so that you can see your own progress, also when you feel confident enough to post something on here for us to be able to see how you’re doing and give support and encouragement to you. Honestly it will improve your confidence a lot as time passes, it will open up a different world to you!
Thanks so much for all the support! I can’t belive I’ve been on JG for 8 months now and never even looked at the community forum lol… The amount of encouragement has been overwhelming! It’s also so cool to find another Hole fan
Thanks so much for the advice! I have been recording myself, but most of the times I delete the ones that don’t sound great and end up doing a million takes even though it’s not like I’m going to share them publicly or something. This is something I’ve been trying to get over since it will show my actual progress along the way. Good luck to you as well!
Now you have a reason to keep those short videos that are not “perfect”.
Less anxiety about getting the perfect video (you don’t have to share with anyone!), less time spent getting the perfect video, and (from my perspective) the added advantage is that it makes it easier to see the improvement in the next video (as you noted). And you’ve helped me too: where I’m a member of the old toot generation, I never take a video of myself.
So, how do you store store/organize your videos?: by date, by subject, in their own directory, in your photo album, in a big pile somewhere (see, I grew up when movies were physical objects, not digital, and they needed to be put somewhere).
Hi Lauren. Learning a little each day and progressing slowly is all fine.
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.
That is plenty to be going on with. It is a vast community space so if you need help as you find your way around just ask.
Cheers. Richard
| Approved Teacher, Official Guide & Community Moderator |
, great and then there is certainly no such thing as to slow… slow is good, slow and steady for a lifetime of fun and good playing the guitar … 
She’s definitely one of my rock idols.
