3 years and 3 months into my guitar journey I decided to put together a little compilation of some of the many songs that I have been working on played to backing tracks that I found on youtube. Some of the video’s in this compilation I have posted here before. This video gives a pretty good idea of where I am currently at with my playing. Some of these songs are songs that I learned through Justin’s lessons and some I have learned from other resources. It’s worth pointing out that up until now I have only ever played by myself and never ‘live’ to an audience although next week I am meeting up with a guitar playing friend of mine who has been a mentor to me since I started for an all day guitar jam. Can’t wait!!
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Good idea to produce such a compilation so you can get a sense of your progress, Malcolm.
Given the intent of AVOYP, which is usually performance of single songs or recordings of riffs etc learned in the various modules to receive feedback, I suggest you start a Learning Log in #community-hub:learning-logs. I think this video would fit the guidelines for that category better.
If you are comfortable, then I’m happy to take care of that with this Topic as your first entry?
I think I have commented on some of your recordings previously and haven’t viewed the video, so no further feedback from me of that nature.
Enjoy the jam!
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@DavidP Thanks for the reply to my post.
Apologies for posting this in the wrong section. I’ve been around here for a while but still getting used to the various sections. Yes, please go ahead and create a learning log for me as you suggested.
Many Thanks,
Malcolm
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No apologies, needed Malcolm. Nothing wrong with posting recordings in AVOYP, I am being a little rigorous and also thinking it will be cool if you build on this topic over time as you progress.
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No worries. I will have to check out some of the other learning logs to get an idea of the kind of stuff that other folks are posting.
As I have just started this learning log I thought it might be a good idea to link to my introduction post.
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After 3 years and 4 months of playing, my friend and one of my guitar teachers, ( The other being Justin of course) came over for an all day Jam session with me yesterday. It was he who helped me choose my first guitar and got me started with some skype and zoom sessions. He was also the person who recommended Justin’s beginner course to me when I started. He is an experienced guitarist, plays in a band and has taught guitar in the past, but unfortunately because of the distance between where we live we have been unable to actually get together to play…until now.
So, yesterday we played for 6 hours, with just a half hour break to grab something to eat. This was the first time that I had played with another guitar player and I was truly blown away by the experience. Honestly, I am still buzzing from it now!!
In this video he is teaching me how to play ‘Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones. He is out of shot but can be heard shouting out the chords and giving me hints and tips as we played.
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Hi Malcolm,
Nice that you have that amazing feeling and afterglow experience 
…days like this probably give you a huge learning spurt
And how good that you put something on video, you will look back on it with great pleasure
Greetings,Rogier
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I thought that I would post to my learning log another big milestone in my guitar journey.
Justin has mentioned a few times in his beginner course how playing with other musicians is a great way to accelerate the learning process, but up until May of this year when I got to meet up with my guitar teacher/mentor for an all day jam (see video above) I hadn’t had an opportunity to do so living as I do in a rural village. I was chatting recently with my teacher/ mentor and he told me that I am at the stage now where I need to try and get to play with other musicians to help me make that big step from beginner to intermediate level. Coincidentally, the day after this chat I spotted a post on my local community Facebook page that a guy in my village was starting a weekly music group, all instruments & abilities welcome, playing rock and pop covers. This guy , who also plays guitar, invited me round to his home a week ago to play some guitar and choose some songs that the group could play. We had a great time and although he is a much better and more experienced player than I am he was interested in my ideas and even asked me how I was playing some of the riffs to songs in my repertoire. Fast forward to yesterday and I attended my first group meeting. There was just us two guitar players, a ukulele player, a very good lady singer who used to sing in a band and a guy tapping out rhythm on a make shift drum. A bit of a quiet start I know, but we had a real blast making music and I got a buzz from it I can tell you. Hopefully this group can grow (there are others that couldn’t make this meeting but said they would come to the next one), and hopefully this will really help me to improve as a guitar player.
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I notice that it’s been more than 2 years since I last updated my learning log, so I thought it was about time I gave a little update on my progress on guitar.
The newly formed music group that I mentioned in my last post has really taken off and it has evolved into a 6 piece rock and pop covers band. We have played several gigs at local venues which has been massive for me in terms of confidence playing in front of an audience and playing in a band situation.
I play rhythm guitar in the band but having two other more experienced guitarists in the band has certainly helped me progress as well as cover up my shortcomings. I am having a blast but, honestly, I am really ‘punching above my weight’ with the band. Could I step up if one of the other guitarists had to drop out? Honestly, probably not, but I have enjoyed the ride so far.
So, away from the band, how is my overall guitar journey/ Education coming along?
Well, prior to joining the music group/band I had pretty much reached the end of Justin’s beginner grades, albeit with areas of the beginner course that needed work, and probably still needs work, but pretty much all of my guitar time now is taken up with practicing songs / learning new songs for the band.
It is coming up to 6 years since I started playing guitar and I do want to start exploring other areas of guitar, such as lead guitar and with this in mind I am going to be revisiting the minor pentatonic scale and I shall be trying to set aside a bit of time to follow Justin’s blues lead guitar course.
I also bought a years subscription to Justin’s practical music theory course which has just expired. I will not be renewing at this moment as I need to focus on other areas of guitar for now.
Wishing you all the very best in your guitar journeys for 2026.
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