Richard 42 from Kent UK

Hi all,
Pleased to meet you all! I’m new to this whole journey. Had a few lessons at school 30 years a go but lost interest. I wanted to learn and play a cool electric guitar but when my father bought me an acoustic because “it sounds better” I lost all enthusiasm. A choice I have regretted for years!
I have remedied the guitar issue now though… I still have my old accoustic but I now have my red strat that I always wanted, and to my wife’s dismay 2 les Paul’s. Whoop
So this January I decided to start my journey again. It is fun but so frustrating when you don’t pick up as quickly as you once could! I have the app and have been working through that and moved on modules as I have got to the points suggested but think I may have advanced through them a little quickly. I have started level 3 but feeling a little out of my depth…. Barre chords are a bit of a struggle too.
We will get there. I know I am just wanting to much to quickly. I try to get at least 30 mins a night but I had 4 months where I couldn’t do any and it set me back!

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Hi Richard and welcome to the Community!

Go at your own pace, even back track or stick on a certain module / lesson a little longer to feel happy before trucking on again.

You’ll get amazing support here and most of all have fun!

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Hi Richard. A warm welcome to the community. Yes, eight months to go through to Grade 3 seems a bit fast but everyone picks it up and struggles with things differently.

No harm in taking a pause, going back through the lessons, identifying what you need to work on, consolidating those aspects before progressing further.

Wish you all the beat with your guitar adventure.

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Hi Richard and welcome to the Community! Don’t be in a hurry, enjoy your journey, the time you spend with your guitar every-single-day…well being is key when learning something new! Go as much slow as to be able to say: “oh! I did great today!” See you around :blush:

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Hi Richard, welcome to the community. I totally understand your urge to rush through the lessons. Maybe try slowing it down a bit and really enjoying the small achievements made along the way.

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Welcome to the forum Richard

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Welcome. Great advice here on the community. Just be sure to watch technique and beat those small problemsi to submission. I occasionally go back to previous modules and lessons. It’s all good. Glad you joined a d hope your journey is great.

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Thank you all! And thank you for the welcome!
I appreciate the feedback

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Welcome to the community. Great to hear from you. Try setting a smaller target. Say maybe 10 minutes a day. If you do more, that’s great, but if not you still keep your hand in it.

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Hi Richard, welcome to the community! Take your time to learn and consolidate skills. I’m sure, it’s paying off on the long run. Try to enjoy the way through the courses. Every single step of progressing is worth it to be patient. Think, most of us had to learn that at a certain point. Good luck and have fun!

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Hello Richard, so nice that you decided to become a member of this wonderful community :hugs:. It’s a very friendly and supportive place :grinning:.

In the beginning, I also felt a bit in a rush, but after finnishing some modules, I realised, that this is a journey and no race. So I slowed down a lot and spent quite a long time with consolidating grade 1. For me, it was definitely the right decision :slightly_smiling_face:.

I wish you lots of fun with your six-string-friend - even if it’s just some minutes a day :blush:.

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Welcome Richard. It took me a lot longer than you to get started and yes everything seems difficult at first but it gets easier…

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Thank you all for the advice and positivity!!

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Welcome Richard, nice posse of guitars you have :star_struck: like you I moved on a little too quickly without consolidating properly, it’s served me well taking a few steps back. Enjoy your journey :smiley:

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Hi Richard,
Welcome and i wish you a lot of fun,… :sunglasses:
Follow the course slowly and steadily then you will be an intermediate before you know it, and occasionally look a bit further in the course and taste other lessons and then certainly the modules that you prefer music is quite okay and keep it fun for the impatient … not that I did that :lying_face:
Greetings,Rogier

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Hello Richard and welcome to the community.
Your story is a familiar one to many around here - started, back in time, lost interest, regrets etc.
With your new lease of life and Justin’s lessons, and this community too, you should be fine.
A word of caution, which others have noted.
Consolidation is key and allowing yourself time to assimilate the learning and bed it in is crucial for long term dividends.
If you’re using the App but not the website lessons [ here ] then I suggest you are missing out on a lot of essential content. Written content that accompanies the lessons, practice tips, song suggestions and even the My Practice Routine tool Justin has created.
Cheers
Richard

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Hello and welcome to our community Richard. :slight_smile:

Ahhh yes, that not progressing as quickly as we like is a bit of an annoyance but remember, slow and steady wins the race.

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Hi Richard,
Thanks for this.
Yes I had been using the lessons in the app as opposed to the site, I only started to look through the site when I had finished the modules on the app. I thought I had finished them as I felt I had achieved the criteria, my changes numbered high enough etc. however I see after finding grade 3 perhaps I’m not strong enough yet. As you rightly point out I have not only been going through the videos on the site but reading the accompanying text which isn’t on the app. I think maybe this is where I was made more aware that I still suck lol. I’m getting there I guess, and I’m determined to be a guitarist ( for pleasure and family not a career) and I’m aware it’s a long journey…. Just frustrating when you realise that you hadn’t come as far as you thought. My few months with little practice made a big difference. Trying to dedicate more time again.

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Welcome, Richard! Glad you were able to come back to the guitar after all those years! Hope you are enjoying the wonderful journey toward learning guitar better :blush: