In a hurry?  

So eager to learn that you haven’t got time to read the whole article? Here’s a breakdown of the key skills and the estimated time it’ll take to master them.  

Before you start…  

There are a few things to hammer out before picking up your guitar. First, you’ll want to define what exactly your goal is. Is learning the guitar a fun hobby on the side? Or is it part of professional ambitions to play in a band? Maybe a guitar has randomly made its way into your hands, and you feel compelled to give it a whirl. 

Whatever your reasons, your goals will help you map out a time and suitable practice methods, which leads me on to my next point: how will you learn? With a vague idea of how much time you’ll need to dedicate each day, you can find the right resources.

You can find a tonne of content online via YouTube and websites such as Jazz Guitar Online (one of my personal favourites), but if you want super-tailored teaching, it’s a good idea to invest in a personal tutor.  

Learning from resources online is great if your schedule changes regularly. Say you can only practise in the early hours of the morning or late at night, I doubt a personal tutor will be able to facilitate lessons. Using YouTube or online resources lets you learn anywhere, anytime, and at a much cheaper cost.  

Once you have an idea of time frame and practice preferences, you can start looking at the actual skills you’ll need to learn along your journey…  

How long does it take to learn guitar?

Basic level (1 – 6 months)

Key skills

• Accurate fretting  
• Open chords  
• One-string riffs  

It can take up to six months to become truly proficient at basic guitar skills if you were to practise 30 minutes to an hour every day.

The ability to fret accurately is crucial to every aspect of guitar-playing. While it might seem tedious, learning scales and getting to know where notes are located on the fretboard will lay the foundation for pretty much everything you’ll ever play.

A common learning curve at the beginning of every guitarist’s journey is simply getting used to pressing down on the frets with enough precision and power to avoid the nasty note-killing buzz.  

Once you’re used to the feel and you can fret with a degree of confidence, you can take your fingers to more awkward positions by practising open chords (chords that use one or more open strings). I recommend E major, D major, and G major to begin with. Once you’re used to these chords, they’ll feel like second nature. These basic open chords will also let you take on some easy country songs.  

You’ll also learn how to lay down some easy riffs. “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, and “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath are all great places to start. 

Intermediate level (6 months – 2 years)

Key skills

• Barre chords  
• Slides, pull-offs, hammer-ons  
• Alternate picking  

At an intermediate level, you’ll start creating a style of your own; this can take up to two years with 1 – 1.5 hours’ daily practice.

Alternate picking and barre chords open the door to more complex songs than you would have learnt at the entry-level stage. Barre chords involve using one finger like a capo, pressing down on multiple strings while your other fingers shape the other notes of the chord. It can be tricky to master, but once you find the sweet spot on the barring finger, you’ll have a whole wealth of chords at your fingertips (literally).

One of the best methods I’ve found when learning barre chords is to play along to a song that uses them. A particularly good example is “Hotel California” by The Eagles. 

Other intermediate skills, such as alternate picking, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs, all improve your lead playing, unlike rhythm-focused barre chords. Getting these skills down really lets you spice up your solos, riffs, and licks, making for expressive, fluid playing across the fretboard. After you’ve got the basics, these skills shouldn’t take too long if you practise consistently.  

Advanced level (2 – 5 years)

Key skills

• Sweep picking  
• Pinch harmonics  
• Hybrid picking  

Every new guitarist has heard these techniques and dreamt of the day they’d be able to pull them off. Sweep picking, heard in most metal tracks, involves what it says on the tin. You sweep your pick up and down the strings in a fast and fluid motion, often following an arpeggio pattern to achieve a superhuman level of speed.  

Likewise, hybrid picking is about playing a flurry of notes to achieve a fast and fluid sound. This one’s often heard in country music – listening to legends like Chet Atkins and Albert Lee will give you a good grasp of what this technique should sound like.

Nailing these picking styles takes a high level of correspondence between your fretting and your picking hand. It’ll take more than a few years to get them on lock.  

Pinch harmonics make your guitar squeal, and they require a feel for the guitar that can only be achieved after hours upon hours of playing. To play pinch harmonics, pick the string in a downstroke motion and immediately follow by lightly grazing the string with your thumb.   

Professional level (5+ years)

Key skills 

• Mastery over a range of playing styles 
• Confidence in improvising in any key 
• Thorough theoretical knowledge  

Reaching a professional level of guitar playing means you’ll be able to make a career out of what you love, whether that’s as a session musician, a solo artist, or a tutor. Reaching these heights doesn’t happen overnight; it takes years of practice and commitment.  

When you’re playing at a professional level, you’ll be able to adapt to different playing styles easily, like speaking different languages. While you might excel at one genre more than others, you’ll be able to let rip and match rhythm at a moment’s notice – this is what makes session musicians so valuable!  

What’s more, as a pro, you’ll be confident when it comes to composing your own work in the studio or improvising during live performances – legends like Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour are just two great improvisers when it comes to conjuring legendary leads on the fly.

You’ll have no problem knocking out a mean solo out of the blue or adapting to any key on demand.  

Many professionals (most definitely tutors and session musicians) also have a deep understanding of music theory. While it’s not necessarily essential, theoretical knowledge can be very useful.

Our tips for learning guitar

1. Take your time 

As much as you might want to reach the pinnacle of guitar playing within a week, good things take time. It’s important not to rush your way through the many skills that come with learning guitar. Start slow and get a complete grasp on those techniques before speeding things up. 

2. Stick to a schedule  

Whether it’s a rough sketch or a detailed timetable, it’s super helpful to keep to a schedule when learning guitar. Knowing that you’ve got time to practise is half the battle when it comes to learning, so planning when those practice sessions can be will keep you motivated.

3. Stay passionate

What’s your reason for learning the guitar? As recommended earlier, setting out your goals will help you structure your practice and get you to where you want to be. It’s also a good idea to consistently visualise these goals to keep the fire burning when things get difficult!

Putting too much pressure on yourself can make you lose sight of your love for the guitar. Just listening to your favourite artists or playing your favourite pieces is enough to keep that spark ignited.   

4. Get experimental 

I get it, you might have a specific style that you want to achieve. I used to be guilty of playing nothing but blues. However, it can be really helpful to explore different genres and tones. This helps you diversify your style and unlock new techniques. So, try that whacky pedal, master the Phrygian scale, and alternate your tuning!   

5. Play along with others  

Solitary practice sessions are great when you’re just starting out, but when you get to the intermediate or advanced levels, it’s important to play with others, whether that’s in person or playing along to backing tracks.

Not only does this expose you to different styles, but it also gets you used to rhythm and timing. Most of the time, music is a collective endeavour, so playing with others is bound to happen at some point.  

How to organise your practice session  

Organising your practice session effectively makes learning much easier. First, you’ll want to warm up. It’s up to you how you do this. I like to improvise and play whatever I feel like in the moment, running through my favourite chords or lead lines. Playing something you’re super familiar with is also a good warm-up.  

You should then practise a few scales and strumming patterns as a short extra warm-up. Then, you’re ready to move on to the pieces of material you want to practice. If it’s super technical, it helps to break the technique or piece of music down into smaller chunks, e.g. if you’re learning sweep picking, start with the motion of one hand, go slowly, and gradually match up the motion of both hands in time. 

Repeat things over again to really hone the skill. And don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get things perfect in just one practice session.

At the end, play a song you love. It doesn’t have to be difficult, just something that you enjoy and keeps you passionate about learning the guitar.

What is the 10,000-hour rule?  

Playing guitar, like many other hobbies and skills, is said to be subject to the “10,000-hour rule”. The rule states that it takes around 10,000 hours to become an expert in a field. It comes from the work of psychologist K. Anders Ericsson and his research on “deliberate practice,” where he studied expert violinists and found that their talent came from over 10,000 hours of practice.

Yes, you read that right… Following this rule, to become a professional guitarist, you’d have to practice for approximately 10,000 hours. That’s 417 days’ worth of hours or three hours a day for 3,333 days, which sounds incredibly daunting at first.

However, we use the term “rule” very lightly. There is nothing to say that practising for 10,000 hours and becoming a master guitarist are directly linked; you could play for 10,000 hours but repeat the same thing over and over again. However, we can infer that the more you play, the more proficient you’ll be.

What really matters, though, is the quality of the practice and ensuring that you’re challenging yourself and learning efficiently. Plus, when you’ve been playing for long enough, you tend to lose track of how long you’ve been playing for.  

Breaks are important!  

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – don’t try and do everything at once. Take your time, be patient with yourself and accept that some skills, songs, and techniques simply take longer to master than others. Giving yourself adequate breaks ensures you properly rest between sessions. Trying the same thing repeatedly without success can be incredibly frustrating, and coming back with a fresh mindset might be all you need.  

Practising for hours at a time is not only physically taxing on your fingers and wrists, but also on your ears and mind. Returning to whatever it is you’re learning after a break offers a chance to reset and regain control, and you’ll often find things much easier after a period of processing and reflection. The city of rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t built in a day.  

Recommended beginner guitars  

Now that you know how long it takes to learn guitar, it’s time to start looking for a beginner guitar that suits you.   

FAQs   

Can I learn guitar in 3 months?

You can learn basic guitar techniques and songs within three months if you practise consistently and develop an effective learning strategy. While there are tonnes to learn on guitar that can’t be conquered in three months, you can achieve some of the basics.  

Is 30 too late to learn guitar?  

It’s never too late to learn an instrument, and the guitar is no exception. Picking up a guitar at 30 can actually be really beneficial. It’s a great distraction from everyday stress, it’s fun and creative (something as adults we might not get to enjoy often), and there’s always something new to learn.  

Can you self-teach guitar?  

It’s definitely possible to teach yourself guitar – many of the most acclaimed guitarists to ever exist have been self-taught, such as Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. What’s more, today there’s an abundance of resources online to support self-learning, one YouTube search will take you down a rabbit hole of guitar lessons that you can use.   

Final thoughts   

Hopefully, this article has given you an idea of how long it takes to learn the guitar. While it’s possible to make rough estimates of the time it takes to reach milestones, it’s important to remember that every guitarist is different and your journey will be totally unique. There’s always something new to learn, and if you think you’ve got everything on lock, try inventing your own tone or technique.