guitarists yearly development

Hello all,
What would you say an average guitarist should be able to do after 1 year, 2 years, 3 years ect. Is there a chart or graph? I'm kidding of course but it would be really nice to compare my progress next to the national average. am I where I should be or am I falling behind?

There is no clear cut set of "what you can do after X amount of time". Depends on every individual, how much they practice, what they are trying to learn and a lot of other factors.

I can understand that, however it does not help much. How about adding some parameters? lets say an average of an hour a day for a year? then two years?. No instructor just a personal drive to study and earnestly learn the guitar.

Still impossible. Not even taking into account anyone's natural abilities, do you spend the hour practicing scales? Learning songs? Learning new scales/modes? Theory? Writing? What do you consider a learned scale? When you can play it faultlessly ad 80bpm? 120 bpm? How would you compare someone who focused on theory, could fluently read music, and knew every scale and every mode but didn't know many songs vs. someone who simply got fluent in pentatonics and can play a bunch of songs?

I feel your pain, and I have asked the same type of question myself. Without peers to directly compare with, who are starting at the same point and taking the exact same curriculum, it's very difficult to say what any person should know after a period of time compared to another person.

Music is a journey. There may be milestones along the way, but it (IMHO) should be more about drinking in the scenery than reaching a destination.

:)

How about you give us all the information about YOU? Will probably be easier to tell you if you are on track or what you should be doing to improve. Comparing yourself to others is just impossible and almost irrelevant since everyone is different.

Thanks for the replys. I see now that its an impossible question. I'd hate to say "I can do this and this and this" cause I could never go into full detail about all my guitar abilitys (and it sounds too much like gloating) I think I'm doing fine, and I've been having fun which was my main goal.

I guess the thing that's got me questioning things is that I'm getting into theory a bit deeper and am having challenges with it all. my adult mind just does not retain knowledge as well as it used to and it seems I have to go over things multiple times before they sink in.

I might be in the same boat as you. I've played guitar for 13 years (I'm 24 now) but I have only been learning theory for the past 2 years maybe. It does seem like I have to work a lot harder at it than a kid just starting out would. It's hard to, like you said, retain things and I find myself having to go back over and over again because I forget something I learned previously.

Everyone is different in that area too though. There are probably people who start really late but pick it up extremely fast.

Originally Posted by: AmazingCorbinmy adult mind just does not retain knowledge as well as it used to and it seems I have to go over things multiple times before they sink in.

I hear ya! I'm 47 this month :eek: and feel mentally challenged most of the time. When I was young, everything came so easy. It doesn't help that my short term memory is about 30 seconds these days.

Originally Posted by: RazboI hear ya! I'm 47 this month :eek: and feel mentally challenged most of the time. When I was young, everything came so easy. It doesn't help that my short term memory is about 30 seconds these days.

Hey, I just turned 47 as well. Last month. And I think it just gets BETTER. I may not learn as easily, but I learn now a lot SMARTER than I used to. And, I already know how I learn, and don't have to figure that out as well as the material. Also, the very ACT of learning new things means so much more to me. I JUST started on guitar last month (guess what my b-day present to myself was? :) ) and at 20, it would have been no big deal. But at 47, I constantly think "wow! I'm learning something completely NEW at my age!" So....hurray for us old farts!! (uh oh...is it legal to say "fart" on here? :) )

Well, I'm 39 and having a blast.
I've been playing for a full year come October 1rst and I'm looking forward to what the next year brings.

I am learning smarter now, but the challenge is I no longer accept things like i did in school. Now I have to know the logic behind something for it to stick in my head. Finding the logic behind most of this stuff is a challenging thing in itself.

Also I'm no longer a kid hanging around with loads of free time after school to screw around on a guitar. Life, work, family, all take up plenty of time and by the time I get back to work on the guitar I'll be dammed if I can remember last weeks lesson without another hour of review.

Play at least on hour a day or 7 hours a week and after

1 Year you'll be pretty good,
2 years, twice a good as a year ago.
3 years, considerably better,
4 years, You really know your stuff.
5 years, your amazing.
6 years, REALLY amazing!
7 years, people will be wanting you to teach them guitar.
8 years, no problems playing in local bands
9 years, a guitar hero in your community
10 years, women will be lining up at your doorstep.

Imagine what a difference two hours a day would make!

Thanks Mclarry!
That's just what I needed. I can't wait to get to the guitar hero level. That game's always frustrated me!!

Originally Posted by: McLarry

10 years, women will be lining up at your doorstep.

I'm 47, and not sure I have the 10 years to WAIT for this level....is there a shortcut?? :)

There is a shortcut.

If you do 2 hours a day instead of 1, you have the girls lining up at your doorstep in 5 years. Do more hours a day and it will be sooner than that ;)

I think the question is a good one. if you don't have a teacher and sit grade exams how do you know where you are at but perhaps more to the point how do you know you are practising smartly enough to progress? I agree with many of the sentiments in this thread regarding the journey and the enjoyment but I might like to know when I can class myself as an intermediate player as opposed to a beginner.On that point does anyone know how the guitar symbols work that the lessons use for degrees of difficulty? I have used two sites including this one to learn the basics but I have trouble knowing where to go next in terms of a more structured progression. I have narrowed down the type of material i would like to play and flit from this or that tutorial but is there a more structured approach I should be following. Am I missing something?

McLarry

What happens when the wife finds out about all those girls lined up at your door? LOL