Hey & welcome to GT. I am glad to hear you are working through the Fundamentals course!

Originally Posted by: gsecerShould I practice on not looking my picking hand to proceed?[/quote]
Not necesarily.
[QUOTE=gsecer]How can I understand that I've practiced enough and should move on to further lessons?

Work through GF1&2 at a comfortable pace. Keep in mind that every lesson is designed to be viewed & reviewed many times. So, move through them as you please, but remember you aren't done with any lesson until you completely understand the info & can competently do the skill.

It often helps to keep going forward to keep things interesting & fun. Just make time to keep going back over any given lesson until you accomplish the above goal.

You can also make it more fun by looking for songs to play that match your current skill level. Either look on the GT Songs page for made easy or simple versions of songs once you can play your open chords.

Every individual has a different daily life schedule & amount of skill they bring to the task of learning guitar. With that in mind here is a generalized list of how to approach learning & practicing.

1. Practice your guitar some every day.

2. If at all possible, practice earlier rather than later, so you won't run out of time & then feel guilty about not getting in your daily practice. If this means getting up an hour eariler, then DO IT. This is always preferable to waiting until the end of a long, frazzled workday, then rushing through a tired, uninspired, frustrating practice session. And staying up an hour later to do it!

3. Start with something fun that you can already do. Chord changes, a simple song, a scale, a melody. Anything, but something you can already do that is FUN. Even if this is the only thing you do, or have time for, at least you played your guitar, got your fingers & mind moving musically & it was fun.

4. Eventually change to something that is problematic. Something new you are not good at yet. Scales, chord changes, memorizing notes, reading music notation. Spend time learning something new & challenging. Go forward in the Fundamentals course!

It is important to keep in mind that this is new stuff you aren't good at yet. Be patient with yourself. Remember that everyone has to climb the leaning curve. We all had to go through this difficult stage. Some people work faster, some slower, but everyone has to put it their time.

Try to enjoy it. :)

5. End with something fun that you can already do. Again, a chord progression, a scale, a melody, a simple song. Anything, but something you can already do that is FUN. This lets you end your practice session on a good, productive note. You can leave the guitar satisfied rather than frustrated. You will be encouraged about your skill & look forward to playing the next time or day.

You can do all this once a day or several times throughout the day with breaks in between. This list can be completed in 15 minutes or 8 hours.

Let me know if you have more questions. I wish you the best of success & joy with the guitar!