Originally Posted by: sedevacante

Hello, I am pretty new to this.

I started with the beginner lessons. I am on Chapter 4 - the Five Chord Power Pack - with Lisa McCormick.

My questions is: How well should you be able to play the songs in these lessons before moving on to the next.

Should you be able to play it flawlessly several times in a row?

Hi Ken,

THere may be differing opinions on this but I`ll give you my 2 cents:

I look at the practice tune as sort of a final exam for that lesson. Sure, the goal each time is to " ace" it and play it perfectly but usually that`s not realistic. I aim to be able to play the tune fairly consistently at full speed with maybe a few minor slip ups but having a firm grasp of the concepts being taught in that lesson. If I can do that then I`m good to move on.

That being said, there are some lessons where the practice tune is more challenging and despite spending more time on it, I may not be able to play it at full speed consistently. My bare minimum for " passing the exam" in a particularly challenging lesson is to at least be able to play the tune consistently at 70% speed and occaisionally at 90 %. I `ll give myself a grade of a C and allow myself to move on but I`ll bookmark that lesson to circle back at a later date to brush up on it. That prevents frustration and discouragement from occurring and keeps me moving forward.

Again, others may do this differently but that`s what`s worked for me.

Hope this helps.

Should you be able to get through the song with only a few slip ups with the fingers?

I can get through the songs most of the time fine, but sometimes, my fingers do not hit the chords quite right - should I stay on the same song until i get through it without any mistakes several times in row - or should I get it down pretty good and move on to the next lesson?

Thanks,

Ken