Originally Posted by: markantonelli7

So I've been trying to learn to play acoustic guitar for a little over 5 years now. In that time, it doesn't feel like I've made any progress.[/quote][p]What exactly are your musical goals?

[quote=markantonelli7]This is after spending at least 15 minutes practicing every day, as well as weekly 30 minute lessons.

As you've probably already realized, that's not enough time to get much done. It's barely time to warm up & cover material you already know. I completely understand if that's all you can manage given your schedule. And it is possible to maximize your time. What exactly are you doing for those 15 minutes?

Having said that, here is my standard reply to students asking for practice plans.

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 a warm up of 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 in their time.

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.

An example of an hour practice session:

5 minutes of warm up. Stretch your arms, hands, fingers. Slowly & deliberately play some simple chord changes & scales or scale fragments. The goal is to get your mind & body acclimated to the guitar & music.

10-20 minutes of playing 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.

10-20 minutes of trying something that is problematic. Something new you are not good at yet. Working on a song you are learning, single note lines from a song, a challenging set of chord changes, memorizing notes, reading music notation. Spend time learning something new & challenging.

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.

10-15 minutes of something fun that you can already do. Again, a song, a chord progression, a scale, a melody, a simple song. Anything, but something you can already do that is FUN. You are ending 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.

Playing guitar requires a lot of fine motor skills that can only be acquired by a lot of repetitious practice. There is simply no substitute for hours logged on the machine.

What, when & how to practice depends entirely upon each student's goals & situation. But once you've acquired the basic skills to play guitar, the best approach to a practice plan is one that focuses strongly on:

1. Learning songs.[br]2. Learning or refining skills needed to play songs.[br]3. Improving weak areas.

Hope that helps! Please ask more if necessary & best of success!