When is a Lesson Done?

I know, weird question, huh?  The thing is, I don't want to just "do the lesson," I want to learn the lesson, but at the same time, if I don't move on until I get it perfect, I'll never move on.  So, when is enough, enough?  There's really a lot in each lesson...a combination of chords and strumming and repetition and I get the importance of all of it, but like I said, I could be doing the minor pentatonic scale forever and never be as smooth, or as fast as Anders Mouridsen.

Help,

DJ_1123

It's a very common question actually.

I think we need to find our own balance between staying "with" a lesson and moving on to new material or songs so we stay interested. 

I find that taking a short break from something I am working on does me a lot of good. I go back to it when I feel I am ready to tackle it again. 

You look about my age. This is supposed to be fun at our age. 

Good luck 

Edit: don't look for perfection. Do the best you can and realize there will be material that fits you better. After 6 years of learning guitar, the right place for me is a nice slow blues. Easy and relaxed. 

Thanks to William for the great advice!  Directly answering your question:  you are done with a lesson when you completely understand the idea being taught and, or can do the physical skill being taught.  That doesn't mean you should be know it all & able to do it perfectly right away.  Keep going forward to learn new things & stay interested.   Keep going over old things as you gradually improve your understanding & playing.

That's when William's statement about balance comes in.  It's a very individual thing.  You want to keep moving forward to keep improving & stay motivated, but not so much that you get overwhelmed & in over your head, then discouraged.  Learning guitar is a constant process of repetition & refinement.  For as long as you play you'll keep playing many of the same things over & again to keep them under your fingers while you gradually add new skills & improve your old skills.

Recently you were asking about learning the musical alphabet.  And you were concerned you might not be understanding it all.  That's completely normal.  Try to grasp what you can & keep going forward.  At some point you'll get more info & on scales & it will gradually start to make more sense.  And the most important part is to keep playing, keep working on your physical skills.

And if you get stuck or confused again, just ask in the forum!

Hope that helps. Keep practicing!

I think Christopher hit the nail on the head when he said, "Grasp what you can and keep moving forward". Realize that you don't need to finish a GT course (or individual lesson) with an A+ score. You can always come back and do all or part of those teachings again later, after you've moved on and made progress in other areas. I've undertaken some of these courses a half dozen times because I'm always learning things that I missed, forgot, or couldn't do well during previous play throughs. And, very importantly, it's really satisfying to discover and experience your own unmistakable improvements. Anders calls this "cycling upward", which I think is a great way to view the guitar learning process.

I realize that this may not answer your question as to when to move on. I too constantly wrestle with that dilemma in my own learning. It's apparently something that every guitarist needs to figure out for themselves. I do know that if you commit yourself to constantly going back and repeating lessons that you're having problems with, the question of when to move on becomes much less important, because you know that you're going to have another crack at everything on your next go-around. Whatever you do, try to avoid sustained frustration. That's a real motivation killer. And if you crush your motivation enough, you're likely to quit playing altogether.

Oh, and as for any of us Boomer beginners playing "as fast and smooth" as Anders or Chris, in this lifetime ..... 🤣

Sascha

My couple of eurocents: I've recognized that a difficult for me lesson needs from a couple of days to a fortnight of biting/melting in my brains ( if I can express it understandably) and when returning it's not anymore as difficult as it was.

Petteri

"a fortnight of biting/melting in my brains"

Whoa dude, you should get that checked out by a doctor... or maybe an exorcist ☢

Ha-ha..

If you did understand what I meant, please how you would say it correct English?

Thanks to Sascha & Petteri for chiming in with more great advice!

The process of refinement happens at all skill levels for as long as you play.  It takes a lot of mental effort & dedicated repetitious practice time.  There's always more to learn and there's always older skills & ideas you have to spend time maintaining or they can decline.

I've been playing for close to 50 years & there are still days I struggle to get things right.  To play a line cleanly or a make chord change consistently without hitting a big clam.  But after enough time & practice I play it right, then it seems so simple & easy. 

Some of this is the brain forming new neural pathways to do certain new fine motor skills, what we commonly call muscle memory.  And that takes practice & time.  As adults we are used to doing things right immediately & getting them done.  Learning new skills requires the patience to realize that you are going to struggle, stumble & basically suck at it until you gradually get better.  So, it can help to enjoy the process, to enjoy it as a challenge & know you aren't going to do any of this easily & immediately. 

You keep working on it until you get it.  And it takes as long as it takes, so you might as well enjoy the ride.

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music." - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Keep practicing!

I apologize for the previous joking response. I admire anyone who takes on a second language. I'm still learning French, and wow do I suck at it.

Anyways, you wanted to know how to say what you said in better English. Try this:

"My couple of eurocents: I recognize that difficult lessons become easier for me to undertake after allowing them to percolate in my mind for a few days"

Note that we both used graphic language specific slang phrases. You said "biting/melting in my brains" (which I just love and makes me laugh), while I used "percolate in my mind", which you may find to be just as funny when translated into your language. "Percolate" is a verb that means to slowly mix and then pass through a filter (like coffee dripping through a paper filter when it's brewed).

Or, you could leave out the slang and say:

"I recognize that difficult lessons become easeir for me to undertake after contemplating them for a few days".

But that's not as graphic, and therefore not as interesting.

Hope that helps. Again, I apologize if I offended you in any way with my previous response. 

Sascha

Chris, I love your response, especially:

"Learning new skills requires the patience to realize that you are going to struggle, stumble & basically suck at it until you gradually get better"

I printed that out in large font and hung it on the wall of my music room. It's unfortunately soooo true... for everyone learning anything. But it's also strangely comforting to me.

Sascha

Thanks for the reply 😁

Petteri

Learning instruments takes patience and consistent practice, which is similar to preparing for exams. Anyone working toward their teaching certification can benefit from a tci test online free, as it helps test knowledge, improve weaker areas, and build confidence before facing the real assessment.