The fastest way to learn guitar is a controversial subject. Some people think almost anyone can learn guitar fast with the right method, while others feel that almost no one learns guitar fast.

Both perspectives have some truth to them. On the one hand, a good method can give you a huge guitar-learning boost. It’s not an exaggeration to say that two weeks on a good method can easily outperform two months on a bad one.

But on the other hand, the guitar is a hard instrument to learn, and even harder to play well. So in a sense it’s definitely true that there are some real speed limits on progress.

We can liken learning guitar to learning a language—if you put in the right effort you can learn a language reasonably fast, but it’s not something you can do overnight.
 

You’ve got to start somewhere, right? And where better to start than to get a guitar? If you want to learn as fast as possible, you should also be a bit choosy. You want your first guitar to resonate with you, to feel as though you were meant to play it.

However, that doesn’t mean you should go in for an expensive guitar. On the contrary, your first guitar should be budget friendly. You should also choose an instrument that’s appropriate for the style of music you’re most interested in.

If you’re looking for a great starter guitar, you should check out The 5 Best Budget Acoustic Guitars. But if you already have an instrument, you should probably stick with it. These days, even most entry-level guitars are good enough to improve quickly on.

Here’s the bottom line: you want a guitar that’s motivating and meaningful to you, but you should be a lot more focused on music and technique than on gear.
 

We rarely reflect on this, but one thing all great guitarists have in common is that they’re comfortable holding their instruments. Their guitars feel homey in their hands, almost like parts of their bodies.

If you’re determined to improve fast, you want to create that feeling of comfort as soon as possible. If your guitar feels like a cold, foreign object, you’re not likely to practice all that much. (And as you’ve probably guessed, the fastest way to learn guitar is to practice frequently and effectively.)

In the early stages, you shouldn’t be above sitting with your guitar and calling that practice. You don’t even need to play a single note—just make your guitar a familiar object, something that’s usually within arm’s reach, something you grab when you have 30 seconds to spare.

I know that sitting with your guitar without “practicing” may sound silly. However, just try to think of it as an equally important form of guitar training.
 

Now that you have a guitar and feel comfortable holding it, you should invest in technical work. Playing the guitar well requires specific movements of your fingers, hands, and arms. One of the best ways to speed up your progress is to isolate each of these movements and drill them until they’re second-nature.

This is basically a two-step process. First, you need to learn as much as you can about guitar technique. I recommend you read a bunch of posts (or watch a bunch of videos) on technique as it relates to your preferred style.

If you’re into fingerstyle, you’ll love my new ebook, Fingerstyle Fitness. It offers 10 simple exercises to develop your fingerstyle chops.

Be sure to study the essentials of good guitar form well enough that you could teach them to someone else.

The second step is to train the movements themselves. Now that you know, for example, exactly how a barre chord should look, you can practice it the right way every time. Remember that repeating wrong motions will slow you down significantly, so try to focus on accuracy.

I put a large emphasis on pure technical training for beginner and intermediate players because it’s an incredibly efficient mode of practice. If you really want the fastest way to learn guitar, I promise you that you’ll be thrilled with your results if you develop your technique on a daily basis.
 

We often think of practicing guitar as playing through songs. While I do think this type of practice is important, you get a lot more bang for your buck by studying music in general. That is, if you understand how chords, scales, and intervals work, you’re going to learn any given song a lot faster while playing it more musically.

I highly recommend you complement your normal guitar practice routine with some all-around music study. This includes theory, ear training, listening intently to music, learning to read music, and even reading about music history.

Not only will this type of study diversify your practicing, but it will streamline your progress. You’ll find that the more musical you are, the faster you’ll be a skilled guitarist. It’s a bit hard to explain, but all these musical abilities come together harmoniously to level up your progress.

If you feel intimidated by any of the above, I suggest you start slowly. Even a few minutes a day of music study will really add up. The key is to be open to new knowledge!
 

Our 5th and final step is easy to say but hard to put into practice. However, it can and should be done if you’re serious about improving quickly. I’ll start by breaking down exactly what I mean by “slowly” and “frequently.”

 

Why You Should Play Slowly

Playing slowly tends to be more effective practice than playing fast. This should make sense if you reflect on the value of slowing down in general, outside the context of guitar playing.

You might take an extra second before speaking if the social situation calls for it, or brake on the road to avoid an accident, or even chop potatoes slowly to avoid cutting a finger.

For similar reasons, playing guitar slowly is more conducive to progress than playing fast. At speeds where you have more time to think between each note, you’re less likely to make careless mistakes and more likely to notice all the small details of your music.

The key to playing well is to rehearse the right motions in your fingers. If you play faster than you should, you’re going to rehearse the wrong ones, effectively stalling your progress. Slow playing is like a guitar hack: it allows you to practice the right way virtually every time, leaving nothing to chance.

 

The Case for Frequent Playing

By playing frequently, I mean cramming as many short sessions as possible into a given time period. We tend to think of great guitarists as practicing 4-10 hours a day, but that way of thinking is misguided. What matters more than total hours is consistency.

For example, practicing 30 minutes per day is better than practicing 1 hour every other day. And, by extension, practicing 15 minutes twice a day is better than a single 30-minute session. In my view, you can have a productive guitar practice in 5 minutes or less!

But why opt for these short or ultra-short sessions over a more traditional practice length?

For one, practicing in short bursts leads to a greater intensity during each session. In the course of a focused 10-minute session, any given minute is more condensed with intention and awareness than any given minute in a 1-hour session.

If you’re playing for an entire hour, you’re a lot more likely to go off track during practice, which could easily affect your technique or musicianship.
Make no mistake: unfocused, haphazard guitar practice is dangerous. It instills bad playing practices that are hard to unlearn, plus it can associate guitar playing with negative emotions such as frustration or boredom.

Another advantage of short, frequent practices is that playing guitar will feel more approachable. This is absolutely key for beginners.

If you’re not already a strong guitarist, the idea of sitting down and practicing for an hour may sound a little rough. However, 5 to 10 minutes will feel much easier, and you’ll practice more as a result.
 

I mentioned above that learning guitar is like learning a language. In this sense, the fastest way to learn guitar centers around developing fluency with the instrument. One of the best ways to do this (as language-learners know) is to simulate total immersion.

That’s why I’m such a fan of short, frequent practice sessions. The more often you pick up the guitar, the more you create the illusion that you’re always playing. This is crucial if you want to speed up the guitar learning process.

Best of luck with your practice!

Are you looking to upgrade your gear or browse some awesome guitar learning materials? Check out my recommendations page to see all my favorite stuff. 

Want to streamline your fingerstyle guitar progress? I just released my new ebook, Fingerstyle Fitness, which presents 10 easy exercises to quickly develop your fingerstyle chops. Grab it today!