*This lesson is part of my (free) Beginner Guitar Course - Grade 3. It's your stairway to the Intermediate stages! Check it out:* www.justinguitar.com/grade-3

I really hope all of the newer guitarists are listening to this. I developed an expression after rushing through learning guitar for over a decade. "learn it right, learn it once." If you rush through learning anything actually of value, you will end up needing to learning it again at a later date. Sometimes you will have to learn it 3,4, 5 times or more even. But if you had just taken your time the first time and went a little bit slower, you would only need to learn the thing once. It seems counter productive, but learning slower is actually the FASTEST way to learn. It can really apply to anything you want to do in life. Nowadays, when I find something worth studying, I revel in taking my time and ironing out the fine nuances because I know it will stick. This is a great lesson, Justin.

Man this hit home. I'm a programmer by profession but I'm learning guitar for fun. I've always been a slow but detailed learner. So reassuring to see this video, I've got this for sure.

Chunking, Spaced Repetition and The Feynman technique. Three researched, scrutinised and evidence based learning methods that all students of any ilk should be taught. Thanks for the reminder Justin and happy studying people.

You are 100% correct! I have made this mistake since I started my guitar learning journey. I know I have to slow down when learning a song or anything really. I am going to apply this advice from now on. I really want to become a better guitarist. The struggle is real!

This exactly why so many guitarists feel stuck. We "sorta" learn something and then move on -- never really progressing. This really hit me when I saw an interview with Chick Corea where he said that he had been working on one piece of music for two years!

This is actually really helpful with the anxiety of feeling so overwhelming with all that I have to learn with guitar. Thanks Justin!

Excellent advice Justin. I was always taught in military that “practice does not make perfect” - only “perfect practice , makes perfect”. Also that “slow is smooth & smooth is fast”

Excellence cannot be rushed . On a more granular level - the best advice I ever got - when learning new stuff - play it as slowly as you need to get the notes correctly and gradually speed up . This simple tip unlocked so much for me and I stopped learning to play songs very badly at tempo - Scuttle Buttin' for instance. It does NOT matter how slow you need to go as long as it's accurate.

I just clicked a video from 13 years ago and clicked your channel hoping you were still around and doing well, and here you are uploading 10 minutes ago 🥺 Truly blessed, you're great. To many more years with wonderful videos

Clean. Clear. Precise. Actionable… Outstanding.

I had a kinda messed up approach which I think worked perfectly for me. I'd spend half the time rushing through lessons/tutorials, doing things that are way out of my comfort zone. Then the other half I'd revisit old stuff from 1-2 months ago and try to perfect it. It was nice because once you played some faster/more complex stuff (even if you play it badly), everything below that feels like slow motion and it becomes much easier to get it right.

Good advice. I do this all the time. Flitting from song to song and I never master one !!

Impressive video Justin. I am 42 years and just started your beginner guitar course and I’m loving it. Getting a glimpse into your pedagogy I can now see why your are an amazing teacher. You apply the principles of learning to other areas of your life and practice what you preach. And love hearing about your evening stoic meditations. Keep up the great work man. Thank you 🙏

I have felt overwhelmed at how much there is to learn now. Life seemed easier for me in the eighties. I used to just go to the library and check out a book. Now it’s computerized. I am also a slower learner when it comes to guitar. Thanks for this video because I was feeling kind of dumb.

I've been sorta "hanging out" mid Grade 2 of your beginners course for a few months- going back over everything and trying to get things "right" (and develop this f chord) before I move on. Part of me feels impatient but I know I don't wanna build my musical house on a shaky foundation. Thanks for this reminder that my lil turtle like journey is ok! Slow and steady, baby! I'm gonna get there! 🎶🐢🎖️🎸

Justin Guitar CAN DO NO WRONG! He is a BLESSED SAINT.

In my time I spent a lot of time learing things the wrong way by ear. Now I´m re-learning some of them the right way by KZfaq and hey, what a difference!

My two favorite things about your website and classes..... #1 You are an amazing instructor. You are patient and make me feel like, no matter where I'm at, I'm ok..OK... #2 Your structure. Having someone lay out, what to learn, what to practice, songs to play etc - helps me from getting overwhelmed. Much love.

We need to slow down in order to really get acquainted with anything. Certainly any instrument. And nonetheless ourselves. The gain is immense. Thanks:)

And it's not just playing something slowly, but playing something slowly AND making it musical; concentrating on all the nuances and phrasing that makes the solo (if it's a solo) attractive in the first place. Doing that over and over will make you a more accurate as well as a more expressive player. In addition, it gives you some insight into the player that recorded the solo in the first place. There's often more to a guitar part than just the notes. And trust me, if you stick to this you will never forget it; it will be with you forever. Another thing that has helped me is practicing without the guitar..... just sitting and visualizing every thing that you're doing without ever touching the guitar. You'll be amazed what doing that will get you. Justin touched on this a bit when he talked about what it would take to program a robot to play the guitar. Studies have shown that athletes who spend a percentage of their time visualizing their performance will experience a better outcome than those athletes who do only physical practicing. People often talk about muscle memory which is actually a misnomer; it's actually brain memory because it's your brain that ultimately controls your body.... even on the subconscious level. It's all about establishing neural pathways that allow the mind/body connection to work more seamlessly. One more thing, learning this way actually makes learning new things easier and quicker. But still, slow and steady makes it stick.

Yes, so many songs via youtube that I have to tell myself to slow down and learn well prior songs before moving on to others.

Ever wiser! Thanks Justin!

This is so true. I have played for several years. I have always jumped around learning this and that and skipping over things that I don't care for or are to difficult. It's like trying to navigate without a map. So now I'm going back and trying to fill in the blanks. I am slowing down and putting together a syllabus. Thank you for this video.

The best teacher in the whole wide world, thank you Justin 🤗

This is so true. This is why I go through the basics every day and concentrate on playing things right, instead of speed, using my ears, see what each note does, and trying to predict what each note does.

this is good, counterintuitive for folks whove played shows, where you never ever stop and start again when a mistake is made, unless you have just fucked it up so completely its better to joke it away and start over...

Although it seem obvious of what he says, he is correct in emphasizing to stop when you made a mistake and repeat until you got it right.

These points are all spot on.

Excellent gems of wisdom Justin. I am a retired software engineer and a Judoka with 39 years of experience, so I really appreciated the software and martial art analogies. Dave from Canada

Well said!..I think sometimes people have this idea that the ability to play well and , fast comes naturally to a good guitarist. Not true..guitar takes a lot of hard work and “perfect practice”

very very useful material !! the 1week, 2 week, 1 month, 6month, 12 month practice to remember permanently is very good information! i love your videos! you are super passionate, joyful, just watching you makes me grab guitar and practice. and you are a very good teacher not just guitar player !! TO be a teacher that is a different skill ! thank you!

Great lesson 👌 stop ,start again 👌

Great information. It reminds me of how comedians prepare for a Netflix special or tour. They spend weeks honing their material nightly in small clubs prior to a special. The same applies to the guitar. Having said that, I still have to remind myself to slow down before moving forward.

The more I get into fingerstyle guitar in particular, the relevant I find these concepts of 1. Breaking down a song arrangement into 'chunks' and 2. Separating out the parts which aren't quite right, and slowing them down to extremely slow pace (so slow it's impossible to get them wrong) until you get them down. Fingerstyle just seems to be a perfect medium to apply this learning method. When you start out, Blackbird and Dust in the Wind seem so so difficult and an insurmountable task - but when you put the time into them, at the right speed and in the right way, it's pleasantly surprising when you sit down one day and all of a sudden your fingers and memory have just 'got' it. Very good lesson!

WHOA! I believe this will help me a lot. Through the years, teachers, coaches, directors, etc. have told me, “If you make a mistake, keep going.” I guess that’s cool when it’s showtime, but when practicing, I’m gonna try stopping when I make a mistake & starting over, as you’ve suggested. It’s a refreshing approach & I’m going for it. Thanks, Justin. ❤️😁

Exactly!!! This learning technique is exactly how I learned to play the piano, beginning at age 5. I am 51 years old now, and I can still count on the things that I learned way back when, because I went to a good music school, had great teachers who taught from a proven, science-based teaching method. I wish I could find a guitar teacher who uses the same philosophy!!

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

Thanks Justin! You make your lessons simple and understandable for idiots like me! I can't tell you how many times I felt like giving up learning the guitar. Because it turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. Being in my 40's, I don't learn things as fast and easy as I did when I was young. Every time I felt like giving up, I watched one of your videos, and it renewed my motivation! You're by far the best guitar teacher on KZfaq!

Fascinating that you came up with the analogy to martial arts: in my branch (wing chun) we were told: beginners are not allowed to train fast. And of course I started a diary in which I put down every new concept or move (sometimes literally) step by step. Keep up the excellent work, content and human touch are second to none👍

I have started guitar about 18 months ago and as Justin mentioned, I jumped from strumming to finger style, to fingerpicking,to classical and has gone nowhere, until I came upon Jamie Andreas ( not an endoresment) who literally wrote a book on practising slowly. Great video.

You are 100% right that is happening to me. So much and it gets all scrabble up in the mind and kind of its a waste of time spend jumping from channel to channel trying to figure what is best out there. Crazy but true.

Thank you so much, Justin ! 😉

This can be applied to many areas, thanks Justin

Bless you for helping me so much!!!

Well said! Best part is … it “ probably will make you a better and happier person” 🍻… ty and stay blessed brother ✨

Hi Justin, I am a mature aged student, and my guitar teacher is taking it nice and slow. Your lessons are so good. Thank you. Cheers from Toowoomba Queensland Australia.

This is pretty spot on. I think these concepts truly become understood through personal experience/trial and error...

This message (or tip) is extremely important to my learning guitar. It was more valuable listening to it a year later! Thank you!

the code-writing / robotic arm analogy is spot on. i always think of learning new technique now as sculpting new neural connections (which is what it is) and it pays to get them right first time. also pays to know when to stop and give the brain time to digest the new information: two days away from a new lick can pay better dividends than two days of dementedly trying to get in right, in my experience.

all so true. I find myself having to slow down when learning to play the guitar. But music is a lifetime of learning for sure.

I'm going down that rabbit hole right now, good thing I found this just in time. Number one lesson for anything one learns, really.

Great video. You mention the technique of playing once then a day later then a week later then a month later etc. This is called spaced repetition. It’s the science behind language learning apps such as duo lingo or Anki.

Justin this is temendosly true! Some years ago I wanted to learn the S. Vai famous duel intro I found 1 of the youtube interpretation (not very precise I happened to find out but still it was the first step!) and slowly step by step I finally succeded, as of late I restart to learn Romeo and Juliette that I quit 2 years ago slowed it down before having watched this video and I got it too!! Thanx for this Lesson and your great workship!!

You know, this is so true. I agree with you 100%.

Thank you Justin as always a great lesson.

I have a horrible time with this. I started learning guitar after I retired from a career in engineering. I started with Justin’s beginner course and did pretty well. After realizing that I was actually going to learn to play and getting the baby steps down, I started to see to much online and began chasing “rabbit holes”. Songs, technique, open tunings, alternate tunings. 🤦 At my age I need to decide on a direction and slow down!

Thx mate, really needed to hear this today!

I play guitar as a form of therapy. I don’t aspire to be a performing artist. This lesson resonates with me because the slow process is part of the process. Thank you

Haven't been here in a long while. So good to see you again Justin. You are a shining light in a sometimes dark place.

What a brilliant lesson Justin, thankyou. I'm 53 next week, been playing guitar for years (played in bands during this time) & I'm still guilty of the mistakes mentioned but now finally, I'm going to take these bits of advice on board & hopefully I'll see the benefits during the rest of my guitar playing days

For what it's worth, I think there's something to be said for the "more time on fewer things" approach to *listening* to music, too -- it's great to have so much music right at our fingertips via streaming services, but I often feel like I don't bond with new albums or artists now nearly as much as back when I had to buy physical recordings of music.

So true Justin, I've been learning for 40 years and loving my guitar more than ever with the amount of information available, but it can also lead you all over the place, I find the same applies to using to many effects, brilliant as the technology and sounds can be, it can distract from true practice and learning.

reminds me of my saved yt vids, there is stuff saved in there I have long forgotten about and I scroll through my feed and keep saving more vids, "I'll get to that later"

This video hit just at the perfect time for me. I'm going through your beginner's course (still on Grade 1) and I'm dabbling in learning some other, more advanced techniques on the side. Just the other day I was trying to learn tremolo picking (while palm muting) and was getting very angry and frustrated at myself. But now I realize that I'm just trying to jump ahead too far at the moment and I need to slow things down. You're a wonderful teacher, Justin. Thanks for all your great lessons and words of wisdom!

Your videos are so valuable, thank you Justin!

As a guitar and lute player I constantly remind myself to slow down and learn slowly. This is key advice.

Thanks Justin, great to see you reference TF&S by Kahnemann in this. Everything is connected!

i totally agree with you, I just got a guitar and i started learning through you. Completed my module 1, took 1.5 week to perfect my A and D chord and today I moved to the second module. I don't wanna rush, i wanna lean the basics first, learn how to position my hand for different chords and get a clear sound and then move to exploring the guitar myself, learning songs with my ear. And you have helped immensely, showing me exactly the way I should go, because before that I was so confused i nearly gave up. The bits and pieces of spread out information on KZfaq does not help learn the guitar, what helps is a systematic learning and continuous practice. i practice everyday for 1 hour spread throughout the days in bits. and ugh when will the calluses fully form my fingers hurt so much

I've been practicing learning 21 chords and changing between them since September 2021 ain't moving an inch farther until I can miss the strings on purpose

You are right on the money. Over my past year I have taken to heart what you said and go slow. What I’m seeing is my progress is improving at a good pace. “ practice makes permanent”.

As Justin is saying don't go down the rabbit hole, a new ad starts with a new instructor 🤣 I struggle to retain the songs and have to use my eyes to play so I'll give this a shot and slow my rocksmith down to 40% till its perfectly played then start closing my eyes and going from memory. Thanks J!

This was the best video regarding proper practice I’ve seen in the 2 1/2 years I’ve been learning guitar and I needed. I thought my practice was going well and in some ways it was I’m pretty strict with myself but all these tips you gave they’re just gonna take my practice to a much more professional level and things are going to be retained you pointed out a lot of things I’m glad I learned this early on thank you so much!

Exactly true ( for me!)...I have definitely lost 90% of all notes and excursions into “bits” of theory, bits of this or that song a thousand bits of ‘ guitar stuff’...Justin - you have nailed it for me once again...now I will listen to the rest of this lesson !!

I started learning to play the guitar being middle-aged, nearly 2 years ago. 3 months later I began playing rhe mandolin. 1 year later I bought my first ukulele. Now, I was very dedicated and passionate, playing for 3-4 hours a day. Not messing with lots of songs, perfecting every song and then going to the next one. I studied Czardas on mandolin for months, till I felt satisfied by what I heard. Same with the ukulele. Not hundreds of songs, just a few, till perfected. Chord changing became easier and now is very easy. The quitar learning takes time, years. If done correctly you get more confident. And by all means, play slowly till you master every song. Record your playing and find what needs improvement. Rushing will destroy everything. Focus on one thing at a time. Better have a poorer repertoire than a messy variety of songs. And learn the music theory too. There are no shortcuts in Music. Build a strong base and be determined and do not forget to enjoy every moment. It is not a race, it should be a joyful journey. Cheers!

very good point!!

Thank you. I need to be reminded at least twice a month.

Awesome lesson Justin, really resonated with me. Big thank you.

I do not learn any songs from memory . and i know i will never be a guitar god like yourself. , i only play from top line music. [the melody]. My idea is, if i can play this type of music with ease and add my own bits and pieces ,the music should sound quite good. i play music from the 20s through to the 60s standard songs. a great era for great songs..The point i make is, i am becoming a good top line notation reader i can position my fingers well, and read the lyrics at the same time.The time i might have spent learning rifts/and loads of scales by memory has been spent learning and playing a couple of scales just enough to allow me do and play what i do now. with ease.And it is FUN.

"Okay, got it .... next" "is the syndrome, you are right. Too tempting to move on to the next song and not really work on the one you just learned. Good message!

Thank you, Justin, for this excellent lesson on how to practice intelligently. This old guitar player has made every one of the errors you discuss, plus countless more, that have held back my musical growth. I can tell from the tempo and the style of your videos that you prepare yourself very thoroughly before you start recording. I notice that you have notes that you use to stay on message, which I really respect. I have had teachers of photography and sports who let their minds wander all over the place, wasting my time and my money. I can see that you would not do that to your students. (I would describe what a waste my golf lessons were, but I'm sure you are far too busy.). I am self-taught, and in some ways I am a good teacher, and in other ways a poor one. This video really meant something to me because it lays out a lot of the mistakes I've made. One of my worst mistakes has been to practice when I was mentally or physically tired or preoccupied with the cares of the world. This caused me to lose my concentration, and to groove mistakes and poor technique into my playing. I want to thank you again for this lesson, because it reminded me that it's never too late to change old, bad habits, and to grow and to improve. BTW, I just hit the like and subscribe buttons because of your words and your calm, relaxed approach to teaching. Thank you again, especially for your careful preparation for this lesson!

It's times like this I'm glad I subbed to you so many years ago. Thanks for reminding me of what got me into guitar playing in the first place and reminding me that taking it slow is okay. I started learning that way but eventually succumbed to the rush of learning tons of new material all at once with a *good enough* technique to them and then forgetting how to play them a month later.

Thank you! I've been playing about 3 years now and been overwhelmed with all the learning lessons. It's my fault because I jump around too much on what to learn today, tomorrow, next week....Now I will concentrate on learning pieces slower AND make sure they stick.

It’s very interesting what you mentioned in this post ! During the pandemic beginning 2021 , told my wife that I what to learn and play guitar. I am 65 years old then. There is so much stuff on the internet that today I found that I lost to much time looking at everything and not focusing on what this video explained !! I felt that I wanted to learn everything at once. To much info and never remembered anything really. Thank you so much for opening my eyes. Honestly I was getting discouraged . 👍👍👍🤟🤟

It's been years (15????) I know your videos on Internet and this is one of my favourites, slowly makes it perfect. I do the same , basically learning from my own mistakes. Well.. Thanks for your inspiration.

Great advice Justin Developing skills as part of the educational Takes time I like the analogy that learning guitar / music is like learning a language Retention of the facts and skills is linked to time Make the retention hold We older boomers ( older individuals)have an intake and retention As we learnt not from computers But from reading Note taking Retention followed Good luck all Thanks again Justin fro your time effort👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🙏✌🏼 Your ten times & memorising short passages Works for most of us ✌🏼 Chunk it 👍🏽

Justin Guitar, my beloved BLESSED SAINT, need you right about now. I keep thinking that because I intellectually understand intervals and triads, it will just automatically translate to my fingers. I hear you in my head telling me the answer. It will come when it comes, keep practicing.

Wise words, its information overload out there, information everywhere.

I just picked up my guitar again after almost 3 years. And the songs that I have practiced the way Justin explaining in the video are the only one I remember and have literally forgotten all songs that were learned in a week or two and then hardly ever played . I listen to Justin whenever I want to improve anything related to playing guitar although I play for recreational purposes :D

Great lesson, not just for guitar players...I'm a singer. Remember to watch this video more than once ;)

Perfect lesson for me at the minute. Been playing 9/10 months. And still have the odd sloppy chord/note change when I’m playing something. Need to slow it all down. Thank you!!

Solid advice. I tend to start again if I make a mistake. I think retaining something really helps if you enjoy the thing you're trying to achieve. That feeling you get when you nail that song or technique provides the encouragement and gives me inspiration. As a result it helps me retain what I've been learning.

Oh my gosh I'm so grateful that I found you!!!! I've been trying to learn for the past few years, on and off, and I could never get myself to practice enough or would become so bored and frustrated that I'd stop. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to have a teacher, that's where your videos came along! Thank you soooo much for your amazing teaching style. I look forward to playing every day now lol and I'm making much faster progress. You make the guitar so easy, reassuring, and fun :) I love the app, so much useful stuff on there

Sage advice. In other words, don't run before you can walk!

Justin's the man, I'm 42 years old and last year I picked up guitar and did justins begginer course and I have to say it's the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. Thank you Justin, I'm taking the time now to like he said in this video and letting things sink in before I move on.

Thank you, Justin. I'd love a video on how you literally organize your guitar learning/practice routine. Do you have an organized journal of sorts? Spreadsheet style log of learning and practice? Etc.

Thanks Justin. I was just thinking that I needed to go through your lessons from step 1 again to refresh/relearn the basic's. Just confirmation to me that this popped up. I'm learning a song I really love and I'm getting sick of it because I've heard it so much now.

Fantastic lesson, Justin. All the best on your martial arts journey. You are the Royce Gracie of Guitar Teachers!!

Oh, man, you have really nailed the problem.

Thanks! This is so true.