When writing my article, Tips For Absolute Beginners Starting the Path PART 1, I had the idea of putting my methods in my book, Rehearsals and Exercises: A Method for Playing Speed Guitar, to the test. I decided to work through my Basic Sequential Exercises using my Two Up & One Down template and my revolutionary Speed Seesaw Metronome to learn to play guitar left-handed. Starting in June 2024, I quickly realized that learning to play guitar as an absolute beginner is daunting. I stuck with my methods even though my left hand was useless with the plectrum and my right hand was uncooperative with the fretboard. I practiced for about twenty minutes daily for six months. Looking back over my 31-week Beginner’s Challenge in December, I proved that my daily practice plan works. Here are my top takeaways.

Take a few lessons with an experienced music instructor.

After completing my PATH2FAST 31-Week Beginner’s Challenge, my number one tip for beginning guitar players is still #1. One-on-one lessons, in-person or online, are a must for absolute beginners. On day one, my challenge proved that learning to play guitar is easier said than done (Kudos to ten-year-old me who went to weekly guitar lessons and practiced enough to learn the basics. To him, I say, “What you did back in the day with that crappy nylon string acoustic is nothing short of amazing!”). However, now 50+ years old, I had a significant advantage as a left-handed absolute beginner. I had 24/7 access to a solid guitar teacher: me! Let’s call him my ‘Right-Handed Teacher’ with the knowledge and experience to keep me practicing as I learned to play guitar left-handed. For 31 weeks, my Right-Handed Teacher was a trustworthy guide for my Left-Handed Beginner. Similarly, I encourage absolute beginners to rely on one-on-one lessons with a guitar instructor before scouring YouTube. ‘Teaching yourself’ to play guitar will be much easier after spending at least a few weeks learning from an in-person guitar instructor.

DO NOT start with exercises.

My PATH2FAST 31-Week Beginner’s Challenge was not much of a ‘challenge’ because my Rehearsals and Exercises methods work. My revolutionary and easy-to-use Speed Seesaw Metronome was always available on my website, PATH2FAST.com. My Two Up & One Down template showed me what I practiced yesterday, what to practice today, and what I will practice tomorrow, a key advantage to my practice plan. With these tools, I eagerly practiced left-handed for about twenty minutes daily for six months (CLICK HERE to see my Two Up & One Down Template for my first four exercises. In June I was comfortably playing eighth notes around 60 bpm. Thanks to my methods, six months later, I am playing SIXTEENTH NOTES relaxed, fluid, and even around 90 bpm). My methods provided the boost I needed to practice consistently (And, most days, I practiced another 30-40 minutes right-handed, which included my Rehearsals and Exercises method).  I looked forward to marking my progress, adding purple boxes to my Two Up & One Down template and ‘Xs’ to my wall calendar. However, even though my ‘exercises challenge’ was successful, I advise beginners to start with an easy song in their favorite music style. Get excited about learning to play your instrument. Then, your guitar instructor can help you decide when to add repetitive exercises to your practice plan. Remember that in grade school, I quit guitar lessons because I loved rock and wanted to learn KISS, but my guitar teacher taught me unending finger-picking exercises over cowboy chords and John Denver songs. Trust my methods but avoid making the same mistake.

DO NOT fret over technique.

One of the MOST IMPORTANT lessons I learned from my PATH2FAST 31-Week Beginner’s Challenge is the value of my 3-step process for finding your Optimum Playing Speed (OPS) for any musical exercise. The only times I struggled were when I got overly ambitious and set my OPS too fast. My motivation to practice tanked when I became frustrated practicing an exercise at uncomfortable speeds. But, the problem disappeared after I adjusted my OPS. Repeating the steps to find a more realistic OPS for the exercise and plugging this OPS into my Two Up & One Down template and Speed Seesaw Metronome always solved my problem. I quickly regained confidence when practicing the exercise comfortably at an OPS suitable given my current choice of technique and skill level.

In conclusion, my PATH2FAST 31-Week Beginner’s Challenge was a success. After six months of daily practice, my Two Up & One Down template proves my playing speeds increased. As my speeds increased, I prevented unnecessary tension and practiced each exercise around a comfortable OPS. Before developing my methods, as a right-handed player, I spent years stuck due to the enemy, TENSION (not to mention risking injury). Avoid this mistake. Beginning guitar players can RELAX and benefit from my Rehearsals and Exercises methods. However, I recommend starting with in-person, one-on-one lessons. Before adding my Rehearsals and Exercises methods to your daily practice plan, work with your guitar teacher to learn songs (or easy parts of songs) in the style that motivated you to pick up the guitar.

Given the confidence I gained after completing my PATH2FAST 31-Week Beginner’s Challenge, I am just getting started. I am proud of my progress and excited to continue mastering my Jackson DINKY left-handed guitar. I now have the skills, and beginning the Rocksmith video game learning method would be fun. However, to prove my challenge’s ease, I will forego Rocksmith for another six months and, without hesitation (my challenge was that easy and rewarding), will work through my Basic Sequential Exercises again, left-handed! I want to play my two-finger and three-finger exercises comfortably across six strings at the seventh fret level, with sixteenth notes at 60 bpm and quarter note triplets at 80 bpm, respectively. Another 31-week Beginner’s Challenge will help me achieve these goals, and soon, I will be playing left-handed beginner and intermediate-level guitar songs and solos.