Like any other skillset, guitar playing requires a certain period of learning. But there is no standard length of time in which you should take guitar lessons. It differs from person to person, depending on what you’re going for.

Some professional guitarists are always learning, never believing for once that they have “made it”. Other, more casual guitarists may just learn the basics for a year or two until they can at least play easy songs on the guitar.

So, if you’re asking, “how long should you take guitar lessons?”, you need to first ask yourself the following things:

• How well do I want to get at the guitar?
• Who is my model, i.e., what level am I pursuing?
• Do I want to play professionally or just for friends and family and myself?
• Do I see the guitar as a major component of my life?

Depending on how you answer these questions, you can figure out how long you need to take guitar lessons. This brief guide will help you find the right answer for yourself. And hey, it doesn’t require any rocket science!

Just follow this basic template and figure out how long you need to take guitar lessons:

Option #1: First 1-2 Years

All guitarists, whether couch guitarists or blazing, high-value performers start as beginners. The initial time considered as “beginner” will vary in length from person to person, depending on how much time they put in.

The period of 1 year is commonly considered enough to learn all the basic major and minor chords, barre chords, beginner scales such as the pentatonic and simple rhythm patterns. However, some people might take even just 6 months to learn all of these.

Chances are these people will be quite young or those who happen to have a lot of time on their hands or have enough determination to put in hours of practice each day.

For others who balance work and family life, even 2 years is enough time for learning basic guitar skills. Keep in mind that its entirely up to you how far you go in the beginner stage.

You can spice up your learning with cool riffs or licks, as well as some obscure scales or rhythms.

For those who want to play casually, a learning period of 1-2 years will be enough. You can take lessons from an in-person instructor or through YouTube videos. But we’ll recommend an even better option for you shortly!

Option #2: Intermediate Stage

Almost all guitarists face a period of plateau, which is typically where they have advanced beyond the beginner stage but aren’t making advances as quickly as before. This is usually called the intermediate stage.

Intermediate players know all the basic chords, as well as some difficult chords and scales. They are also able to keep better time and know more music theory. However, to progress beyond this stage, often intermediate players will take guitar lessons.

This will help them sharpen their chops or learn advanced genres like jazz or funk.

For those who want to casually make some professional sounding music or just delve into musical composing, a year or two of lessons at this stage will do a lot of good.

By taking directed training to minimize knowledge gaps and shortcomings in technique, intermediate players can reach the advanced stage.

Option #3: Forever!

It is a well-known fact amongst old-school heavy metal fans that the legendary Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot, used to take guitar lessons even while touring!

The same is the case with hardcore, earnest musicians who are always trying to get better.

For those who want to become professional guitarists and perform for live audiences, they’ll likely want to keep learning the guitar forever.

There are several ways of going about this, including taking expensive masterclasses. However, there’s another way you can keep exploring diverse music genres and musical techniques, which will be cost-effective and rewarding.

Looking for The Best Way to Learn More Guitar?

So, now you’ve seen which category you can belong to casual, intermediate, or advanced. You can either take in-person lessons or opt for the plethora of guitar lessons on YouTube. But whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced player, there is one great option for you.

You can learn the guitar at any stage and for any learning goals with the help of GuitarTricks.com. No more lengthy, winded, boring lectures or obscure books. No more confusion with choosing which YouTube video to watch next.

With GuitarTricks, you will not only have a tailored online guitar learning system at your disposal but will also have the community and support of tens of thousands of online guitar learners just like you!

We recommend this option for anyone who wants to learn some more guitar. So, if you’ve finally decided on how long it should take to learn guitar, worry no more. We’ve got you sorted!