Completing Lessons (Guitar Lesson)

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Completing Lessons

Steve answers the popular question, "When should I move on to the next lesson?" by sharing his personal goals and some important advice.

Taught by Steve Eulberg in Basic Guitar with Steve Eulberg seriesLength: 6:19Difficulty: 2.0 of 5

Chapter 1: (06:18) Completing Lessons Because JamPlay is such a big source of instructional material, it is natural to ask ourselves how much time must be spent on each lesson before being able to move on to the next one. Steve Eulberg has some very interesting thoughts on the subject involving three different aspects of comprehension.

1. Understanding

First, understanding what is being taught will help you assimilate what is being given to you. If you can play something without really understanding the reason and use of your accomplishment, you are missing something. Making sure that you are well familiar with the vocabulary used in the lesson and that you can follow the instructor's train of thoughts will help you in that first step. If anything is unclear, make sure to ask questions. Once you understand what is being said and it makes sense to you, you are ready to move on to the next step.

2. Playing

Once you understand the purpose and use of the lesson you are studying, you need to be able to play it. This step is made easier because of your understanding of the studied subject. Strive for a clean and precise technique and always keep in mind the reason why you are doing things the way they are shown to you.

3. Teaching

Finally, once you have a clear understanding of what is being said to you and can apply it on your instrument, ask yourself if you could explain it to someone else. Teaching what you have learned is an amazing way to organize your thoughts and to solidify your knowledge. This step is quite important as it will really help you tie your technique to the musical concepts you are working with.

A very useful way to keep track of your progress here at JamPlay is to use your progress slide bar according to these previous three steps. Moving your slide bar in increments of thirds will help you focus on the areas of the learning progress you have not yet quite mastered.
These three elements are meant to help you in your learning. They should not hinder your progress. As you may know, it is sometimes beneficial to explore new musical concepts that in the end will help you master a previous lesson. Using your progress bar will help you keep track of your progress. Just donâ€™t let it stop you from working on other material.

As you work towards mastering the guitar, don't limit yourself to a particular genre. Acoustic guitar players can learn a lot from electric guitar players and vice versa. The biggest difference behind these instruments are the tones you get from them. Keep an open mind when you are learning.

Finally, as you are going through these lessons, keep in mind the following five points:

1. Tune up. (Playing out of tune won't help your ears.)
2. Warm up. (This will ensure an effective practice session.)
3. Jump into the hard things. (While your brain is fresh, start with what you are struggling with.)
4. Play something familiar. (This will build up your confidence.)
5. Play something you have memorized. (This will help you move forward.)

Video Subtitles / Captions

Supplemental Learning Material

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.

DL8149 replied on September 2nd, 2016

Steve, do you have any lessons on legato practice? Did not see any?

christianready replied on September 13th, 2015

Terrific advice. I wish I saw this at the beginning of the series though!

drx1 replied on August 13th, 2015

Now video freezes and audio keeps playing and progress bar is frozen. I have zero issues with audio or video on any other site and have 30Mbs Internet access. #frustrated

ViennaBeef replied on January 17th, 2015

Seems that this should have been posted as lesson 1 ... newb here who has spend all his time on first three lessons, still nowhere close sounding anything other than a hack beginner. This seems to say to move on as you want....

slayer1987 replied on December 9th, 2013

Hey Steve good advice. I really get frustrated doing the Barre chords, hell just chords in general. So I go on to something else for a little bit. Maybe to another lesson or just play some songs I have already memorized. What is jacked up is I didn't realize that I am playing chords in some of the songs I already know. What a dummy. Great lessons though. I like your teaching style. Thanks.

nedrahej replied on October 27th, 2013

dude i wish there was piano lessons this easy

brucealoose replied on October 17th, 2013

Hey Steve I just finished your series and I must say it was great! I have been playing(self-taught) for years but it is crazy how much I learned in this first series. In saying that I was wondering if you have any suggestions to where I should go next in Jamplay. I am interested in playing contemporary worship music and am a little unsure about what to do now. Thanks again!

asken replied on October 3rd, 2013

Hi Steve. I am a semiretired Norwegian dentist, age 66, who have been playing guitar (with redwine and cheese) for over 40 years. Mostly by learning songs. This is my first attemt on learning the handicraft / the "why do they do that"? I am very glad I startes with you and your way of teaching. Thanks

duhprankster replied on July 30th, 2013

Very helpful. Thanks for the advise and suggestions.

jaranth replied on May 15th, 2013

Thanks, Steve, for a nice intro to the guitar! Much was review for me, but it had more than a few enlightening pointers that broadened my understanding. Very well done!

telboy replied on May 3rd, 2013

I,be been sitting in the back porch, in the dark for hours, and I haven,t. Heard one cricket....... Lot,s of bum notes, but no crickets. Must be doing something wrong......could u send one over to Ireland !! ;)

john103141 replied on March 19th, 2013

I've been studying classical guitar in private lessons for several years now but I was holding back for reasons I did not understand? I think it had to do with giving myself permission to call myself a musician. Going through these 19 lessons was illuminating in that I was seeing all that I had already learned. Now I call myself a musician. Thanks.

girljamz replied on April 8th, 2013

Steve, this is jane and i have been w/ you for couple of weeks. Have a good knowledge of chords but missed the theory part. this is great. thanks so much. really love these lessons. Enjoying your playing in between lessons. playon man.

clownno9 replied on January 31st, 2013

Hi Steve,I have finished all 19 basic lessons and they are sound, easy to understand and i can do all the fingerpicking on D but where do I go next? what lessons follow on from these ones?

bungalowbill replied on February 20th, 2013

I started from the beginners even though I could read music from a young age. I just now finished the beginners course and I'm very happy to have done it. The hardest part for me was back in lesson nine keeping my 3rd finger down while my first finger barred and it took me hours and hours and now it seems I'm hardly putting any pressure at all on the strings and it sounds perfect. I'm just sorry I didn't join Jamplay a few years ago. Thanks for the lessons and the motivation to keep on practicing.

benisplayin replied on January 24th, 2013

Steve you have put together a thorough and concise set of lessons. It is the best I have seen in 35 years playing at a guitar. Thank you.