How long does it take to learn guitar?
About 100 hours to play your first chords, 310 for barre chords and 1,450 for Grade 8. At 1 hour a day, that's 3 months to 4 years.
It takes about 100 hours of lessons and practice to play your first set of guitar chords and scales. At 1 hour a day, that's about 3 months. Barre chords take about 310 hours, or 10 months at 1 hour a day. Grade 8, the top grade in UK guitar exams, takes about 1,450 hours, or 4 years.
So the answer depends on what "learn guitar" means to you. A few open chords is a 3-month goal. Playing chords and scales all over the neck is a 4-year goal.
Where do these numbers come from?
They come from two UK music exam boards. Trinity College London estimates how many hours it takes to reach each grade of its guitar exams. London College of Music lists the chords and scales that its exam asks for at each grade. Both boards grade guitar from 1 to 8.
Trinity's hours count time with a teacher and time you practice on your own. They're an estimate for an average student, and Trinity says to use them as a guide only. If you've played music before, you'll probably need less time.
The two boards write their own exams, so treat the match between hours and chords as a rough guide.
What can you play after 3 months, 1 year and 4 years?
The table shows the chords and scales at each grade, the total hours to get there and the time at 1 hour a day.
| Grade | Chords and scales in the exam | Total hours | At 1 hour a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before Grade 1 | Open chords D, E minor and B7. The C major scale. | 40 | 6 weeks |
| Grade 1 | Open chords A, G, D minor and D7. The A minor pentatonic scale. | 100 | 3 months |
| Grade 3 | Barre chords such as B major and C♯ minor, in two places on the neck. | 310 | 10 months |
| Grade 5 | Sixth and suspended chords as barre chords. Scales in three places on the neck. | 640 | 21 months |
| Grade 8 | The same chord in five places on the neck. Modes such as Lydian and Locrian. | 1,450 | 4 years |
A barre chord is a chord where your first finger lies flat across the strings. Barre chords let you move one chord shape up and down the neck, so they're the first big step after open chords.
Grade 8 is a high bar. Trinity says that UK universities and conservatoires often ask for Grade 8 before they let you into a music course.
How long will it take at 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours a day?
Divide the hours by the time you practice each day. For Grade 1 at 30 minutes a day, that's 100 hours ÷ 0.5 hours = 200 days, or about 7 months.
| Milestone | Hours | 30 minutes a day | 1 hour a day | 2 hours a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1: open chords | 100 | 7 months | 3 months | 7 weeks |
| Grade 3: barre chords | 310 | 20 months | 10 months | 5 months |
| Grade 5 | 640 | 3.5 years | 21 months | 10 months |
| Grade 8 | 1,450 | 8 years | 4 years | 2 years |
The table assumes you play every day. To get a date for your own schedule, enter your hours a day and days a week in the 10,000 hours calculator.
How much should you practice between guitar lessons?
Plan for about 4 hours of practice for each hour of lessons when you start. Trinity's Grade 1 estimate is 12 hours with a teacher and 48 hours on your own. By Grade 5, the ratio grows to about 6.5 hours of practice for each lesson hour.
So if you have a 30-minute lesson each week, plan for about 2 hours of practice in the same week.
Do you need 10,000 hours to get good at guitar?
No. Grade 8 takes about 1,450 hours, which is about a seventh of 10,000. The 10,000-hour rule post explains where the number comes from and why the hours you need depend on the skill.
Start with a goal you can reach this season. The Grade 1 chords take about 100 hours, so at 1 hour a day you can play them in about 3 months.
How do you track your guitar practice?
Time each practice session and keep a running total. Then you can see how close you are to your next milestone.
- Pick a milestone from the table, for example the Grade 1 chords at 100 hours.
- Pick a daily pace, for example 1 hour a day, which is 7 hours a week.
- Start a timer when you start focused practice and stop it when you take a break.
- Once a month, enter your total in the calculator to see when you'll reach your milestone.
In timespent, create a Timed Activity called "Guitar" and give it a weekly goal of 7 hours. Start the timer on your iPhone or Mac each time you practice. timespent adds up your time for each week and for all time, so you always know how far you are from 100 hours.
Common questions
Can you learn guitar in 3 months?
You can learn the basics. At 1 hour a day, 3 months gives you about 90 hours. That's close to the 100 hours that Trinity estimates for Grade 1, where you play open chords such as A, G and D minor.
How long does it take to learn barre chords?
About 310 hours of lessons and practice, or 10 months at 1 hour a day. The London College of Music exam lists barre chords from Grade 3.
How long does it take to learn guitar at 30 minutes a day?
About 7 months for your first open chords and about 20 months for barre chords. Grade 8 takes about 8 years.
How long does it take to get good at guitar?
Trinity calls Grades 6 to 8 advanced. Grade 6 takes about 860 hours, which is under 2.5 years at 1 hour a day. At Grade 6, the London College of Music exam asks for 9th and diminished chords and a scale in five places on the neck.
Does bass guitar take as long as guitar?
Trinity lists the same hours for bass as for guitar. That's about 100 hours for Grade 1 and 1,450 hours for Grade 8.