Expectations for Complete Basic Course

[Old soldier]

Hi, I have some questions about the Metal Method Basic Course.  First though, a little about me.  I am 58 years old and retired.  Although I have a little experience in playing the guitar, I still consider myself very, very much a newbie.  I know my Cowboy Chords, the five positions of the Pentatonic Scale, and I can read both TAB and standard music notation pretty well.

I am curious about (1) how far the Basic Course will take me skill level wise, (2) how long  (on average) it will take a beginner to complete, and (3) how well the skills learned will translate to other Genres of music.

I guess 1 & 3 go together.  I am actually more interested in Blues and Rock – Santana, later years Clapton, the Eagles, although I am a big Black Sabbath fan.  Additionally, I am interested in both rhythm and lead guitar.

As far as number 2 goes, I know that everyone learns at a different pace BUT I was wondering how long I should expect to complete the course if I truly buckle down.  I can easily dedicate 2-4 hours a day every day but Sunday.

Thank you to anyone that may be able to give your advice on this guitar pilgrimage…

 

[superblonde]

1. as a hint.. the intro solo and song here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg2b8xKd9eA is the exercise for week 40 (somewhere around there) of the new course… then there’s still weeks after that and they are even more intense.

2. omg.. well.. honestly, years.. put as many hours as possible per day in, up front, so it snowballs.

3. hmm, for sure minor music. Even country..?! Not many cowboy chord exercises in the new course. Paranoid is one of the top suggested songs to learn in parallel with the course, tempo wise it might fit somewhere around week 35 or so. Probably Santana and Clapton use the diatonic scale or at least nothing more exotic than that, and that’s in week 25-30. I’ve been playing some Neil Young songs and I think they fit well in parallel with week 20+ (pentatonic scale and moderate tempo). The basic course will not teach disco.. actually that is not true either cause ROTM has posted some rock disco songs lately, hah. And I learned a Blondie song. So it’s good for disco too, *shh.. dont tell anyone, it could be embarrassing*

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

[MotleyCrue81]

If you’ve got 2-4 hours every day, you could easily finish within a year. If you really go ham and constantly do 3 hours a day, you could expect to maybe finish in around 9 or 10 months. You’ll be good enough to write your own complex songs and play live after you finish the course. You could be able to play a ton of your favorite Santana and Sabbath songs even live with others if you choose. The skills you learn can be used for any genre, basically once you have the technique down, you can learn to play anything. It all just comes down to how much you practice and pay attention to good technique. From the sound of 2-4 hours everyday you’ll be in fine shape. And you can always contact Doug directly by submitting a contact form or even just posting on the forum here with any questions.

Bring hair metal back!

[Igglepud]

I would also suggest giving yourself at least a year to finish it, and don’t get hung up on it taking longer than that. If you want the maximum results, put in the time you stated and also post videos of your technique here. Knowing HOW to practice is every bit as important as knowing WHAT to practice, and an outside viewpoint can help with that. I posted one a few weeks ago about my pinky, and got an answer that turned out to be my wrist position. I never would have figured that out on my own.

MY ROCK IS FIERCE!!!

[Old soldier]

Thank you superblonde, MotleyCrue81, and Igglepud for all of your assistance.  I appreciate all of your insights.  Yes, being retired I have all the time I want to practice.  I am not in a big hurry to complete the course, I was just curious as to how long it might take if I really buckled down.  I know some weeks are going to be much harder than others but it is still good to get a general idea.

superblonde, I don’t mind somewhat “different” musical genres.  Shoot, my favorite movie is Jesus Christ Superstar.  Yvonne Elliman’s singing in the movie just gives me chills.  Of course it does not hurt that my wife looks just like her (hehehe).

[superblonde]

I also wanted to add, the new course according to Doug is 2x the length of the old course- so it could last twice as long. The new course is also heavy into doing improv soloing. Many of my practice sessions were doing pentatonic improv soloing for 3 hours with the backing track, because I got so into the playing. So it really just depends where the fun is headed that week, whether it’s drilling thru the practice or spending tons of time working on soloing. I’d say it is more like the course is 3x to 5x more than the old course because of that. How long it really takes probably depends on your starting point. Getting speed up, is probably the most time consuming part, and the last months are like maybe triplet 150 BPM speed, if that’s already in reach, then speed isn’t the limiting factor in progress, it’s more about memorizing the parts.

By the way what did you retire from? Just curious because it is earlier than most.

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

[Old soldier]

superblonde wrote:

By the way what did you retire from? Just curious because it is earlier than most.

Both my wife and I are retired Army (we met and married as young privates).  I worked at an automotive plant after that and am now retired (so is she).

[Author]

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