How hard is it to learn guitar?

How hard is it to learn guitar? Well, that's up to you. The most simplistic answer is to figure out how hard you expect it to be. If you expect that it's going to be insanely difficult, then you are going to have an insanely difficult time learning guitar.

Expectations aside, there are ways that you can make guitar a bit easier to learn. These ways work because the most successful students do them without thinking about it. Ready?

Tip 1: Learn to love the process more than the product

Learning to love the daily feeling of practicing is one of the best ways to make guitar easier to learn. By learning to love the process, you'll throw out a compulsion to accomplish some goal because the goal is to love the process. You'll never compare yourself to others who are more familiar with the instrument. You'll throw out the urgency to get somewhere immediately. And, you'll be smugly rewarded with the enjoyment of the adventure you're on. Showing up and practicing guitar will become the reward in and of itself.

Tip 2: Reach out for support when you need it

Everyone needs support. There are many online guitar communities dedicated to helping beginners. There are tons of informal guitar classes where people get together and learn a topic together. There are tons of peeps out there waiting to meet you and play guitar with you. Finding these friends and turning them into allies is such an unbelievably smart move; The more guitarists you know, the shorter the time it'll take for you to be good at guitar.

Tip 3: Find a teacher with a reputation to protect

Private teachers and tutors know that their reputation depends upon serving their clients well. They know, intuitively, that they will not be able to pay the rent if they aren't terribly supportive people (unless their students are gluttons for punishment). Teachers who refuse to be supportive are easy to spot: they are jerks! The best teachers have expertise in their domain of knowledge and a healthy willingness to support and help other people learn. Find this teacher, and don't let go.

Tip 4: Bank on absorbing only the most appropriate information

Information, especially with regards to guitar, is ridiculously available. Just one search on an especially broad topic will have you tumbling down the rabbit hole. The trouble starts if we don't know what to search for. 

If you don't know what to search for, any information you find will mess with you. My recommendation is not to over-complicate it. Instead of doing general searches, like "How to learn guitar," do searches that are more specific and appropriate to your needs, like "learn the E minor chord." Of course, this means you have to know what you're looking for and for what you need. This is why having an army of allies, or at least a trusted friend, is a wise move.

Tip 5: Make practicing a routine, done each day at the same exact time.

Creating routines and habits out of practicing, out of the process, is such a smart move. All it takes is finding the balance. For most beginners, it means practicing at the same time each day, practicing deliberately, and practicing for smaller intervals of time.

For years, I've recommended doing five minutes of practice per day for beginners. I think this is manageable. Can you afford to practice five minutes a day, every day, at the same time and place? Are you willing to make five minutes a day into a habit? It's easier to do than you think, and it will make guitar far easier to learn.