I started this post after Dan asked me how long I have been playing in the FAQ post. I just wanted to make a new one for it, so we could see how everyone on the forum is doing and how long they have been playing, what they can play by now, etc.

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I have been playing a little over a year and a half. I know thats not long but I play A LOT.. when I have played for other guitarists they always are amazed by how fast I am coming along. (not bragging.. just don't wanna be looked at as a noob!)

I started out with a cruddy electric and taking lessons trying to play RHCP songs, then eventually got an acoustic. I continued trying to play rock songs, until I moved into fingerpicking. My first song was Blackbird, and then I worked all summer to learn Classical Gas. After that, I found Andy Mckee, and just started about a month ago trying to learn his songs.

I can play Dreamcatcher, but still trying to perfect it.
Right now I am learning For My Father and doing really good!

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How about you guys?

How long have you played? What can you play by him?


Riley

Hello Riley..
I have been playing for about 26 years..through about 3 different phases..from satriani to vai..to gypsy kings and villa-lobos..to whatever it is that I play now..mostly my own material I guess....

Anyway..I wouldnt worry about being considered a noob..the guitar is truly an amazing instrument..one day its your best friend and the next it will make you scream..Just take what it gives you and keep a solid practice schedule and you will always progress...

Regards...
Troy

I forget?

I guess I really started when there was a lot of stuff going on around me and I wasn't that focused on playing much. That's somewhere between 2 - 3 years. I got serious about a year ago.. so total maybe 4ish? I don't know. Doesn't really matter to me how long I've played. It's more about continuing to play methinks.

I have been guitaring on and off like a light switch for well over 13 years (im 19 by the way) now but it wasnt until i noticed Andy on youtube that my whole world literally changed. I was and still am hugely inspired by Andy ever since i discovered his awesome talent about a week before christmas in 2006 i have slowly been increasing my practice session. I started off with six hours a day every day, then six months later it was something like 5 hours every week day and 10 hours both saturday and sunday and nowa days i have a full-time job (40 hrs a week) so all i get time for is 5-6 hrs every week day and 14-15 hrs every saturday and sunday lol. I just absolutely love to play fingerstyle guitar its such a joy! i play about 9 of andys songs, im also largely inspired by Tommy Emmanuel he is absolutely mind blowing. Anyway im glad this topic was made, its pretty cool.
Chris
Heres some shitty quality recordings i did about 8 or 9 months ago. I have improved heaps since then, at least i think i have?!
http://www.myspace.com/justabitoffun3

This post was last modified: 02-25-2008 12:40 AM by aboynamedchris.

I think I've been playing since I was 16, which was around 2 years ago, and I was playing every now and again, but I have recently really really been playing over an hour or 2 everyday (or try to if i'm not too busy ).

My first song was Eyes On Me, from Final Fantasy 8 but it is the classical guitar version of the song which is really really rare, and i was just lucky to find the tabs for it! :O Never have I ever found them again though online... Excellent song for fingerpickers as it's not too difficult, but stupid if your a beginner!

Currently learning For My Father I just wish I had better ears as I can't really tell most notes apart... except for the low E and when I drop it down to D!

And trust me, you may think your a noob, but nothing compares to me really, as the majority of things I can't ever seem to remember, or take too long to learn one particular song XD

EDIT: Oh and I've never had a teacher before, which probably has made my progression very very slow compared to others

This post was last modified: 02-25-2008 06:19 AM by Hydramus.

The first time I lay hands on guitar is about 4 years ago. Then I was just starting playing hard rock, now im in more classical.

I learned Drifting half year ago and I am still missing some notes that is really annoying.

Hey, well, I've been playing bass guitar for the past 12 years and I was looking up some videos of cars drifting and I saw Andy for the first time about a year ago.

I was hooked the first time I saw it lol. Since then, I have started to learn fingerstyle, left/right hand exorcises, alternative tuning and what not. I really dig playing in DADGAD and I have a few original pieces that are not too shabby. I'm still learning how to use a thumb pick effectively but still having a bit of trouble. I'm also learning some classical pieces such as Pachebels Canon in D major.

I'm learning Drifting too but the only problem I have is with the percusion part of it. I have a really hard time going from my bass notes and hitting the body and back while staying in rythm ha ha ha.

So yeah, 12 years of play but only 1 year of hard core fingerstlye.
I just made my first major purchase as an acoustic guitarist.

I got myself a Takamine EG340SC. I've played on it at Willis Music and ordered one from California from my private dealer where I live so it should be in soon.

This post was last modified: 02-27-2008 06:32 AM by Scotty.

I used to play for 1 years, I was taking lessons from a local Topeka guy named Brandon.. He was good, but I was a bad student. I wish I could have changed that around and taken lessons from Andy when I had the chance.

I still remember when I first met Andy, I was thinking to myself, "Who the f... is this creepy looking dude."

Then I got ahold of Nocturne (His album at the time.) and was blown away. To hear what composed of then and now... Wow, he has really flourished into an excellent guitarist.

I'm really kicking myself in the nuts for not grasping the opportunity to learn from Andy.

This post was last modified: 03-06-2008 02:24 PM by Jason.

i picked up a guitar 4 years ago and started playing stuff like blink 182 to rufio...
then i got into a band called cross romantics and we were a purly an acoustic band with no drums
http://www.myspace.com/crossromantics
im the kid with the big hair and red guitar on the myspace link
then we broke up and i moved on and started playing metal
the i pick up the acoustic again...and i was about to give up
then i was surfing youtube and found andy
and ive never turned back
my dream is to be on candyrat records with all the amazing people on there

This post was last modified: 02-27-2008 02:11 PM by imogenappratus.

well Riley,
i have been playing about 5 years i guess. i am not an expert myself. i have actually had a guitar for years that was passed down to my from my father but until 5 years ago, i decided i would give it a go. i had lessons for approx 12 months. i found that i was not doing so well on the theory side but i could watch/learn and play. i picked up stuff quite quickly. i guess like a lot of musicians out there - i have not had a great deal of theory. i can play a combination of rock, metal, very little classical, however i can play Classical Gas and Andy's Rylynn. my brother is a drummer in a band which used to do a lot of gigs throughout Melbourne and in Brisbane ( places in Australia ) so i kinda picked up some tips from those guys here and there when i would watch the rehearse.
i guess what i found works for me is to play for a few minutes to an hour everyday rather that once a week for a few hours. everyones different i guess.
all the best to you all guys, wherever you are out there !
Dan