How long does it take to learn a new song on the guitar?

Have you ever thought about how long does it take to learn a new song?

Do you know how much time exactly you need to learn something new?

I have never thought about it. But I find it very interesting and would love to know it.

And I don’t mean some easy 4 chord song. I mean something more challenging. Something that actually takes some time to learn.

So, I decided to do a little experiment…

I want to know exactly how many hours will it take me to learn a new song. And for this experiment I chose a song by Doc Watson called Deep River Blues:

I will count every minute and every hour of working on this song.

My plan is first to transcribe it, then learn it piece by piece. I will use the principles of deliberate practice to learn it as fast as possible, but I definitely don’t want to neglect quality. I want to create the best version that I am currently capable of.

To make this experiment more down-to-earth , I will only practice this tune for max. 60 minutes a day. I think this way it can inspire also some other folks to learn something new without spending the whole day with guitar.

Why is this experiment important?

First, I am really curious how long will it take to learn this song. I never did something like this before.

Second, knowing exactly how much time you need to put into something can have a great value for any aspiring guitarist. I know that my results won’t be the same as somebody else’s, but it will be much more precise than if I just guess.

People usually say something like this: “It took me 3 months to learn this song.”

But, really? Did it really take you 2192 hours to learn? Probably not.

What they mean is that they practiced 15 minutes a day for 3 months to be able to play it. That is around 23 hours of practicing. Not that much, right?

I think it would be much more inspiring for people to know the exact time of how long something takes to master than those vague guesses. That’s why I think this experiment can be valuable for many guitarists.

Let me know what you think.

Please share with your friends.

Photo:  purplemattfish