well, like anything, it takes time to get the hang of... i will tell you my experience, but remember, i was 6 years old....

i started playing and just messing around with my moms guitar, and for about a year i just diddle for a few minutes a couple times a week, once i actually practiced for at least a half hour a day, it took me about 1 month and i got that wierd feeling in my stomach and i knew i was addicted.... i would say dont concentrate on how long it is going to take you to "get good" simply concentrate on what you like to play, practicing on a regular basis, and just have fun. that is one thing you REALLY need to do, dont make playing become a chore just because you want to be good. you will have moments of triumph and glory, but those are almost always preceded by 3 or 4 moments of wanting to hit yourself as hard as possible in the face. like i said before... welcome to our world... have fun, get addicted, and rock on.

awesome thanks man. I am getting a late start I am 26, so hopefully I will get the hang of it.

you will just as long as you practice everyday, that is totally the key to the whole thing.

it's like anything. if ya want it bad enough,you'll get it. practice as much as possible. once you figure out the 2 finger power chord,you'll be off to the races. learn to read tab as well(takes about 2 or 3 minutes to figure tab out). tons of sites out there to hekp ya as well. i had parts to about 40 songs after two weeks wehn i started out. but i had been doodling around on the thing for about a year prior to getting serious about it. having fun with it is a big deal. it's really what it is all about. especially in the beginning.

If you are just starting out and have never played at all... You should first focus on pressing a string, picking that string and hearing a clear note. Each string will feel different and each string fretted in a differen't area will be more or less difficult at first.

Once you are able to press and get clear tones then you should start learning to use two or more strings at a time to construct chords.

Get to that point for now. Once you can make a few chords you can start putting the chords together to make progressions. Then it's off to learning the basics to some of the songs you are interested in.

As previously stated, you have to play daily. (and you have to like it)

Yep, be sure to play every day, dude! Even if you're just making a racket, play anyways.

Also be sure to have some fun, eh?

I would say it really depends on what song you are trying to play. Something like "Smoke on the Water" or "Iron Man" should come fairly quickly. If you are trying to play songs that are more complicated which use odd chord changes and such I would say it could take quite a while. I would say start slow and set easily attainable goals - you will feel better achieving them. Aside from learning songs I would spend some time with a theory book to learn chords, progressions etc... It will seem boring, but more complicated material will use these and you will be able to play more and better by taking the time up front to learn. I would also spend some time trying your own thing - you might accidently stumble on a cool chord or riff completely by accident that you can make into something unique.

Rock on!

thanks fort all the advice

ou said you started late in life. I sterted when i turned 39 and am haveing fun with it. Practice everyday and you'll get better.

I've been playing on and off for 15 or so years, and I'm still learning new stuff every day I pick up the old Strat. Stay persistent and keep it fun.