Every day people decide to take on new hobbies. One of those hobbies is learning how to play electric guitar. This can be a daunting task and not nearly as easy as people may think. It takes years of practice to achieve the kind of talent you hear from your favorite guitarist. Several hours a day can be consumed in the quest to be the next guitar hero.

But, all that practice may be in vain if you go about it the wrong way. Too many times, an aspiring young guitarist gives up after just a short time. Either resigning themselves to a level they are never satisfied with or they quit altogether, never to play again. Usually because they become frustrated at their lack of development due to lack of instruction or lack of focus.

Endless hours of finger exercises may be part of it, but it won't get you where you want to be on it's own. Strumming away aimlessly will definitely not improve your skills. Playing the same three or four songs over and over might impress your friends for a while, but will eventually become boring even to yourself. So, what is the key to this most noble of quests?

Any good guitar teacher will tell you there is a sure fire way to keep yourself focused and constantly improving. That elusive secret that all new guitarists are looking for is simply, setting goals. Without goals, you have no idea what you are trying to achieve, much less how to get there. All the instruction in the world is no good without goals. It is like trying to use a map when you don't actually know what your destination is.

The first goal you should set for yourself is a long term goal. Just how good do you want to be? Do you want to be the next Edward Van Halen, Steve Vai or Joe Satriani? Maybe you just want to be good enough to put together a band with your friends and have a good time. You may even just want to be good enough to play around and impress your friends with your new talent. That is ok too. But, it is crucial to set that long term goal for yourself so you can always evaluate where you are as compared to where you want to be.

Intermediate goals would of course be next. What will it take to achieve that long term goal? How quickly do you want to achieve it? This will help to determine how often and how long you need to practice. It will also help to determine what type of practice and exercises you need to be focusing on.

Last but not least, you should set short term goals for yourself. These can be daily or weekly goals. How long do you need to practice each day and what do you want to accomplish with that practice. These can be determined pretty easily based on the long term and intermediate goals you have set for yourself.

To get more information on goal setting or other tips for learning how to play electric guitar, check out our website