Kaasdief
I am very new at guitar. Set myself a goal to practice twice a day. I find that I somehow make more progress in the morning than in the evening. My wife leaves for work earlier than me, so I grab twenty minutes on the sly every morning. (I am trying my best not to appear obsessed :-[) On the weekends my plan does not pan out like that ☹ I feel like I am missing out if I don't get a bit in the morning as well!
Vikster
I'm going to enrol on Coursera for the "Introduction to Guitar" course. The current course is finishing on 20 March. I will join the next one. They recommend 6-8 hours per week. I manage 15-20 minutes only on a good day so I'm not sure where I will squeeze out an hour per day!
Hasie
I've been playong for a little more than a year now. At some stage I played morr than an hour every day and 3 hours on weekend days. Then I started getting pins and needles in my little and ring finger. Was practicing the E7, Am and Dm chords at the time.
The overexercising of the muscles caused inflamation in my forearm and that irritated the ulnar nerve.
I had to stop playing for a full month and then had to ease back into it. I still have numbness in the little finger, but it is manageable.
So don't overdo it.
To make up for the less time I spend on the guitar, I'm doing music theory.
beardedmoose
Practice when you can . Remember it's not a race.
Dinky88
Just grab your guitar when ever you can, no need to plug in, just sit with it if you are watching TV or whatever, till it feels like you are not complete if you dont have a guitar in your hands. I used to practice 6 hours a day after i finished high school, it was the best thing I ever did for my guitar playing, but its not realistic anymore so I just practice whenever I get a chance, every bit helps.
morph
When you are young you can practice all day and not feel the effects. By the time I was 30 I had my first serious RSI (repetitive stress injury) now that I am in my fifties, it happens a lot faster. The tendonitus is permanently sitting there. However I also am much wiser now, knowing what is causing the problems and by changing guitar positions, wrist and finger positions, warming up better I have managed to keep playing without aggravating the condition any more. Apart from the initial pain in the finger tips you get in the beginning until the callouses develop, you should not feel any other pain ever. If you feel a sharp twinge, stiffness in the joints and muscles, numbness, tingling sensations then you are doing something wrong and hurting yourself. By the time you do feel that sudden sharp momentary pain in the wrist, the damage is already done.
At the moment I practice 20 minutes a time, two to 3 times a day, slowly softly, aiming at getting something that sounds nice as opposed to trying the thrash the living daylights out of it. Get up earlier than the wife, make her coffee in bed and then go do a session. Do the same at night when the little ones are asleep, and the wife is relaxing in front of the TV or gone to bed.
