Are you an intermediate guitar player? Here’s how to know.

Many guitar players have no idea how to know once they’ve successfully completed the “beginner” stage of playing guitar. When do you officially become an intermediate guitar player? In this guitar lesson, Nate Savage will answer that but going through a list of things you need to do successfully to call yourself a certified intermediate guitarist.

Ready to level up your playing? Get personal coaching tips and structured lessons: enjoy your free 7-day trial to Guitareo!

To be considered an intermediate player, you’ll need to be able to do the following:
- Know and be able to change smoothly between your fundamental open chords.
- Know power chords and be able to move them around cleanly.
- Know the basic Major and Minor bar chord shapes.
- Know the note names on the Low E and A strings.
- You’ll need to have all the basic strumming patterns down.
- Be able to play along to a metronome.
- Hear and match Major and Minor chords.
- Hear and identify the keys of simple songs.
- Understand music theory for keys and chords, like so:
- Play through several complete songs.
- Play the Blues scale.
- Play the Major scale.
- Play the Major Pentatonic Scale.
- Play the Minor Pentatonic Scale.
- You’ll need to know basic lead techniques: Picking, Bending, Sliding, & Vibrato.
- Depending on your goals you may need to be able to read music.

Obviously, there are a lot of things here you need to get down before you can call yourself a true intermediate guitar player. Treat this lesson like your checklist. Go through each bullet point and check them off as you go. By the time you’re done, you’ll be a well-rounded intermediate guitarist!

Check out the full lesson page here:

Follow us:

#guitarlesson #guitarplayer #guitareo

[MusoraMedia]

Ready to level up your playing? Get personal coaching tips and structured lessons: enjoy your free 7-day trial to Guitareo!

[CalvinEdmonson]

I have thought of myself as an advanced beginner for decades.

[alicebate]

This ended up being more of a confidence booster than I expected.

[zoewogan]

For people like me:

CHORDS
1. Know your 8 open chords ( e.g. C, G, D, Am)
2. Change between these chords SMOOTHLY (without a bit of a pause)
3. Be able to play power chords well
4. Know 4 FUNDAMENTAL barre chord shapes ( E & A Major and Minor shape) and move around the house fretboard
5. Have a basic understanding of music theory
6. Able to play through a few simple songs ( all the way without stopping)

STRUMMING and KNOWLEDGE
1. A solid understanding of strumming techniques.
2. Consistent timing ( Keep up with the metronome)
3. Tell if a chord is major or minor
4. Learn how to identify the key of a song

LEAD GUITAR
1. Know how to play a few scales (e.g. a blues scale, minor and major pentatonic scale, major scale and natural minor scale
2. Know alternate picking, bending, sliding
3. Understanding how to read music is beneficial to know and also the basics of reading rhythms

Congratulations!!!
YOU GOT THIS 🤩

[darkknightkg]

I've been playing for 16 years, but since it was all self-taught never knew a thing about scales. Chords and strumming all day every day, but only stumbled across scales within the past year. Once I master scales I'll feel like a fully-intermediate player. Thanks for the list!

[tylerdennis]

I don’t know why I felt like I had to watch this just to confirm with myself that I am not a beginner after almost ten years lol

[greatlistener]

I stopped at 3 1/2 min. I am an intermediate video watcher.

[rayaxmerza]

Been learning the guitar alone for 8 months now by watching youtube videos and practicing around 4hrs per day. Can do all what you've listed in the video except for the some scales that I didn't memorize and get correctly and decently yet and I don't always get a songs key right but still working on these 🙂

[marthamryglod]

Being self taught, my teacher left important lessons out. It's like I can do calculus, physics, and don't know the alphabet all the way through.

[Ssssssshhha]

As a beginner, I’m reverse engineering this to know what I have to work on.

[gaellesemaan]

I am a self taught Guitarist, 1 crucial factor that really helped me evolve was being able to sing while playing! It really motivated me to learn more songs and gave me the confidence to perform in front of an audience!

[allthingsmusic-]

I find that ear training, has helped me advance as much as anything. Chords, rhythm, and the like, all come into play. Being able to listen to a song, and know what key it's in, and be able to play along almost instantly, (in most cases) has been paramount in my 59 years of playing music. At least that's been my personal experience.

[coonjamalay]

Having the confidence to play in front of people is another essential point

[michaelcarter]

Must be able to play smoke on the water, on one string

[stevemondragon]

I’ve considered myself a beginner from the beginning. But according to this I’ve been promoted 🥳

[michaeld.mahoney]

I thought you covered it very well and agree that if you can achieve the timing and technique put forth here that you are an intermidiate guitar player. Learning an instrument is a never ending process so keeping learning, practicing and improving.

[Fruitfactory]

I've got all these down and still feel that I am a beginner.

[davidmorantte]

Internet terms:
Beginner -
strumming open chords and playing some simple songs by myself on an acoustic. ... Learning to apply the pentatonic scale to the progression and being able to play a little lead guitar, as long as the chord progression allows me to just stay in one scale the whole time.


Intermediate -
To be considered an intermediate player, you'll need to be able to do the following: Know and be able to change smoothly between your fundamental open chords. Know power chords and be able to move them around cleanly. Know the basic Major and Minor bar chord shapes. Know the note names on the Low E and A strings.


Advanced -

* Show up fifteen minutes late to practice. At least.
*Have visible tattoos/piercings. (Face tattoos will be accepted as a substitute for piercings, but multiple piercings will not be accepted in lieu of tattoos.)

* Refusal to carry any gear but his/her own to and from gigs.


* Must have one of the following: (Consistent alcoholism, recurring mental issues, or recovering addiction to hard drugs. (Marijuana does not count.))


* Must also have one of these advanced habits: (Playing parts of songs that the band does not know/perform while lead singer engages the crowd, the ability to sing backups in a mike that is not hot, or the ability to cue primadonna meltdowns on cue.)


In conclusion, there are basic and semi-advanced skills needed to achieve beginner and intermediate abilities. Advanced for the beginning and intermediate guitar players is something we aspire to achieve, or is it?


Advanced guitarist is definitely a relative term meaning we're always learning and improving. :-)

[walterric]

That video, by far, was the best for teaching me what I need to do in advancing my guitar skills. Thank you so much!

[oscarnunez]

Great video, thank you. I've always thought of myself as a beginner but based on your video I could comfortably consider myself intermediate. I'm a singer that picked up guitar to chord around while I'm singing and over the years have developed the skills that you talk about. Open chords, bar chords, transitions, blues and pentatonic scales, etc. Definitely trying to improve all the time but this was a nice ego boost.