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"What makes someone an intermediate player as opposed to still being a beginner?"

It's a very interesting question with many views on the distinction but I thought I would give you some guidance to help you identify your strong points and where you can take time to make improvements. If you can do ALL of these things it would be fair to say you are a well-rounded intermediate level guitar player and musician. This list is not meant to be completely comprehensive but just enough to point you in the right direction.

​Please do not see this list as something to demotivate you, it is arguably subjective and is only meant as a guide to help you fill in some of the blanks you may have missed since you started learning. You can use it to set yourself targets and distinguish your goals. Everything here is within your reach! If it seems like a mountain to you, you just need to start climbing the mountain today. Step by step

CHORDS:

As a beginner, the thing that will take the most time is chord changing and memorising all the shapes. I do not know of any shortcut so just practice practice practice. A tried and tested way to do this is to learn songs.... lots and lots of songs. The side effect will be that in time, most of these skills will grow simultaneously. If you have not yet been introduced to how chords are made & chord theory you can check out my 8 step guide here - (chord theory essentials)

How well you change between chords is another factor to consider. Smooth transitions and good muscle memory are a big part of graduating above being a beginner guitarist. Check out my 6 tips to improve chord changing

Here is a checklist of points for you... Do you know?...

  • ALL the basic ‘open’ chords (see below)
  • ALL the 'power' chords
  • ALL major & minor barre chords (essential barre chords below)
  • Basic knowledge of progressions and keys (chord theory essentials)
  • Understand how chords are made (chord theory essentials)
  • Clean and consistent changing between all chords with a few different strumming patterns
  • ​How to play in some simple and compound time signatures such as 4/4 6/8 3/4
These barre chords should be the first ones you learn because they appear more frequently in most songs you will learn.

SCALES:

Apart from understanding the CHROMATIC scale you should be able to improvise with the following scales (in a minimum of 2 octaves) and know which one is best suited to the chords you are playing over.

Improvising itself feels very weird at first, the only way to get better at it is to play along to backing tracks and learn easy solos from other songs to get ideas for your own playing.​

For a grade 1 guitar exam you are required to know 4 scales; Em Pentatonic, C major scale, A natural minor scale and G major pentatonic scale. By grade 4 you would need to know all of these in ALL keys and you should be able to effectively use the blues scale too.


  • ​MAJOR 
  • NATURAL MINOR  
  • MAJOR PENTATONIC 
  • MINOR PENTATONIC
  • THE BLUES SCALE

What scale is this one below?

What key would you use this scale in? If you are not sure the Intermediate Level 1 course would be a great place to find out more
Here is a backing track in D major Do you know how you could improvise over this?
Watch On YouTube

THEORY:

As well as learning the chord and scale theory these skills are highly important and useful to your adaptability when playing with others, writing your own music ideas down and adjusting song covers to suit your vocal range

  • Be able to find any note on the guitar in all locations
  • Reading and writing basic music notation. Melodies and rhythms (I use GUITAR PRO and I highly recommend learning how to use it too)
  • Change keys (with and without a capo)

TECHNIQUES:

As well as palm muting, vibrato, string bending, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs these other essential techniques should be comfortable for you.

  • No buzzing notes
  • Not looking at your hands all the time
  • Good rhythm and ability to play in time to a metronome at reasonable tempos
  • Being able to play in time with others and improvise to backing tracks

EAR TRAINING:

  • Recognise and copy basic basslines and melodies
  • Recognise different chord types such as major, minor, maj7, dominant7, diminished. [TEST YOURSELF]
  • Recognise intervals between root and the octave  [TEST YOURSELF] Check out Ear Training Level 2 to learn more about intervals

How did you do?

I hope this was helpful for you and gives you an idea of where to look next in your quest for knowledge. If you enjoyed it please feel free to share this article and send me a message if you have any questions. I'd be very happy to hear from you

​Ryan