Track Your Progress

Progress on guitar often feels invisible from day to day. You practise a chord change for a week and it still feels clumsy — then one morning it clicks and you wonder when it happened. This tracking system captures your progress so you can see how far you have come, set meaningful goals, and stay motivated through the difficult stretches.

How to Use This Guide

Daily: After each practice session, fill in the Practice Session Log (30 seconds — just ticks and a note).
Weekly: At the start of each new session week, set your three weekly goals and review last week’s results.
Per phase: At the end of each phase take that phase’s checkpoint in assessment/.
Monthly: Compare your earliest recordings to your latest. Write one sentence about what has improved.

You can copy these tables into a notebook, print this page, or recreate them in a spreadsheet — whatever you will actually use.

Practice Session Log

Use one row per day. Fill it in immediately after you finish practising — it takes 30 seconds and prevents the “did I practise yesterday?” uncertainty that erodes habits.

Date	Minutes	Warm-Up Done	Technique Focus	Song Practised	One Thing I Improved	Fingertip Pain (1–5)	Other pain? Where?
		Yes / No
		Yes / No
		Yes / No
		Yes / No
		Yes / No
		Yes / No
		Yes / No

How to fill in each column:

Date: Today’s date.
Minutes: Total practice time. Honest number — 12 minutes counts. Zero counts too (write it down so you see it).
Warm-Up Done: Did you do the warm-up from your current session and tune your guitar before playing? Yes or No.
Technique Focus: What specific skill did you work on? Examples: “Em to Am transitions,” “downstroke strumming at 70 BPM,” “C major scale ascending.”
Song Practised: Which song or exercise from the current session? Write the name.
One Thing I Improved: The most important column. Write one specific thing that got better, no matter how small. “Am chord sounded cleaner.” “Hit the chord change on beat 1 twice in a row.” “Got through the riff without looking at the TAB.” These small wins compound.
Fingertip Pain (1–5): 1 = none, 5 = had to stop for the day. Track this in your first weeks of pressing strings. Soreness usually eases after two to four weeks of regular playing, and by Phase 2 most people can play a whole session in comfort. Skin differs from person to person: go by how your fingertips feel, not by the calendar.
Other pain? Where? Write “no”, or write where it was. Anything you write here is a reason to read the rule again. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.

Weekly Goals Framework

At the start of each session week, set exactly three goals. Not two, not five — three. This keeps you focused without feeling overwhelmed.

How to Set Good Weekly Goals

Each goal should be specific, measurable, and achievable within the week.

Bad goals (vague):

“Get better at chords”
“Practise more”
“Learn the song”

Good goals (specific and measurable):

“Pass the change test for Em and Am at a new chord every 2 beats at 60 BPM”
“Practise on at least five days this week, following the plan each time”
“Play the ‘Come As You Are’ riff four times through (8 measures) from memory at 60 BPM, two notes per click”

Weekly Goal Tracker

Week	Start Date	Goal 1	Goal 2	Goal 3	Result
1					Achieved __ / 3
2					Achieved __ / 3
3					Achieved __ / 3
4					Achieved __ / 3
5					Achieved __ / 3
6					Achieved __ / 3
7					Achieved __ / 3
8					Achieved __ / 3
9					Achieved __ / 3
10					Achieved __ / 3
11					Achieved __ / 3
12					Achieved __ / 3
13					Achieved __ / 3
14					Achieved __ / 3
15					Achieved __ / 3
16					Achieved __ / 3
17					Achieved __ / 3
18					Achieved __ / 3
19					Achieved __ / 3
20					Achieved __ / 3
21					Achieved __ / 3
22					Achieved __ / 3
23					Achieved __ / 3
24					Achieved __ / 3

At the end of each week: Write how many goals you achieved out of 3. If you achieved all three, your goals may have been too easy — push a little harder next week. If you achieved zero, your goals may have been too ambitious — scale back and build up. Hitting 2 out of 3 most weeks is a healthy pace.

Phase Checkpoints

At the end of each phase take that phase’s checkpoint in assessment/: Phase 1 Checkpoint after Session 6, Phase 2 Checkpoint after Session 12, Phase 3 Checkpoint after Session 18 and Phase 4 Checkpoint after Session 24. Take it on the last practice day of that week, as the weekly plans say. The checkpoint itself tells you whether to go on. When it does, write the date in the milestones table at the end of this guide.

Chord-Change Tracker

Chord changes are measured one way in this course: the change test (Session 3). Every target is a rung on this ladder:

Rung	New chord	Metronome	Time for each change
R1	every 4 beats	60 BPM	4.0 s
R2	every 4 beats	80 BPM	3.0 s
R3	every 2 beats	50 BPM	2.4 s
R4	every 2 beats	60 BPM	2.0 s
R5	every 2 beats	70 BPM	1.7 s

Between rungs, raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time. Every 4 beats: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80. Then every 2 beats at 40 (the same speed as every 4 beats at 80), 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70. A pair that is new starts at R1; if R1 is too fast, drop to 50 BPM and climb back.

Each time you pass the change test for a pair at a new rung, write the rung and the date in that pair’s row.

Chord pair	Rung passed	Date
Em-Am (from Session 3)
Em-E (from Session 5)
Am-E (from Session 5)
D-Am (from Session 7)
A-D (from Session 8)
A-E (from Session 8)
E-D (from Session 8)
G-Em (from Session 10)
G-D (from Session 10)
C-G (from Session 11)
C-Am (from Session 11)
C-D (from Session 11)
Em-C (from Session 11)
C-F, with the simplified F (from Session 17)
F-G, with the simplified F (from Session 17)
Am-F, with the simplified F (from Session 17)
Am-Dm (from Session 21)

The course’s targets. Every pair starts at R1, in the session that teaches it, except F-G and Am-F: Session 17 gives those two as slow drills only (F-G with one strum a measure at 50 BPM, Am-F with no clock), and the course sets no rung for them. These pairs then go further:

Phase 1 checkpoint (after Session 6): Em-Am and Em-E at R4, a new chord every 2 beats at 60 BPM.
Phase 2 checkpoint (after Session 12): G-Em and G-D at R4, a new chord every 2 beats at 60 BPM; C-G at R3, a new chord every 2 beats at 50 BPM.
Phase 3 checkpoint (after Session 18): C-F at R2, a new chord every 4 beats at 80 BPM.
End of the course (Session 23 and the final assessment): Em-Am, G-D and C-G at R5, a new chord every 2 beats at 70 BPM.

Recording Log

Record yourself once a week. Most end-of-week checks name the thing to record, starting with Week 1. In a week whose check asks for no recording, record that week’s piece once on your last practice day. Keep a log so you can revisit old recordings and hear your progress.

Week	Date	Song / Piece Recorded	What Sounded Good	What Needs Work
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

Comparing recordings: After you have four or more entries, listen to your earliest recording alongside your most recent. The difference will surprise you. Progress that feels invisible day-to-day becomes unmistakable over weeks.

Practice Streak Tracker

Consistency is the single biggest predictor of progress on guitar. Mark each day you practise, even for just five minutes. The goal is at least 5 days in every week.

Month template (copy for each month):

Mark each day with a check or the number of minutes you practised. If you miss a day, leave it blank — do not try to “make up” for it with extra practice the next day. Just pick up your guitar tomorrow and keep going.

Streak rules:

A practice day counts if you played your guitar with intention for at least 5 minutes (not just picking it up and putting it down).
One rest day a week is part of the plan and does not undo your progress. Two days off in a row is what breaks the habit: after a day off, make the next day non-negotiable.
Your goal throughout the course: practise on at least 5 days in every week.

When Progress Feels Stuck

There will be weeks where nothing seems to improve. Your chord changes feel the same, the song still has the same rough spots, and you wonder if you are wasting your time. This is normal. Here is what is happening and what to do.

The guitar learning curve:

Period	What Happens	How It Feels
Week 1–2	Everything is new. Fingertips are tender. Basic chords are a struggle.	Exciting but physically uncomfortable
Week 3–4	Fingertips toughen. First chords start to click.	Motivated — visible daily improvement
Week 5–8	Improvement slows. Chord transitions feel stuck. New chords (D, A) and three-chord changes are frustrating.	Plateau — this is where many people quit
Week 9–12	Breakthrough period, even as G and C arrive. Chord changes become semi-automatic. Songs start to sound like songs.	Renewed excitement
Week 13–18	Skills compound. Scales, fingerpicking, and new techniques feel achievable.	Steady, satisfying growth
Week 19–24	Performance readiness. You sound like a guitarist.	Confidence

The Week 5–8 plateau is the most dangerous period. You are past the initial excitement but not yet at the point where songs sound good. This is when practice tracking matters most — the rungs in your chord-change tracker and your recording log will show that you are improving even when it does not feel like it.

What to do when stuck:

For the practical steps, read “Stuck on One Thing” in How To Practice, and “After a Break” in the same guide if you have missed a week or more. Then:

Go back to your recording log. Listen to your Week 1 recording. You have improved more than you think.
Check your chord-change tracker. If you have passed a new rung since last month, you are not stuck — you are progressing faster than your perception.
Take a break from the hard thing. Spend a session just playing songs you already know well. Enjoying the guitar is not wasted time.
Revisit your weekly goals. If you are consistently hitting 0 out of 3, your goals are too ambitious. Set easier targets and build confidence.
Talk to someone about it — a friend, an online forum, or even just writing in your practice log: “This week was frustrating because…” Naming the frustration reduces its power.

Celebrating Milestones

When you achieve something significant, acknowledge it. Write it down. These milestones are worth celebrating:

First clean chord. The first time you strum an Em and all strings ring clearly.
First piece. The first time you play one of the course pieces all the way through, even slowly.
First transition. The first time you switch between two chords on the beat without pausing.
Calluses formed. The day you realise your fingertips do not hurt any more.
First recording you are proud of. The first time you listen back and think, “That actually sounds like music.”
Phase completion. Finishing each phase’s sessions and checkpoint assessment.
Metronome milestone. The first time you play a passage at the target tempo with the metronome.
Playing for someone. The first time you play guitar for another person, no matter how simple the piece.

Each of these represents real skill that did not exist before you started this course. Write the date next to each one when it happens.

Milestone	Date Achieved
First clean Em chord
First clean Am chord
First piece played all the way through
Fingertips stopped hurting
First recording I’m proud of
Phase 1 complete (checkpoint says go on)
Phase 2 complete (checkpoint says go on)
First time playing for another person
Phase 3 complete (checkpoint says go on)
Played a piece from memory without looking at TAB
Phase 4 complete (checkpoint says go on)
Final assessment taken

Summary

Your tracking toolkit:

Tool	Frequency	Purpose
Practice Session Log	Daily	Track consistency and identify what you worked on
Weekly Goals	Weekly	Focus your effort on three measurable targets
Chord-Change Tracker	Each time you pass a rung	Measure concrete technical improvement
Recording Log	Weekly	Capture audio evidence of progress
Practice Streak Tracker	Daily	Maintain the habit
Phase checkpoints (in `assessment/`)	Per phase	Decide when you move on to the next phase
Milestone Celebrations	As they happen	Recognise and remember your achievements

You do not need to use every tool every day. The Practice Session Log and Practice Streak Tracker are the daily essentials. Everything else runs on a longer cycle. The key is that when motivation dips — and it will — you have concrete evidence that your effort is working. That evidence carries you through the plateaus until the next breakthrough arrives.

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun