Beginner to Kickass

Will Case Study

Our goal was to see if our Beginner to Kickass system could transform an absolute rookie into a real guitarist in 60 days.

Enter William. Will’s confidence in his own musical ability? Zero. Literally — that’s what he told us.

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ALEX

Be honest, Will — how would you rate your guitar playing right now?

Zero. I’m definitely interested in learning, and the idea excites me, but I’m anxious about my ability to learn and play well.

WILL
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ALEX

What’s your biggest worry going into the lessons?

That I’ll find them difficult to progress through. I struggle with learning when things get long and complicated.

WILL
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ALEX

And if it all goes to plan — what’s the dream?

If I was able to pick a song that I liked and figure out how to play it on my own, I would be delighted.

WILL

Remember that last answer. It’ll matter later.

Day 1

To make Will a legitimate guinea pig, the key thing was to let him work through the Beginner to Kickass lessons with zero outside help — no extra teachers, no tips from us, nothing but the course itself. Here’s how the very first lesson went.

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ALEX

So, lesson one. How’d it go?

Being able to play along with the riff felt great — I felt engaged throughout the whole lesson. Walking away from the first lesson having actually played something on the guitar feels nice. I thought there would be a lot of theory first — I didn’t expect to be playing this soon.

WILL
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ALEX

Any battle wounds?

The index finger on my fretting hand was getting sore, so I took a short break. I presume that gets easier with time.

WILL

(It does, Will. It does.)

Week 3

By the end of module two, Will had gone from “which end do I hold?” to playing chord progressions along with real songs — including Zombie by The Cranberries.

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ALEX

How’s it going so far?

That was definitely the most fun lesson yet — it felt great to play along to Zombie. It’s really rewarding to be able to play along with songs, and I’m starting to feel much more comfortable using the guitar.

WILL
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ALEX

Any speed bumps?

The Em chord was quite difficult to play without muting other strings at first. Repeatedly getting my fingers into position during the workouts was the most challenging part so far — but I got better towards the end of the lesson.

WILL

Week 4 — The Riff Era

This is where Beginner to Kickass starts stacking up the classics: Beverly Hills, Satisfaction, TNT, Paradise City. We won’t pretend it was all smooth sailing — and Will won’t either.

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ALEX

Hit any walls yet?

The Satisfaction riff was very hard to get right — it uses the pinky and ring fingers a lot, and it’s difficult for me to be accurate with them right now. I bookmarked the faster workouts so I can come back and practice them.

WILL
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ALEX

How are you keeping on top of it all?

I spend about 5 minutes each day warming up before the lessons, where I’ll play riffs from past lessons by memory. Every time I do this, I notice it getting better and better.

WILL

That’s the workout system doing its job — drilling technique into your fingers so it’s automatic by the time the songs get harder. (Will did develop a sworn nemesis though: the G chord. The rivalry would rage on for weeks.)

Halfway Point

Even though Beginner to Kickass gets you playing cool songs from day one, learning a little simple theory is like having a map — it gets you from A to B faster. By the halfway mark, Will was learning the major scale, keys, and how to improvise. A guy who’d never touched an instrument, making up his own guitar lines.

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ALEX

Five modules down. Verdict?

I can definitely say I’m happy with my progress. I’ve learned quite a bit, and the course has been enjoyable. Looking forward to the rest!

WILL
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ALEX

What’s clicking for you?

It felt good to understand a bit more about these terms I’d always heard about — the major scale, what key a song is in. And improvising along the scale was just really satisfying and very enjoyable.

WILL
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ALEX

Favourite riff so far?

Reptilia was probably the most fun yet — but that might just be because the riff is a lot of fun!

WILL

Fast Forward to the Final Stretch

By the last modules, Will was bending strings, playing blues turnarounds, and pulling off riffs from Enter Sandman, Come As You Are, and Californication. Then came a riff that made him doubt himself — John Mayer’s “I Don’t Trust Myself.”

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ALEX

Talk us through it.

When I heard the riff, I was really unsure of my ability to play it. But I surprised myself with how well I was able to keep up. I went back over each section a lot, and I was able to play along right up to the fast workout. That felt really good — I think this lesson helped me realise how far I’ve come since I started.

WILL

After Will Completed the Course

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ALEX

How do you feel now you’ve finished?

I feel great! I’m not sure I would have ever gotten around to learning guitar without it.

WILL
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ALEX

Did you meet your expectations?

I definitely surpassed my expectations. I didn’t think I would be able to play along with so many songs and understand as much as I do now.

WILL
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ALEX

You mentioned that in the past you’ve struggled when things get long and complicated. Any issues there?

It was a solid mix of both theory and practical learning, and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the content. An equal part of the course was actually playing the guitar, which I almost always found enjoyable and could keep up with. Anything difficult, I bookmarked so I can return to it.

WILL
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ALEX

What was it about the course that worked for you?

The way it was chunked into manageable pieces — modules divided into short lessons and workouts. It made the course much more accessible, and there was so much interactivity. If it had just been video content without me playing the whole time, I couldn’t have stuck with it the entire way. Also, the visual instruction: the fingers playing the notes are highlighted on screen, and you can follow the tab as it’s played. Massively helpful.

WILL
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ALEX

Would you recommend it to a friend?

Definitely. It guides you from little or no experience and very comfortably brings you to the point where you can be happy and confident with your skills. It also gives you the tools and knowledge to go out and learn your favourite songs all by yourself — which is a hugely rewarding experience.

WILL
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ALEX

Wait — back on day one you said your dream was to pick a song you liked and figure it out on your own…

I’d already started doing that during the course — independently learning riffs to songs that I like. I’m excited to keep doing it. Next I’d like to keep learning songs, and I’d be interested in playing in a jam with some friends or family.

WILL

Sixty days. Zero to jamming (give or take — life happens). If Will can do it, so can you.