Chaun C. Chang's
The Fundamentals of Piano Practice [0] does a fantastic job of describing the relationship between practice and improvement, and how to make the most of your time.
You'll probably come across advice you've already figured out on your own, but there is a wealth of information for even experienced musicians.
> Learn to play a few simple songs that you like, using 3-4 simple chords (there are a ton of tutorials for that), and then spend 1,000 hours playing around on the vicinity of that musical environment.
I would fundamentally disagree. I picked up guitar 12 months ago, and while I couldn't play you a single cover song, I have written over a hundred fleshed out songs. My practice time and creative time were intertwined, and I let my practice sessions inspire my songwriting and vice versa.
It created a clear path of progression for me, and through learning about and writing dozens of different genres I successfully brute-forced my songwriting skills into maturity. I didn't get locked into any particular style as to not limit myself; I intentionally didn't learn 12-bar blues, for example, until about two months ago. I'm not boxed into referring to the Circle of Fifths every time I write a progression.
I still have a long way to go, for sure, but my fundamentals are solid, cohesive, and broad instead of defined by a narrow perspective of playing three-chord songs for 1000 hours. I have written a hundred songs and am preparing to gig, while my friends who have been playing guitar for 10+ years are still struggling to write their first full original song.
[0] https://fundamentals-of-piano-practice.readthedocs.io/
You'll probably come across advice you've already figured out on your own, but there is a wealth of information for even experienced musicians.
> Learn to play a few simple songs that you like, using 3-4 simple chords (there are a ton of tutorials for that), and then spend 1,000 hours playing around on the vicinity of that musical environment.
I would fundamentally disagree. I picked up guitar 12 months ago, and while I couldn't play you a single cover song, I have written over a hundred fleshed out songs. My practice time and creative time were intertwined, and I let my practice sessions inspire my songwriting and vice versa.
It created a clear path of progression for me, and through learning about and writing dozens of different genres I successfully brute-forced my songwriting skills into maturity. I didn't get locked into any particular style as to not limit myself; I intentionally didn't learn 12-bar blues, for example, until about two months ago. I'm not boxed into referring to the Circle of Fifths every time I write a progression.
I still have a long way to go, for sure, but my fundamentals are solid, cohesive, and broad instead of defined by a narrow perspective of playing three-chord songs for 1000 hours. I have written a hundred songs and am preparing to gig, while my friends who have been playing guitar for 10+ years are still struggling to write their first full original song.
[0] https://fundamentals-of-piano-practice.readthedocs.io/