More on clawhammer guitar, and how to play “Take the Journey” - with Molly Tuttle 

1. Start with the very basics and build fundamental skills (bluegrass rhythm and leads) slowly. Lots of free lessons on RU-vid. 2. Enjoy yourself by learning to play songs that are at your skill level as your going through the process, being careful of course not to bite of more than you can chew so you don't get discouraged. 3. Set a realistic practice schedule. Maintain consistency. If you can, look for other guitar players you can jam with to help develop yourself. Most of us aren't ever going to get near the level Molly is at but if you put in the effort, you can become a decent player. Might even enjoy listening to yourself from time to time 😉.

A while - it depends what style you are learning and how technical. This particular tune isn't too hard - it's mostly the right hand technique that needs to be solid, the left hand is not doing a lot of difficult stuff in comparison. Everything helps, like I mostly played electric with a pick and then I started playing a lot more acoustic lately, learned Machine Gun Man by Zakk Wylde, but to get the basics of guitar down it's a few months. The most important thing is pick it up and play it. If you really enjoy messing with the instrument, the skills will arrive just based on the amount of time you pick it up. If I had a few tips it would be - 1. Record yourself so you can hear your progress - there's nothing more discouraging than not knowing you are getting better 2. Listen to yourself so you can find where your weaknesses are (timing, hand synchronisation, picking errors) and work on them, your weaknesses bring down your overall playing 3. Don't get discouraged - you are always going to be your biggest critic, you'll get there. I'd say you could play this tune within a few months if you concentrated on it, but there's a lot to learn with guitar :)

How are your fingernails? They can't be too short or too long. Mine protrude just barely past my fingertips and I'm getting a pretty strong and percussive sound.