I am not quite a year into my practice (letās just say, my most recent round out of 20 years of on-and-off efforts) and a few months ago, I saw that I was starting to have trouble with the online lessons. namely that I was spending time learning new techniques, new chords, new theory, and yet I wasnāt learning songs. and especially that I was having a hard time finding songs at my level that I wanted to play.
I signed up for a private instructor and it has been helpful for me to have that extra external motivation to keep me moving. Iāve been working on new songs (with varying levels of success - some of them still confound me for one reason or another), but the focus on songs instead of piling on even more new techniques has given me time for the stuff Iāve learned to settle in.
Just recently I started adding some piecemeal online lessons that follow along with what my instructor is teaching. For example, my instructor got me working on a little blues riff a couple weeks ago. After I worked on what he gave me for a few days, I started with some blues lessons that built on that exact same riff and now Iāve expanded it out to a full 12 bar blues and Iām working on refining that.
I doā¦sometimes. I think for me it depends on what it is. When I see the progress, I think I have more motivation to work on it. when it takes longer for the progress to come, thatās when I have a hard time with it.
My instructor has had me working on a handful of things. One thing he wants me working on are barre chords because I think the fact that Iām not fluid with them yet frustrates his efforts to find songs for me. Iāve made some good progress there. Iām at a point now where I can reliably form a number of barre chords and get good tone. I cannot change chords quickly with them, though. So I continue to work. I see the progress with that one so Iām more inspired to work at it.
He also has me working on a pentatonic scale on the whole fretboard. I can chug along at it pretty slowly. Building the comfort, speed, and smoothness on this one is taking a good bit longer for me to āseeā and itās hard for me to find the motivation to work on this.
When I find myself feeling stale and frustrated, though, I move over to a song that I really enjoy playing. I donāt have a really deep repertoire of these yet, but I have some. Interestingly enough, most of the songs on this list for me are fingerpicking songs on my acoustic.
I really want to get to a point where I can play with others, though. My wife plays ukulele and one thing that keeps her interested and engaged are the groups she plays with. There are a couple local groups she jams with. She even goes to the occasional open mic night event. And sheās got an online group that does weekly song challenges that she really enjoys. I really want to be able to do stuff like this with my guitar and Iām just not there yet. Shoot, Iād really love to be able to just jam with her in the living room. Weāve tried working on some songs together and so far weāve just got one that we can both play. It takes quite some time to add another one to the mix and thatās also a bit frustrating.
I think what you are describing is a common frustration for many about the grade 3 mark. Grade 3 is a lot more about finding out what your own path on the guitar is and tailoring your learning time to support your goals.
Have you taken the time to really figure out what your goals are on the guitar? Of course we all want to be proficient at playing, but you will need to get more specific than that. Do you want to play with others? Play for friends and family? Master the blues? Play fingerstyle? Etcā¦ The more concrete of a goal you have, the more you can get your practice routine to a place where is it supporting your goals, rather than just practicing for practiceās sake.
I also think itās ok not to practice for a full hour every single day. If you only have time to do 15 or 20 minutes sometimes thatās ok, just as long as you are consistently picking up the guitar and playing. I will often find that I pick up my guitar with the intention of running through some things for a few minutes and that can quickly turn into an hour because Iām having fun.
It may also be beneficial for you to find another person to play with if possible. I can tell you from my own personal experience that my learning went up exponentially when I started playing with other people. Itās possible a teacher may fill this void for you, but ideally it would be someone that you play with outside of your lessons. Easier said than done, I know.
My take on it is to not chase grades and just enjoy playing it. Maybe thatās 10 minutes a day. Sure progress will slow down, but if you play songs you enjoy then it doesnāt matter.
I completed grade 1 and Iāve just been playing songs ever since. Iām not saying my way is right but itās better than feeling overwhelmed and thinking about putting down the guitar. Play 10 minutes a day and then when life gives you some spare time you can continue your journey and you wonāt be starting over
My best suggestion will be to figure out how to change your practice routine so that it becomes fun for you. You will be practicing guitar for the rest of your life; there is no finish line on this journey.
What helped me was to spend 50% of my practice time learning songs and 50% learning skills. I also try to make incremental steps of difficulty when adding a new practice item (new song or new skill) so I donāt feel overwhelmed. Every practice item is only 5 minutes long so if Iām struggling with a specific item, it will be over soon LOL!
It will ALWAYS take longer to learn something on guitar than you want it to, so figure out how to make it fun for yourself.
I think this is your main problem
Just under a year ago you posted, worrying that you were not making fast enough progress. The community consensus was that you seemed to be doing fine.
Now, although you
ā¦ you resent spending so much time practicing.
Thatās fine!
Itās a very simple equation. The more time you spend practicing (and I include playing songs in that), the better you will become. Do it if it makes you happy (taking the long term into account of course)
Youāre only 31, for goodness sake.
You could put the guitar under the bed and take it out again after a couple of decades, and still be way ahead of many of us here. Read through the old dogs thread to see what the future holds in that scenario. Itāll still be good fun and worthwhile
Iād ask Justin-approved teacher@LievenDV for a one-time lesson to discuss your goals and how best to achieve them.
Some time ago, I found myself making excuses to skip my guitar time. I started scheduling one day off a week instead of doing it seven days a week, and found that to help immensely. For example, yesterday was my day off, and Iām looking forward to my guitar time this afternoon.
Try limiting yourself to six or maybe five days a week and see if your interest returns.
Itās called āplaying guitarā, not āworking guitarā.
If you enjoy playing songs but not donāt want to do hours of grinding exercises, you should find songs that cater the things you want to practice.
Having a one-off session with a teacher could help you to set up a new perspective on guitar PLAYING. (or with me, thanks @brianlarsen for the reference)
What can help you as well, as a case to study on your own, is some self-assessment and goal setting.
Check this recording of Motivation Club #13 | Setting and conquering your guitar goals.
If you want to know how you could assesyourself, start from the beginning.
When I feel this way, which I think is normal and occurs periodically, I just play songs, because I still find that fun. I try not to have guilt at anything. I have no agenda other than enjoying myself, so it doesnāt matter if I donāt āprogress my skillsā for a while.
After a bit, I find myself focusing on things I need to improve the songs I can already kind of play, then I start to get a little bored of the same songs so I start working on a new one, then, next thing you know, I need some better skills to get that on down so I start practicing skills again.
I know we live around the same area. Out of curiosity, do you do like private lessons with like an individual that does lessons, or a place like guitar center that has a bunch of teachers you can get with? Just trying to find the best place I would be able to get lessons at the easiest.
Appreciate it, yeah, the problem is I have an hour, but an hour of playing I can do. An hour of running through the finger gym or trying to figure out how to link chords with scales and itās just go figure it out, l lose interest quickly. I am college educated and can learn pretty well, but if itās just go play around and figure things out, I am not really a creative mind like that. I think very structured laid out things is best for me like in grade 1 especially.
I do play with someone who plays piano about every 2 weeks, but we got destroyed by a hurricane which has ended that for the time being and finding other people is not gonna happen right now.
Problem is I want to learn and get better, but just taking an hour out of my day when I come home from work and not using it to chill is pretty hard for me at the moment haha
I think my main problem is I love the gym, but donāt want to spend 1 hour or 1.5 hours of my life lifting weights and running on a treadmill, even if I enjoy it, same with guitar. I mean it doesnāt help I do feel a bit lost in grade 3 about what direction I really need to be taking daily, but itās just time is so limited, even if I have a free hour, I (lazily) want to be sitting around doing nothing.
If I spend an hour by the time I eat, shower, etc. itās time for bed and to wake up and work again the next day. I think it is a main issue of just being lazy, mixed with not so much direction.
A lesson or two with a teacher may be a great idea. Some fresh eyes from an experienced source should hopefully give you some clarity and direction.
If 1hr a day is stressing you out, but you really want to keep going, simply try cutting it to 30 mins/day; or do a 5 day week instead of 7. Stress relief right there.
Review after a month or so.
Completing up to Grade 3 in a year is pretty good going. You have obviously been putting in the time and effort and most likely learnt alot.
I think one issue that can arise around this time ( with any learning) is that the novelty and excitement of all the basics youāve learnt has possibly worn off a fair bit; the rapidfire learning, and all the excitement and sense of achievement it brings has possibly waned somewhat. Not necessarily a bad thing; more likely a sign.
You need to now take it to the next level where you really broaden and expand those basics; going beyond the ābasics of the basicsā so to speak; while perhaps also choosing a particular genre/ style/ technique that really interest you.
Youāll find, hopefully, that it opens up a massive new landscape, where that excitement of new discovery and achievement puts you on a multi year path.
All the best.
Rick Praytor is my instructor. Dude is such a good guitarist. His playing career has been more jazz-oriented, but heās also good with blues and fingerstyle acoustic. He knows people who are still big in the music industry and has picked up lots of stuff thatās worth passing on.
From what it looks like, the other folks who teach guitar are also worthwhile depending on who you āmeshā with. Iāve even seen a few of them perform live around town.
I suppose Guitar Center would be an option, but itās on the opposite side of town from me. Iāve been in there a handful of times and imo, the GC staff here seem to be more plugged into the local music scene (as players and otherwise in the industry) than they have been elsewhere Iāve lived.
Another thing worth considering if youāre halfway close to Asheville would be the local Guitar League group.
I went to one of their meetings a number of months ago. Iād like for it to be part of playing guitar for me, but Iām just not there. The people there are really nice and the format for their Monday meets with the 1hr presentation by local musicians before the breakout groups is pretty cool. But their beginner group isnāt beginner enough for me.
A few years ago, I took a class at AB Tech that was focused more on the folk/bluegrass side of the music spectrum. I honestly didnāt get very much out of it because the 2nd half of the course just went too fast for me.
Sounds like some of your thoughts on playing/practicing are similar to mine. Iām somewhere in the ADHD territory and started taking some medication for it last year. That has helped me a LOT to stick with practicing (and other areas of my life). I still have that tendency to veer into vegetating (though my mind is still pretty busy), but itās a bit more manageable to pull myself out of that.
I am on the same wavelength I think. I am 31, but I really think I may have some ADHD type things as well. ADHD medication helps me focus as well and be better tuned into things like guitar playing. Last time I tried it, I practiced and played nonstop for 4-5 hours one day and wasnāt mad at it at all.
Might need to check into a psychiatrist at some point as well.
Iāve done just about everything except go to a psychologist and get an official diagnosis. A few years ago I had some pretty extensive testing done that highlighted where my deficits are, and itās definitely consistent with ADHD. Iām taking wellbutrin, which is far from one of the more aggressive ADHD meds, but it does notably help with most of my deficits so Iām happy with it.
Adderall does wonders for me. However when I talk to people with for sure ADHD they tell me it turns them into zombies, so I am not sure itās just one of those college things that makes you super locked in, or if itās really helping something in there.
maybe a matter of perception? I know that not all ADHD has lots of manic activity. I could see that for someone who is used to being high energy, taking a stimulant like Adderall that dials them down could feel like being turned into a zombie.
as an adult, Iāve met a number of people taking medications for ADHD. For some, wellbutrin like Iām on doesnāt really help them. I wouldnāt call its effects on me huge, but I didnāt really need huge. For others, I couldnāt tell that theyāre on one of the major stimulants if they didnāt tell me. Iāve never met someone on one of those medications that I would say is a zombie as a result. but Iāve met people who say they felt like one.
I would encourage you to put some thought into why you want to play guitar. I often think that the reason people give up/quit is because they never really had a strong reason to play to begin with. Some people pick up the guitar because they assume it will be easy and that they will get good quickly, only to realize that this instrument is a lot harder than people make it look on YouTube.
Itās much easier to continue (even when it gets hard) if you have a really strong reason that you want to play. Is there a specific genre of music you really enjoy? Do you aspire to have a band or do any recording? Do you just want to be able to play for family or friends at get togethers? Whatever it is, I would focus what practice time you do have on getting towards that goal.
Personally, I love rock music. Itās what motivates me to pick up my guitar every day. When I got to the module in the beginners course that was all about rock, I was very happy. Most of what I practice furthers my journey into rock guitar. Practice is hard, but it feels a lot less tedious when you are doing it because you love what you are doing.
