Hi everybody
I’m Steph from France (but currently living in Australia).
I have been practicing with Justin since 2019 and I’ve never been further than the beginner module. I did it twice, the older version then the newer.
I used to love the guitar and practice everyday. It has been around 4 months now that I haven’t picked it up. It makes me really sad.
I hit the grade 3 and started the blues module and this is where I got lost. I’m not really into blues but learned to appreciate it thanks to Justin, and qi know it is important for my progression. But I just got bored and overwhelmed by the lessons and suddenly I just stopped playing.
I want to get back to it now but it’s been so long that I’m afraid. I don’t even know where to start. Everytime I think about getting back to my old routine I just get bored.
Any advice
Thank you and sorry for the long post!
Steph
Welcome Steph. You need to decide what kind of music you want
to play. Are you into strumming and singing, heavy metal,
hip hop?
Who are your favorite bands. Once you figure where you want to
go it’s a lot easier to know where to start.
The beginner course is a must but you said you did it twice .
So you got that covered.
What are your goals as a musician and guitarist? What would you like to be able to do, and what kind of music do you want to play? The answers to those questions will help us give you better advice.
For what it’s worth, getting bored and “bogged down” in practice (especially of something you’re not super-enthusiastic about) is common. In general, my advice is to persevere through the boring patches. However, you could also modify your practice routine so that you include something that you are more interested in and enthusiastic about. So if your practice routine is 30 mins. (just as an example), you might cut it down to 15 or 20 mins of “formal practice of the boring stuff” and give yourself the rest of the time on material that is more interesting to you, or even just playing for fun and experimenting. The idea is to keep yourself engaged, but not completely drop the boring stuff. Some of that boring material will help you, down the road, so it’s usually worthwhile.
If you run into something, like you did in the BC with the blues, then it is OK to move on quickly without mastering it. I did that with Power Chords when I did the BC. I wasn’t getting into it on my acoustic, wasn’t needed for the strumming and singing that I aspire to, so just moved right along. A good few years on, I wanted to produce a rocking song with my electric and that gave me motivation to revisit Power Chords.
And the other mantra you will hear here over and over is “Learn songs Learn songs Learn songs”. Have you learned to play songs that use what you have learned in the Beginner Grade modules that you’ve completed? For me, the joy is in playing the songs, rather than the quest to complete modules.
if the blues doesn’t float you boat, skip it and go to the stuff you love. Remember it’s not just about learning the new stuff but about playing the stuff you know well and love to play. So maybe a few minutes on the new exercises then play for enjoyment. Remember to smile, laugh and sing along (if you can).
As you have been through old BC you will know that the Blues lessons in the updated version is one of the things that was added. Now the old BC never held anyone back, so no harm in skipping something like this if its holding you back.
FWIW I am actually, slowly making my way through the updated course to check out all the new lessons. Part of that process will be cherry picking the ones that interest me or will help develop areas that may need a boost. I love the Blues so that module is on the list to visit but at the end of the day if it don’t float your boat move on.
@Rockgod2121 Richard - Hi and welcome as its your first post. Good to meet you.
T’en fais pas, mon vieux. Si quelque chose te déplaît, laisse tomber, et reviens plus tard … 10, 20 ans plus tard. Je déteste le jazz. Ne vais Jamais y toucher. Est-ce ça m’empêche d’apprécier ma guitare? Bin, non. Je pratique autre chose.
Translation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Don’t worry, my old friend. If something displeases you, drop it and come back later… 10, 20 years later. I hate jazz. Never touch it. Does that prevent me from enjoying my guitar? Bin, no I practice something else. Cheer up. @davidbollen it would be better if you posted in English so all of us can understand - if you have a problem please communicate so we can provide a solution.
Hi Steph, don’t worry, we all have those sort of feelings; there were lots of genres that I didn’t like until I started to learn to play them; my main thing was Rock more specifically Led Zeppelin, but once I realised that it was all evolved from Blues I became more interested in Blues and now it’s one of my favourite genres. I try to approach learning with an open mind, music is an art form regardless of genre, it may not appeal to anyone immediately but if you have the patience and inclination to investigate further you may well be surprised by what you find.
Don’t dismiss anything but also don’t linger on it if it doesn’t interest you, let the interest find itself by what you hear.
Enjoy your journey to becoming a musician, and most of all have fun along the way!
Hi Steph, Great advice from everyone here, I love this forum.
I feel sometimes that if something just doesn’t excite you or its too hard right now you can by past it.
I get the feeling like you don’t need to learn every little thing right away… If you pick a song that has something new in it, then thats the time to work on that. If blues is not your thing thats ok.
Zero in on what you enjoy in music. Hope this helps a little.
I personally felt like I was in a rut and felt lost too for a bit. Overwhelmed and wondering if I should move on to the next lessons… What I realized I had to spend more time on previous lessons… So I did go through all the "new courses: for a review and zero’d into the difficult pieces.
Welcome to the forum. For me, I went through a similar challenge in my guitar journey. I tried to learn about 30 years ago and got lost along the way. I had a vague goal: Learn to play guitar. Then 10 years ago I started again. I had completely forget even all the chords, so it was like starting anew. This time I had a clear and specific goal: Lear to play songs that others will sing along to.
I followed some of Justin’s lessons, they got me started but I went straight to learning my first song. It took several months because I had to get my one second chord changes working and such. The sense of accomplishment I got from learning that first song made such a difference for me.
Rather an impressive translation, Darrell. Got carried away when I saw we had a French lady on board.
Whatever the language, it looks like the message from all those who posted is the same. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, move on to something else.
Very true, your English is very good! I understand where you are coming from but it would be great if you could included a translation. No offence intended at all, just an observation; in the community there are lots of us who have no idea of any French (or any other language for that matter) so it’s nice to include a translation for their benefit.
Hello Stéphanie,
And did you pick up the guitar again?
I’m such a weirdo who really likes taking lessons other than songs…but of course did a lot of song lessons but didn’t learn them until finished…given the idea of recording myself playing a whole new dimension, before there’s only one note on the computer…
Find some songs you like and let them hear here,…or first a close friend or girlfriend.
Greetings and have fun playing guitar,
Rogier
Hi Steph. Welcome to the awesome community. Maybe I am not in a position to share any advice, but for me, I have always targeted a song that I want to play. Learning things and progressing modules is what I consider just the things I have to do so that I can play it. Maybe you can relate to that. All the best
Learning French is like learning the guitar. Lots of bum notes at first, lots of repetitive practice. But if you persevere, then go out in public, mix with fellow practitioners, learn a bit from each of them … it’s the same sense of accomplishment as mastering a challenging song.
I can’t really add to the advise already given, except to encourage you to hang in there.
