I’ve been following Justin’s site as a complete beginner, trying to learn guitar. But despite my best efforts, I just can’t seem to get those 60 clean strums between the most basic chords—A and D!
The more I practice, the more I realize that while hard work is essential, a bit of natural talent really helps too. I’m still struggling to fully understand strumming and rhythm—it’s honestly frustrating (though I try to laugh it off!).
This isn’t a complaint about Justin’s site at all—on the contrary, it’s fantastic. I’ve learned more in a few days there than I did on other platforms. But I’m starting to see that without some kind of musical instinct, progress can feel nearly impossible.
I absolutely love listening to all kinds of music… but maybe I just wasn’t meant to play it. After three weeks of trying (as a total beginner), I’m at a crossroads. I want to be honest with myself about whether this is something I can realistically keep pursuing.
Oh dear, Lucsi, don’t get frustrated! I don’t have much natural talent either, but still get great joy from learning guitar.
Regarding your 60 clean strums: don’t dwell on that. Once you can get 30, move on. We all learn differently, and at different speeds. I’ve learned this about myself: when learning a new skill, I make good progress for about two or three weeks. Then I hit a plateau. No matter how much I practice, I don’t get better. I’ve learned to recognize when this happens and now I just move on. Here’s the thing: you’ll be using that skill — for example switching between A and D chords — in the next lesson, and the next, and the next…. Which is to say: you’ll have opportunity to practice it while learning new things.
That’s a very long-winded way of saying: go to the next lessons!
After three weeks I certainly wouldn’t give up anything, that is definitely a very short time even if you practice several hours a day… it takes so much longer to learn to play moderately… and no one needs a talent for campfire songs or anything else (edit: this lost in translation)… which goes a little further than campfire songs …or it must be the talent to pick up your guitar over and over again )… just be patient and practice quietly and don’t get stuck in the exercise and negative vibe… just keep going and it will work out fine… 100% sure
If you can tap your foot to a piece of music, then you’ve got enough rhythm. Everyone struggles early on (I’ve been playing for decades and still have plenty of bad days!). Right now all your attention is going on moving your fingers and there’s not enough ‘brain power’ left to think about strumming and rhythm - but over time you will need less attention to form the shapes and it will all fall into place.
Stick with it - you got this.
Don’t get frustrated! You’ll find that many of us here tried with low levels of success for many years (or decades) before finding something that worked.
What got me over the initial hump of chord changing difficulty was working on a simpler pair of chords before I got to A and D. They don’t make much sense to use together aside from the fact that the movement to change between them is simple. I had to do a lot of extra work early on for my left hand finger dexterity. I still have to work a lot on new stuff, but I have a baseline now and it’s not as hard as it used to be.
I always thought this was me also but with daily practice I got there and I think you can also.
The start of learning guitar can be slow and unmotivating. It can take quite a while to get the basic chord changes down and then that still doesn’t make a song (there probably are songs with just A and D in but let’s be realistic here, that’s not what we picked up a guitar for!). This is the part of learning guitar that doesn’t really get spoken about. There’s bound to be exceptions but for many normal people the opening months are a struggle but with persistence it will come together
If you have the opportunity to pick up your guitar several times a day then try it. It might be 5 minutes at a time. Little by little it improves. Long sessions of back and forth between 2 chords aren’t much fun.
You’re not alone, Lucsi!
I must be untalented too. I’ve been playing for over 3 years and I haven’t had a call from a record label yet!
Seriously though, it takes time. You might not think it right now but 3 weeks is no time at all.
You’re asking your fingers to do something that they’ve never done before.
Okay, how about looking at what you CAN do instead of what you can’t.
You can play the A chord
You can play the D chord
You can change between them
Not as fast as you want to yet but it WILL improve.
Look at the other lessons in Module 1 and practice those things alongside your chord changes. It will give you some variety in your practice and hopefully inspire you to keep going.
Also, check out Justin’s song recommendations for Module 1 and watch his song tutorials for them. You’ll find there’s a lot you can learn from them.
There is no such thing as natural talent, its all about hard graft and circumstances.
The first easy to understand. The latter those born into a musical family or environment are immersed in music at a young age and get a head start.
But you ain’t born with talent, its earned.
Maybe slow those one minute changes down but keep working them.
TBH if you are hitting 40 changes per minute, tick the box and move on.
Focus on chord changes in songs, after all that’s where they matter. 1 MCs are a good exercise but it ain’t music my friend.
Someone said learn songs. No doubt he might appear here ?
I felt my whole life I am not meant to do anything art related, but hard work does pay off. End of my 20s I learnt how to dance salsa. it took some time, but I got there. Now I am learning to play guitar and getting slowly better. I can’t tell you it is easy, but definitely it is doable if you put time in. Just keep practicing, you already found the best online teacher.
Hi Lucsi,
As a fellow Paddy who took up the guitar in his mid-fifties, I understand where you’re coming from
In a previous post as well as this one, you state how you absolutely love music.
That makes you musical.
Period.
It might be helpful to separate a couple of issues here-
The (in-)ability to be able to press three strings onto a piece of wood with one hand and rake your fingers or a plectrum over the strings at the other end has nothing to do with being musical.
It is a technical skill, akin to learning to use a knife and fork or hammering in a nail.
Some people find this very easy, some struggle.
Almost everyone who wants to learn how to do it can
You’ll get there if you persist… But there are no shortcuts.
Good luck!
Welcome to the club of the rhythmically challenged guitar players! You are in good company.
At 3 weeks we are all thumbs (personally I felt like all elbows…) no doubt. But that slowly gives way if you keep at it.
I think the bigger issue is attitude and expectation. Guitar is not easy. It takes a long time. Reality will not catch up to expectations for decades. If we adjust our psyche to be ok with this, we can really enjoy a wonderful adventure with music.
Three weeks is a good place to start making the very important realization that you won’t learn quickly. But do have confidence that you have already and will continue to learn.
Hello, Lucsi.
Don’t get disheartened so quickly.
I play guitar for 5 years now and while I’ve managed to make a somewhat decent progress, there are plenty of times when I pick up the instrument and everything feels wrong. It sounds bad, I can’t play the stuff I’ve already learned well enough and it simply seems like I’m not getting better, but actually getting worse at it. The good thing is that I love music and guitar too much to give up, so there are no other options except to stick with it and keep playing. And suddenly one day it finally feels like I’m making progress and getting better.
So if you love guitar and wanna play it, just stick eith it even if it’s not rewarding and particularly satisfying at the moment.
And don’t expect to get quick results, it’s not the best mindset to have towards the instrument. Treat it as a marathon, not a sprint.
) no doubt. But that slowly gives way if you keep at it.