Like many here, I’m just starting out…seven months in. I started taking lessons at a local music store with a very kind instructor. I started on an acoustic, but bought a used Gretsch I spotted in the store and just love it. Anyway, when I take my lesson, I can’t help but think how bored the guy teaching me is. I shouldn’t care, but I do. He’s patient and adjusts to my learning, but every now and then, I get a hint of expression on his face like he’s thinking ‘this is so simple, why isn’t she getting it’. I admit, this is probably the insecurities of an older learner, but a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a write up on him and learn he’s played with Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and other well knowns. He does travel a lot so I assume he still does, but I don’t know in what capacity. I’ve joked that a beginner like me must be torture to which he replies, ‘not at all’…(who knows). I’ve heard some of his other students playing and they’re respectable. This is not on him, it’s on me, but I can’t help feel pressure to learn faster and be better. I’m only getting more frustrated with myself. Last week, I mentioned that I practice 1 - 2 hours most days and he had the most surprised look on his face! It was kind of funny, but truthfully, I’d like to not feel so lousy at this.
I mean, if he’s bored, and he’s still teaching you, that’s on him, not on you. In my experience, just asking him in earnest and being honest is a good way to silence those voices on the inside. If you don’t want to do that, and it does not go away, find another teacher maybe? Depends on how bad it is, and how much you want to work on this part of yourself right now.
In any ways, I know what it’s like (I’ve recently gotten reassured by a 20-something as a 40-something that I am not taking up too much spotlight in our DnD, and it’s is a weird experience, lemme tellya), and I would like to offer a hug if you would want one.
Hello Rebecca,
Your best bet, in my opinion, would be to have a chat to him about. This unease is not helping you.
He sounds like a pleasant man, so Just getting it out in the open is a positive move; plus you may be very surprised at the outcome. You may very well end up teaching him something.
All the best
Cheers, Shane
I worked as a trainer for a number of years running a training centre for a large multinational I.T. company. I’m particularly deep technical and used to teach both the advanced courses and the beginner courses.
While I enjoyed the technical challenge of the advanced courses, teaching things like database tuning for Oracle applications and databases, I also thoroughly enjoyed the beginners course even though from a subject matter I could do them with a blindfold on and one arm tied behind my back.
Why? Well lots of deeply technical trainers have what’s called expert amnesia which means they forget how challenging it was to get to the level they are at. From feedback I’ve gotten from many, I suspect I don’t have that kind of expert amnesia. So for me, it was always fun to work out ways to introduce beginners to the various subjects.
And a good part of the pleasure was the different personalities involved. I recall teaching the beginners database query course (Using SQL) and one scientist was there (from state department of Health) and what was fun about her, as opposed to many of the students, when her query didn’t work, she’d laugh and say “so that’s what it thought I meant”…
So don’t assume this teacher doesn’t enjoy teaching you necessarily.
I also have a history of teaching and training. What makes the difference between a good class and a bad one, for me, isn’t how advanced the material is, but how well the student engages with it.
Expert amnesia is the real deal. It drives me nuts. I have a background in coaching mountain bike skills and it’s such a problem for a lot of beginners because they have more advanced friends telling them something and they don’t get it and become frustrated. But they take a beginner’s course and learn a better way that’s more in tune with where they are and they are so stoked when they get it.
That’s the part I love most about working with beginners (in mountain biking). Their joy when they accomplish something.
Now with guitar, I only hope that I make my instructor enjoy teaching me. He’s a cool guy and has also played with some notables over the years.
This is so true! The worst thing is when you’re teaching/training people who are blank and unresponsive. They won’t answer questions. They won’t give feedback. They won’t make jokes. THAT is frustrating.
indeed. I remember one student who attended the course because he wanted a break from the office routine. He didn’t do his exercises, when I checked in on him, he said not to worry, he wasn’t trying to figure it out.
A few days after the course his boss called me to get an evaluation of how qualified he was on that particular subject. I tactfully explained that each student learns in their own way, some do well with instructor led training, others do well with hands on experimentation, that sort of thing and suggested he try other ways of training this individual rather than instructor led training.
I’m not sure what his boss said to him but he called management to complain about me a few days later. Sigh.
Hello Rebecca
I agree with @tony I teach biology at university and of all the courses I teach, I enjoy the basic biology classes the most. So don’t assume he is completely bored. Perhaps he was happy when you said you practice a long time as he realised he has a student who is taking it seriously.
I would try and engage him a bit more in conversation and then you can drop it into the conversation without asking directly whether it’s boring for him to teach you. You can even ask him about what sort of music he plays and then who with and eventually get around to the topic of whether it’s boring for him to teach beginners if he is an accomplished guitarist. But I agree that it’s a bit tricky as he obviously can’t say directly to one of his students if he does find it boring.
But you should remember that he is a professional musician. That means he loves music and it likely makes him feel good that he can show to other people how to play an instrument and learn more about music. That’s what teaching is all about.
Best, Ian
Hello!
It’s tricky, divining human behaviour from external clues… 
But it’s not on you. Don’t feel pressured to go faster than what you feel comfortable with.
Having fun playing is what matters. Loving what you do will get you where you want to be.
I’d suggest asking your teacher straight out. Have a conversation about this. Who’s paying for these lessons anyway?
If you can manage 1-2 hours every day, i’d say Kudos! I only whish i could get to that amount.
You don’t have to feel lousy about your playing. You’re doing the work, you’re putting in the time and effort.
Have a chat with your teacher. See what he has to say. Who knows?
Good luck!
I completely understand what you’re feeling. I think it’s partly why I haven’t gone to a teacher this time around (it’s not my first attempt at learning to play). I did in person lessons before and it was a painful experience as I just don’t learn new things on guitar that quickly.
Ultimately whether you are good or bad the teacher is getting paid and being patient with less advanced students is part of the gig in the same way that most jobs have bits we’d rather not do.
How frequent are your lessons? If they’re weekly maybe adjust to every 2 weeks to give yourself more time to embed each session. Particularly in my first year I’d say that a week wasn’t enough for me to really get something new
Teaching anything to a beginner is more about finding out how they need to learn than anything else.
Once you’ve both settled on that, things will likely move more quickly…BUT…
7 months is not a long time.
You are probably setting unrealistic goals for yourself (we all did that) and any frustration your teacher feels is far more likely along the lines of ‘what am I doing wrong?’ rather than ‘why is she not getting this?’
It took me an entire year to learn the F chord. even now (4 years) I still struggle changing between some chords, especially at speed.
Like you I started off doing a couple of hours a day, but lots of health interruptions mean that I would have to stop.
And then the penny dropped - Learn Smart, not Hard. Accept that some stuff is difficult, and don’t expect to get it for a year or two. Accept that plodding away for a couple of hours a day on stuff is too much, have some fun and make some games up for yourself on the guitar.
Justin did a good video on Neuroplasticity, and it is something you must watch. In simple terms, do 5 minutes of practice and then leave it alone.
There is plenty of evidence and loads of youtube videos on the science which show that just 5 minutes practice and then leaving it is far more productive than slogging away at something for hours. It gives the brain time to digest what you’ve given it, and you can then do something else.
You’ll get there, but it is always a good idea to tell your teacher about your frustrations, and ask for some honest feedback on any frustrations they have - they may well just say ‘OK, let’s start from scratch but in a different way’
Either way, don’t beat yourself up. Unless you’ve got the Royal Albert Hall booked for a concert, there’s no rush. 
Hi Rebecca, reading your post ( I shouldn’t care, but I do. ), that little sentence stands right out in my opinion and shows how nice a person you are, thinking about others. There is a lot of advice above, so maybe let this guy just know how you feel, break the ice, and you will probably feel a lot better and start a better journey. cheers HEC
Hi…I would take him at his word when he says “not at all”. I understand the pressure you put on yourself as well. In addition to guitar, a couple years back I started to learn to play Bluegrass on the 5-string banjo…Scruggs style. My teacher is a professional banjo picker who has played with big name bands and played on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. She is an OUTSTANDING musician and a great teacher. Every lesson I have performance anxiety and NEVER play as well as I do at home…partly because my teacher is such a virtuoso and I want to please her. When I screw up…she just says…“relax…I can see through your mistakes. Just slow down, try to play clean and you’ll get better…I promise”. I have learned to trust her, just do what she says and not beat myself up after every lesson.
I agree with sevi. I taught mathematics for a number of years. If you don’t like explaining a gazillion times how to solve a quadractic equation, then teaching isn’t for you. Real teachers are energized by that kind of stuff. Take Justin’s videos. Can you imagine how elementary this stuff is for him. He teaches it, because he loves it. He’s a teacher at heart, no doubt about it.
As for getting frustated, be patient with yourself. This stuff takes time. That comes through loud and clear in Justin’s videos. But if you follow his program, you will progress, no question.
greekbecky, NEVER allow ANYONE to place pressure on you to advance in your learning or be impatient with your rate of progress. Every person has their own pace of learning that works for them. It appears your instructor is not demonstrating this to you by his facial expressions. Body language is every bit as important as the spoken word. As an instructor, he should be aware of this.
Two ways to overcome the “pressure” you are feeling:
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Find another instructor that demonstrates a genuine caring and patience for his/her students’ improvements. And/Or,
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Keep a detailed journal of what you’re learning (and improving) and be proud of each advancement you make. You should do this anyway so that you will avoid the pitfalls your experiencing.
When I started playing guitar years ago, I kept a journal at my instructor’s request. It was invaluable in my progress as a student. It helped me work harder on areas that needed improvement. And thereby, helped speed up my progress.
Just a comment from an elder learning guitar and taking lessons at the local community college. I find that some of the best sessions are when we don’t even touch the guitar and have a half hour of discussion. I ask questions and find the instructors really enjoy explaining and talking about the music.
As someone said earlier, I try and make the sessions fun for both the instructor and the student.
Thank you for your thoughts… and the e-hug. I asked him twice casually and he just brushes it off, so keep practicing and wait it out. Keep up the good DnD fight.
He’s a good guy, albeit a little serious, but I think he’ll answer me honestly. I have a lesson tomorrow, so I ask him and see what comes back. One thing you’re absolutely right about is wondering isn’t doing any good. Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it.
Good grief, I’m in IT as well with Oracle experience, but from a consulting standpoint…small word. The technical amnesia thing is very interesting…I never thought of that. We have had a few good laughs about random things, so maybe I’m not all that bad lol (except for my guitar skills)! I appreciate the unique perspective, thank you…
Another great perspective! I learn something with every lesson, even if it’s a small thing. I make it a point to tell him what I think I’ve learned at the end of a lesson for feedback and I always thank him for teaching me something new. I don’t know if he sees it, but I try to show how much I respect the time we share.