One year anniversary. I'm in a rut

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Hey hey its my one year anniversary with Justin’s course coming up here in about a week. I feel accomplished that I’ve stayed dedicated this long. I’ve developed good calluses and been able to consistently find at least 30 minutes of practice at least 5 days a week. There’s a ton of stuff that I now know about playing guitar that I never knew before. I love that, and still have tons of passion for learning more. I am dying to get good, and can’t wait to see what else Justin has in store for me in the beginner course.

Problem is, I’m also feeling many things that are making me hesitate progressing through the course and I’m feeling myself stagnating. I’m pretty much in a rut.

I am working on modules 13 and 14 in Gr 2. I’m trying to remember that if I get bored I should move on, but I certainly don’t feel like I should already be in Gr 3 because I’m not good at anything. Just one example: power chords really tripped me up…not that they’re a hard concept, but I’m just terrible at them even after weeks and weeks. I don’t want to keep moving through modules, but I do feel pretty bored. I’ll dedicate a month to each module, until I get so curious about the next module that I can’t stop from moving on.

The conglomerate of prohibitive feelings is getting overwhelming. I basically have so many techniques to practice that I don’t know what to practice. I yearn for more examples of songs to target specific techniques but googling for them feels prohibitive bec I perceive that all my favorite songs are going to be in alternate tunings or something advanced. And I can’t read tab anyway. I can’t memorize songs for some reason. And after several weeks, I’ve had so much work and life to do that I’ll have forgotten what I thought I memorized. I’m growing unsatisfied with my chair and sitting position, so I think I need to reconsider that area of my set-up. I still feel like my hand is too small to fret properly, and that in particular is just really frustrating every time I practice. I sort of just don’t know what to do lately.

I realize Justin has everything laid out for me, step by step, but for some reason I still feel like I don’t know what to practice (that’s the overwhelming feeling taking over and making me think irrationally). I want to play so bad, but I just feel like I just can’t. And before someone quotes me, I know I just said like two days ago that practicing is playing. I mean I want to be able to play fundamental things with ease.

I might just go back and do a redo most of the previous modules.

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Yep, they’re not my favourite either. I found barre chords much easier by comparison. In my opinion, better to move on and maintain interest/enjoyment, but keep a few minutes in your practice/consolidation routines for Grade1/2 lessons. :slightly_smiling_face:

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If you’re bored, I think it’s better to just move on. Watch Justin’s final video in grade 2, the one on consolidation. He talks about how important it is to stay motivated and a little on how to maintain a sense of progress.

I’d also think about starting a project that doesn’t involve Justin critical “grades” track. Examples of what I’ve done: I started a separate book series on metal guitar (something Justin doesn’t have many lessons on), I created a long term project/goal of playing, recording and sharing all 50 songs in Justin’s rock song book. It could be anything, but most importantly it should be fun to you. This way if you aren’t making progress on one thing, the other project progressing would mitigate your stuck feeling.

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Sometimes it’s good to skip ahead in the lesson plan…

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One thing I do when I feel stuck is find some songs well within my skill set, usually from a Justin book or (when I had it) the app.

Then, to quote a certain moderator…” play songs, play songs, play songs”!

Just enjoy what you can do, have fun. If a song is easy, play with it in what ever way you like. Most of all have fun. Pretty soon you will want to learn more so you can have even more fun.

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Hi Artax

Being in a rut in the one aspect of guitar playing that I have a fair bit of experience with so I am going to share a few thoughts I had when reading your post and also what I would do in this situation (fully understand that my approach may not work for everyone).

My thoughts:

  1. Its totally normal to go through periods like this and I think it’s normal to find that the deeper you get into the beginner course, the longer the modules will take to really get down pat.
  2. Amazing effort to get to module 14 in just a year. You should be proud of that.
  3. In saying that, potentially you may have moved too fast through the modules or not given enough time in between modules to consolidate which is giving the feeling of being overwhelmed by all the techniques you learnt but didn’t quite spend enough time on.
  4. I think there is a chance that the stuff about small hands and uncomfortable chairs could be just your mind playing tricks – more to do with feelings of being in a rut than anything else.

I think your idea of going back over the previous modules is pretty good. While doing it you could even make a list with the things that you are doing well and things you need to work on. This might help with the feelings of being overwhelmed and also show how far you have come.

Finally, what I would do is put new modules on hold for now. Spend a bit of time on those techniques that you need to improve BUT to ensure you don’t get burnt out or bored- spend some time learning new songs. Not necessarily songs that are designed to help you improve as a guitarist but songs that are at or below your skill level that are fun to play. Could be a chance to discover some new music or genre of music that you don’t normally listen to.

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I like this sentence, Stacy, I feel it captures well what you’re portraying.

Also, this is an important point too…

There’s some great advice and tips above but I would like to address this specific point.

I totally hear what you’re saying and feel similar. There are so many aspects to guitar… electric vs acoustic; setup considerations; various bits of gear; alternate tunings; amp settings/tone; theory; playing styles; strumming rhythms; soloing techniques; improvisation; picking techniques; finger style; open chords; power chords; barre chords; variations on chords; notes on the fretboard; scales; CAGED system;…etc, etc, etc :exploding_head:

It is so daunting when you think about it and seems insurmountable. I feel like I want/need to be a completist and learn all techniques/aspects of guitar, but how is that even possible?!

I have recently been trying hard to avoid those thoughts or dismiss them if they arise and instead just focus on what’s in front of me, like what song am I learning and the specific things I want to improve on that directly relate to that and not concern myself with the bigger picture… but it’s hard to block that out sometimes.

At the most fundamental, I just aim to pick up a guitar each day… And not worry about anything else :slight_smile:

Congrats on your one year anniversary! Keep at it, you’ll get there! :hugs:

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Hi Stacey.

I had this feeling too. Quite a few times actually. Hitting a platou ,and feel that there is no progress, going backwards in progress. Etc. Etc.

I too can almost not play power chords. I struggle with memorize songs. In fact i struggle with a lot…

Im 100% sure that you have commed a long way from when you started 1 year ago.

«There are so many aspects to guitar… electric vs acoustic; setup considerations; various bits of gear; alternate tunings; amp settings/tone; theory; playing styles; strumming rhythms; soloing techniques; improvisation; picking techniques; finger style; open chords; power chords; barre chords; variations on chords; notes on the fretboard; scales; CAGED system;…etc, etc, etc»

As Jeff said, the list of things you can learn is endless. You dont have to learn everything either.
Im pretty sure all the pro guitatists struggle with same thoughts and feelings from time to time.

Keep at it and try to have fun with it. And focus on how far you have commed instead of being owerwhelmed over everything you should learn :grin:

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Hi Stacy :wave: I just wanted to offer a few words of support. I think we all go through this stage of our journey, wether it be with learning guitar or other things in life. I hope you can remember and remind yourself just how far you’ve already come and what you’ve achieved :muscle:

Lots of good advice already in this thread but my main piece of advice would always be to try and keep it fun fun fun, if certain parts of your practice routine are bringing you down then change them up for a while for something you enjoy. You can always come back to certain things.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, in the whole grand scheme of things you’re doing brilliantly :+1: happy anniversary, you got this :muscle:

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After reading a few of your recent comments, I’m not surprised to read this. The frustration was loud and clear. I think frustration and feeling lost at times is normal. So is analysing sitting positions etc… I’ve changed mine a lot over the past 18 months.

I’m on mobile so can’t really quote bits easily - I’m getting that you’re both frustrated with your progress, and also feel like you’re lacking direction.

I ask: what songs have you learnt in the last month? Which ones are you learning now? How do you learn songs?

I think key to development is building repertoire. You need to be able to play songs all the way through, from memory. To master a handful. Perhaps you’re not playing a single song enough, or often enough.

How do you practice, what does 30 mins, 5 times a week look like? Does that include video watching time? Or is that pure hands on guitar songs & technique time? Perhaps it’s not enough time to get to the level you want. Can you play every day, for 45-60 mins, with the occasional longer session?

I’d also suggest that at this point, end of Grade 2, you should almost EXCLUSIVELY be working on songs. If you’re practicing power chords, play power chord songs for example.

The last question. How good do you want to get at guitar? What kind of playing - that’s within realistic reach? Acoustic folk songs, pop punk, rock? And head towards that.

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yep yep yep

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Hi Stacy …

Hey hey its my one year anniversary

Congratulations. :slight_smile:

been able to consistently find at least 30 minutes of practice at least 5 days a week.

Wow That’s great. :slight_smile:

There’s a ton of stuff that I now know about playing guitar that I never knew before.

Fantastic. :slight_smile:

I love that, and still have tons of passion for learning more.

What a great attitude.

So much good in your first paragraph. :slight_smile:

I’m also feeling many things that are making me hesitate progressing through the course and I’m feeling myself stagnating. I’m pretty much in a rut.

frustration, feeling overwhelmed, hit a plateau, it is all common at many levels of learning.

I am working on modules 13 and 14 in Gr 2. I’m trying to remember that if I get bored I should move on, but I certainly don’t feel like I should already be in Gr 3 because I’m not good at anything.

That general approach is good for the first few modules. People are advised to move beyond the module containing the D and A chords because they will recur for the rest of your life and getting bogged down too early can lead to giving up entirely. As you progress, the advice to move on if bored becomes a much more difficult one to justify. And I do not advise it.
Consolidation and staying in one place are often overlooked and undervalued as being the way forwards. As is returning to previous concepts and learning with new skill and technique to add new life to exercises and songs previously learned and discarded.

Just one example: power chords really tripped me up…not that they’re a hard concept, but I’m just terrible at them even after weeks and weeks.

That is one example and there will be many more I’m sure where consolidation and some further concentrated learning will improve, refine and strengthen your skills to this point. With power chords say, you could look back through your entire back catalogue of songs learned and see which lend themselves to playing as power chord versions. I’m pretty sure that 90% plus would serve the purpose.

I don’t want to keep moving through modules, but I do feel pretty bored.

Then don’t keep moving through modules. You will spread yourself too thin and not master much.

I basically have so many techniques to practice that I don’t know what to practice.

That is the problem with moving on. Too many techniques. Inertia and frustration brought about from too much choice and difficulty focussing efforts. Not enough time for fun as all the practice consumes all the time.

I yearn for more examples of songs to target specific techniques

ou have already (I hope you have) learned dozens of songs. Turn those 1-strum-per-bar grade 1 songs into songs played with more complex strumming, mixing open and barre chords and power chords and work on the dynamics so the intro is soft, the first verse is still soft, the second verse is a bit more dynamic and the chorus is a full on energetic affair. You can do this by combining arpeggiated chords, open chords strummed simply, barre and power chords strummed vigorously etc.

I can’t memorize songs for some reason.

There are no short cuts. You have to play them often. One important help to this that you can give yourself is manually writing out the chord progressions in rows (of 4 bars per row perhaps).

Like this.

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I still feel like my hand is too small to fret properly

It really isn’t. Andy Summers, guitarist extraordinaire with The Police, has tiny hands. You need to do one minute per session of a stretch exercise.

I realize Justin has everything laid out for me, step by step, but for some reason I still feel like I don’t know what to practice

One of my tasks (on-going) is to write some additional notes for each of the practice lessons in grades 1 and 2. I have done this for grade 3 and am now going to work back over the two earlier grades. Even without the edits I will add you can build a structured routine from the lesson content and advice. I do appreciate it can take time. I have recently given many hours to helping one of my students completely redevelop their practice routines and it is time consuming. More so if you have too many techniques and feel they all need to be given a lot of practice time. You need to be ruthless in taking items out completely (to be returned further down the line).

I might just go back and do a redo most of the previous modules.

That will be a good indicator of what to include as you rebuild a new practice routine.

:slight_smile:

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I agree with all of this.
As I said above, once you reach a certain point in learning, moving on can be counter-productive and just add to the feeling of frustration and being overwhelmed. Playing guitar fully is cumulative and requires a lot of time just doing it and consolidating.

I agree with all of this.

Apart from the small misquote

Learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.

Sorry for being pedantic Joshua.

With the skills you have, at whatever level you have reached, you want to have some easy wins, get the satisfaction of picking and tasting some low hanging fruit.
Learn new songs that are within your reach. Instant gratification and the fun factor is there too to give you a buzz. You have achieved and learned something fresh and new using the skills you already have.
:slight_smile:

I’m not saying don’t play old songs though. I advocated that in my reply immediately above this one.

Very good points being made here.

And good advice here also

I should have read the full topic before I wrote any of my own comments. I didn’t. And now I find the advice already given. I shall continue reading.
:slight_smile:

A fine philosophical advice. :slight_smile:

Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes.
:slight_smile:

Good analysis JK.
Stacy, have you read the great topic @LievenDV created here?

Goal setting ideas with some examples

Set SMART targets:

S - specific

  • Play E-shape major barre chords cleanly.
  • Play (insert name of song) from start to finish.
  • Know the common chords in the keys of C, G, D, E and A using open chords and barre chords.

M – measurable

  • Play the C major scale at 90bpm three times with no errors.
  • Build a repertoire of five songs that I can play (and sing) confidently from start to finish.

A – attainable

  • Memorise the chords and lyrics for (insert name of song) by the end of (insert time period / month).

R - realistic

  • ‘Build a repertoire of five songs within two months’ as opposed to ‘build a repertoire of twenty songs within one week’.

T - time-based, trackable

  • Record a video of me playing five songs by [ insert date ].

Use a mind map.

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Wow everyone thank you for all the encouragement. I’ll come back with some individual responses soon.

Its always a relief to know I’m in a normal part of the process, and that others have gone through it or are currentky going through it. I kind of wish there were more complain-y people like me posting their every learning struggle haha,
Just kidding, I know not everyone finds benefit from declaring their every complaint. But I do! Anyways, lots of great advice here that I will definitely take to heart.

A couple of other points I want to make so we can discuss them-

Having to do with moving on versus not moving on. I do see the reasoning in both methods. One particular struggle for me (which I know plenty of others share the sentiment) is that by not moving on, there’s a fear of practicing in bad technique for so long. Now I know we can’t learn advanced stuff first, so naturally we have to build, but I won’t lie, it’s a confusing piece of learning to consider about how much time to spend doing things with low-skill ability i.e. the tendency to do things in bad form.

And I want to iterate that it’s not that Justin’s instructions on what to practice are unclear. I love love love his suggested routines and will miss them when they’re gone. I follow them pretty closely but do make substitutions as needed, as he advises. I do highly benefit from his structured exercises. It’s more that I feel so novice at all the techniques, and again, there’s the fear that I’ll get good at being bad at them. So I tend to follow the mantra that moving to the next skill is a good thing because mentally I know I’m not going to master anything this early…and so, the hope is that the lessons will come back around to those skills with more advanced practice exercises. But it means these low level abilities pile up, and it gets worrisome, and then I get a little paralyzed knowing what to prioritize.

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I’m not good at them either & couldn’t really find a song that I like. I have parked these for the time being, and will no doubt come back to them at some point!

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Oh, you haven’t seen my woe-is-me singing thread from last year then :rofl:

The reality is there’s all sorts of people here and the lens they look at themselves with is different. Some are rose-tinted and others dark glasses.

I think you should not move on, and instead should keep learning & practicing songs until you feel you’re good at the Grade 2 stuff. The jump from Grade 2 to 3 is much bigger than 1 to 2 - and far less direction, it’s much more set-your-own-practice, I think your feelings would get worse.

As long as you’re trying to play the way Justin teaches, you won’t be practicing bad technique. I haven’t encountered anything in the higher grades that contradicts the earlier ones.

And if you’re getting something wrong, you’ll be able to fix it later anyway. Just think of kids learning sports, does a kid in their first year of soccer use the right technique? Nope, but if they stick with it for 10 years and pay attention to the coach they eventually will.

Oh, also - have you thought about doing another AVOYP, if you wanted feedback on your playing?

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Been there, done that. I stopped doing the lessons and have been looking at blues separately, although that also has been parked and am learning all the bits of Wish You Were Here. I’ll come back to the lessons at some point.

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There’s a guy called François Chollet who’s a software engineer working in AI and machine learning. A while back he wrote something which I actually saved and remind myself of from time to time. He said:

“The main difficulty with learning something new, is that most things are boring when you’re bad at them & only approaching them at an elementary level (e.g. math).You need to stay motivated until you’re good enough that the fun of deep practice becomes self-sustaining.”

So I guess the crux of the matter is to trust the process. If you keep practicing, you will get better. BUT, you should probably expect to never really be entirely satisfied with your playing (I know I’m not), which is normal. Because the same guy said something else that I saved.

“Artistic taste develops much faster than artistic skills. So there’s always this massive gap between your current output and what you wish it were. As a result, many artists struggle with self-loathing. Arguably that’s precisely what makes them good – it’s a drive to progress.”

Keep at it and good luck!

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Hi Stacy

Have a look at this thread and see if it helps you with any ideas.

Regards

Murray

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We are all different. Some have goals, some maybe not. Sometimes goals come and go. Sometimes we are determined, sometimes like a feather in the wind.

If I had to follow the common advices, I would have given up playing guitar long time ago.
Should I stay only do grade 2 stuff until I felt I was good enough, I would have stopped before even starting.

None of you will become Steve Vai, Bob Dylan, Lee Ritenour, Marcel Dadi, Antonio Rey, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton etc etc etc, by playing their songs.

Also none of them mastered it all. So thinking we can master everything is doomed to fail. Simply not going to happen.

Legendary guitarist David Russell sits down with Prof. Steve Goss to discuss how to master the complex repertoire that inspires us all. Learn how recording yourself, stretching the boundaries of taste, and even taking a note out in strategic passages places can help you bring out the “big picture” of a piece, the essence that makes guitar music so magical:

My approach is different, as I don’t have to master techniques within a piece other people have made. In many ways, it makes my guitar journey a lot more easy.

I extract key points from Justin teachings and apply them to my own music, if I feel inspired or it could be a good idea. Also I consolidate while moving along. I never get stuck at a certain point or at a certain grade this way.

My ear decide the direction I want to go today and maybe tomorrow is different. If I feel I should train certain chords, I will try make a melody, combine it with different ways of strumming, train different fingerstyle etc etc.

Being captain of your ship and all crew members give you different direction, or direction you really don’t fancy that much, will get you stuck or sail into waters you actually prefer not to sail in, unless you actually take the wheel and decide on your own.

After I got Guitar Pro and are able to make my own drum beats, I enjoy training rhythm way more. The metronome quickly became annoying for me. I continuously find ways to keep the fun and enjoyment.
Learning is especially fast, when having fun and enjoying what have to be learned, compared to being bored or overwhelmed.

I can not encourage people enough, especially those feeling stuck, to find some chords that sound good in their ear and make a little melody and maybe write some words to it also.

As example, I felt I needed to train some of the normal beginner chords and found this little loop the other day: G - D - Am - Em and then back from there via C - Am - D - G. That makes two verses which I came up with yesterday morning while training that loop.

You simply don’t find these things, unless you leave the schedule for a bit and go exploring. Justin keep encourage people to explore and have fun. Freetime. Freestyle. But sometimes it seem people didn’t pick up those words from Justin. The frequency in the forum of that, is far less than Justin mention in his videos. Which is somewhat strange, because that was one of the main reasons I decide to follow Justin. :joy: :rofl:

A month or two is nothing on the guitar journey. So maybe take a month or two and just explore and have fun. Start develop your own sound and approach. You explore yourself at the same time. You might discover some sides and likes, you never thought about.

Music is art. Art is never a grind or boring. Have fun and enjoy every moment while at it with the guitar. Most important. Have fun and enjoy every single moment you have with the guitar. Sending my very best wishes. Cheers :sunglasses: :pray:

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