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We need to start a support group for those here between the 6 and 18 month mark.
My impression is that somewhere in there, a lot of us have gone through those same discouraged moments.
It probably has something to do with the initial enthusiasm wearing off, the realization that this really takes work and time, and the F cord.
The trick is to get through this time, whenever it comes up for you, using whatever strategies work for you. We will all be different.
It is important to know that once you get to the other side of this discouraged place, it is more fun. It is still hard, but I donāt doubt my will any more.
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I think Matt and JK are on the right track. The issues raised will not be solved by making F chords or stretching pinky fingers. Thereās always just going to be something thatās a challenge no matter whatās finally accomplished. Furthermore, the low hanging fruit will be replaced by even more difficult skills to learn.
Many of us are in our 50ās, 60ās and 70ās. Having more free time to practice doesnāt necessarily mean weāre going to make rapid progress and sound like the recording artists weāve listened to for years. These professionals have been playing and performing for decades, often since early childhood. I see many people start playing golf. Watch some videos, read a book, take a couple lessons and then expect to execute shots like they see pros make on TV. Most are frustrated and miserable when they get to the golf course. The truth is that there are only about 100 truly great golfers in the world. No matter how much someone practices, theyāre not going to be that. Running is really not very hard. But how many people are going to run a 100 meters in less than 10 secs no matter how fit they become.
People quit because they are focused on results. People stay with activities because they enjoy and focus instead on the process.
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I think that is the point where I am at is just posting this here to get it out in the universe, to just keep venting it out until i can get it, but this is something I am kicking myself for not learning earlier in life somehow. Trying to learn it now is just feeling impossible. Wish it didnāt take so long to get good at this. Feels like i am going to be 40- before I finally get it figured out.
The issue is when I just practice it by itself, I can actually play it near perfect on one of the hardest guitars possible. It has high action and heavy gauge strings, but when I am practicing it by itself it is clean and crisp most of the time, but when I practice like dreams for instance by Fleetwood, changing from the G chord to the F chord sounds just as crappy as the day I started when witching to it. I donāt get how I can practice and play it pretty crisply, but when itās a song and changing to it, it sounds terrible.
From someone who learned with Justin I reckon it took me a couple of years to be semi ācompetentā playing songs using open chords i.e. you could tell what the songs were, using more complicated singing patterns and I could sing along. More advanced stuff like playing barre chords without thinking about them etc. took a lot lot lot longer i.e. years, part of the challenge was pushing myself to do more advanced things WHEN I could still get away playing most things without them. Iām still not very good at Lead guitar now BUT Iām working on it.
I will look into posting the pictures, it is the changing to the chord that is the biggest issue for me and power chords, yeah . . . muting the low E string when playing the 5th string power chords is the bane of my existence along with hurting like crazy.
Yeah, I guess I am noticing the wish internally that I would have started this a long time ago. The parents arenāt getting any younger to actually hear me play well and I guess I am just having to figure out and come to the realization that they may never hear me play well. Just the kick to the gut that I started this way too late in life for as difficult as it is, I think is setting in.
I think that is why I posted it because I really donāt want to give it up or quit, but nothing I do makes it any better and time is not on my side, but I really do want to try and keep at it even if in the end it is just me playing to myself.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I just need to find someone to say yes you are doing it the way you should, or no you need to change this. I am following Justinās guidelines for practice and his module practices he puts on the website, but sometimes it is still hard to tell if it is being practiced the correct way even through all the wonderful examples and feedback given through the lessons. I have no issues putting in the practice and work, just not sure if the work I am putting in is the correct work if that makes sense.
Wellā¦ i am 46 and feels i have all the time in the worldā¦ IMHO guitar playing should be looked upon as an lifetime journey. Its not like you put in X amount of years and then you are done learningā¦
I think you look at this from a very wrong angle my friend 
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Looks like most folk quit because they ācanātā play something. Or perhaps, itās taking to long to get something.
Myself.
1st, when I quit for a couple decades, it was partly because I felt stagnate. Which I think I was. I had no one to lead me in the right direction.
2nd. My life changed. I got a boat. if thereās 2 things that are a constant in my life itās been that I love music and I love the water, especially boating.
So when I got a boat, and I was stagnate for improving on guitar, it was a no brainer to just stop with the guitar. Both of these hobbies are very time consuming. I fixed my own boat, I took classes to learn about boating, I lived boating and went wherever there was water to get on. The bigger water, the better as I boated for the excitement of it.
When I decided to get rid of the boat, thatās when i went back to guitar as I didnāt have a hobby that was different from my job.
This time, when I got back into guitar the internet was up and running. There was no internet when I quit guitar.
The internet is great for learning. Justin Guitar is a perfect example.
While I feel that since I picked up the guitar again, I have improved. I still want to get better. I want to play with others. However this is a obstical for me as Iāve only played with someone for a year or so, over the internet and that has gone south and Iām back to, no one to play with.
Iām quite sure that if I can find someone to play with, I will improve. I think itās partly a competition, but itās also, music makes me feel good. I enjoy making music.
So thatās why I quit.
Itās also, why I came back.
I still love the water and boating, but now. Iāve got no boat but I do have a guitar. So thatās what I do.
fwiw, guitars are expensive, but boating is more expensiveā¦ So a win, win for me.
Iāve read multiple of your posts over several threads now and come to the conclusion that maybe an individual lesson or talk with one of the Approved Teachers like @LievenDV or @Richard_close2u might help you to sort out, where you are and what could be your next steps. I think, being at that point, where hard realistic facts meet our dreams or expectations are unfortunately part of the game for most of us. The point is how to deal with frustration or uncertainties. Everyone is different. Itās legitime to search some professional advice then. If you had in person lessons with a teacher you would do that permanantly, even if you wouldnāt even realize that. Self reflection from time to time, or seeking for advice is helpfull for everybody. You are still so young, so many years ahead to progress. Donāt be so hard on yourself, give yourself time and take a deep breathā¦I guess, you progressed really well so far.
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Wish it didnāt take so long to get good at this. Feels like i am going to be 40- before I finally get it figured out.
This made me chuckle and also put things into perspective. I did not start trying to learn until i was 40. So those 17 years in the wilderness took me to 57 when I found Justin. Iāll be 68 in March and still ready to rock the house down. And Iāve learnt the hard way, it all takes time, there are no quick wins, no short cuts, just hard repetitive graft, year on year, always something new to learn. It never stops and you never master it but you keep moving forward.
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Yeah, the unfortunate part is time isnāt on my side and that is really the driving factor. I actually had, in the beginning, a good foundation and I did believe through the first grade to be slow and steady and not care how much time it took, but I expected everything I guess to take the same amount of time as the beginning, and it just isnāt. Then I look at the clock of time not being on my side and then I just say what is the point, but I am still trying to hang in there. Being able to get feedback on the thoughts going on right now is definitely nice though.
Yeah, I feel I have progressed really well in the beginning and now there is a big wall in front of me that I canāt get over and no idea how to get over it. Wish that time was on my side, and I had plenty of time left to learn, but that just isnāt the case and it I think is the biggest factor. Then I think though realistically if I quit now, then I for sure will never be able to play āin the time I have leftā so quitting truly isnāt an option either. I am very much in a place of I canāt quit, but I donāt feel like continuing on makes sense either since I canāt even practice what I am supposed to be learning. A weird conundrum I seem to be in right now lol.
Haha glad I can make some laughs instead of just misery I have been posting! I promise I am not a dreary, down in the dumps, person haha
Why isnāt time on your side? You imply you are under 40 yo. I hope you have 60 or 70 more years to play guitar. That is a healthy careerā¦and you head into it as a mature adult. This isnāt a race, there is no end to have as a goal. Just enjoy yourself!
My parents are basically the only ones that care to hear me play and they arenāt getting any younger. My mom isnāt in the best health currently and no telling how much time is left there, and my dad is slowly getting up in age as well. Maybe they have another 20 years left, but quite possibly not. They are the ones wanting to hear me play as good as I possibly can, and it is miles off from where I need it to be right now. Money isnāt a worry, time to dedicate to practice or to improve isnāt a worry, but time for the people left in my life, that are there, is slowly ticking down and my redacted self canāt pick this up quickly enough. That is where that comment comes from.
Yeah I do get that. My father never played an instrument, but was an avid music lover and had that knowledge of classical music, opera and history that I wish there was more of in the world (and my brain). He passed away at 96 yo a bit over a year ago. He only got to see me hack away at a couple of tunes by video call once.
My mom passed a long time ago, so it was never on the table for her.
I also hoped at one point that by seeing me learning guitar, my daughter would stick with her violin lessons. I failed at that as well.
Honestly, we love to impress our parents, our kids or our friends (I know better than to think I will every impress my wife, but she loves me anyway, as long as I play in the basement).
However, the only way to succeed is to do this for ourselves. Play because you want to play. Your parents love you whether you are good at guitar or not.
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