Time is running out?
Time is the most precious thing we have.
Without time, we have nothing!
Use your time wisely.
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Josh, before Iāll soon drink my coffee and continue my long DM to you (thanks for the reply btw).
Here is my first of many ideas: Take a step back. Then another. And then yet another one. Breath.
Then think about what makes a song sound good. Iām sure your parents would love to hear you play a bunch of a Grade 1 songs that you play comfortably, confidently and that you feel cosy with playing.
Itās not about learning all the techniques out there as fast as possible. Just think: There is no definite āas good as possibleā - thatās an endless race. But: There is always a āas good as possibleā at a certain point in time. Thatās something that I encourage you to try to see.
There are simple songs that can yet sound fantastic if played wellā¦ And these songs might not even need the techniques you are struggling with at the moment.
Itās not hopeless, itās not just black and white - there are many shades in-between.
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Hey Josh @JROB623, your sadness wrt your parents resonates with me. My parents are old, and tbh my mom might not be here this time next year. Sheās excited that Iām learning guitar, and wants to hear me play. I sometimes send a recording of a song Iām working on. I just use my phone, and play along with either the original song or a backing track. I donāt think sheās especially āimpressedā with the skills Iāve developed, but I can only do what I can do now, and she appreciates that. In fact youāve reminded me - I need to send another recording. Thanks! 
And if my parents want to be āimpressedā, they can look to other things Iāve managed to accomplish in life, when I wasnāt spending time playing guitar. 
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Josh, Have you played for your parents yet? Why not play for them now, and then every few months play for them again. It might solve a few of your issues.
- You will achieve your goal of playing for them
- Over the performances they will see your improvement
- They will be able to confirm how much you have improved since the first time as an external source.
- You will not have any chance of regret of never playing for them. If you wait until you feel ready, I suggest you will never get there. Just do it.
just my 2c
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I completely agree. Itās been a crucial period for me to decide if Iām staying or going. Hereās why:
I hate to say this, I really do. And I didnāt realize this was what was happening until I got to the end of Gr 2. But Gr 1 and 2, while introducing several techniques that are literally fundamentals, are just that - introductions only to the different common genres. When I realized that Justinās method of introducing the different genres to help beginners get a taste for what they like, to give them some options for direction and goal setting, and not really getting too far beyond introductory level techniques, I became disappointed with the progress that 18 months had produced. I see why Justin does it this way, I do. I fully understand that people need to be able to choose a path to focus on, and I know why that is. But I have to be honest that I thought Iād be doing more guitar work with higher skill by 18 months than what I ended up with at the end of Gr 2. It took several weeks for me to sort of digest that fact, and to get over the frustration, and I decided to just move on to Gr 3 to relieve that feeling of not being able to do much on the guitar at all. Because what else am I going to do instead of sitting there, not progressing.
Part of it had to do with being stalled on not knowing what songs to learn. I canāt know what songs contain what skills and what will be good challenges for my current state, I need Justin to suggest songs in the lessons for those particular skills in those lessons. In many of the early modules, he did just that and it was very useful, necessary even. Other modules he didnāt and I had no idea what songs to look for to learn on.
Just some of my insight. I am not quitting, at least not right now. I adore Justin and his lessons are so impressive particularly with his ability to know my thoughts sometimes, what my insecurities are, and having advice for those insecurities and encouragement that its ok to be insecure or just plain bad at the early stages, let alone present so much material in a digestible way for beginnners.
Another thing that keeps me going at this stage versus quitting that I know not a lot of folks canāt do, but investing a lot of money in the hobby has kept me motivated. When I got my first guitar, it was a gift. I didnāt have anything invested in it. When it got hard, when I got too busy, I quit. This time around, Iāve got a few thousand dollars of my own hard earned money invested in my instruments and tools. Iām going to be damned if I donāt keep going after what Iāve spent. Thatās just me.
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Sorry to hear all that 
. I did have a good laugh at the wife comment and playing in the basement, that was a good one. Yeah, the best is what you can only do, but I wish I wasnāt as terrible at it, and it came along much quicker than it does.
Never taking time to appreciate what you have and have done is definitely a tragedy on its own. Think I am going to get along with 1 on 1 lessons just to see if I am as terrible as I think I am and use that as a springboard to see where I can take it from there.
Josh
Just looked through your posts and see that you have never shared any recordings, do you record yourself. Posting a video of you playing is a great way of getting feedback and advice. You say you want to play for your parents (its the other way round for me, kid and grandkids) but you would get confirmation from this community that your playing is worthy of sharing. My missus has been listening to me for nearly 3 decades, even by accident when she was in the room next door to the
āstudioā. She has given me nothing but support and encouragement, even in the early days when I was 
(she also signs off on my GAS affliction). I am sure if you played for your parents theyād not only be amazed but full supportive. Just stay away from the Thrash Metal 
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I have indeed. I did a very simple version of Amazing Grace for Christmas I had learned online and then I have used the app and done it with them using the app to play along with as well. I think there is an expectation to do better they have seen me sing in church for years, but I never had an instrument it was just me. Now it is wanting I think to see me be able to sing and play the songs that I had always done growing up, but every song I sing I realized takes barre chords I havenāt learned yet, chord manipulation and embellishment that I havenāt learned yet, etc. Who knew I could sing much better than play the guitar, now there is an idea I never saw coming 
Haha I have played and they enjoy it, but you can see they get bored easily and are more or less like when is this going to end. Actually that is most people I have played for up to this point. Donāt get me wrong my parents are extremely supportive of me playing and are very happy I am doing so, but I believe at this point it isnāt interesting enough to stick around for long given the current skill level. Never posted playing because I am not a social internet guy most of the time. Barely ever on Facebook, Instagram, or the like and pretty embarrassed to ever put a recording of myself on the internet in any situation.
I think it would be a for sure help to have the real time feedback, but where I really need the feedback involves the F barre chord that I promise you donāt want to hear being played, sounds like an absolute monstrosity.
Have you tried branching out on your own a bit and seeing what happens? I donāt mean abandoning Justin but picking a few songs that you love and trying to learn them
I got to the end of grade 1 and Iāve got a list of different songs that I want to learn, so Iāve cherry picked lessons from grade 2 that were relevant but just got on with learning songs. Iām not where I (unrealistically) hoped to be but Iām having fun learning the songs. In each case, thereās something that has been a challenge, whether that be the F chord or something else but Iām inching my towards playing them.
Most of what Iām learning are fairly popular songs but crucially they are songs that I enjoy and want to play. Suggestions of songs are great but if they donāt appeal to you then youāre a bit stuck. I just tend to have a look at either Justinās lessons or another YouTube lesson to try to work out whether they are achievable or not. If thereās something new in there then itās a great opportunity to learn, just as long as thereās some familiar bits as well to get started with.
Be under no illusion. Iām a very ordinary guitarist. Some of these songs are taking ages to get competent with, but because Iām enjoying them, Iām not concerned about my overall ability as a guitarist. I hope youāre able to enjoy playing and put the other thoughts aside soon
Iāve picked songs I like but havenāt been able to do anything with them but learn the chords. Thatās great and all, but I want to do more with songs. Maybe there isnāt more. Maybe some songs only need chords to sound like the real thing. But my initial expectation was that Iām going to be able to really get to learn a song how it was written and how the original band or artist played it. And yet another bit of a disappointment set in- that it doesnāt seem to be encouraged to play the guitar that way. It appears to be all about learning to play a song differently than the original, with oneās own feel and own creative skill, something I canāt tap into until I feel some level of comfortability with fretting and strumming technique.
Why not just try for more than just a songās chords? Because I have no idea where to start to do that. Module 15ās lesson on transcribing was a good lesson in how to start with learning a song by ear, but it was just power chords.
Youāre correct that song suggestions donāt work for everyoneās taste. I was really interested in the blues introduction modules, but then I didnāt recognize or like hardly any of the suggested songs. But I did listen to them as references, so they still helped me listen for specific things to see how theyāre embedded in regular music.
Its definitely an interesting journey so far. Not a bad experience by any means, I can do so much more than before I started. Iām enjoying it for the most part, and it helps to hear you and others say they enjoy the process. The more I hear it, the more I start to think that way too. Repetition is good for more than just the fingers.
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Overall I have never thought of quitting but have had lots of frustrations along the way. Have a look at my early posts as these are similar to lots of beginner! They make you realise how far you have actually come.
I too am getting on a bit and regret not starting sooner but it is what it is and I will do whatever I can in the time left. Arthritis permitting.
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With regards to enjoying the process thatās absolutely why I havenāt quit this time around.
The music I love is hard rock and metal, all that crazy shredding stuff and itās why I picked up a guitar. 16 months on from my latest restart and Iām playing mostly songs with open chords on acoustic guitar that have little to nothing in common with metal. Iām no closer to playing Metallica than when I started. It could easily be described as a complete fail. Except of course it isnāt.
As Iāve gone along Iāve found I enjoy the āsimplicityā of acoustic guitar, strumming some chords and playing along with songs. Iāve sought out acoustic versions of songs to learn, some with just chords, others with a few single notes for some variety. I think this is where enjoying the process comes in. I could be frustrated with my lack of progress on my original goal but Iām adapting as I go, seeing where I end up by playing what makes me happy. Maybe Iāll get around to metal next year but as long as Iām still enjoying my guitar then it doesnāt matter if I donāt (Clearly acoustic guitar isnāt simple but I donāt have the right word to hand)
I know that Iāve seen the concept of layering mention in these forums recently. Perhaps you need to view what youāve learned so far in these terms. The first layer might be to strum along to the rhythm and then gradually over time as your skills develop you can build layers on top of your foundation gradually getting closer to the original recording.
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How old are they and what are you playing ? Know your audience ?
Josh, I do think @TheMadman_tobyjenner is right however. People here in the community give so good feedback. It could be a valuable source for at least questioning a bit how you perceive yourself and your playing. And getting feedback is important for learning that was what was mentioned in this weekās live clubs as well.
Just play with the idea of posting a video of you playing. Letās see what it feels like after some time. I as well would have never wanted to share a video of me playing. But I have done it - and itās not that bad, I promise. Of course entirely your decision 
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I feel like people concerned with progress need to look at something like this:
How much do you practice? Really practice? Watching videos doesnāt count. Practicing and playing songs totally DOES count (and songs should be most of the time).
30 minutes a day, 7 days a week will get you basic levels in almost 2 years. Beginning rhythm guitarist in 3.5 years.
Youāve got to double the practice to do it in half the time. But if youāre only properly practicing 4 days a week, it will take you a lot longer.
Of course exact times will vary - but the principle is sound.
The other thing the disillusioned need to realise is that what youāre going through is literally what learning new skills on guitar is like all the time. No matter your level, there is stuff you canāt do and the stuff later on can get really hard. F is easy compared to a C-shaped barre A#/F# with thumb on the bass. The only difference is that by the time you get there you realise persistence is needed and that compromises for what you can do are OK (and normal).
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Which is why I always refer to myself as an Advanced Beginner, as I am always beginning some thing new and its always harder than the last thing !
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I donāt think the OP will be convinced by any of the above recs. I will relate one thing Iāve experienced that could be of some benefit to others (at least it was for me). I like blues music, but really had no idea what I could do to tackle this. Searched this on Jās site and found a great section in one of the later grades/modules. He goes through a large number of blues licks and how to play them. I copied many of the tabs into my sheet music so the are easy to access. Typically, they are just 1-2 bars each in length. Thatās all. Then, I looked up some backing tracks on YouTube (there are 1,000ās). I play the track through my amp and simply jump in and play some of these licks. Makes no difference what you play.
Itās just great. Felt like a real player with an entire band; but mostly it just sounds so good no matter what you play. If you havenāt tried it, itās really fun and easy to do. Self-rewarding and keeps you motivated. One other benefit - you see how scales are laid out and itās much easier to memorize individual notes all over the fretboard.
Oh, I have wide tastes and play classic rock/pop things they enjoy and country as well. Just simply strumming the same strumming pattern and playing the same types of songs just drones on and gets boring without switching it up. I think of it the way I look at it. I can watch a guy shred a guitar with precision and skill I will never have, but if it is the same tempo and same type of music my mind will start to wonder, and I will go onto something else. I think itās the different skills and techniques that set you apart, that I just donāt have anywhere close to yet.