What makes you quit?

We will see if I don’t give it up and can get over the embarrassment of posting a video of me doing anything on the internet lol

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You may be suffering from a form of “red light fever” … all is good until there some sort of pressure.
When I’ve encountered this is the past (from me it was G to B7), I took just the two chords and practiced the change by playing 1 bar of G and then a bar of B7 using the strumming pattern for the song (usually Old Faithful) and do this for 2, 3 or even 5 minutes. So it was kind of like the OMC exercise except that it was using the 2 bars.
You could give it a try, it helped me.

Cheers,
Glen

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Try recording yourself with no intention of even watching the playback yourself. Delete the first attempts without even watching them yourself. Just get comfortable having a camera pointed at you. Once you have something that you think might have gone ok, watch it back yourself… you’ll probably hate it, most of us have been there, delete it and try again. Don’t aim for perfect, just for something that you think is a fair representation of how you normally play. If there’s a few bum notes or the rhythm is a little choppy that’s fine, it’s just part of the journey!

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You definitely opened a great line of communication. When I started, I did it on my own via JustinGuitar and other on-line instruction. And I developed some bad habits because no one was watching; no one was giving me feedback. Things changed once I started 1-on-1 instruction. I like Justin for his sincerity, enthusiasm and great tips, but you really need to have someone see you play & give you feedback. I never thought I’d be able to play barre chords and yet, I am now (I’m 7 months in and turn 60 this year.) So when I’m 62, just think how far I’ll be. If you stop, you’ll be right where you are now and never grow. Want motivation? Watch the movie Nyad. You simply have to want it and commit to it. If you don’t, as others have said, that’s OK. But it is very difficult, and it’s more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. Do you want it?

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Sounds about right. Exactly my stage.
And what it C-shaped A# barre chord with thumb on the bass? I have a hard time imagining it.

OMG - i see this thread began in 2022 and am just seeing it today - and what perfect timing. (The universe always has my back !) I started with Justin during pandemic, was doing “ok” thru grades 2 till the F chord. Then we had a bit of a tragedy at work, and so guitar was left behind til business was under control. Last night i sat with guitar for first time in a year - and i was just so bummed to find that i need to go back to lesson 1 - relearn the chords, basic techniques, finger pain, etc. i was questioning myself, am i that bad that i cant even remember the first chords i learned?
I felt hopeless. But…reading these comments motivated me. ITs not easy, its for my own enjoyment, just get back to it and put the time in. Thank you all - love this community!

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This thread and others like it always remind me that my guitar journey “is what it is”.

For the many of us without career aspirations in guitar or music, we should be forgiving of ourselves. Let go of the pressure and enjoy exploring the instrument and exploring music in the way you see fit for you in your journey.

Of course I want to see more progress, and that makes me determined to continue to work at it. But no one should be judging me, not even myself.

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Yeah, I am thinking when I reach my 1-year mark of playing, I will go and have someone give me the feedback on where I am sitting at, at the time and see where I need to go from there. I actually went back myself this weekend and found out I have to relearn and refocus on the grade 1 and basic open chords and fix some grip issues I was having. Going through all the scales, riffs, and chords we have learned so far made me realize I have learned quite a bit so far and except for my extremely hard guitar to do barre chords on, I can basically do the F barre any time I want on my easier electric, so this weekend was for sure needed and an eye opener. Sometimes you realize you haven’t been doing things exactly correct yourself and have to go back and redo it, but it is worth it.

I think you’ll find it will come back with a few weeks of consistent practice. I took a lot of the middle of last year off for various reasons having completed grade 1 and I’m comfortably back to at least where I was

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Here’s hoping!!

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I’ve just started trying a bit of finger-picking having always used a pick. Maybe I’ll continue with it, maybe I won’t but, to your point, it was a good test of where my open chords are at. Certainly not terrible, but needing some polish for sure before they become completely ingrained.

Looking at what you’ve learned instead of what you can’t play is definitely the way ahead. Also looking at the detail is important. I could say that I know the same basic chords that I did a year ago… except now I can mostly play them without looking at fingers when I make chord changes. Just because I haven’t learned 50 new chords doesn’t mean I’m not progressing. Perspective is key

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Surprised that no one posted the correct answer yet - which is, of course: Nothing!

A cheeky reply? Perhaps, but at the same time it’s also why few people really get anywhere with learning the instrument. This is probably going to get me in trouble… so, in advance, apologies! :wink:

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Or read better :wink:

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Amen I was doing that this weekend with open chords and scales and all the riffs and found out I have come a long way and know a pretty good number of things. Now it is the tough part of transforming my fingers into something useable for the harder things now which I know comes with time, but man do I not enjoy the process of getting there with time! haha

I didn’t quit guitar but I did quit structured lesson for a few months. :frowning:

I am learning songs from the JG rock songbook everyday which is great. However, my progress in grade 3 is lacking. I felt excited with Grades 1 and 2, but Grade 3 feels more like a chore to me. I did enjoy learning Greensleeves and the blues lick’n’riff.

I’m almost there (module 21 out of 22) and I want to finish it. I know that grade 4 have techniques like barre chords and bending that I will need for my rock songbook project. But, it’s hard since it feels like a chore to me.

I don’t know if this situation happened to someone else ?

Oh, definitely! I stopped after grade 3 and played songs, played songs, played songs. I occasionally review lessons, pick up a new few on some aspect I want or need and do my classical lessons.

It is about playing music, not just learning techniques, so you do you and enjoy what that is.

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Thanks for sharing that. I’m glad to see that I am not alone :slight_smile:

Yup! My goal during this reset is to get great at 5-6 chords, including the strumming - that should let me get good at a handful of songs on Justin’s app. That will be a good guitar year!

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Just ran across this and thought of this thread.

If you ever feel you’re not advancing fast enough on the guitar, then you should check out this quote from Jimi Hendrix:

“Sometimes, you are going to be so frustrated you want to give up the guitar – you’ll even hate the guitar. But all of this is just a part of learning, because if you stick with it, you’re going to be rewarded.”

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I once watched a documentary on Keith Richards who said there are times when he feels like smashing the damn thing off the wall. :joy:

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