I gave up.

[patb]

I did not touch a guitar for about 3 months. I put a lap steel and resonator in the closet to avoid guilt over not having learned to play them. I'm still looking at 3 electrics and an acoustic.
I went thru 3 slide courses in succession and bought the 4th to find that I just could not do it.
I realize that I will never play at the level I aspire to, will not have the opportunity to play with good musicians here locally ( there aren't many) and I'm not sure I want to play with a band. My joke is that the worst band in town (and they are bad) won't have me. It is a joke, I'm not really that bad.

When I try to get back into it I am overwhelmed at the volume of courses I would like to do. I cant fault Griff on lack of good content. Too much if anything.
Much as I once wanted this I don't know where to start, how to stay focused or why I am pursuing this at all.
Anyone else?
Pat

 

[Jay Dee]

I feel the same way all the time...but every once in awhile I get that groove and it amazes me what I have learned. And that's enough to keep me on track and learning something new every day. It is supposed to be fun!

 

[tommytubetone]

You have to put the blinders on and stick with one or two things. I'm trying to do that now. If you have the AAP, the other stuff will be there when you're ready. Good luck!!

 

[davidc252]

Here is a quote from Hendrix.

"You have to stick with it. Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you want to give up the guitar. You'll 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."
-- Jimi Hendrix

 

[LeftyJohn]

I'm taking it one course and one exercise at a time - lots of small successes and videoing them once I start to feel they're ok(ish).

It's quite satisfying to review the past videos and be able to see that 1) I've made some progress and 2) that I've actually made quite a lot of progress - even if it still seems like there's a very very long road ahead of me!

 

[MikeS]

I did not touch a guitar for about 3 months. I put a lap steel and resonator in the closet to avoid guilt over not having learned to play them. I'm still looking at 3 electrics and an acoustic.
I went thru 3 slide courses in succession and bought the 4th to find that I just could not do it.
I realize that I will never play at the level I aspire to, will not have the opportunity to play with good musicians here locally ( there aren't many) and I'm not sure I want to play with a band. My joke is that the worst band in town (and they are bad) won't have me. It is a joke, I'm not really that bad.

When I try to get back into it I am overwhelmed at the volume of courses I would like to do. I cant fault Griff on lack of good content. Too much if anything.
Much as I once wanted this I don't know where to start, how to stay focused or why I am pursuing this at all.
Anyone else?
Pat

I know it can be overwhelming. What kept me going when I first started with Griff was staying connected with other players here on the forum, recording my lessons and posting results on the Forum. Once you reach "Critical mass" you can see your progress (particularly when looking back at older recordings).

 

[PapaBear]

I'm taking it one course and one exercise at a time - lots of small successes and videoing them once I start to feel they're ok(ish).

It's quite satisfying to review the past videos and be able to see that 1) I've made some progress and 2) that I've actually made quite a lot of progress - even if it still seems like there's a very very long road ahead of me!

I've accepted the reality that the road never ends, you just keep taking one step at a time they'll eventually become miles!

 

[RobertCress]

Never quit, as I did 30 years ago. The regret is overwhelming. Now in my early 60 s I’m determined to get it before I die

 

[Bluez Mark]

Hey, just get some Jam tracks in what ever key you playing in and just play. Just learn to count the measures for what cord, pentatonic scale in the key and just use your ears. Less is more on some cases, just don’t give up.

 

[Shodai]

Brother, I feel your pain.

I have amassed quite an impressive collection of books, CD, and DVD programs. Some single books. Some full courses. Some just play along materials. It gets overwhelming. You start something, then think, wait, what about this other thing. Oooohh... Something shiny! SQUIRREL! Distraction will do you in.

So here's what I did. Might work for you, might not.

1. I gathered up all my books, dvd's and CD's, and put them in a box except for one course.

2. Put an ad on Craigslist for a "study buddy". Someone who was also learning, and willing to do a complete course start to finish. Got a response from a fellow BGU member.

3. We meet once every week or two, depending on schedule. Get an "assignment" and work on it. Get back together, compare notes.

4. I record my lessons and post them under the appropriate section on this forum. I get feedback and support, it keeps me going, and provides motivation.

5. Repeat 3 & 4

My expectations are realistic, I won't be a virtuoso overnight. It will take time. But,
this has done some very interesting things for me:

A. It keeps me accountable. Knowing that I am answerable to someone else that will be checking on me keeps me focused.

B. I practice when I can. Even if it's only 5 minutes here and there. But because I have a specific lesson to work on, I have a specific objective to work towards, and those five minutes become very productive. Knowing that someone will be checking on makes it so I don't make excuses, I just do it.

C. By posting recordings of my progress,I it builds in another layer of accountability.

D. In a very short time I have already noticed improvement. More to the point, my wife has noticed improvement.

It's working for me.

For what it's worth.

 

[Grateful_Ed]

This free youtube video by David Wallimann helps me when I just can't motivate myself. It takes me back to my first guitar experiences before there were computers or videos and we had to figure out guitar by listening to records.
Maybe it will inspire you also. That and the material Griff offers and the suggestions in this and other forum threads, should have you in love with your guitar (or guitars...no judgement) in no time.

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

You have to find your own path. First, I would suggest that you decide what it is that you are interested in and then the work really begins. How do you get from here to there? I started playing guitar when I was 10, December 1952. I play many styles, but learned one thing at a time. I must say that I had some outstanding teachers along the way. A short list would include Segovia (summer 1963), Mariano Cordoba, Juan Serrano, and so many more. Between teachers, I would teach myself.

When you are young, you can take lessons, and have little to concern yourself with other than what interests you. Becoming an adult, you have responsibilities, and not as much time to pursue that which interests you. So you have to make a decision about how to spend your time - wisely - and accomplish what you want to do. Trying to please a teacher can be very demanding.

I have found that learning proper technique is so important! My first teacher taught me technique for the first nine weeks. I was patient and then she started teaching me pieces of music that I still play. I would suggest you take a song that you want to learn and take it apart. Get some music software or a lot of paper! Create your own version - simplify the original, and build up the complexity as you may wish with additional and more advanced versions. Make haste slowly and by all means enjoy yourself!

Tom

 

[Crossroads]

It's human nature to avoid pain more than it is to try and gain pleasure. If you're associating guitar playing with pain, you not likely to do it.
So maybe if you stopped evaluating yourself based on whether you'll ever be able to play to the level you aspire to, and just find the joy that bought you to playing guitar .

Take a break if you need to, there have been times where I haven't played in months, and frankly anymore I really don't care about what level I am at. I used to torture myself with that. I just try to find the joy that I can get out of playing and pursue that.
Where do you live? Perhaps there are people on the forum that are within traveling distance that would play with you.
There is also bandmix.com and meetup.com for finding people to play with.
I wish you the best of luck with this and remember it's not how many times we get knocked down but how many times we get back up.
Get back up, you got this.

KC

 

[MarkDyson]

I can’t stress enough what finding a local, weekly, accepting and n00b friendly open mic venue has meant to me. Gives me a weekly goal to shoot for, gratification in terms of the acceptance and freedom to perform at my meager level, and feedback/encouragement/experience by hobnobbing with other musicians on a regular basis. It’s even opened a couple of doors in terms of (after over a year of regular participation) being asked to play in a local party and a benefit concert. There are undoubtedly open mics out there that are shark pits of ego and judgement, but if you could find one of the good ones that might do a lot of positive stuff.

 

[snarf]

I realize that I will never play at the level I aspire to

You just described most of us here, but that's also a lot of the reason why we're here. And it's, for me at least, where realistic goals come into play.

My goal can't be that I want to play like Clapton. That's too general (and waaaaay above my skill level). Heck, my goal still can't even be that I want to play his solo on that song. That's still too hard. But I can take the tools that Griff gives us and say that I want to play a solo on that song. So find an easier version of something he played or cobble my own together from the licks I know. Once I've got that together and learn a bit more, maybe I can then challenge myself to learn a couple of measures of his solo.

Or maybe my goal is to get up and play something in front of a group of folks. My goal doesn't necessarily have to be to get up and play somebody's recorded version of the song I pick. Just practice it enough that you can strum it in front of them and sing along. Then at some point down the road you can add in a few riffs and licks and make it fancy.

The key is to pick something, make a realistic goal (or series of goals) to help you attain that something, and work towards that. I've found it helps to write those goals down and leave them on my music stand so that, every time I sit down with a guitar, I am reminded of what I want to do. That helps me focus and usually keeps me from just sitting and noodling. Sometimes I meet my goals. Sometimes I don't. But I know that, if I don't have them, I'd flounder and never get any better.

Here's an example of what's on my stand this month. I guess I'll see on the 20th if I actually make it. Even if I don't, I'll at least have picked up a pocket full of new licks that I can use somewhere.

• Big Goal: Record and post the Magic Slim solo from the SFTM for the AAP Fix-It session on the 20th.
• Sub Goal 1: Learn the first 6 bars by the weekend of the 7th
• Sub Goal 2: Learn the remaining 8 bars by the weekend of the 14th
• Sub Goal 3: Get it recorded by the 19th and post it in time for the session.

The key, for me, is to set my goals (be sure that they're realistic - a stone's throw down the road and not so far away I can't see), do what I need to do to focus on them, and then work on getting there. I know that I'll never be able to play like Clapton, but if I keep working at it, at some point, somebody will listen to me play and say, "that was totally cool!" At least that's one of my long range goals.

 

[jmin]

Don’t worry about giving up...you can’t. If you’re “not that bad” you’ve already gone too far to turn back. I’ve had many days over the past 50+ (!) years when I really wondered why I’m doing this, but then, I’ve had many more days when I say “wow, I can actually do this!” (Thank you Griff!). It’s these “AHA’s” that keep me going. I’m sure you’ll pick up your guitars and find your own new Aha to get you going again!

 

[Rad]

If you want to not play, that is ok. If you want to play the simple solution is select the course that relates to your taste in music and your skill level and start it.........and finish it. Yes, just put one foot in front of the other about 15-30 minutes a day until you finish no matter how long it takes.

Learn to enjoy the journey; nobody ever reaches the end

 

[mountain man]

I've been thinking about how to reply to this. I have not read the other responses as I didn't want to be influenced in what "I" thought before I reply. I look at it this way. Life evolves and moves along. Different things come along and take our time and attention. My life in music started in the grammar school band playing the coronet and then the French horn. My oldest brother was playing guitar note for note with Clapton at this time in the 60's. I didn't think the guitar was cool until I bought my first album - Bad Co, Bad Co when it was released. Frampton got me interested in the Les Paul. It took years to actually commit to buying a guitar to learn to play. Sometime in the early 80's when i was studying engineering and I used it as a stress release. Since then the guitar has come in and out of my life and right along was practice time as my career took a lot of my time and attention. The last band I was in I actually played alto sax in the shipyard band.

Jump forward to today: I thought I would practice more than I do in my retirement. But I go through times of the year that it's difficult to actually practice and continue my development. For instance, this time of year I ski quite a bit and I also want to continue a baseline fitness level in my cycling. These two activities take 6 days a week and each day requires recovery time. So I'm not practicing much. Besides, I'm not really sure about where I want to go right now in my playing? So a little time off to breathe I find refreshing and I usually come back to it with a new sense of vigor. I'll never be as good a player as I would like to be but I'm not willing to sacrifice my other fun and abandon my health and fitness. I know that at the end of ski season I'll get back to practicing more when I'm only cycling every other day. My point is don't beat yourself up. Playing music is either in your life or it isn't. If it's in your life it's probably been there for a very long time and you will come back to it. Even if all you did for decades is tap your foot with the drummer! Unless you are a professional musician take it for the "fun" of it and play when you can and when you feel good about it. If you "give up" perhaps it was never really part of the fabric of your being. And that's OK. And skill level? There is only one Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash never shredded........ Have fun with it. Good luck!!

 

[Griff]

Honestly, everyone who plays the guitar needs to read this... we've ALL been there.

There have been times, recently, where I haven't picked up a guitar for several days at a time. For me, it's frustrating because sometimes I have to, there's no escape, it's my job. But that doesn't mean I don't get frustrated with it as well.

The BIGGEST thing for me is to keep it accessible and remove the pressure. I grab it to play something quick for 2 minutes and, before I know it, 25 minutes has gone by and I'm having fun again.

Setting solid goals is another big one. If you don't know what you're moving towards, it'll be hard to know when you've arrived.

On the other hand, for some people they don't care where they arrive, so planning isn't a necessity. Everyone is different, all you have to do is figure out which you are and go with it.

 

[Bluez Mark]

You have to find your own path. First, I would suggest that you decide what it is that you are interested in and then the work really begins. How do you get from here to there? I started playing guitar when I was 10, December 1952. I play many styles, but learned one thing at a time. I must say that I had some outstanding teachers along the way. A short list would include Segovia (summer 1963), Mariano Cordoba, Juan Serrano, and so many more. Between teachers, I would teach myself.

When you are young, you can take lessons, and have little to concern yourself with other than what interests you. Becoming an adult, you have responsibilities, and not as much time to pursue that which interests you. So you have to make a decision about how to spend your time - wisely - and accomplish what you want to do. Trying to please a teacher can be very demanding.

I have found that learning proper technique is so important! My first teacher taught me technique for the first nine weeks. I was patient and then she started teaching me pieces of music that I still play. I would suggest you take a song that you want to learn and take it apart. Get some music software or a lot of paper! Create your own version - simplify the original, and build up the complexity as you may wish with additional and more advanced versions. Make haste slowly and by all means enjoy yourself!

Tom

Hello, at one time I was taking flamenco lessons and playing with one one Juan Serrano’s student.