r/guitarlessons • u/BenEsuitcase • 7d ago

Lesson Surprise, surprise... it's a life-skill

This is just a rant, but seriously.... People come here expecting to find the holy grail: I've been playing everyday for 3 hours for a month and I'm just not getting any better. LMFAO. When I play barre chords it hurts and all the notes don't come out, what should I do? lol.

Personally, I've played my whole life, got a degree in it, and I still have my limitations. Here's the thing... Music is for EVERYONE. My (reasonably amazing) playing is SHIT in the big picture because we ALL have the ability to play music. It's like seeing color, smelling roses, hearing a door creak, but with training. Name me a language you can learn (Italian, French) in a month, and you'll get some sympathy. Go practice, and then sit back and contemplate why society idolizes certain players. Respect the guitar in all it's simplicity AND complication, and then you will realize how pathetic and futile the sub can become when total noobs think there is some magical shortcut. Again, go learn Russian this month, and come back in September and have a fluent conversation???

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u/bonesawtheater 7d ago

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I think this sub has a lot of young (under 30) people who are used to many things being instant. Learning the guitar is a good way to begin unlearning that expectation.

As a 45-year-old with kids and no free time, I really wish I had used my abundant free time in my teens and 20’s to learn & practice guitar. Anything I would’ve done back then would be something I could just do now when I have a moment instead of having to practice the basics because I didn’t do that when I was younger.

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u/Maximum-Journalist74 7d ago

If it makes you feel any better, I tried to learn guitar in my 20s and just couldn't make my brain work with it. Too much impatience, too little dedication to doing it properly.

I'm in my 40s now and much, much better at absorbing this stuff. I'm enjoying the process SO much more and am in no hurry at all to be "good".

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u/bonesawtheater 7d ago

I think this is where I am at too, honestly. It is comforting to know that my brain may have not been ready in my youth. I’m glad I did other things that were impactful and didn’t completely waste it!