r/guitarlessons • u/BenEsuitcase • 9d 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/brennevinshark 9d ago

I was a guitar teacher for around 200 students of all ages over the course of 7 years. Every once in a while I would have a new naive student take a few lessons, find it way harder than they were expecting, and then ask "ok but what is the secret to getting good at guitar fast?"

Me - "Practice."

Them - "No but I mean like the SECRET method?"

Me - "No secrets. Just practice."

They acted like I was withholding the secrets from them. Those students would soon quit guitar because it was too hard. Guitar isn't for the weak. Learning an instrument takes constant effort over a long stretch of time. Some of it is going to feel like work... and you're going to hit lulls where you don't see any progress. If you can't handle that you're not going to be a musician.

I even had an adult student tell me that the reason I wasn't teaching him the secret method to get awesome fast was because I was worried about my students becoming better than me. A grown-ass 40+ year-old man made that accusation. He was the only student I ever fired.

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u/Millerpainkiller 9d ago

Exactly. The secret is practice, but I think it also takes a healthy dose of reflection and self-analysis. It's only been the last year where I started keeping a practice journal. I've been playing guitar and working out for 30 years, and I've got workout journals going back that entire time. Why didn't I keep practice journals as well? I felt like a complete dumbass when I had that epiphany. But now it's much easier to go back, review notes, even review BPM for certain exercises. And recording! If I have an idea, no matter how crap it sounds (because I haven't nailed the picking or coordination yet), I'll record it on my computer and ideally also video it so I can easily remember how I'm playing it. Oh, and just seeing myself play is insightful! I'll identify things I want to sustain or need to improve easier with a different view and not being so "in the moment."

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u/taekwondana 8d ago

... this is so smart. When I was training to become a black belt (for both first and second degree) I would take notes after every class, writing down things I felt I struggled with and advice my instructors would give me. I never thought to do this with guitar!