Avoiding Frustration While Learning to Play the Guitar

Learning to play guitar can be a very frustrating experience, but sticking through with it can be very rewarding in the end. The biggest reason that most people quit learning to play is because they get frustrated and give up. However, by being aware of what is going to likely trip you up, it is a lot easier to press forward and keep working at it. Before deciding playing guitar is hard and quitting, keep the following in mind.

1) Muscle Memory Takes Time to Develop
A guitarist plays the guitar through muscle memory if they want to do anything remotely complex. However, muscle memory develops as fast as it wants, and you really can’t speed that up, no matter how much you practice. How long you can and need to practice varies from person to person and one person may have to practice longer than another for the same gain, but even if the change isn’t noticeable it is happening. You will be surprised just how often you realize that something that seems so easy was near impossible even a couple weeks before.

2) Over Killing Practice Time Doesn’t Help
Frequently, you will find guitarists that practice seemingly ridiculous amounts of time. You may very likely make the same progress whether you practice twelve hours or two, as opposed to making six times as much progress. It is possible to develop a long practice session that does work, probably the best example of this is Steve Vai’s 10 hour practice schedule, but if you examine it, it really is ten practice sessions that are one hour each that are strung together, and only three of those are very mechanical and are spread out from one another.

3) Sitting Around Playing is Not Necessarily Practice
Another reason why you find guitarists citing huge lengths of time for practice is that they think everything counts as practice if they aren’t on a stage. If you are sitting around practicing songs and techniques you can do perfectly already, you really aren’t gaining any real benefit. In order to get better at guitar, you do need to push yourself and your abilities, and you just don’t get that playing stuff that is already easy for you.

4) Practice at What You Are Bad At
If bends are giving you the biggest problem, you should focus on learning to do bends. If vibrato is the big trouble spot, then focus on that. Don’t simply try to figure out how to get around techniques you aren’t good at through other ones. At some point, you will almost definitely come to a line where you can’t substitute a slide for a bend or things along those lines. It can be frustrating, but you will find it all the more satisfying when you get the hang of a tricky technique then you could ever could by figuring out a way to get around using it most of the time.

5) Remember to Enjoy Yourself
As much work as guitar actually is, you should remember that odds are you are probably doing this for your own enjoyment more than anything else. Musician isn’t exactly one of those careers you really can fall into without enjoying it, and the overwhelming majority of people that play the guitar aren’t ever going to be financially dependent on it. If learning to play the guitar becomes to feel like work and you aren’t remotely enjoying, chances are you really need to reevaluate your practice routine. It can be frustrating and difficult to learn guitar, so you need to keep in mind just why you are learning it in the first place.

Keep on rockin'!