Why Is Learning Guitar So Hard (My 18 Months Experience Learning Online)

Why Is Learning Guitar So Hard? It is frustrating, time consuming, challenging and often unachievable with many plateaus along the way. Maybe you want to quit? I talk about my recent experiences and offer some advice.
_________________________________________________________________

🎸 THE GEAR I USE 🎸

► ELECTRIC GUITAR: Fender Stratocaster MIM 2015 (now player series)
► ELECTRIC GUITAR: Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2020 - Dark Cherry Burst

[davidwalker]

Well, you speak for millions. I agree with so much of what you said though. For example, don't compare yourself with others. No matter who you are, there is someone more able than you, at least in a particular domain. And also don't compare yourself with where you want to be. Goals are good but can be to your detriment if they prevent you from enjoying where you are and what you are doing at the moment. On the GuitarTricks forum, Deb48 posted this quote from Kurt Vonnegut which I believe is also relevant.

By Kurt Vonnegut:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

[tommy]

I look forward to the post pandemic surge in used guitars for sale. :)

[giulioguarino]

I think it’s very important to fall in love with the process of learning. I mean, slowing down things, repeat them over, feeling overjoyed when a little something is achieved.

Also... I’ve been “playing” more or less seriously for 7 years now, when I bought my first electric guitar. But I was so tense and focused on obtaining big goals fast that everything seemed a nightmare from time to time. I even got private lessons for 2 years (!) but never felt that click and I felt discouraged.

There have been times when I totally abandoned the whole guitar thing, thinking that I’m not cut for it. Then... abandoning the idea of learning things to be the best and embracing the joy of making nice sounds with my guitar, the joy of learning, I felt much better.

Guess what? Now I’m really starting to understand things, sounding better, enjoying guitar as never before. Yes, 7 years were necessary :) but I think I got even a lesson life from all of this.

Never give up, relax, be yourself :)

[trentstroupe]

Finally someone who I can relate to! I started my guitar journey 2 years ago, and I’m not even close to your level! But I’m not giving up. (I’ll be 55 next month lol). Glad to have found you on here! I look forward to more inspirational videos in the future. I’m binge watching your older videos now. Thanks!✌️

[starvideoproduction]

Guitar is hard. I picked up bass at 13 and guitar at 16. It just takes practice, but now I am learning piano and it's making music fun again. What helps me is just jamming and having fun with friends, learning new songs, then practicing singing or piano and switching around. I am hard on myself to keep progressing, but like you said, it's better to step back and look at the big picture and appreciate where we are at this point on our progression.

[nicedog]

Something I’ve finally learnt is that every guitar player should get themselves a decent acoustic even if they prefer electric. That way you can pick it up at any time and just practice when you get a chance. Another thing is that if you get a sticking point in a song, SLOW DOWN and just practice that bit over and over again until you can do it. If you try to play the whole thing and keep messing up at that point you will get good at messing up that same bit.

[dalemcsween]

You have some great tips in this video for breaking through the plateaus and recommitting. Personally I found a huge step change in motivation and subsequently results in 3 ways. 1) singing and playing is a lot more fun for me than just instrumental 2) Record your self and play thorough the whole song, benchmark yourself to older performances every month or so. If you have a Mac use Garageband and fire up some drums for your song to play along with 3) set a goal when things open up to go and perform at an open mic. Most are a very supportive environment and you will also meet people you can play with. I'm 71 so I am trying to make the most progress in the time available. Hang in there!

[markcurnow]

Your timing is impeccable, I sat in my guitar room over the weekend and thought exactly the same. In fact I thought ‘I’m shit’ and maybe I am but I’m not half as shit as I was 6 months ago. I keep chopping from riffs, to chords to theory and can’t see any improvement. But you hit the nail on the head when you said that as you progress the progress is less obvious to see. Thank you buddy 🇬🇧

[MattLayman]

I appreciate your candor! I'm 37 and just started my guitar journey a couple of weeks ago. I think it's good to be mindful of the hurdles that are undoubtedly ahead. Good luck with your progress!

[alanbooker]

I'm in the UK and the Covid thing stopped my jam sessions with my other middle-aged colleagues, been really down about it and like yourself my practice has hit a brick wall. Then bang! Along you come with another video (as if by magic) and I'm thinking "Yeah, it's not easy but nothing worth having ever is, also our band will get back to playing together again one day so forge on and keep at it. Thank's Luke, you really are an inspiration.

[adamx]

Just found your channel. It's great!! I have reached my 1 year anniversary of playing guitar 2 days ago, im 36 years old. One thing I've learned is it's truly muscle memory. Its repetition. It may take a thousand times to get a lick to where you can play it without looking or thinking. Once you get there, it may take another thousand to get it to sound good with your fingers in sync. And to keep it that way, you should play it atleast a few times a week through. It's a lot of work. Like learning a language or writing. Eventually you don't even think, it just comes out. The hard thing is not getting discouraged. There have been times when I actually decreased in progression and I got worse. So frustrating. But its part of it. Power through it. My father has been playing over 50 years now. He keeps telling to be relentless. Stopping is not one of the options, just keep going even when you feel you completely suck. You will make it.

[KRE]

Thanks for that - appreciate the honesty. Your encouragement and tips mean so much more because you acknowledge the difficulty in staying motivated and admit you also have been having difficulties. Only been at it for 6 months, 2 hours a day, and it's super hard sometimes to see that any progress is being made and wondering why I'm sticking with it and if I'll ever be able to play a song from start to finish or if I'll ever hit a clean D chord 10 times in a row. Just watching this gave me the feeling of not being able to wait until tonight's practice session. Cheers!

[tunguy]

Only joined your posts this week. Enjoy hearing about your journey. I am 75 and picked up the guitar almost 2 years ago . Could play the trumpet a bit but never played a string instrument- actually never even knew what a chord is…
A while ago I bought a ukulele and was hooked! It’s much much easier than guitar to at least play songs.
I was then talked into trying the guitar. I agree it is a mental and physical challenge that requires a lot of dedication.
I can play a few songs- very few of it will be appreciated by others, but I’m enjoying the journey.
By the way- others will happily listen to you if you play the ukulele- no matter how badly. Not the same with guitar . I even battle to get a family member listen to me when I think I’m playing something reasonably decent on the guitar. It’s very depressing.But as one of your followers mentioned, you are playing for your own enjoyment- it really is therapeutic!

[Love-jjzr]

Your videos motivate me so much. Thank you!

[graemestuart]

I’m around the same stage and really I only do it for me. If I can play along to a song and it sounds half decent I’m happy, yes I’ve bashed the strings in frustration and Slash hasn’t got nothing to worry about but I enjoy it for me. I play upstairs away from my wife and was getting a bit frustrated she came up the stairs just as I was playing along to Shallow from A star is born, she stood there with nearly a year in her eye and said ‘that was brilliant’ That was enough for me, made me feel a million dollars. It’s tiny things that can keep you going.

[philjones]

One thing you mentioned that discouraged you: Those songs you worked so hard to play, you couldn't play any more. I can't play very many songs, but one thing I absolutely force myself to do is to play through each song I know at least once per week - not always with the aim of improving, but rather with the aim of just remembering. I just figure it's worth putting some effort into retaining stuff in memory. I doubt even the professionals can retain every song they ever played, but at 18 months your repertoire will be of a managable size I guess.

[SjonnyBB]

Great motivation mate! After a injury with my foot I had to stop with sports so I decide to try one of the things Ive always wanted to do, playing guitar! First few months were indeed really hard, but with enough dedication and a guideline you can make it!!

[davidk]

For what it is worth I have just checked back in on your channel for the first time in 6 months or so and to me it looks like you have made some good progress. There is no doubt in my mind you are well beyond where I would expect someone with 18 months playing under their belt to be. Keep it up!

[heroshot]

One of those old guitar players revisiting the hobby after not taking it seriously for the better part of a decade here. I just got back into it heavily, and I'll say that what has helped me is two things, really:

One, that I am picking songs that have a nostalgic tug at the heartstrings. This really helps me transcend trying to play it perfectly and more stringing the notes together to trigger that nostalgic response. And when it comes together -- even for a moment -- it gives you a great rush.

And two: experiment with equipment and other areas of guitar beyond the technical playing. I started playing guitar in the early 90s (I'm your age now) and never had the means to really find new sounds. Now, in revisiting it, I'm gaining so much enjoyment over buying cheap pedals, learning how they chain together, and how to produce sounds that I couldn't by just strumming a guitar. This makes me feel accomplished as a musician because it pushes me more toward the world of sound engineering and recording--and learning all the technical elements of how stuff works.

[guitarjourney]

I started my journey on December 14, 2020, so I'm about 18 months behind you. It's so great to have someone else's progress to judge mine against. I'm practicing an hour a day and following Justin's beginner course. But I'm also taking weekly lessons. I am amazed that you played "Blackbird" as early as you did in your journey. From where I am, that seems nearly impossible. I have no advice for you, but I hope you keep at it and keep making progress. Best of luck, and thanks for the inspiration.