Members bsman Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I laughed when I read this..the instructor he's talking about is on a DVD! ...Well, he STILL sounds like an asshat! (just a pre-recorded asshat...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gasolinefight Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 +1 on getting an actual teacher just keep it up man, I've been playing for about 14 years, and I've gone through years of plateau, but when you finally get that breakthrough god damn it's lovely. And remember, we all think we stink and need to get better, but everyone else thinks we're great. It's usually in your head man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Hey - while we're at it, there's nothing wrong with sucking! Other guitarists love to jam with me, because it makes them feel so much better about themselves... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members volvo1800 Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I had the same one when I was younger. . . Then I just completely stopped playing other peoples songs, and started writing my own. Now that I live up to my own expectations I am much better, and I play in a touring band. Rock on little bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members idhindsight Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 If blues is your thing I can recommend the Blues You Can Use book/cd. It's a step by step approach, played at progressively increasing speeds and it explains what you're doing and how it leads to the next step in the process. Lot's of songs and jams to work on as you work through it. Seconding this. I've owned at least one guitar for about 14 years now, and played in a punk band in highschool but I never learned any theory or even scales. Learned a bit of the raw basics of theory just through the internet and began to practice with a metronome etc etc all the basic {censored} til I got that book for Christmas. Now I've been working through it since Christmas and I can basically perfectly nail every song in it except for the last three. Finally feel like I'm actually progressing, at a good rate, and having a lot of fun most importantly. Highly, highly recommend. Also seconding/thirding the dislike for video/dvd instructions. Where it's beneficial is to figure out the fingering of certain chords or chages, but the overall pace of it seems non-conducive to learning, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Record yourself playing on a monthly basis. You probably have improved somewhat but maybe dont notice it as much because you are you:) VERY good advice. I know one guy that feels he isn't making much progress, but since I only hear him once every three or four weeks, I can easily hear the improvement. Maybe you need to take a break from the DVDs. Pick something relatively basic that you like the sound, but that you've never worked on. Work on it for an hour, record yourself. Work on it off and on for a week, then record yourself again. Compare. That's a pretty true indication of whether you are progressing or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Artslinger Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I've been trying to get better on and off for 40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorganB Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Tune it to E and get a slide for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hshaitan Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 You can do it. Just practice something else for a little bit or maybe even get a metronome and practice slower. Also, head over to the lesson loft and ask for some suggestions to get over frustration there. Everyone can learn to play the guitar. You just have to give it time and patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ugameus Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 It's the plateau. You go along for a while thinking you are getting any better and then boom, you get up to a higher plateau and hang out there for a while and then boom another. I have been playing for 20 years and I still experience the plateaus. Just keep with it. A live teacher is also a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike42 Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Echoing what others have said, I would suggest: 1. Try some different learning material. I, like a lot of folks I suspect, spent years looking for the "perfect" learning program, and finally realized there ain't no such thing. I take a little from here, a little from there, and something else from over that way. I usually don't expect to get more than just a few little ideas, licks, etc., from any particular program anymore. If you're burned out on what you're doing - try something else! 2. I finally realized that my progress on guitar was never going to follow a nice smooth curve. It always seems to be a short vertical jump in learning, followed by a long horizontal line (the plateau). It's frustrating but I know that's the way it is now. I seem to have a few days where new stuff just happens, and then weeks where it's the same old, same old. Seems to be pretty common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 We all have our peaks and valleys. Keep playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MikeKG Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I wonder, I wonder ... I've always told the people I'm teaching (acoustic only, but still ...) that I'll teach them the way around a guitar in six months. After that, I'd be teaching them how I play - which may not be what they're looking for. The biggest mistake, IMHO, is that people don't bother to learn anything about music itself - you know, if you want to play 12-bar blues, learn the format. Once you know where the music is going and you have a few basic riffs under your bonnet, you can sound pretty good anywhere. The same applies to any form of music. Get to know your instrument (sounds like you've done that). Identify what you want to do (Have you REALLY done that?). Learn the forms. NOW start to learn how to put it all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I did myself a favor when I realized that I can incorporate tricks and licks learned from videos into my style, as opposed to getting frustrated because I couldn't do it they way they did. Like others have said, it only takes one small breakthrough to carry you through until you hit your next plateau. That said, be sure to check out Mojo's videos - I learned some killer/easy things from him: http://threechordguitar.wordpress.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 All of the above. I think I suck and my wife says I sound good because she has to. Mine doesn't have that filter - that's how I ended up with a banjo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Skunx Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Everybody feels that way. I recently watched It might get Loud and there is this section where the Edge is talking about bad days and feeling like he sucks. I was really inspired by that. Here is a guy that, whether you like him or his music, has accomplished so much artistically yet still feels that way. Check it out if you haven't watched the movie yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Well, after spending 2 years trying to teach myself how to play this instrument, I have concluded that I seriously lack talent. I was struck by this epiphany after sitting on my couch and trying to learn the same blues song that I've been working on for the last two weeks to no avail. I have been using DVDs for the past year or so, practicing an hour or so a day, and I thought I was making progress, but it seems as though I've been backsliding recently, and I don't know why. Frankly, one reason is that the one I'm using now isn't that good, and the instructor blows through songs without pausing to say just what the hell he's doing, and it's tough to see his finger positioning. But I also have big hands and I keep muting strings. I'm making no progress at all and it's driving me crazy. Why the hell did I buy all this equipment? Has anyone here gone through this before? Sorry for the semi-coherent rant, but I needed to vent and my girlfriend clearly wasn't in the mood to hear it. Short of beating up random strangers, I have no other outlet... You suck compared to whom? Who?Have you gotten better during the last two years? Does playing the guitar give you joy? That's all that really matters... that you enjoy playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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