Beginners question

[TheCoach]

Thanks folks I appreciate the kind and encouraging words!... Let me tell you how this journey came about. So I am in between seasons right now, as I teach and coach for a living. My wife and I are laying around 4 or 5 weeks ago and the Keith Urban infomercial comes on for his beginners guitar package. So I decided to order it. The guitar is okay I guess, but I know I need to get it set up... Last week I borrowed my brothers Washburn and the difference was night and day. I will give it a few months and then I will buy myself something that plays and sounds a little better.

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by TheCoach

So I picked up the guitar for the first time about a month ago. My fingers are past the "sore" stage and have hardened up some and even seem less sensitive. I normally practice for an hour or hour and a half a day... So a few days ago I felt like I was making some good strides and then yesterday I was excited to show my wife what I had been working on and I sounded like a total bum! lol. Not sure how that is possible from one day to the next, but this guitar thing has me intrigued... Anyways just found this forum and look forward to learning from all yall season's vets!

So the question is, is it normal to struggle from one day to the next? I have been around sports all my life and that is normal there, but I was hoping guitar would be different.

Hi,

The sports analogy is pretty good... I believe like athletic ability, musicianship is part genetic and part the amount of effort you put into learning through focused practice. As with sports the division between the two is something of on-going study and we don't have convincing answers. The hungry aspiring athelete and the hungry aspiring musician push themselves to continue getting better and better. There are several plateau's along the way. Not even every Pro musician or athlete is on the same plateau and yes, as with sports your musicianship will have good days and bad days; it's true of any performance.

Like going to the gym the more you put in the more it rewards you. Keep up with the daily practice and within six months you'll have accomplished a lot more than you thought possible.

[TheCoach]

Originally Posted by ChrisE

Keep at it coach. The best part about playing guitar is that usually even practice is fun.

P.S. I loved your TV show. I bet working with Jerry Van Dyke was a lot of fun.

Hey contact your local stations and get me back in sydication!

your truly,
Hayden Fox

[Riverwolf]

Welcome to the forum!

Try this if you have not already.

https://www.justinguitar.com/index.php

[0018]

Originally Posted by roylor4

This ^^^^^^

Also, there is a HUGE difference between practicing and performing. Even though it was for one person, performing for her changed the dynamic instantly. Playing well is a skill/Performing for/in front of others is a separate skill. They are intertwined but definitely different.

You get better at them both the same way - by doing it more often.

Exactly!!! Lol.

[fazool]

Yep totally normal.

Happened to me three days ago. I once again said "whelp....I forgot everything I ever knew"" as I hung my guitar up and went out to do other stuff.

A couple days later, I picked up my guitar and I amazed myself.

So....yes, that's normal.

[Jambi]

Normal, but you already knew that.
Like all things, (you mentioned sports in particular) you have good days and bad days. Maybe you were real excited to show your wife the progress you made and began rushing or dragging (sorry, little 'whiplash' joke there).

Just think:
You're like a MONTH in, seeing great progress, your fingers are getting accustomed to the strings... You sound like you're doing AWESOME!

Greetings, btw.

[Earl49]

Coach, your left hand (fretting) is an athlete too. It needs warm-ups, stretching, and conditioning -- and cool down -- just like any other sport. Some days it is a klutz and cannot get out of its own way, or stiff, or hurt. I have been playing finger style seriously for almost 40 years now. There are some days when I pick up a guitar and my fingers just trip over themselves, even on songs I have played for decades. I have learned to accept that on those days, if it doesn't settle down within a couple of songs, just put the guitar back down. No point in practicing my mistakes......

The comments about performing are spot on too. It is an added psychological pressure that is not there in practice. For example, I used to prep for performing by "rolling tape" in a practice session a few days before a show. Once the red light was on, there was an added stress to get it right for the recording. That changes things. But I NEVER went over the "game films" before that show, because then I would only focus on the tiny little mistakes. Four seconds of hiccup would mentally overwhelm four minutes of otherwise great playing.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by TheCoach

So I picked up the guitar for the first time about a month ago...I was excited to show my wife what I had been working on and I sounded like a total bum! lol...
So the question is, is it normal to struggle from one day to the next? I have been around sports all my life and that is normal there, but I was hoping guitar would be different.

Do ace basketball players have 20 point games every time out? Do .300 baseball batters get a hit in every game? Of course your performance will vary from day to day. That's why live performances are so exciting. Some days you'll sound brilliant, some days you won't be able to buy a song.

As far as playing for your wife or anyone else, the fact that you are aware of someone else in the room (judging you) your focus got split. You needed 100% of your focus on your guitar playing, but enough shifted away that you didn't have enough focus left to play your best. It happens to many of us, even after years or decades of playing. Don't sweat it. Just keep pluggling.

Good luck.

[beninma]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

As far as playing for your wife or anyone else, the fact that you are aware of someone else in the room (judging you) your focus got split. You needed 100% of your focus on your guitar playing, but enough shifted away that you didn't have enough focus left to play your best. It happens to many of us, even after years or decades of playing. Don't sweat it. Just keep pluggling.

That's a great way to articulate the point about why it's harder to play in some situations than others.

OP, it's great to try and keep playing with your wife around too, it will help you get past this faster. Don't set it up in a performance where you want her to come look/watch/listen just let her be in the general area while you practice for a bit, then try to perform something again.

The reason I mentioned in my previous post about the worst case for me being the teacher is a teacher is going to notice 100% of your mistakes no matter how subtle when you're sitting there playing right in front of them. That makes me more nervous. My wife isn't really going to notice even if I swap whole pieces of a song around wrong... as long as I don't stop in the middle of the song she can't really tell.

[Big Band Guitar]

In a year you should notice some improvement.

1 month your on track.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by TheCoach

…I was hoping guitar would be different.

Hi TC

You are a ways from that 10,000 hour mark…

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by TheCoach

So I picked up the guitar for the first time about a month ago. My fingers are past the "sore" stage and have hardened up some and even seem less sensitive. I normally practice for an hour or hour and a half a day... So a few days ago I felt like I was making some good strides and then yesterday I was excited to show my wife what I had been working on and I sounded like a total bum! lol. Not sure how that is possible from one day to the next, but this guitar thing has me intrigued... Anyways just found this forum and look forward to learning from all yall season's vets!

So the question is, is it normal to struggle from one day to the next? I have been around sports all my life and that is normal there, but I was hoping guitar would be different.

Not always will it be like that from one day to the next but there are days when we just don't seem to have it and other days, we find everything falling into place.

The pressure you put on yourself trying to impress your wife, likely added to any mistakes you made.