I've stopped making progress and I need some ideas for how to beat this plateau

[dan!]

Here’s what I recently recommended to a friend:

Step 1: Go to a guitar store
Step 2: Buy an electric guitar
Step 3: Play said guitar
Step 4: Enjoy bouncing back and forth between acoustic and electric. Playing one will make you better at the other.

Do you know how much physically easier it is to play a typical electric vs a typical acoustic? You’ll be able to play easier and longer, thereby building skills faster…

[JackC1]

Originally Posted by b1j

Try G-C-D for a while. The fingering and transitioning are easier, and you can play 80% of Americana songs with those and a capo.

The OP's A,D,E chords are also I-IV-V chords; when paired with a capo, they can achieve what the G-C-D can do, but a bit easier.

[phavriluk]

Getting folks unstuck is a big part of a professional's work. I urge OP to find (this may not be easy!) a professional teacher and talk this over. We offer a Tower of Babel to OP, and what I think will benefit him is to tune the likes of us out and deal with a real teacher.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by JackC1

The OP's A,D,E chords are also I-IV-V chords; when paired with a capo, they can achieve what the G-C-D can do, but a bit easier.

Maybe, just not in the key of G, if that matters.

Anyway, it’s a case of ceiling and floor: I was thinking that G-C-D is easier to play the changes. Especially if the C is a C9 and the occasional D is a Dsus4. Of course, A9 (A2sus) to Esus4 is pretty easy. But getting to D is a full refingering.

Dealer’s choice.

[Horseflesh]

The "Tower of Babel" in this thread is exactly the diversity of opinions I sought when I posted my appeal. There is a lot to think about here, and I appreciate it even if I don't reply to each of you individually.

I also really appreciate the offers to critique videos and so on, and I might do that. It's a tough step to take, though.

[Horseflesh]

Originally Posted by dan!

Here’s what I recently recommended to a friend:

Step 1: Go to a guitar store
Step 2: Buy an electric guitar...

I actually have a couple of electrics. I stopped playing with them when I got an acoustic. "This is so much harder, it must be better for me," I told myself. Maybe I should dust them off.

[Ar Jan]

I know exactly how you feel, I have the same problem.

My solution at the moment is to play only 1 or 2 notes as clean as possible and then I go on.

I play my songs as slowly as possible and try to make it sound as beautiful as possible. I try to put a lot of atomsphere in it, like in the music of Satie.

I also grab the chords in two parts and of course I put the fingers first where they are needed.
I hope this information was helpful.

[jaymarsch]

I have hit similar plateaus from time to time and understand your frustration. There is a lot going on with both the brain and the body when playing the guitar and finding what works best for each learner is found through trial and error.
A lot of good thoughts shared in this thread already but I’ll add that when I’m working on trying to learn or improve on a new technique, I only work on that exercise 5-10 minutes a day. Slowly with focus and then move onto playing something that I thoroughly enjoy.
I have recently been working on learning left hand damping techniques and it feels clumsy and awkward like I’ve never played before. It’s just part of the process of not only learning but integrating your hand coordination movements with your brain in the right timing. So be compassionate and patient with yourself and celebrate the small victories along the way. You will get there.
Best,
Jayne

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

When I succeed, making music is satisfying. Those moments are just coming so slowly that it is hard to stay motivated.

My long term goal is to remain a bedroom player, I have no interest in performing or playing with other people. I reserve the right to change my mind.

What on earth does being a bedroom player actually mean? And why is it a "thing"?

It may be worth digging down into your motivation and beliefs about playing guitar first, then worry about progress later.

Regarding progress: playing guitar is a physical activity, like a sport. It requires coordinated fine motor skills (as well as the attendant musicality). Motor skills require a lot of physical practice. Your aim is to physically do something differently by the end of a practice session than you were at the start.

Folks often forget that playing guitar comes down to physicality. If you are struggling to physically change chords cleanly then you need skills practice specifically aimed at that outcome.

Regarding A, E, D: Personally, I'd switch to G, C, D as has already been mentioned (and C, F, G). In my opinion acoustic guitars often sound better with those open chord shapes, and the potential for linking the chords with bass runs, fills etc is easier. You don't see many bluegrass players using the key of A from an open A chord shape; they play from a G chord shape capo 2. In many situations you can get away from the need for fast, clean chord changes by walking between them (and many other techniques).

Finally, we don't know what we don't know. I expect that you have some beliefs about guitar playing that are simply not based on all the cards. A good tutor would dig into that and challenge you. Learning something new is not all sweetness and light. Challenge and cognitive dissonance are on the path to solid success.

[Mobilemike]

My advice would be to find another human to play with, even just super informally. Find a jam, or go to an open mic as your instructor suggested and find someone just to play some music with. When you find that person, don’t try to show off and play complicated things, just keep it simple and make music you both enjoy.

For me, I progress much faster (and have more fun) when playing with other people than when sitting in my room alone.

-Mike

[buddyhu]

I could be wrong, but it sounds like you aren’t having enough fun with your playing.

Learning to play guitar can become grim and frustrating if your aspirations become self-demands. It is very important to weave joy into the process.

You don’t have to be a great player to have fun with the guitar, but you do have to have the right attitude. Too much self-evaluation gets in the way. Striving too much can get in the way. And Self-criticism can eliminate joy completely.

I would recommend that you work on identifying ways to enjoy where you are at as a player, and/or find ways to get satisfaction from playing even though you can’t play as well as you would like. Here are some suggestions:

music.

• Get our your electric guitar, and fool around with different effects: chorus, reverb, overdrive. Just noodle around and enjoy the sound
• Take your guitar someplace nice: playing a guitar while car camping has often been sweet for me, even when my skills were very limited.
• Find someone else who plays at the same level you do, and jam with them. Even playing two or three songs together once a week, and having “a moment” or two of surprise when things come together unexpectedly is very rewarding.
• If you have the financial resources, buy a guitar that has a tone that captivates you, and that is easier to play.
• Try playing guitars that have different layout than the one you have. Maybe a wider nut, maybe a short scale, maybe a different neck carve, etc. You might find something that works better for you than your current guitar.

I hope you are playing a little bit each day. For many years, I only played when I felt like it…so I wouldn’t play for two or three days, then I’d play for an hour or more, then I wouldn’t play for a few days, etc. I started making much steadier progress and feeling better about my playing when I committed to playing every day; most days, i would just put in 15 or 20 minutes, but the day-by-day consistency really made a difference.

I played a handful of songs badly for many years, and then I quit playing entirely for a decade or so. When I came back to playing (in 2011), I got a good teacher and started exploring fingerpicking. And after a few months, I bought a very nice guitar that had a short scale and a 1 and 3/4 inch nut. A dozen years later, I can still get frustrated, can still think I should sell my guitars and choose a different hobby/past time, can still go through periods when I think, “this isn’t worth doing”.

But after a dozen years, I also can really see my progress, and I play with others every week (and almost always enjoy it, even though I think I am usually the worst player in the room), and in the past three years, I have been getting one or two small gigs (playing at local Farmers Markets, etc.).

You never know where you will end up….

[Railroad Bum]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

This is not really a beginner's forum -- which is what I like about it, the discussions here are advanced and interesting even if I cannot play at your level. Many of you seem to have been playing longer than I have been alive... and I am 50! But I am a beginner, and I need some help ... So many thanks in advance if you have any advice.

I have hit the classic problem ... I hit a plateau, I am immensely frustrated with my poor skills, and I am on the verge of quitting and throwing my guitar into the ravine behind my house.

A self-pity party inventory of my skill failures is not the point of this post, but by way of illustration, I still struggle to play basic open chords at tempo with good technique. I can only play beginner chords 100% cleanly if I play so slowly that it feels ridiculous. It's not even music at that point.

In other areas of music like theory, songwriting, and learning to read music things are fine. My progress is adequate when I focus on an academic area. I know how to study. But that doesn't help me put my fingertips down in the right spots. I just cannot clean up. I keep making the same mistakes, I must have ingrained them.

I do have an instructor by the way, though I have taken a few months off. I will be having this conversation with her too, but I also value the opinion of all y'all.

("How did you get to this point if you have an instructor?" you may ask. Fair question. Her opinion is that my progress is reasonable. "I will never lie to you," she has told me. She wants me to do an open mic with the silly song I wrote. She may be right that my progress is objectively reasonable, but it does not feel that way. When I play all I can focus on are the errors. I have not been open about this with her so she does not know I am in crisis.)

I surely need some new practice habits, and perhaps a psychiatrist too. I hope I can find a way to stick with the guitar, because when it is rewarding, it is very rewarding.

If you're still here, thanks for listening!

I am 51 and have been playing since I was 15. For years, I simply played chords and tried to accompany myself singing. I took lessons for about 2 weeks once, and that didn't work for me. So I focused on playing songs, reinventing the wheel (lol), and trying to enjoy playing guitar. I have never taken it very seriously and do not consider myself much of a musician or singer--it's a hobby. There was a point around 15 years ago when I somehow got good enough to play in bands and started writing a few tunes. I still didn't really know what I was doing, but I gave that a go for a few years. I had some fun, never really made a splash or developed any sort of audience or following. Since then, I have mainly played alone at home, and it relaxes me. I focus on songs, and that's what pushes me to get better and break out of ruts. I picked up a little theory along the way and developed a bit of lead playing, and I recently started cataloging what I do in the form of making videos and posting them on YouTube and sharing them on this site and on Reddit.

Anyway, I would say to not take it so seriously, don't worry about mistakes, and have fun playing. You will get better the longer you play. I personally use songs as a way to keep me interested, but that might not work for everybody. Playing guitar well is hard, and actually playing a tune that people might want to listen to is even harder.

And finding some other people to play with is good advice; actually, if you can find one other person to play with, I think that helps as much as anything. I don't know if my words can help you at all, but I hope you don't give up because it's ultimately pretty rewarding and a great hobby, if nothing else.

[musicman1951]

I'm currently teaching my grandson (10) golf. He's doing very well, but he thinks he's terrible - and, of course, his disappointment is not helping his learning. My first suggestion is to celebrate where you are, and then try (and this part probably won't be easy) to wrap your head around some more realistic expectations. Follow every "I can't" thought/statement with "yet."

You can design some practice routines around your weak areas if you'd like to speed up the process. Making chord changes on time requires a few skills. Have your fingers found the muscle memory to form the chords instantly, as opposed to one finger at a time? I believe they do this naturally with enough time, but you can speed up the process by forming the chord, removing your hand and repeat ad nauseam.

If the problem is getting from one chord to another I'd try practicing alternating just two chords at a a time. Keep your fingers fairly close to the strings while they move, with the ultimate goal of having all the fingers land at the same time. Slow practice with good finger technique is 100 times better than fast, sloppy practice.

Try to remember a few things:
1. Everybody goes through this stage. Everybody.
2. Everything that requires muscle memory takes some time. You can speed up the process a little with lots of practice, but there is a limit. 20 repetitions could be great, 40 might be what the doctor ordered, but 200 is most probably a recipe for frustration and an actual decline in progress for that day. Find your physical and mental limit and then let it go until the next day.
3. There is a number of repetitions required to overcome every difficulty, but you don't know what the number might be. You can throw the guitar through the window and kick the dog, but it won't get you to the number any faster. Logically you should celebrate every repetition because it brings you one closer to the success number.
4. Be nice to yourself. Life is too long to take this seriously. This is not your job, you do need to put in the work, but the goal is some joy. Grab as much as you can during the process.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

I can only play beginner chords 100% cleanly if I play so slowly that it feels ridiculous. It's not even music at that point.

And that is what you have to continue to do. Playing cleanly is the foundation.

[phavriluk]

I think 'TBman' has it exactly right. Clean play, no matter the pace is a paramount requirement. Everything else comes after achieving that.