Thinking about quitting lessons

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by roylor4

You have no idea what the teachers agenda is, nor how much or how little work the OP put in. You may not mean it to, but this post comes off as sanctimonious and self-righteous........

Look, the OP wasn't offended. In fact he thought it was funny, agreed with my assessment, and quit. Apparently his teacher repeated every word I said (verbatim?). What are the chances of that? Actually it's quite high if you use LOGIC.

MY next LOGICAL question, of course, is why are YOU offended?

Unfortunately we are living in an era where people are quick-tempered and looking for offence under every rock. If there are multiple interpretations of a situation/event, then the prudent move is to go with the positive interpretation and give people the benefit of the doubt. Things run a lot smoother that way...

[Woolbury]

Originally Posted by GroovyException

Just reduce the frequency; a lesson every two weeks instead of every week. You keep the discipline and structure of professional tuition, but gain time to indulge in some fun stuff too. If your teacher won't agree to it, find another one who will. I've been with my current teacher for a year, but I got through three others before I signed up with him.

This is it here. Give yourself the space you need to absorb the material, then your visits with the instructor will be more worthwhile. Every 2wks, 3wks, once a month, whatever it takes. And also the idea of trying lessons with other teachers is key, you'll find someone you click with and inspires you, understands your pace and abilities. You haver a long way on this journey, keep evaluating as you go.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Sonics

Look, the OP wasn't offended. In fact he thought it was funny, agreed with my assessment, and quit. Apparently his teacher repeated every word I said (verbatim?). What are the chances of that? Actually it's quite high if you use LOGIC.

MY next LOGICAL question, of course, is why are YOU offended?

Unfortunately we are living in an era where people are quick-tempered and looking for offence under every rock. If there are multiple interpretations of a situation/event, then the prudent move is to go with the positive interpretation and give people the benefit of the doubt. Things run a lot smoother that way...

I was going to use the "roll-eyes" emoji in my response to your post. They are even more applicable to this one.

Yes, my response was certainly heated, wasn't it.

[tupper]

I would discuss how I feel with the instructor, and make that person aware of my situation. I wouldn't quit taking lessons though. Anyone can benefit from learning basic music theory. Who knows, someday you may change your mind about having lessons, and you cannot recapture the time you lost by quitting lessons. And, to a degree, you will lose some of what you have already learned.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, ..... sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.
Playing guitar for me, is a way to unwind after a hard day of factory work. ..........

I think this would settle if for me. Playing guitar should be fun
Though there is “the other side of the coin”
If you want to get good at it then you have to pay your dues.

Perhaps you can cut your lessons down to every 2 weeks or once a month. Or perhaps you need a new teacher that structures the lesson in a way that better fulfills your physical, spiritual and emotional needs.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, I've been taking guitar lessons for a few months now and I'm thinking about quitting. My teacher is very good but very serious about technique and playing in time(which I guess he should be) but I feel like having a strict regiment of scales and a song that I'm supposed to have learned by the next week, sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.
Playing guitar for me, is a way to unwind after a hard day of factory work. Also, a hard day at the shop, leaves my body(and hands) sore. So I don't feel like I'm giving the stuff he gives me to practice, the time and attention it deserves because I either don't have the time(because of working overtime) or the energy.
Plus, I know I'm never going to be a professional musician, it's just a hobby for me.
What do you think, should I stick with it a little longer and see what happens?

Take a break, but keep working on your lessons and practice. When you hit a plateau, start up some more lessons.
I have taken lessons off and on every couple years for about 20 years and I always get better, always find new tricks, and to validate some other wise AGF replies: I also have to unlearn habits that hinder progress.
The most useful off all of my guitar lessons were when I took a few months of bass guitar lessons. So fun. Made me better at all guitars, better at understanding chord structure, and better at learning the fretboard. etc.

It should be said- timing and scales are tedious, but not as tedious as playing with someone who can’t keep time.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, I've been taking guitar lessons for a few months now and I'm thinking about quitting. My teacher is very good but very serious about technique and playing in time(which I guess he should be) but I feel like having a strict regiment of scales and a song that I'm supposed to have learned by the next week, sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.

Hi Mad Max
Don't let yourself become Distressed Max. Playing guitar is a hobby not a marriage.

If it's not fun, take a break from lessons. Many people who never took lessons enjoy their guitars just fine.

[rllink]

It has been several months since Max posted this and I hope that he got it sorted out one way or the other. I hope so. I think that a lot of times students are not very clear about expectations and the teacher has to do a guessing game to try and get a feeling for what the student wants. That takes a lot of time to figure out. I recently started taking guitar lessons and was pretty clear that I'm old, I'm very laid back, that I am not a serious guitar player and I'm just having fun. Also that I want to play the blues. My teacher has been great in all those regards and I'm learning a lot of interesting stuff. He in no way puts any pressure on me. Most every lesson ends with the attitude of "work on that and next week well talk about it before we tackle more."

[MakingMusic]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, I've been taking guitar lessons for a few months now and I'm thinking about quitting. My teacher is very good but very serious about technique and playing in time(which I guess he should be) but I feel like having a strict regiment of scales and a song that I'm supposed to have learned by the next week, sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.
Playing guitar for me, is a way to unwind after a hard day of factory work. Also, a hard day at the shop, leaves my body(and hands) sore. So I don't feel like I'm giving the stuff he gives me to practice, the time and attention it deserves because I either don't have the time(because of working overtime) or the energy.
Plus, I know I'm never going to be a professional musician, it's just a hobby for me.
What do you think, should I stick with it a little longer and see what happens?

I know how you feel and I think it depends on how disciplined you are. Lessons are not a requirement for playing the guitar. Some people need and like the structure, others don't. Most people I know, whose goal is just to relax and play some pop or rock songs on the acoustic, have not taken lessons. They seem just fine. I have done both and seem to drift back and forth between taking lessons and being self-taught. No decision is forever.

[MakingMusic]

Originally Posted by rllink

It has been several months since Max posted this and I hope that he got it sorted out one way or the other. I hope so. I think that a lot of times students are not very clear about expectations and the teacher has to do a guessing game to try and get a feeling for what the student wants. That takes a lot of time to figure out. I recently started taking guitar lessons and was pretty clear that I'm old, I'm very laid back, that I am not a serious guitar player and I'm just having fun. Also that I want to play the blues. My teacher has been great in all those regards and I'm learning a lot of interesting stuff. He in no way puts any pressure on me. Most every lesson ends with the attitude of "work on that and next week well talk about it before we tackle more."

Hm... I've got to start looking at the original posting date. This one is probably old news by now. Hopefully he's worked it all out.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, I've been taking guitar lessons for a few months now and I'm thinking about quitting. My teacher is very good but very serious about technique and playing in time(which I guess he should be) but I feel like having a strict regiment of scales and a song that I'm supposed to have learned by the next week, sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.
Playing guitar for me, is a way to unwind after a hard day of factory work. Also, a hard day at the shop, leaves my body(and hands) sore. So I don't feel like I'm giving the stuff he gives me to practice, the time and attention it deserves because I either don't have the time(because of working overtime) or the energy.
Plus, I know I'm never going to be a professional musician, it's just a hobby for me.
What do you think, should I stick with it a little longer and see what happens?

If you are learning to read musical notation then getting the timing correct without a teacher standing over you and pointing out when you go wrong is going to be pretty difficult. It's too easy to think your playing the song correctly because the notes/chords sound right.
Why don't you just explain the situation to your teacher, cut down the lessons to once every two or three weeks, record the lessons so you don't forget stuff.
Learning music from notation requires a different kind of concentration than improvising and playing by ear so maybe get your teacher to show you how to construct and improvise over chord progressions/ favourite song tracks and save the notated stuff for when you feel more alert.
Edit.. guess I should have noted the OPs posting date too!

[Mr. Jelly]

I could never do lessons. I tried but they never told me what I wanted to know.

[hatamoto]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

So, I've been taking guitar lessons for a few months now and I'm thinking about quitting. My teacher is very good but very serious about technique and playing in time(which I guess he should be) but I feel like having a strict regiment of scales and a song that I'm supposed to have learned by the next week, sort of takes the fun out of playing for me.
Playing guitar for me, is a way to unwind after a hard day of factory work. Also, a hard day at the shop, leaves my body(and hands) sore. So I don't feel like I'm giving the stuff he gives me to practice, the time and attention it deserves because I either don't have the time(because of working overtime) or the energy.
Plus, I know I'm never going to be a professional musician, it's just a hobby for me.
What do you think, should I stick with it a little longer and see what happens?

I can sympathize to this. I didn't like the feeling of having homework. Yeah sure I can "learn it" and perform it by next week but it seemed like I haven't digested the material at that point so I stopped and took a break for a while. At that time, I didn't really enjoy what I was learning. I wasn't ready to be a student.

Couple of years went by and one day I came back to the same teacher. I wrote down and thought hard about my goals this time and somehow things kind of magically lined up and I enjoyed every bit of material. Now, I feel like I'm in the right direction and I can understand pretty much any youtube tutorials so I can take it from here.

Bottom line, trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right at the moment, take a break. It will come back to you.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I could never do lessons. I tried but they never told me what I wanted to know.

Did you ever tell them what you wanted to learn?