Beginner getting better

[Chas007]

I'm very critical of myself, but I have to say over the last month or so my play is getting better. I'm able to play longer without making mistakes than I have in the past. I am finally getting the hang of not squeezing the life out of the neck and other aspects of my technique such as finger tip placement and switching to and from the dreaded barr F chord are getting pretty good also.

I often miss two or three days between practices and I think that helps me. As my playing has improved my confidence has grown and I feel that is helping me also. Believing that I can is helping me to be able to, if that makes sense.

If you're a beginner also let me encourage you to not give up. Keep playing and it will get better.

63 yrs old and teaching myself with the help of a few online sites.

[Railroad Bum]

Well, I would say to try to pick up the guitar for at least a few minutes every day if possible. Some days I play for an hour or longer, and other days it might be five minutes.

But it's great that you are playing and learning and becoming more confident. Playing music is one of the best things I have ever done, and I have been playing for almost 38 years.

[RodB]

Well done for persevering and sharing your experience. It is easy for those of us who have played for a long time to say not to give up, but encouragement from someone like you who has recently overcome some hurdles is probably worth more

I too find a short break from practice as you note is beneficial, routine is good but I have never understood why it is considered necessary to play daily.

Enjoy the continuation of you journey and the challenges that continue to crop up from time to time.

[Robin, Wales]

Great post Chas!

When I'm learning something new on guitar I start from the premise that "I don't know what I don't know", so I expect some surprises along the way - and for my present beliefs about various aspects of playing to be challenged and quiet possibly proved wrong!

Also, I see playing guitar as a physical act, like a sport. If I want my guitar to make different sounds to how I play a song today then I have to do something physically different to make that happen. So I don't practice to do things the same, I practice to do them differently. At the end of my practice session I want to be playing differently (better) than I was at the start.

Finally, I really need specific, measurable outcomes to work towards. For example: I'm going to perform 3 songs at the local open mic' on 7th July. So I'm working up that performance set at present. It gives my practice a real focus, therefore I get better quicker.

[jjbigfly]

Hmmm…. At this advanced age I have made a few observations along the way that might seem somewhat off center, but ………..
My own goal as a player (singer too!) is to enjoy the music. I do not have a schedule to follow for practice, nor will I. I play because I like to play, whenever that happens. There are times I admire the dedication other players have and the skills they develop, but it simply does not work for me. I like what I do for a living and there are days I have to work at it, but the music has always been for my enjoyment first and foremost. I have learned what I wanted to learn and, yes, It would have been nice to become a better player but I really simply enjoy playing at the level I am at. Now, I believe folks enjoy listening to what I can play, but if I am not happy with it-it becomes “work.” I will finish the job, but I am not enjoying it. Rare, but it happens. Still get good compliments, but it’s something I keep to myself…
I need to enjoy the music or I lose motivation. I am learning new tunes, but I have to work at it to get to the point I enjoy the new ones.
Perhaps I am rambling so I will try to get to the point ( I think I had one ).
I think that too much of something can turn bad for some of us. I really DO admire skilled players, and, yes there are times I wonder how well I could play if I had the discipline many of you players do. But, in all honesty (and selfishly so)
It’s me first. I have met a fair number of accomplished musicians that were able record albums….and then gave it up. Perhaps it’s different up there.
Waaay back in the day (around the time dirt was discovered) I got into riding the evil motorcycles and ended up at the race track. The goal was to be faster at every chance. But I always envied those who simply loved to ride.
Perhaps I am trying to say that some of us are going to drive ourselves to be better (I call them REAL musicians) and some are going to simply love to play….
I learned enough to enjoy what I play and I never wanted much more.
I will offer this: try to enjoy the musical journey, stop if you want, play more if you want. Get as good as you feel you want, but enjoy all of it…..

As I get older I feel like I want to relax and enjoy more rather than accomplish more. It’s YOUR journey, do it your way.

[doctone]

Originally Posted by Chas007

If you're a beginner also let me encourage you to not give up. Keep playing and it will get better.

My experience as a lifelong woodwind player @56: as a beginner, when you have enjoyed the first beautiful sounds coming from your instrument, your basic challenge is just waiting around the corner. Sure as hell (and soon enough) will come the moment when you think everything you do sounds like crap. Fun fact: this is not because your playing has become worse, but because your ears have developed. This is the stage which separates the wheat from the chaff and when many beginners give up.
I would recommend anyone who experiences this phase to focus on tone rather than technique. Play simple things against the wall to refill your cup.

Congratulations, Chas!

[Dave Hicks]

Congratulations!

I feel about the same, and I've been playing since 1969. But I've had lots more to play since I retired, and it's helped a lot.

D.H.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi Chas and folks,

I started messing about with acoustic guitars in the mid '60s. I wasted a lot of time and opportunities, wrote a lot of songs, but knew hardly anything aboud keys, chords etc. and I didn't really know my direction.An acquaintance with the Rolling Stones led me to the Blues.

In 1975, I moved out of London and purely by happenstance found myself in an area where there was an active bluegrass scene. I found myself in two working bands playing guitar but also Dobro and mandolin. Friends showed me stuff and I learned to listen - I didn't copy, but I developed a style of sorts.
Work took me to the south coast in '79, and another bluegrass fraternity, but due to caring for my father (dementia) and illness dogged me for ten years - no guitar, no singing, until '93 when I stopped by a club that I used to gig in, and I got my guitar from it's ten years in the attic. Now it was American singer-songwriters that inpired me, from Jimmie Rodgers to Guy Clark.

Along the way similar players swapped information, and occasionally people asked me for help.

March 2020. Lockdown. A guy from Atlanta who had seen my YouTube channel mailed me asking for lessons via Zoom. Then another and another.
I learnt what a delight and honour it is to be able to help other, but I alsolearnt that no two people learn the same way, and this is, finally, my point.

Most of my clients are middle aged (or more) and are re-living the playing joys neglected due to career, family etc.

Many teachers teach songs, showing note by note how to emulate someone else's hit or somesuch.

I decided not to teach songs but to teach people.

I mentor my clients, I help with whatever we agree is missing from their skillset ... or confidence. Yes we use songs of course, but acquiring/developing those skills enables them to apply them to any song they wish.

Things like this :

For most of us, singing and/or playing guitar is a hobby - something to be enjoyed and to share.

So, I would say, don't over discipline you practice times, or measure your progress by hours. Play when you want, when you can and savour it.

And if I can help, see below

[jjbigfly]

Listen to Silly Mustache…..that there is good advice…….

[tbirdman]

A good read for us newbie players (67 yrs) is the Laws of Brainjo. When you read it, you keep thinking "well that makes sense".

I started 3 years ago just as the covid lockdowns started with a guitar purchase and started Justin Guitar's lessons. I'm now taking weekly piano, guitar and singing lessons. I play the steel acoustic, classical and harp guitar and the piano. I just finished 4 semesters of piano at a local community college.

I suggest daily practice even just a short session. I do practice most days 2Xs a day. Keep in mind, if the stuff seems hard, that is good. You don't want to practice the stuff that you are good at, but the stuff you are not at.

Enjoy the journey. Look where you came from and not where you are going.

[Oxhead]

I’m 58 and just picked up the guitar for the first time on Jan. 1 when my dad gave me his old Silvertone. I decided then and there that to do both my dad and the guitar justice, I needed to take lessons, so I’ve been seeing a guy once a week. If I do say so myself, I’m a little impressed by my progress, being an old dog learning new tricks.

(I’m afraid my wife might be getting sick of the opening riffs to Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.”)

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Chas007

I'm very critical of myself, but I have to say over the last month or so my play is getting better. I'm able to play longer without making mistakes than I have in the past. I am finally getting the hang of not squeezing the life out of the neck and other aspects of my technique such as finger tip placement and switching to and from the dreaded barr F chord are getting pretty good also.

I often miss two or three days between practices and I think that helps me. As my playing has improved my confidence has grown and I feel that is helping me also. Believing that I can is helping me to be able to, if that makes sense.

If you're a beginner also let me encourage you to not give up. Keep playing and it will get better.

63 yrs old and teaching myself with the help of a few online sites.

I'm 68. I've been playing steady the last 23 years or so and played on and off for the 36 years prior to that. I will drill hard on a tune for 3-4 days and then when I take a day or two off I feel refreshed and ready to drill some more. I'm one of these players that just plays for the joy of playing, but every once in a while something gets under my skin and I try to nail the tune the same as the original artist does. In this particular instance the tune and the technique is quite a bit beyond my skill set and it is frustrating at times. I'm not sure if I'll ever get the tune to where I want it but I keep chipping at it. Sometimes progress isn't a straight line up, there are dips and curves. Just don't let the dips discourage you. We all get the dips.

[Glennwillow]

Good for you, Chas! Keep it up and have fun!

- Glenn

[rmp]

stay with it brutha

don't sweat the mistakes, they actually help in the long run.

[jeanray1113]

One of the most important reasons to practice daily is that regular practice becomes a habit. It’s not a big deal to miss a day now and then, but more than that and it weakens the habit. On days when I’m really busy, or have had a difficult day and feel too tired, I try to at least do 10-15 minutes. Often, once I start, it goes longer than that, but even a short session is better than none.