[Leon72]

I am getting so frustrated. I have been playing for almost 6 months now, and am still having every problem you can think of. I still cannot transition between chords smoothly, cannot play any songs, except the riff on "Sunshine Of My Love" I practice alot, but get frustrated too easily when I feel I am not improving. I know that I may need to better utilize my practice times, but after 60 to 90 minutes everyday, when nothing works, I simply walk away from it, and try again later. I know I am new, and it takes a very long time to fully learn, but several people play much better than me in alot less time. I need some motivation to keep going, and ways of better utilizing my time. Any ideas to keep me interested? At this point, I am about ready to hang it up, it is getting to the point that practice seems more like a chore than a pleasure, and I hate to think that. I would love to play better, but it seems practice is not working. Sometimes I spend hours a day on my days off, and gain nothing. I have been taking lessons, and understand them, and can even apply them, yet still not gaining progress. Sorry for the long post, I just need help. I hate to hang it up, but feel if I do not start progressing, I will do so. Thank you in advance for any help and advice.

[jacobp]

Dont feel bad Leon. It took me quite a while to get any chord transitions down. I've been playing for a few years now, and still dont think i know any full songs. . What kind of music are you into? Perhaps some people around here could suggest some simple songs for your favorite music style. Sometimes we all hit roadblocks and need a little nudge to get around them, but don't give up!

[allthumbs]

Go to the tech forum and use the stickies there to see if your guitar has been set up correctly. It is very difficult to get anywhere with a guitar that has not been set up well.
Give us some info on what guitar you are playing and the string gauge.

[Dewy]

I like your approach of walking away when it gets frustrating or exhausting. I've always had trouble with the "Play til you bleed" approach.

I'd like to say that Sunshine of Your Love can be tricky... its not easy to make those transitions smoothly either with power chords, or the 7ths that Clapton uses.

Try some things with the open chords, like Sweet Home Alabama, or Hey Joe to break though some of your stiffness with transitions.

Also exercise your rhythm chops on Back in Black, as its chords are easy enough for mindless fingering, and allows you to concentrate on the various silences and attacks.

Most of all listen... listen to music, listen to yourself... listen and watch other guitarists. You will always challenge yourself or see your shortcoming or difficulties, but forget your past victories easily. There was a time when you couldn't tune a guitar right? Your past 60% of the people out there tuning a radio right now.

And most of all have fun. Its not about playing the guitar as much as it is about using a guitar to make music. Learn a different style, or chord when frustrated, change channels often and keep up the effort.

[Oniweeki]

Leon,
Don't feel bad, I know exactly how you feel. I hate those people who pick up things instantly and excel. I'm not one of them. I've been working at this for the past 3years. I have little talent but I love guitar music. I still have problems transitioning from one chord to another (especially barre chords), but the more I work at it, the more I can tell I am improving. My wife doesn't cringe half as much as she used to. Whatever, I know it's a pain, but persistence pays off

[Stratrat]

Leon - the first thing I'd do is take Allthumbs' advice and make sure your guitar is setup correctly. If you're fighting a poorly setup guitar that could be part of your problem.

Second, take a look at how you're practicing. We all like to practice the things that are easy for us and tend to shy away from the more difficult stuff, when it should be the other way around. If you don't practice the tough stuff, you'll never get any better at it! Choose 3 easy open chords - say D, A and G - and work on transitioning between them (coincidentally, these are also the chords used in CCR's "Bad Moon Rising", which is a fairly easy song to practice).

It won't come overnight - I daresay it hasn't for any of us, and certainly not for me! - but with proper practice, it will come with time.

[Leon72]

Thanks everybody. I know it's not an overnight thing, but you would think there would be some progress in six months of practicing an hour or more a day, sometimes several hours. I just sometimes feel I am not getting anywhere since I play as good now as I did the day I bought my guitar. I even recently bought a Gibson SG, didn't have the money, but fell in love with it, so I put in on lay-away. I guess spending $1400 on a guitar was motivation to learn better and practice harder, but it's just not happening. My guitar is set up good, had it at the shop a few weeks to have the action checked out, and he went through it real well, and everything is great, so that isn't the issue. Somebody mentioned me playing "Sunshine Of My Love" I cannot play the song using chords, just a simple tab, and it's really easy, so no big accomplishment there. I guess I just need to keep going, and try harder. My main concern is utilizing my practice time, that is probably the main issue. Just looking for ideas in what to do. Thanks again for the help everybody.