What am I doing wrong?

Hello, all of you very nice and helpful people :)

I've been playing the guitar alone now for about 8 months (by alone, I mean "not in a band"), and over the last 3 months, since I discovered this site, I've learned a lot about playing the guitar, but I've only learnt 2 or 3 songs partially in that time (and one fully, but not in full tempo), meaning that I must be doing something wrong somewhere. I've got both ambitions and goals sorted out (become better, find a band, play some small gigs at a few venues, hopefully become a famous rock-band), I just lack the technique! I can't move my left hand fast enough to keep up with awesome rock-songs I want to learn to play, and if I play at a slower pace, it just sounds wrong to me (which I consider to be a big dilemma).

What am I doing wrong? I can't hear that I'm improving at all, and that's beside playing at least an hour a day, sometimes even more. Maybe it's just lack of confidence in my abilities and maybe it's because I'm really not improving at all, I don't know for sure. I've been playing for 8 months now, maybe even more, and over the last month... I've stalled completely. I haven't improved at all, and if I have, I can't hear it.

I know some people may recommend finding a band, and quite frankly, I've been considering that option too. The biggest problem with that just happens to be that I know nobody else around my own age who's really into playing music. Does anyone know any places where you would normally find other musicians looking to form a band? If I didn't know better, I'd almost expect a smaller venue to be a great place to start...

I'd appreciate any help you can give me. I've invested a lot of money into playing the guitar, and I love both my gear and practicing too much to just give up, because I can't hear my own progress.

I thought you were talking about me in the improvement area. I am going through the same thing, and I am looking for answers also. Sometimes I wonder if I am trying to hard, or too long and so forth.
My fingers are having a hard time moving also. The speed is next to a turtle race at some points, and sometimes they feel like they are drunk and go wobbly, but I am going to keep moving forward as much as possible.
I also play alone and I am trying to play along with the instructors and at times it is hard, but it is some old habits I am trying to break out of also.

Keep moving forward and believe you are improving even though it may not seem so. This is what I try to do when those tougher times hit.

Welcome home, if you stay at guitar you will feel like this every now and then. It’s a great place to re-gather your thoughts, give your mind a chance to work on things. If you want to join a band, cool, but you will need more than 3 songs or find other people who play about as well as you do, so you can all learn together. That sounds like going nowhere fast, no one better than you around to learn from, new songs and styles.

You will not have the speed of Rock Stars for a while; write that off your list of things to worry about. Chris Schlegel has hours of stuff on this site that will improve your knowledge and playing and explain all the “why’s and how comes” music works the way it does.

Then when you feel like you are improving by small steps and are ready to take on more, check out other instructors. If you use this place as a tool, practice along with an instructor for 1 hour, then just play other videos for an hour of different instructors and styles. When you watch the videos for the hour, if you can see both hands, always watch the Right hand. If you only have one hour a day, still split it.

Last time I checked you could by a MP3 player that will also record for about $25 bucks. If you have the money buy one, record yourself playing what you know now the best you can. Then try what I said above and add just watching videos and watching the Right had for 2 months, then record yourself again.

Too many people think the sound and magic of playing a great guitar lives in the left hand, but the true magic of guitar playing is in the right hand.

Three months is a drop in the bucket. It takes time, just keep at it.

Take a scale, any scale
Set up your metronome to say 80 beats per minute
Practice that scale until you have it solid at 80 BPM
Incriment the BPM by something like 5 up to 85 BPM
Practice the scale(s) until you have it(them) down at 85 BPM
Increment the BPM by 5 again....

That's one way to build speed. But, do yourself a favor, don't move forward until you can comfortably play a scale ( or what ever type of thing you choose ) at a specific BPM... Helps to keep you from getting sloppy and lazy. ( like me :rolleyes: )

Hi Kasperow

You're going through exactly the kind of self-doubt that has dogged countless others including me. If you want to see my faltering progress please look at my youtube channel and it might just make you realise you're not alone. I hasten to say it's an honest record of my own humble journey but you might find it useful. There are far to many uber players out there who make ordinary folk just give up, but if I can become a better player then there's hope for everybody!
Until you make a breakthrough you'll keep on feeling the same but just know that it is possible and you'll soon gain confidence.

Good Luck!

It's totally normal for progress to happen in little bursts and surges, rather than a long steady incline of getting better and better.
In fact, it is the ONLY way I have ever seen people learn to play.
Plateaus and slow times are a natural part of the process.
Keep the faith and keep at it - your efforts WILL add up!

Thanks for all the replies. They've been most helpful. I'll try to make my practicing a bit less based on what I WANT to learn, and more based on the things I actually NEED to improve (such as scales and changing between chords in time). Until I improve those simple things, I guess I shouldn't even begin trying to compare myself with better musicians, and instead just compare myself to where I was when I first picked up the Guitar...

With that said, I'll just go give it a shot right away!

Originally Posted by: haghj500Then when you feel like you are improving by small steps and are ready to take on more, check out other instructors. If you use this place as a tool, practice along with an instructor for 1 hour, then just play other videos for an hour of different instructors and styles. When you watch the videos for the hour, if you can see both hands, always watch the Right hand. If you only have one hour a day, still split it.

Now, this may just be me being oblivious, but how can watching the right hand make me better at properly fretting the notes fast? It's the left hand that does all the fretting, so it seems a bit confusing to me, honestly.

You are obliviously correct. The left hand has to change chords and strings correctly or else every strum of the right hand will sound bad, at any speed. To play well you will also have to train your right hand. Besides just what rhythm(s) it should strum you also need to only play certain strings on some strums and not on other. The way you use your pick on the strings as you strum can change the tone or ring time of the strings.
So while the left hand has to play each note/chord correctly, the right hand can change the sound of the string on each strum. Even if the left hand bends a string, the right hand can still change the way the sound is created or how it will sound when it hits your ear.

I asked you to practice for 1 hour = work on left hand, right hand.

Watch videos for 1 hour = Expose yourself to new ideas on how things are done, before you ever need to use them. Listen/watch a few different instructors Blues solo videos. Anders has some great lessons; the blues part of the site was built around his lessons. Listen/watch how his right hand can change the sound or attack of any string or chord at will. You will also need to learn to do these things. Why not learn from pro’s.

Back to recording: To hear yourself as others do, record yourself, do whatever for the rest of the day, go to bed, then listen to the recording the next morning with a metronome. It would be cool to hear how much you’re playing has changed in say to years from now. I hope I have helped with the confusion.

Originally Posted by: haghj500
Too many people think the sound and magic of playing a great guitar lives in the left hand, but the true magic of guitar playing is in the right hand.

I think for this advice might have been a little early for the first two posters... its sounds like you guys are still fairly new and Lisa's advice is right on the money. You guys will be fine though, you have a really great attitude.

Regarding the above quote though, Haghj is exactly right... there will come a time where you may feel that your guitar playing lacks "feel" "style" "zip", "flair", whatever you want to call it. That can happen when the right hand gets ignored. So what's he's saying is that many players think that "cool sound" they hear someone else play, is some special note, pull-off, hammer-on etc, when its actually the right hand.

An example of this would be pinch harmonics. Its all about getting that bit of thumb in there, and suddenly, bingo, you make the note sound completely different. Its too early to worry about now, but for fun, if you want, research pinch harmonics so you can see what I mean. Stick with it guys, you'll get there. Oh, but DO make sure you take time out to play something that is really fun to play... if its all work and no joy, you won't stick with it. Play something just for fun everyday.

Originally Posted by: haghj500I asked you to practice for 1 hour = work on left hand, right hand.

Watch videos for 1 hour = Expose yourself to new ideas on how things are done, before you ever need to use them.

Would it be best for me to take 1 hour of non-stop practice and then 1 hour of watching videos, or would it be better to practice for 30 minutes, then take 30 minutes of watching videos, and then do another 30 minutes of practice (perhaps mixing some of the standard techniques with some of what's covered in the videos I watch), and then 30 more minutes of watching videos? I can see advantages to both ways of splitting it, really. The first way allows me to have a longer non-stop practice session, but the other option allows my fingers to get a half-hour break before trying some new stuff (which wouldn't hurt, I think, since they still easily get sore after only 15 minutes, at most). But I'd like your opinion on which method you would recommend.

I like your idea of 30 practice, then 30 watching, then 30 practicing, back to watching again. If your fingers only last about 15 minutes now, then 30 minutes would be best. If your day limits your time always choose practice over watching.
Another thought, if you find yourself with 15+ minutes of free time and you’re not near your guitar, close your eyes and in your mind watch yourself practice. Watch your hand make the chords or play scales. Taking one day a week off can be useful also to let your mind work on things while you do other things.

Originally Posted by: haghj500I like your idea of 30 practice, then 30 watching, then 30 practicing, back to watching again. If your fingers only last about 15 minutes now, then 30 minutes would be best. If your day limits your time always choose practice over watching.
Another thought, if you find yourself with 15+ minutes of free time and you’re not near your guitar, close your eyes and in your mind watch yourself practice. Watch your hand make the chords or play scales. Taking one day a week off can be useful also to let your mind work on things while you do other things.

Cool. Thanks for your advice. It's been very educative :)

I'll try to remember the advice you've given me. I'll ask again if I have questions in the future.

As for the part with watching videos, I did watch the first two parts of the "Rock Course Level 1", because I was bored and didn't have a guitar nearby last night. I can't wait to try some of the things I learned from those videos.

Thanks for the kind words.

Remember to practice what you need to, not what you want. It will take time, but one day you will look up from your guitar and think Cool, what I need to learn is now what I want to learn.

Remember: Little Steps, just keep achieving little steps. Take time to acknowledge then.

I'll watch for a post in 6, 7 months from now, update me on how you’re doing. Until then if I see a thread I will try to reply.

Originally Posted by: haghj500I'll watch for a post in 6, 7 months from now, update me on how you’re doing. Until then if I see a thread I will try to reply.

I'll try to keep that in mind and post an update in the beginning of August, then :)

The positive feedback is great to recieve and everyones response this post has been very kind and politically correct. I thought I'd just pass along a comment given to me in the last few months.
I'd been actively pushing myself hard in practice, learning songs, taking chances improvising, etc. I'd gotten into one of those funks I'm sure all beginners go through where I didn't think I was improving fast enough and started to moan and wine a little too much about it. In conversation with local guitarist I consider to be an exceptional player my self defeating attitude carried into the discussion. I won't get into the details of the full conversation but basically the jist of what he told me was, "I've been playing hard and non-stop for 12 years to get to where I am in my craft. Who the hell do you think you are being upset after 16 months that you can't play like I do".
It was a profound comment for me, which I'll remember for the rest of my playing days. I didn't take it personally because it was directed in a general way. Of course he was absolutely right and now I just play and practice and play and practice.

What I tried to post responding to Outx40 was disallowed 'cause it was too short. Here it is:

+1 ;)

Yep, it just takes a lot of practice. While I don't practice like I used, to get over the skill hump, I practiced for hours a day at one point. Even though I don't practice like I should, I now draw on those skills.

For what it's worth, the 'Man am I just such a nothing player' doesn't really go away. There is always a new vista to explore in playing. I got physically good at the instrument but there was so much more I wanted to learn...so I ended up hear.

It never ends but the reality is, you don't want it to.

Originally Posted by: Outx40The positive feedback is great to recieve and everyones response this post has been very kind and politically correct.

I thought I'd just pass along a comment given to me in the last few months.
"I've been playing hard and non-stop for 12 years to get to where I am in my craft. Who the hell do you think you are being upset after 16 months that you can't play like I do".

Great comment at the start Outx40 and spot on post. It does take time and work and hopefully some fun and fulfillment will be had on the way. Nice one!

Originally Posted by: Outx40The positive feedback is great to recieve and everyones response this post has been very kind and politically correct.

Indeed, everyone has been very kind and helpful. I called out for help and got better help than I had hoped for :)

Thanks to the advice I've gotten, I'm already starting to see myself improve again, even if only by a small amount every day. Knowing now that learning to play the Guitar takes time, I'll keep working hard until I get to a point where I can perform in front of people who're not friends and family, because it would be so much more awesome to play for just 20 strangers who are having fun and enjoying themselves than it would be to show off in front of one's own family and friends... But before I get to that point, I still have to go through lots of practice.