Tough Week

[jumpinjeff]

I can relate @GerryB56 makes me think about how I even learned to talk when I was little.

There is a strategy that helped me out of those funks. When I embrace the fact that there is no “there” to get to, only more and more to learn. This frees me to enjoy the process of learning. I love playing, the feel of the guitar in my arms and hands, the sound of a single note ringing out and the full sound of a well struck G chord. When I focus on that and that alone it gets me out of my funk. If I start thinking of my playing in terms of comparisons (not say you are but it is a dark place I used to go until I realized it was hurting not helping) or where I should be based on ? (the last time I learned to play?Not.) It takes away from the thrill I get everytime I hit that G chord. It takes excitement out of the challenge of new things. Everytime I pick up the guitar I know I am learning something new or improving on a sound I would like to improve. If I observe carefully and take note of those micro improvements it helps me to stay super motivated. It is a bit like filling up a 5 gallon water jug with pennies: easy to see as the bottom gets covered but when you get 1/2″ up it is easier to gage progress of fill by observing the penny being dropped in rather than by measuring the level of fill.

[ChuckS]

@jumpinjeffjumpinjeff .J2, great response and that 5 Gallon penny filling analogy is spot on. Good way to look at it. I certainly hit the frustration point many times throughout the year, and now when it happens I will just remember the 5 gallon jug!! Thanks much for that.

My wife and I went out to a winery last night (actually this was on the roundabout return leg of an 80 mile road trip to check out a 2008 Martin D-16GT, which I ended up coming home with😀) and they had a guy playing an Archtop Acoustic/Electric guitar as the evening entertainment – he was basically a jazz guitar player and used that skill to not only play jazz, but also to put his jazz spin on several more contemporary Beatles, Jim Croce, etc. songs. He was unbelievably good, super smooth, effortless with zero vocals – just guitar and amp (no pedal or any other electronic enhancements at all).

My wife asked why I don’t sound like that. Ha, Ha – because he was very talented and probably had about 50 years of playing under his belt. Needless to say, it doesn’t matter how much time I put in, I will just never be that good (I don’t have 50 years to work with anyhow😁) and you know what? I am totally OK with that. I will be as good as I will be and to someone else’s ears that may just be really bad. but I don’t care. I am making progress and getting better step by step, inch by inch or maybe centimeter by centimeter. Can’t see the bottom of that 5 gallon jug anymore, so watching the pennies fall is where I am at. Jug will never get full.

Sitting there listening to this guy just play with zero effort, I showed my wife how well I can now lift my ring finger independently after 2 years of TAC exercises. She puts her hand down and lifts her ring finger up about 2 inches compared to my 0.75 inches and has never, ever done a finger exercise! Told her maybe she should take up guitar! Some folks are just born with more flexible fingers and natural than the rest of us. Once again, I am focusing on what I can do and not worried about what others can do or what I can’t do. Otherwise you will go down a deep, dark hole.

Enjoy.

[Cadgirl]

@GerryB56 , 10 weeks is just a scratch of the surface. When I first started I had to track what I was doing, just to make sure I was doing something. Now almost 2 years later, I think I’m finally getting it. Now I played before when I was much younger. So I already knew some stuff. You didn’t say if you were a complete beginner? Or did you play before? I liked this week but it had some hard barre chords on Friday. I like @jumpinjeff thoughts of just enjoy the process.

[Mrfredsporty]

The main thing that you have done is show up. the cumulative affects will and already are happening. When i see how deep you get into things I marvel and know that you will never be satisfied but rather will continue to grow.

[Marty75]

Keep in mind @GerrB56 “it’s a Journey” not a race. Remember to have fun with your playing. Everything else will fall into place. We’ve all been there. 😊🧙‍♂️😎

[N-lightMike]

“There’s so much to learn, I’ll never get there!”

Hey @GerryB56 , it sounds like you are finding you way past the first mental road block. There’s nothing actually in your way, it’s simply an optical illusion. So good for you. Now you can get back to doing what we all do, focus on what you like. Keep making sound on your guitar that gives you pleasure and put some time into improving in the areas you are interested in.

Turns out, no one can play or know everything on the guitar, no matter how good they are. So many different styles and ways to play. But you have your own unique sound, so work that. And have fun.

MG 😀

[GerryB56]

One of the many things I love about this TAC community is how so many of you are eager to help and determined not to judge! Some awesome advice offered, as I expected. My guitar journey so far has been almost 4 years, but starting as a beginner at the age of 61. I tried to learn once before, about 40 years ago, but didn’t get far back then. On balance I am quite pleased with my progress, but as you all know and have experienced, inevitably those funks come along now and then. This one was triggered by doing the daily challenges and wondering: “How I am ever going to understand enough to put everything together properly so I can play solos, improvise and do much more than just strum chords?” But I have also begun to accept that in the end what matters is enjoying the stuff I can do, and most days I manage to do that. I don’t especially care if I ever go very deep into the music theory aspects, and I have no ambitions to be the lead guitarist in a band or anything like that. Strumming chords and singing is lots of fun, too! So thanks, everyone, for offering the encouragement and injecting your own perspectives.

[Cadgirl]

@GerryB56 , have you done the 5 day routine challenge. It’s on of the skill courses that are offered. It explains how the daily challenges work day by day and how you can put them together into a music composition at the end of the week. I think once you understand them, you’ll look at them different. Good luck.

[Kitman]

Hi @GerryB56 and good for you on working thorough the “I’ll never learn it all” moment! So much great input and encouragement has been given by our TAC colleagues – but I will throw in my 2 cents (for the penny jug 😄) anyway!

In the TAC journal there is a space to write “one win from today”. There is always at least one win – and a lot of times there are many. Then we have a space to write down “what was awesome about your guitar playing this week”? There is a least something and again perhaps a number of things. Our TAC friends have outlined great examples above. Make sure you use the journal and write these down for yourself. It is this type of self reinforcement and encouragement that will stoke your guitar fire! Somewhere in one of the courses Tony advises to end every guitar playing session on a high note (not literally a high note in the neck – a positive experience). Play something that brings you pleasure – maybe something you know well you will be surprised how your go to songs will sound better and better to you as you continue your journey

One last thing to share. Every time I pick up my guitar to play the first thing I do is tune it. Once it is tuned I run through a series of open chords (not always the same selection) and just listen to the guitar in my hands and feel it against my body ring out and vibrate with tones that sound unbelievable to me. It reminds me of when I was able to create this sound over 5 decades ago and why I fell in love with the guitar. Still a thrill!

Keep on playing @GerryB56 ! 🤘🎶🎸