Ups and downs

[Skyman911]

@BarbaraM, yes, I can relate. Like you, some days I play well, and other days my timing is off, I miss notes/chords, mute strings, and I’m like what’s going on, I was playing so well yesterday. I usually just dumb it down on those days and just play some simple strummers. But, it is frustrating, especially when you’ve invested so much time and energy wanting to get better. You’re not alone here, and this actually shows how much you care about improving. And since you mostly play alone, you’re playing for yourself, and not for other peoples acceptance.

For me, this journey seems to have been a series of plateau’s. Some more difficult to get over than others. I personally feel I’m in another plateau right now, but I know from past experiences I’ll eventually get past it if I just keep playing. You will too, and there’s nothing wrong with your mindset. This is perfectly natural.

Posting here was good thing. It helps get some of this off your chest. I’m looking forward seeing what others post.

[BarbaraM]

Thank you for responding. Skyman! I am (sort of) glad I’m not alone. I was wondering if it was some kind of intermittent sub-clinical depression, or even a subconscious belief that I can only get so good at a thing and then plateau out of it–it’s happened before in other areas. Other times I have wondered if there is a subtle physical issue that comes to the fore periodically. I do have rheumatoid arthritis, but it is fairly well controlled and rarely painful.

I haven’t lost interest in improving, and I really like the format of TAC. I know can opt out of certain songs/techniques that just don’t do it for me, and do a skill course or repeat another challenge instead. And I’ve picked up a couple of books that help fill in some of the gaps (yes, there are some).

Maybe it’s just a couple of really discouraging (skill-wise) challenges back-to-back that makes me feel I’m never going to be able to cut it. But I enjoyed playing for my sister and BIL a couple years ago when they came to visit (no pressure).

But it’s this intermittent inability to perform the most basic things that worries me.

[petelanger]

Sometimes we just spiral ourselves into the doldrums. That’s what’s led me to expand my horizon outside of TAC a bit. It’s great here, Tony has created an excellent platform, but it’s not unusual to want to spice it up a bit.

[BarbaraM]

Thanks for responding Pete. I’m not sure it’s doldrums or boredom with the material, though I certainly do sometimes get bored with the benchmarks. This is different, though mixing things up could certainly help. I see various other teachers when scrolling FB, but I’m only on my phone and can’t really delve into anything on a screen that small. If I made a specific effort to go on my computer each day to do that with my guitar on my lap it could only help. (Duh! New guitar routine!)

No, what I seem to have is an intermittent inability to do things I could do before. Maybe it’s boredom, maybe it’s something else. That’s why I wonder what could be going on.

[Skyman911]

TAC is not my only method of learning, and in my opinion should not be. There are great skills to learn here, and a very methodical format. I know the ads for TAC talk about how expensive teachers are compared to TAC, and they can be, however nothing has done more for my improvement than personal instruction. You just cannot replace the personal one on one, and video lessons can never replace that. You can’t stop and ask Tony about something right in the middle of the lesson, and usually need to revert here to this forum for questions. And the teacher isn’t the one answering them. So, you kind of fly blind a bit and just trust the system. But I also understand some people don’t have close access to good teachers. Teachers I’ve used usually charge $25 $35 an hour, so $100 a month can certainly add up.

I’m hoping to retire at the end of the year. I plan on getting back into some personal instruction to help learn more about the CAGED system and how to really incorporate that into real time playing. Not just theory. Fretboard Wizard has really helped my understanding, but it falls short on how to incorporate into everyday playing. I also think I need a bit of a change as well.

Done with my rambling.

[BarbaraM]

I wasn’t going to mention FBW, but I agree it is somewhat lacking. While I understand the concept behind it, I can’t even do any of the CAGED parts, aside from the various scales (which patterns are next to impossible to understand) as I cannot barre due to my small hands. And when an instructor online says things like “just do the A#m here on the 14th fret” or something, I have to stop and think Ok, where is the 1, the 3, and the 5, on which string the notes I don’t know of, then know which one to flat or sharp etc. I watch a good player on youtube, and marvel at their ability to reach notes and know which ones to reach for. No, I’m not comparing myself to them; they had to start at the beginning at some point.

There is only one place that I know of near here that teaches music, but I wouldn’t know if they are any good unless I try. But I am on a pretty tight budget in any case, so that is probably not much of an option. That said, it wouldn’t hurt me to spend more time on stretches, various scales and other exercises. And to remember why I wanted to take up guitar! 🙂

[petelanger]

I can’t afford 1 on 1 instruction. But I have invested in other learning programs:

Program A (of which I am a lifetime member) is very heavy on music theory but also teaches a great deal of applied guitar geekdom via live webinars and video libraries. Questions are encouraged and you can send in video of yourself and get responses (usually same day) from the highly qualified instructor and other students.

Program B (annual membership, quite affordable especially at the rate I bought in) is the opposite. No theory at all, strictly practical how to learn to play songs. I just got into this one and it’s a blast.

Program C (not a learning program, this is my free jam group in my neighborhood) we get together for nearly 3 hours twice a month and just play whatever we want. We pull up Ultimate Guitar and take turns around the room, everybody joins in playing the same songs.

[BarbaraM]

Can you please send me privately the names/links to programs A and B? If you’d rather not, I understand. Thanks.

[Bayvu2]

I hit 800 playing sessions and a streak of 771 today in just over 2 years. Many Ups and Downs. But I committed to TAC everyday. I knew, if I finally wanted to be a guitar player after a lifetime of trying, I had to commit. I will be 65 next week and although sometimes I dont really consider myself a guitar player, Tony says, “If you play a guitar every day, you are a Guitar Player.”.

Am I where I want to be? No, but I am where I am because of what I have put into it! And I have no one to blame but myself. I have my Guitar sitting right next to my chair, and I look at it every day. I have no reason, not to touch it. You may ask, “Steve, do you have a life?”, Yes, I do travel, so far always been able to pack a guitar to keep the streak going. I even had left Rotator Cuff Surgery this spring, and I committed to doing the Challenge and at least strum or pick strings even though I couldn’t fret.

Ups and Downs are common, Questioning our ability

[petelanger]

I also have definitely had a few down periods when I felt I wasn’t going to get where I wanted to be. But TAC has kept me coming every day and advance a little. I have to just celebrate every small win during the journey, I am where I am and that’s a heck of lot better than 2 years ago.

[RiverRooo]

You are a xerox copy of me when it comes to describing the good/bad and ugly days with desire and motivation to play. Life happens,…mood happens…energy, ambiance and ability to focus can be all over the board on any given day. My guitar sits in a corner most of the year because my daily job consumes most of my mental and physical energy….so when I get home unfortunately the last thing I want to do is pick up the guitar because all my home chores are getting the attention. Weekends are spent outside maintaining property, garden and landscaping…….and grandkids when they need me. My salvation seems to be looking forward to winter so I can start all over with the TAC program, like I have done since joining in Jan 2024. I like the program structure with all the unique pieces to a puzzle….and I love puzzles! I look forward to another restart this winter and am sooooo thankful I signed up for the lifetime membership when I joined–somehow I knew with my busy life that trying to slow down enough to focus on learning to play the guitar was going to be tricky……and I was right.

[BarbaraM]

Thanks for your comments, RiverRooo. While I don’t have a lifetime membership in TAC, I do play every day at least 10 minutes, more if I have the motivation/energy.

[Skyman911]

I know Tony mentions the “10 minute” thing a lot. I would encourage folks to try to play a lot longer than that if you can. 10 minutes a day may help you stay committed, however progress will be very slow. 30 minutes should be the minimum goal in my opinion. I’m barley warmed up after 10 minutes. I do realize for an absolute beginner, 30 minutes may be difficult.

@RiverRooo, I get the being exhausted thing after a hard day. A lot of us are in the same boat. Waiting for winter to be able to play just seems like torture to me, especially looking at the poor guitar sitting in the corner. Too bad you can’t commit to just a few minutes a day or week. In my experience, (and I have a very demanding job as well) is if I just pick it up, I’ll play something. Last week for example, I got home after a very stressful 10 hour day, and I just wanted to sit down and veg. I did grab my guitar and just wanted to fret a few chords and feel like I wasn’t giving up on my commitment. I ended up playing for more than an hour, and the guitar actually gave me energy. After I put my guitar down, I realized I had completely forgotten about my bad day.

[BarbaraM]

I do play for much longer than 10 minutes, often 45 min to an hour. Some on the lesson until I feel I understand it, if not play it proficiently, and some on songs I’ve been working on. It’s just when something comes along I don’t like, or can’t do at all that I spend the minimum on it, or find something else to play.

[Braden]

Hi Barbara great discussion and good on you for initiating it in such an honest way. I think yu can see from the responses that everyone goes through these kind of challenges in one way or another. Its mental and physical at the same time and it not easy. I often struggle with a lack of confidence (imposter syndrome) and its hard to not compare myself to other players, esp those who have been playing as long as me or even maybe not as long. Plus there are things that I know I’ll never be able to do on the guitar…its just physically not going to happen. It often bums me out… But…I’ve also been ble to devlop this love of playing so that keeps me going. Im always striving to get better, but at the same time Im content and proud of how far ive got. Im lucky in that I want to play just about every day, its not a chore or burden…dont get me wrong, its sometimes a struggle, but not burden. I hope the same for you Barbara.

My advice is like others have said, maybe time to branch out bit as it sounds like TAC is maybe getting a bit stale. If there are weeks that you find too difficult or not really into, I would skip them altogether and spend the time doing somethiing else, either re-doing \ week you do like or anything else as long as its something that brings you that joy and fun, eg mayb learning a new song or working on ones you already know. And if you cn find a teacher that you like thi cn work wonders for some of those techincal issues you mentioned. Even finding one of two other people to jame with can be enlightening and reivigorating.

You commented tht you have to always remember why you started learning guitr in the first place. I dont know what you specific goals are but I know tht if you keep at it you will reach many of them…maybe not all, but many. You also said youve been on this road for a few years now. Thats great and you should pat yourself on the back….most people who start guitar dont last that long. But to be honest, in ths game two or three years is really not that long. You are still at the beginning of your journey. So hang in there, dont be too hard on yourself, keep learning and challenging youreslf but mainly focus on those things tht bring you joy and fun, especially right now when youre at a bit of a low point. Hope this might help a bit and remember sister, youre not alone. We all go through this one way or another.

[BarbaraM]

Braden, you hit it on the nail–imposter syndrome! “I ‘should’ be getting better after all this time.” I have to remind myself not to “should” on myself; it serves no purpose especially that of motivation, or sense of accomplishment of the small wins. I’m also relieved to find I’m not alone in finding certain skills are essentially impossible for me.

That said, I did find a lesson venue online that Pete Langer suggested for additional help and encouragement, and finally discovered how to not mute when playing the C chord. It’s going to take muscle memory as I’m not used to it, but I can do it even with my small hands.

Unfortunately, I have no one to jam with around here. I work on my own repertoire; sometimes I play them straight, or throw in various embellishments I’ve learned here. So I AM progressing, not stuck in a rut!

Thanks for your encouragement, and everyone else as well.

[jumpinjeff]

Barbara!! I always enjoy reading your posts and here is why: I do, I do, I do resonate profoundly strong with the “skill wall”. I almost ended right around the time you are describing too!! I have great news, you are on the edge of a breakthrough but you can’t see it. I see it because I know what is on the otherside of that wall. The only thing it takes to get through the wall is repetition and determination over time. Once the concept is embraced and you settle in, that is when the breakthrough happens. I used to talk about what I thought were my insane experiments of repitition describing them as scenes from Clockwork Orange where they pried his eyes open and made him watch movie clips except my eyes felt pried open but all I was watching was paint drying. And then success! and that changed the whole game…….hang in there Barbara. Keep making play your practice, challenge but don’t work, DAILY and I mean daily PLAY, only compare to where YOU were and do take note of where that was say 3,6,12 months ago. I promise that in time, some of the tedious things will become the aces up your sleeve….it just takes time. Those who find ways to have fun whiling away the hours of challenge make the happiest and best sounding players. C’mon lets go have some fun!

[BarbaraM]

Thank you Jeff, that was just what I needed! 🙂

[petelanger]

This is good @jumpinjeff! “A Clockwork Orange” is a great classic reference too. We have our eyes open but we can’t see improvement, you can play for hours and seem to go in reverse. It comes over longer stretches of time. Over night often can produce changes but it’s not going to happen every night. Checking back months later we can see real growth. I’m going through a phase now where my fretting hand feels mildly paralyzed – it just won’t move fast enough. But I realize that I’m working on upping my transitions speed on a daily basis and the hand just can’t keep up yet, making me feel like the fingers are frozen and won’t go where my brain is telling them to go! This will all come in time, I just have to be patient with myself and enjoy where I’ve come from (HUGE strides) and not worry about the baby steps I’m taking right now.

Playing many short sessions (around 15 – 25 minutes) with breaks seems to work best, I try to get in at least a couple every day but I won’t beat myself up if I can’t some days.