Frustration

[GuitarApprentice]

Hey, I have a little problem that I hope someone here can help me with. When I pratice on a song or a lesson and I hit the wrong string I tend to get a little frustrated and mad after the same thing again and again. I work on the lessons slow first then build my way up, so the speed isn't the problem. Thank's for all answers.

[Steve Dunlap]

Don't get mad and frustrated. This has happened to all of us. Keep being persistent and soon you'll be playing your exercises without having to think much about them. You're developing muscle memory and this does take some time.

[thirteen]

My advice - take a 5 minute break than get back to
practice.

[steelaxe]

Hi, in addition to the above, practice the section you are having trouble with seperately, when you can do it add it back into the section you are working on. Doing this will make you practice more efficient timewise. Put the effort into what you can't easily do and you will see a great improvement.
Keep on Rockin

[zslane]

You are training your fine motor muscles to do things they never dreamed of doing before. Unless you are a prodigy, this is going to take considerable time. I think the biggest obstacle to progress is unrealistic expectations. If you know going into this that training your muscles (acquiring muscle memory) is not a speedy process at all, and that it will take lots and lots of repetitions before your muscles are programmed properly, then you might find yourself less frustrated.

Once I realized that my expectations were off (I thought it would only take maybe a dozen iterations of practice before my muscles would "get it right"), I found myself just practicing again and again and again until things got easier. When it turned out that it was going take (me) hundreds of iterations, not just a dozen, then my expectations were set properly and frustration disappeared and gave way to, well, impatience.

Nowadays I realize that the reason I'm not getting something right isn't because it is intrinsically beyond me, but because I haven't drilled it enough times yet. The obstacles to progress are now the tendency to lose interest in something long before I've practiced it enough to master it (i.e., encode it in muscle memory).

[Sarah Spisak]

I work on the lessons slow first then build my way up, so the speed isn't the problem.

It's probably hard to believe, but you are probably speeding up too soon. It can be useful to go "too fast" so that you can see where your technique needs to be adjusted. Then slow down again and repeat many, many times!


-Great post, John!!!

[GuitarApprentice]

Thanks everyone, I'll try slowing down my playing and getting it right

[jpnyc]

Buy a metronome and focus on staying in time instead of playing accurately. This way accuracy becomes an easy, subconscious act and you’ll just fly past your occasional mistakes.

[Dimebagfan]

Ditto on what John said. I watched all of stage 1 a few times while I was waiting for my guitar to arrive from UPS. From watching the videos I guesstimated that it would take me just over a week for all of stage 1, it looked pretty easy in the video. WRONG! I am going on about a week and a half now and have just completed lesson 2. I am doing good though in the video Doug says a week per lesson so I am ahead of that. The last few exercises in lesson 2 really take A LOT of repetition to get to where you play them well. I have to agree with 1 week per lesson pretty much, but I tend to practice at least 1.5 hrs or more each day.

[HomelessBeatFarmer]

I've found that when I get frustrated, listening to a few of the songs/bands that made me want to pick up a guitar in the first place puts me back on track within minutes.

[Dimebagfan]

I've found that when I get frustrated, listening to a few of the songs/bands that made me want to pick up a guitar in the first place puts me back on track within minutes.

Same here I usually pop in a DVD though -
Megadeth - Blood in the water
Slayer - Still Reigning
Metallica - Live Shit (Bing and Purge in San Diego)
and some others

[zslane]

I have recently gotten into the habit of watching tv with a guitar on my lap. I "practice" while I am watching my tv shows. I get a couple hours of practice in, every night, without even realizing it. Now, granted, it isn't really focused practice. It is mostly finger excercise and "lick training", but the way I look at it it is practice that I wouldn't otherwise get if I made myself choose between practicing guitar and being a couch potato (which is very appealing after a long day at work). No reason not to enjoy both!