hi ellen,

don't worry about this. you are not alone.
play what you want to play and what you want to learn at the moment (small steps, small targets). if you won't to play don't do it. do another things you like.
you love it to play so you come automaticly back to your guitar.

cheers

Ellen,

It happens to everybody. It's a part of playing. Don't worry too much about lofty goals, just play for the enjoyment. Find a song that you really like and play it. If contains a technique that you want to learn or get better at, so much the better. But don't just sit there and play a boring exercise.

Ellen, I experience that feeling all the time. I've been playing for about a year and four months. I learned a lot in the first six months or so, and it was very exciting. But now I find myself getting frustrated because I'm not progressing at the rate I hoped I would. When I can't grasp something I'm trying to learn, I just play some really loud 3-chord rock & roll or a simple blues shuffle so I can at least walk away having played something reasonably well.

I have also read the book Zen Guitar, and I liked it very much too. Just try to have fun and enjoy the journey.

_________________
I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

That's an excellent point. When I first started taking lessons, my teacher asked me who I wanted to sound like. I said, "I want to sound like me. I just don't know what I sound like yet." Now that I've been playing long enough that I know what I sound like, I'm trying to sound like a smoother, more soulful version of myself.

_________________
I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Don't flood your brain with too much information, it's like reading a dozen books at the same time, your mind will spin in confusion.
Keep it simple, play the music you like and work to your strong points for now and have fun.
We all go through this. You will move forward again when you are ready.
Don't push yourself too hard.
Enjoy.

_________________

Thank you so much, everybody. Every single post contained good advice, so I will bookmark this thread and refer back to it when I get stuck, which I'm sure will happen again. In the future I will call up a mental picture of cinnamon-covered elephant ears and it will cheer me up no end

Russianracehorse, a special shout out to you, I also rely on loud three-chord rock songs or shuffles to make myself feel better, and I almost always start and end each practice session with them. I thought maybe I was the only one who did this so I loved reading your post.

You Forum folks are the best!

_________________
2008 MIM Strat w 3-tone sunburst
2002 LP Special Ebony Faded
2008 G-Dec
'59 Reissue Bassman 4x10 combo
TS 808
DS 1
Gretsch 6120DS (on loan)