so i just sat down to play a lil guitar. i was trying to figure out Rhiannon by Fletwood Mac and i couldnt do it. i got so frustrated that i put down the guitar, went for a drive, and seriously considered never picking it up again.

when i got back i sat down and finally figured it out. i felt really annoyed cause its not a hard song at all and i felt i should have been able to figure it out.

do you ever get frustrated? how do you overcome the feeling?

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Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

Ah, wow.
Seems like you got pretty p'oed there to me!!

Anyway, the way I overcome frustration when I practice is to listen to a few songs to calm me down. In the time it takes me to listen to about three or four songs, my hand muscles are relaxed again, my mind is relaxed again, and I'm freshly inspired by whatever guitar playing is in the song.

Hope that helps! 8D


Edit: Typo

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

I just go chill for a few minutes and accept that some days I got it and some days I don't. If I'm feeling it then, I go back to it. If not, I wait until tomorrow.

I usually listen to Allen Collins rip the Freebird solo if I've really hit a wall though. That one always makes me want to pick it back up and go for whatever reason, no matter what song or style I'm actually working on

Many, if not most, songs were not written and perfected in one sitting, so don't get frustrated if you cannot figure something out the first time, just keep trying. Also, there may be tab for that on the internet, so maybe you could just check that out for the part(s) you are having difficulty with...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

Sometimes you just have to put it down, step aside, grab something to drink, or something and then come back and try again.

Do I get frustrated...sometimes. Would I ever walk away from it...NEVER.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

i think a lot of my frustration was built up from the fact that i havent really advanced in my playing ability for a while.

i am completly self tought and i am convinced im at the point where i need a teacher because i feel i have tought my self everything i can. im not really sure what the next step is...

i did go a little over bored...i feel pretty silly for wanting to quit.
like a little child throwing a temper tantrum

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Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

The riff is basically picking out variations of the Am7 chord and F chord formations.

Am7 in 'cowboy chord' (open) formation.

Many other songs fit that chord progression too.

Be inspired with your success at getting it rather than frustrated. Nice work at nailing it.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

cant really add much to what others have said except that when it happens to me i just reframe it as a sign that i want to progress and i will progress, and that when i come back to it after a break, i'll be better. works for me

I'm self taught too and I know exactly how you feel.

What I do when I hit a wall that lasts for more than one session is go back to the things I do know and am comfortable with. I know what I want to do in my head, but my hands just won't cooperate. I'll play some simple 3 chord songs or power chords or even just do basic scales for a while. Gets me back on track, puts me back in a comfort zone, and helps me by getting better at those things at the same time. Then once I'm zoning again I'll go back to whatever stumped me.

If I REALLY hit a wall I'll leave the guitar on the stand in sight, but not pick it up for a few days or week, whatever. No matter how much I want to. Then I go back on the videos and books I have or find different free ones online and start on them from the beginning and work back up. I don't spend the week per lesson on them or anything, just got through each one until I nail it and move on. I still usually pick up something along the way. Or see something a different way that suddenly makes more sense.

I'm not good by any stretch of the imagination and probably should take lessons at some point, but I'm having fun and ultimately that's the bottom line.

Whenever I "hit a wall" and find myself becoming overly frustrated with the guitar I change everything up.

One of the benefits of owning multiple types of guitars is that each one plays a bit differently and lends itself to different styles of music. So sometimes I just leave the strat and stick to the tele, or maybe the LP, or acoustic,..., etc

I sometimes just change my focus to different styles of music on the same guitar, or maybe I try focusing on learning different picking techniques, fingerstyle, sweeping, slide, rest strokes...you get the picture.


Anyhow, that's my strategy for dealing with guitar burnout, I just change up whatever I have been beating my head against and come back to it later.

each difficuld the stuff i want learn so more often i make a pause inbetween and put phrases/riffs etc in small peaces before i get frustated. so my brain could better work it up.

cheers

It is worth bringing this out into the open:

Most players are their own worst critic. It is pretty hard to impress, let alone surprise one's self as we all know too well where we personally stand musically and guitar wise in general. Besides, the vast majority of the time, we know exactly what we are going to do and play just before we make it happen. Consequently, we are oftentimes frustrated just having to hear ourselves once again, especially when we are trying to work out a tune that for whatever criterion, keeps eluding us. Regardless of the presumed level of difficulty of the tune or the writer's perceived ability, the truth of the matter is, we are trying to nail down something which is most likely not of our personal styling and musical thought process. These two differences alone could make the easiest tune on the planet (on paper, any way) a nightmare at times.

As has been said, get up, walk away for a while; clear your head. Casually come back when you're nice and calm and 'into it' once again. And don't be too tough on yourself either if you can't find inspiration each and every time you pick up your guitar. I was once told a saying about the more one chases a butterfly, the more it will elude you. Yet, when you finally give up on it, it will quietly come and rest on your shoulder. Ergo, in some cases (maybe just like this), there is definitely such a thing as trying too hard.

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You dig?

I do the same thing. I've gone through some times when I seriously thought about putting down the guitar for good, but someone was always there to pull me back into it. I can't listen to a SRV song without feeling the urge to run and get my guitar.

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Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
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I hit the wall every time I pick up the guitar, it's the only way I know. As much as it is frustrating trying to figure out a chord sequence and actually playing it, a bad day at the guitar is still better than most other things. In the end we figure it out and it is even more rewarding. We do what we must to get there in the end we get it.

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Lite Ash Tele, Partcaster Black Nashville Tele with Jason Lollars, Blues DeVille 410, Lunchbox 200 Watt Amp, Martin RTGE 00016 Acoustic

I just stop doing it and improvise with backing tracks that have nothing to do with the song you ticked off with