Nevin1985,

You may actually be getting better and not know it. Listening is a huge part of playing. Your ear maybe starting to hear things it couldn't in the past. Now that you can hear these "mistakes" they stick out like a sore thumb. This is a good thing! Now you can identify what needs to improve and focus on just those things.

Everyone has room for improvement. Sounds like you maybe ready to take your playing to the next level. If you are really struggling perhaps some lessons. A good instructor can point out technical flaws, ear training gaps, etc. This I know from experience.

Hang in there. Go easy on the guitars. I know it seems like they are mocking us sometimes, but they just like to be played.

Nevin,

I've been messing around with guitar for about 25 years on and off. I always firmly believed that I could never be any good and that negative thinking was extremely effective for about 15 years. I've quit playing a few times and 5 years ago I picked it up again.

What was different this time is that I stopped comparing myself to Jimi Page and Jimi Hendrix. I decided to play for my own enjoyment. I used to watch a guy like Danny Gatton rip a solo and I wanted to cut my hands off. Sometimes we see these greats and we don't take into account how hard they have worked to get to that level. I'm sure they didn't come out of the womb playing like that. I've learned to just enjoy and appreciate great talent without comparing my own skills to the greats.

I also stopped telling myself that I suck. As I said before negative thinking really works and we pretty much become what we think of ourselves. The only alternative is to think positively. Another thing I did was to start playing every day, but not like it is a chore. If I don't feel like it, I may skip a day or two, but I always come back to it hungry to play more. Anyway to make a long story short, I'm playing better now than I could ever dream of when I started. I've improved more in 5 years than the previous 20. I think it's a function of attitude and practice being fun. I'm no speed demon, but there are a lot of great guys who don't exactly shred.

If I had had this positive attitude when I was taking lessons at age 15 there is no telling how good I could have gotten. I think you should put the guitar down for a couple of days and think about what kind of player you want to be. Take a positive approach and make it fun. Since you're not looking to make a living at it, don't make it become work. If you don't feel like playing, don't.

It does not have to be all or nothing. I also totally understand your frustration. I also went through the same thing playing golf, I would get pretty good and then take huge steps backwards and break clubs etc. It's all about attitude and expectations. If you set your expectations too high, you get disappointed. It's better to enjoy the ride and see where it goes.

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I wanted to add that attitude is a choice. You can choose to say or think "I suck", "my collection sucks" or you can choose to be positive. You know how many guys on these forums would kill for a $2000 guitar that they will never have. I bet they would not think your collection sucks. Think about it. I bet the same goes for your playing, I have not heard you play, but I bet there are guys on here who would love to be at your skill level.

Your post has a very negative slant to it. This is another area of life where I made a huge change by consciously choosing to look at thing positively and trying to put them into perspective. If you're healthy and have a roof over your head, that is a great start. If you live in a stable area, think of all the people who do not, like the Haitians or people living in a war zone. It makes getting pissed about playing guitar seem silly.

I wish you the best either way!

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Well said.............. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

[quote= I would say that I am a pretty good player, but I am not producing the sounds in my head yet. (that sounded insane)[/quote] I got there by spending months(years ago)singing phrases and playing them. Try it for a month and you'll be amazed at your progress towards playing what's in your head................. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Some years ago my left hand was cut very badly in an accident. It took the doctors an hour and a half to put the tendons that work my thumb, index and middle fingers back together. I had to go 8 weeks without touching a guitar. That was an eternity. But, when I was able to pick up a guitar again everything seemed fresh. Almost every lick felt like I had just learned it. And I started remembering chops that I had forgotten long ago.

So, I learned that whenever I start feeling stagnant or get frustrated I'll just put it down for awhile (never more than a week nowadays though) and when I come back to it I'm able to move on.

Maybe just taking a break from it is what you need.

Nevin I share a lot of things in common with you right down to being a perfectionist. I know somedays you feel like your playing is excellent or that you have some wicked guitars and then a week later you feel your playing is not up to snuff and your guitars have a million faults and are not as great as you thought a week ago.

Hey the solo in Highway Star is not an easy one and I bet your frustration came on the fast open string picked arpeggios. The fact that you are even working on a solo like that shows you have skills and that you are at a pretty high degree of playing. I remember one time I was working on Becks- Cause We've Ended as Lovers, and Gary Moores- Still Got the Blues and had a few sticking points that had me banging off the walls and in a nasty mood. My wife came in and started asking me what was wrong and when I explained she simply said that you will eventually get it but you do realize you are playing music by two of the best players in the world. Well the bottom line is that is true, if you want to cover something by the best it is not going to be easy and sometimes takes a month before you can nail 45 seconds of music perfectly.

Good points were brought up already about kicking back for awhile and playing some jams that are easy and that you have no problem with and remember why you started playing to begin with-TO HAVE FUN.

I will guarantee in a week you will feel different and go back to tackling Highway Star with a clear head and fresh attitude. Everyone of us here has hit a wall on many occasions. Dont worry you will overcome it.

lots of good advice here nevin. got a pretty hot temper myself... ask my wife and kids.
2 hobbies might be the best idea. i have two - guitar, and my baby (down the bottom). if one gets tiring, i switch to the other for awhile.

art is a wonderful thing, and it's about as expensive as a pencil and a sheet of paper... whether it's writing or drawing. music and art are about the best cures for anxiety. machines are a little more expensive, but there's no feeling like making something that's dead come to life again. i love my car, i love my guitars. dropped a water pump on my acoustic once, boy was i pi$$ed... so i stuck a bunch of automotive decals all over it. it's a work of art now.
chill for awhile. friend of mine said to me "never work on your car for more than 3 hours." good advice. try it with the guitar... when you get back from your break.

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You smashed it?? Not a good thing to do man, although at times i'm a bit tempted to do it.....

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riley

dude.... i remember you saying you want a stang.... if you get one KEEP SOMEONE IN THE ROOM WHILE YOU PLAY IT!!!! you will be VERY tempted to smash it into the ground as hard as possible.... it looks like something that would be very fun to destroy

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

na man, I'll onlky smash a thing like that if i got $100 000

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riley

how about this:
every time you want to smash, burn, or in some other way destroy any guitar, send me an e-mail, i'll send you $50 and you can send the guitar to me while it still works.
you'll suffer no loss because the guitar would be useless to you either way, but on the up-side you'll have some cash in your pocket.

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Yup, sometimes...maybe too often, 'feel like it just isn't going anywhere.

Work thorugh those times and don't blame yourself...

...or your equipment.

Nothing will improve your playing like playing with other people.

Find a band.