Whatever you do, don't give up. I taught myself to strum at 16 and didn't take lessons until I was in my early thirties. After sitting for almost ten years I've picked it up again. Will I ever play in public? Most likely not but I've ordered the new gdec and will hack away at that for my own enjoyment. Put some structure in what time you have to practice so that you spend a few minutes on scales, chords, pull offs, hammer ons, etc.. and don't give up. I'll never play like my heroes but I'll show my own children what persaverence means and the enjoyment of music even if Dad isn't Lenny Kravitz......

Hi Pineknot14, I read your post, then the answers, then your post again and I felt that I could add my two cents. Great advices you've got so far, but from your post, you say that you seek feedback from your family, are they musicians? Do they play an instrument? If not, they might not be the best source to ask for a usefull opinion about your playing. Family and friends who don't play music cannot be objective because they judge by what they feel instead of by experience. Maybe you could ask someone to come hear you play, or go to his place yourself and have some king of evaluation. Or post something on Youtube and seek out for opinions.
Sometimes we overlook the real progress that we make because we play alone and it seems that it is just the same stuff day in and day out and we kind of hit the wall. I say "we" because I did it myself and I am sure that a lot of players here had the same feeling at some point in their experience of playing alone.
Maybe that you could tape yourself while you play and record the song and the date of your playing, then do it again with the same song a few weeks later, and then again another few weeks later. So you could listen to your playing and judge your progress for yourself.
I find that your post is positive in a way because you realized that your playing was not up to your expectations and instead of giving up, you made the extra effort to post here and ask for help and clues.
All I can say to you is "Bravo", don't give up. Try to make what you can from the posts you've had so far, and I am sure that in no time you'll find that you made some progress. Good luck.
Claude.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Its not time for you to give up man, I suck but I love it, I haven't made any improvement for 2 years!! An I have dystonia!!! Can you imagine how hard it is for me? But I still love it. Dont give up, you'll get your time to shine.

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riley

hi there , do not give up , you can play the guitar all your life and still learn something new every day . i'm getting back into it after a 10 year break , it's been a bit of a bugger but slowly it's all coming together again from struggling to remember things to getting the hands working together again i can now sit and blast away to a lot of my fave stuff , in fact i even got myself a couple of new guitars . as a few of the other guys have said you need to get some structure in your practice routine , it will pay dividends in a very short time . keep at it mate

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This is a great point, Claude. Someone who doesn't play may not recognize the quality of your playing if it "doesn't sound just like the record."

I also like Claude's suggestion of recording yourself. I've recorded myself just a few times, and I always feel stupid and frustrated when I'm doing it. I listen to it immediately and feel disgusted with myself because it's so bad. But you know what? I listen to it with fresh ears about a week later, and it doesn't sound too bad!

Hang in there, man. Believe me, you're not alone.

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

Progress is never linear, though it may seem like it at first due to all the new material that is learned in the beginner stages of playing. After you have learned all the technique you need (chord shapes, scale patterns, keys, etc...) then you transition to the period where you master those techniques. The thing about mastering anything in life is that it takes just that, your life. The progress will no longer be linear, rather you'll advance in plateaus, where you could go months, maybe years without seeing improvement then all of a sudden find yourself on the next level. The best advice I can give you is just pick up your guitar and play. Everything else will take care of itself if you do that.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

These are all great tips here. But I feel like adding my coin to it, as (surprisingly) no one has mentioned the following site yet. www.justinguitar.com is truly brilliant. Justin Sandercoe is a great guitarist, and an even better teacher. Here he has tons of video lessons and complete songs of all kinds and techniques. I've taught several tricky sngs and styles here. The site is free, but if you can afford contributing by donation, it helps the site going.

Hey Boffer; thanks for the link to justinguitar. He seems to be a very humble and informative fellow. He also does a lot of good for people in need. I am going to check out his info on recording the guitar and major scales.

To add my "coin" to the collective heap on learning the guitar:

You are making progress weather you know it or not because the act of playing the guitar creates pathways in your brain that stick around long term. I am a slow learner on the guitar and never even got any good at playing along with records. I just stuck with it for a lifetime and I sure am glad I did. So many things in life are taken from you as you age. Guitar playing is not. I am closing in on 60 and can play a lot better than most of the people I see stinking up the airwaves at Guitar Center. There are also plenty of 80 year-old players who can leave me in the dust. Stick with it, pal.

Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and support people. I guess when I read a lot of the posts on the Fender Lounge, the majority of people posting sound light years ahead of where I'll EVER be. I've put the guitar down once before for about 18 months, and vowed to never do it again. It just seems that I've been more frustrated lately than I've been enjoying it. It seems as though after posting last night and giving some thought to it there are 2 major things I need to focus on: fretboard knowledge and scales. It seems I can play a song on the electric until I hit a lead part and then I just lose it. I well definitely heed the advice of my fellow friends here at the Lounge and try your recommendations and stick with it! Thanks all!

So you'll never play in public? So what! I'd wager the majority of us here on the site wont either!

The only time I would advise anyone to give up on the guitar is if there is just no joy to be had in it at all! Otherwise you have nothing to lose!

Best of luck!

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

'When do you give up?'

WHEN YOUR HANDS FALL OFF TRYING!

Seriously bro, EVERYONE gets these ruts where they don't seem to be getting any better. I make my living playing guitar and I find myself in these ruts all the time.
It can get so frustrating when you don't seem to be improving. I'm involved in the music scene a lot here in Belfast so I see a lot of bands. There's nothing worse than seeing some guy 10 years younger than you making the walls melt with licks that you feel incapable of. We all get it bro!

You're correct in learning scales and chords but don't forget the one essential in music: pure raw emotion. When you are practicing anything put your life and soul in your fingertips.

Never give up, you will only ever regret it in the long run!

CC

Hang in there...I feel the same way sometimes. I would recommend the Learn and Master Guitar course. It comes with 20 dvds and 5 play along CDs. If you don't want to purchase the full course, you can download the coursebooks for free: http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitar/resources/. But, I highly recommend the full course.

I have this course as well, and like a few others I highly recommend it. All of the other advise is great... I guess the main thing is, stay encouraged. Sure looks like (from these posts) that you have a bunch of buddies here that want to see you succeed. Play on!

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

What you have reached is a plateau. It happens to everyone in every field every so often.
Being a common scenario, you have to go back to basics, self negative feedback is detrimental, it only worsens the perceived problem.

In Alpine ski racing GS/SL I often hit that plateau where you feel that you are becoming slower, blowing out of courses that were once routine and getting beat by other racers that you used to outperform.

When stagnation sets in, take a break, find something that takes you away from your routine, and lets you view your playing in an objective view.
Then when feeling refreshed/rested get back on the horse...