Im all over the place

I feel so freaking out of it lately I want to learn how to play everything and im not getting anywhere.I want to play lie hendrix then play live evh then I go back to chicken picking then fusion and jazz how do I just accept and just choose and work on one,do any of you go thru this?

There will always be stuff to learn. Techniques, genres, songs...it will never end. Beyond that, personal interests change, players can get on a 'kick' and have a new favorite and then move on to another.

There are two things I try to do...first and foremost is study and practice to boost my chops. Everybody has to have the ability to play and that comes from getting basics down and always working to improve those playing skills. The second is I practice a little of everything. I don't devote my practice time to just one thing...I work on drills and technique/genre lessons and songs. For [u]me[/u], it keeps things fresh and fun and helps when one thing is overly frustrating/hard. On the other hand, I have to be careful to not scatter my practice and not make meaningful improvement. It's all not easy but it's not impossible either.

Learning guitar and songs only stops when the player stops, otherwise, the road is unending. So too is the fun.

Nothing wrong with varied instrests in what you want to play. It makes playing fun and fresh BUT you must make sure that you work towards mastering these things. Make sure that you aren't just learning that one part of that one riff from Voodoo Chile and then moving on. I was very guilty of this early on. Did me no good. You're learning how to physically do a riff but you're not really learning to actually play. Not in a way the will be satisfying in the end.

I recall that someone asked me, before I ever played in a band or jammed; 'why can't you actually play any songs?'

Yep, busted. There is a satisfaction in being able to move through a song, the changes and such that you don't get from noodling the big riff from Runnin' with the Devil and stopping.

So, don't worry that you want to learn it 'all'. Just be sure that when you're learning that you're actually learning the song.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65
Nothing wrong with varied instrests in what you want to play. It makes playing fun and fresh BUT you must make sure that you work towards mastering these things. Make sure that you aren't just learning that one part of that one riff from Voodoo Chile and then moving one. I was very guilty of this early on. Did me no good. You're learning how to physically do a riff but you're not really learning to actually play. Not in a way the will be satisfying in the end.

I recall that someone asked me, before I ever playing in a band or jammed' 'what can't you actually play any songs?'

Yep, busted. There is a satisfaction in being able to move through a song, the changes and such that you don't get from noddle the big riff from Runnin' with the Devil and stopping.

So, don't worry that you want to learn it 'all'. Just be sure that when you're learning that you're actually learning the song.

Great advice! I was guilty of this too...I knew snippets of LOTS of songs, but very few songs all of the way through.

I too have gone thru this, I take a day off and set a goal and come back. I've been guilty of not playing whole songs and only learning parts, it's set me back a ton and it's part of the same problem of not staying focused. Take a breath set a goal and work for it.

Hey Maggior how long have you been playing for? I checked out your sound cloud and was impressed.