Roll like water woes...

I feel like I've been on this lesson for over a month and I still can't seem to play it smoothly. I've actually been doing a little longer but who's keeping track. I feel like I've been doing it so long that I'm forgetting all the other lessons before it. It is getting better but I want to progress...not just stay still slowly forgetting all the things that came before it. I don't really have a question, just venting I guess. Fundamentals are hard.

Hi there ! I just went through the same thing about halfway through acoustic 1 in my most recent lesson. The piece was quite challenging and I must have played it at least 500 times. It did improve albeit very slowly. I was able to play along pretty well at 75% speed and occaisionally at 90 % but full speed was out of reach.

Usually I like to be able to play the song tutorial at full speed but in this case , felt that trying to master the piece was just going to become counter productive at some point and decided to move on. I felt that I had a solid grasp of the concepts in that lesson and able to play the piece well enough to allow myself to proceed to the next lesson. I figured that I could always circle back to this and other lessons in the future if I desire with the knowledge that playing this piece 500 or so times would help me to become a better player down the road.

Hope this was helpful in some way.

I agree with moosehockey dj, sometimes it's best to keep moving and circle back later on.

Good luck

Hey dj, I feel your frustration, but being out of your comfort zone, or "playing what you can't" is making you a better guitarist!

I'm not an expert and not a newbie, maybe a late beginner or early intermediate. Per moosehockey's advice, keep after it and know that it's ok to move on. What's easy for one guitarist is challenging for another, so think of it as an opportunity to identify your strengths and weaknesses. (But try to make time every practice session to address those weaknesses once identified!)

Get yourself to a good place where you understand and can command most of the lesson. Perfection is not the goal. Also, don't fret about "forgetting" other lessons. As Anders Mouridsen regularly points out in his Acoustic tutorials, learning, forgetting, and re-learning is a natural part of the guitar journey.

FWIW, last night I revisited some of Lisa McCormick's fingerstyle lessons that had been giving me fits a few months ago. They seemed to be solidly under my fingers when I tried again. But like moosehocky, Anders has me stumped on several of the practice tunes in Acoustic 1. I believe that with time I will revist these as well and wonder what all the fuss was about. Keep at it and you will be glad you did!

Just out of curiosity, where is the lesson in question on the website?

Lisa McCormick Guitar fundamentals 5 chord power pack lessons...