Originally Posted by: aorezechowski

Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

You only joined a couple of days ago and expect to be able to play what others need 3 weeks for? you only give yourself one month? most people can bearly switch a few chords after one month, learning to play guitar is a thing of long breath and you should at least give it one year to find out wether you can learn it or not.

I'm learning it to help with depression and anxiety.

Ah, this is a good idea. I mean, something every guitar player wrestles with is the learning curve. It seems very easy to learn a few chords and off ya go. But, it ain't exactly that easy. I'm sure you didn't pick up guitar thinking it was going to be immediate, but it doesn't hurt to reiterate this. Also, regarding my original advice about slowing down, I think still stands.

However, your reason for picking up the guitar, I think, is a good one.

My late wife suffered from diagnosed panic-anxiety (note, her passing was totally unrelated). Her PAD was pretty bad when it reared its head. We had more than a few trips to the ER with panic attacks. I don't suffer from it but have been eye-to-eye with it. Not an easy road.

I only mention this as to your thought of using guitar as something a thereputic makes a lot of sense. There have been more than a couple of studies that confirm that learning music has a benefit to anxiety. Not a 'cure', of course, but is very beneficial to people who have anxiety.

The reality is, I've been on Guitar Tricks since 2008 because of my late wife. I've been playing since 1981. I wasn't looking for online lessons myself but while my wife was out on short term (for another health reason), she wanted to start learning guitar. I should note that I've remarried and my now wife just started learning guitar a few months ago!

But to bring this back around, I won't pretend that learning guitar comes super easy. It's a skill that is learned and has some complexities. If you stay with playing the instrument, you're going to have 'those' moments. This is also very important; you will also have breakthrough moments where you feel great about 'getting it'.

What I think is important to note that at some point, you look forward to new challenges in playing that you want to overcomes. It becomes what you enjoy about playing guitar.

It's that first hump as a beginner that seems like Mt Everest. It's really not but sometimes it seems like it.

I would say not to give up. It does help to reorient your thinking about how you define success in playing. Only the supernatural players ever play perfectly. The rest of us, we do alright. Anyone watching me play sees me as a skilled player (I mean, it's been almost 40 years, I suppose I got it down now!). I know that when I'm learning something new, I'm back at the drawing board like everyone else. I just have a tool kit I've built over the years to approach it.

Therein lies the point; right now, as a beginner, you're 'buying' your first tools and there's only so many things you can do with those tools. Over time, you get more tools to draw from. I would say to stick with it. Reorient you approach to success. Embrace the baby steps. You'll start noticing that you see a better sense of progress when you aren't thinking about getting a chord change, at speed, right away.

I've been playing for a while, as I'd said, and sometimes, I gotta slow down. I'm learning Steely Dan's Josie and most of it is not that hard for me but there are two very small spots in the intro where I just can't get it right with parts that would seem insigificant but for me, it's making me work for it.....So, I slow down. I'm getting it but not as fast as I'd like.

Lot's of typing and mostly in supporting the idea of sticking with it. But I do know the value of music and for the reason you thought to pick it up. It's very rewarding too but anything that is rewarding, isn't always easy.

Good luck again and I hope you do stick it out.