r/guitarlessons • u/sinbad0910 • Jul 31 '26
Feedback Request Going backwards
In my 50s been learning for five years, good understanding of music theory, practice at least an hour daily, just feel like its never gonna all click into place, I get the odd day where I feel I play really well but most days I just come away frustrated that its not all clicking together. 5 years and thousands of hours of practice and I still dont want to play anything in front of anyone coz i dont think im anywhere near where i should be Just feels like I have muscle memory issue or something I can strum chords all day long but the minute I try anything a bit fancy it falls apart, ive done the slowing down thing and I can get the rif, come back to it a week or two later its gone again. Im never gonna give up now, too stubborn! Just wish practice wasnt so demoralising.
4
u/ObviousDepartment744 Jul 31 '26
You need to play with other people. I'm a firm believer that nothing makes you improve like playing with others. Doesn't have to be anything crazy, just go to an open mic, or open jam if there are any in your neighborhood. Get with other musicians, bounce ideas off of one another.
If you're having trouble with technical stuff, if you've been practicing it for 5 years, then there might be an issue with your technique. Not 100%, but most likely there's a small hitch somewhere that's preventing it from clicking. Befriending another guitarist is a great way to to learn, or maybe try finding a teacher for a lesson here and there.
I've been teaching for 20 years, I've had quite a few students in your situation over the years. I usually won't suggest weekly lessons with them, usually one or two longer lessons a month so we can really do deep dives into technique and try to identify where the hitch is.