Jriches7

I've been playing guitar for a year. I can't play one song all the way through. Yes, I take lessons.

I always strum the wrong string and hit the wrong frets. WHY

ChemicalFire

We need more information if we're gonna help you.

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Jriches7

That's all I can give. I'm generally shit at guitar.

Omnigears

Practice more, getting the chord shapes down is muscle memory. If you're strumming the wrong strings then use your left hand to mute the wrong strings?

Aminor251

Permutations will save you my friend. Practice extremely slow and never rush, learn basic triads and 7th chord triads. I can help you if you need technical exercises. Try this out for chords and run it through the circle of fifths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8v...be_gdata_player

Jyrgen

Sounds like your teacher seriously doesn't know what he's doing or just that you don't play often enough.

Do you play at home between lessons? Ideally you should practice daily

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BoDC

Fire your teacher and get a new one! If you can't change between chord shapes and frets with a decently smooth transition, you've been lead down the wrong path.

Get a teacher like Pebber Brown



Also, if you are serious about learning, aim for AT LEAST an hour practice session a day.

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CorvoMietitrice

i've been playing off and on for the last 4 years, i'll play mabye 10 minutes a day every day for like 2 weeks then get burnt out and let it sit for a few weeks, then repeat, im not a pro, but i dont suck either, my best advice isnt to aim to try and play the whole song all at once, i suggest breaking the song down into say 30-60 second segments, perfect each segment till u can comfortably play it, then move on to the next segment

i find it also helps if u make up your own little segmented song using the same notes so u can have plenty of practice jumping between strings while not getting bored of playing the same tune a million times

also just gunna throw in, fire your teacher, im self taught, anything he can teach u is already posted on the internet, i learned my music theory and technique off of google, and in the long run that is all a teacher can really teach you, skill only comes through practice

bigblockelectra

This is basically like two hours of playing a month....How good can someone be after that short amount of time?

racertj5

The teacher comment is just not true. Granted, TS's teacher seems to be bad. However a teacher early on will correct your technique. Something google can not do. Saves time later and helps avoid plateaus when you realize you can never get past a certain point without fixing all the mistakes you made all along that you never noticed.

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seabear70

1. Hire a new teacher. Unless you are missing several fingers you should be able to play something. Actually, if you are missing several fingers your teacher should have told you to buy a slide and run open tunings. Either way, your teacher is horrible or you are not willing to listen to them. Find someone who can teach you and who you will listen to.

2. Get the damn thing in your hands every single day. I don't care if it's for 5 minutes, get it in your hands. It's best to have something specific to learn. but at a bare minimum, unplug the guitar and screw around with it. Watch TV and screw around with it, but get the thing in your hands. You are not going to learn by osmoisis through a Monitor, you will have to put in the effort.

3. Don't try to fly before you can walk. You are not going to mnail a Dragon Force guitar solo the first time you pick up a guitar. Start out with something simple. "Seminole Wind" is a good one for teaching basic chords and smooth transitions.

4. Practice.

5. Practice.

6. Get a game like Rock Smith and use it to get you through the boring stuff.

7. Practice.

8. Change venue and practice.

9. Finally, make sure you practice regularly. I don't go anywhere without a guitar. Some people find it annoying, but hey, **** those people, when was the last time they ever did anythign worth doing.

Jriches7

He corrects all my techniques, and he has had students who've played on the BBC and other things.

I play about 4 hours a week. Tomorrow I'm going to buy a gripmaster and see if it helps.

BoDC

I guess it all points to you. Dont complain that you suck if you arn't dedicated to this precious instrument. Go sell it and stop complaining. Most music is mediocre, all we need is you to contribute

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tobinobin

I have a similar issue although I don't have a teacher. I don't practice as much as I should as I always feel lethargic with it, and that it's a hassle. The most annoying thing is though is that I feel extremely guilty about not practicing enough as I want to improve and eventually write my own music...so frustrating.

fanapathy

You got to enjoy it if you want to get good. Some people pick up guitar and right away start to learn shitty pop songs and then they think they're gonna get laid.

Try to learn some songs you think are really really cool, so that you can play them hundreds of times without getting bored.
If you don't enjoy playing overall, there's no reason to continue

Also, give yourself time and avoid comparing yourself to others (ie, I have played for X amount of time - then I should be so and so good)
Either way, good luck, I'm not great myself but I love it. Cheers

innertom

Don't be so quick to blame the teacher.
If your practise sloppy playing your playing will be sloppy. Slow things down and make everything precise.
Stop making the same mistakes over and over

Junior#1

I think the main problem here is yourself. You need to practice more. 4 hours a week really isn't much. But even then, you need to make sure that you are practicing properly. Practicing while using poor technique will only form bad habits.

1. Play more
2. Talk to your teacher and ask him to slow down or give you some more tips or something.

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W4RP1G

Honestly, playing the guitar comes easier to some people, and harder to others. You might be the person that has to try harder than others. if that's the case, then it's going to have to be something that you really want because you're going to have to devote much more of your time to it. 4 hours a week isn't enough, even for someone who's a natural. You should try more like 3-4 hours a day, or at least build towards that. I spend more time playing on a Saturday than you do in a week, and I don't play nearly as much as some people that I know that are truly in love with playing he guitar.

At this point you should either accept that it might take you many more years to get to where you want be at the rate you're going, or step up your game. Or you could just quit and find something else that is more satisfying, if you realize that playing the guitar isn't something you wish to invest so much time into.

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ghobby

Try to slow down, relax, and pick a song you like that you figure is around your level and practice each bar until it feels somewhat natural. Go slow and gradually speed up. Everybody practices differently and for different lengths of time. I usually get at least 30min a day. Somedays it be be a couple of hours and somedays 10min. Enjoy the process and the little victories along the way. It should be fun and challenging. Only you know if your progressing, don't worry about comparing yourself to other people.