well here I go playing mr mean Guitar intructor it seems to me the main problem is you lack focus and commitment.If you just want to have fun on the gtr quit the lessons and just do whatever you want when you want.Chances of you actually getting better are close to nil but you seem to be doing the sam and spending money and pissin off the wifey....bad combo !!
Let me fill you in a bit. Lack of focus?!?! For the most part I practice/play a minimum of 1 hour a day. I take lessons to better my playing and if I quit it will be to find a teacher that will make things click a little better.
The comment about money is way off base. I'm not married any longer but my girlfriend is my ex wife. She has a gambling problem so a divorce was in order. I no longer pay her bills!!!! My daughters are well taken care of.
You mentioned the "years " ago playing with friends and now you are taking lessons....the truth is everything we do is a habit.If you have poor discipline skills they don't get better by ignoring them or some quick fix panacea like Lessons or new Guitars and pedals........
Yeah everything is a habit. What you don't know is that I had quit playing for 10 years(because of family, divorce and having to work 2 8 hour jobs to pay these gambling debts off). Once again, if I'm slow at work I practice and when I get home after I have made dinner, cleaned up and any other duties I need done I will play, usually about an hour or so. I buy the pedals and equipment because it motivates me to play even more. As a teacher you should know as well as I playing with others will improve your playing.
first if you have been playinfg for years and are still a little past the beggining level there's a reason....and that reason is why you are probably making very little headway with the lessons and are bored....you have to fix the core problem first and it WILL...repeat ....WILL be extremly painful.
My instructor has given me enough variety to keep me from becoming bored. Please though, tell us what needs to be done to remedy this?
Iknow as an instructor most of my students aren't serious.So I compromise way to much.
My teacher does the same thing and it ticks me off. I know its hard work, I've worked hard for everything in my life and this is no different.
The greatest thing about really getting a musical instrument (and music) is it effects everything eles.it's hard to be a slacker when you work so hard to achieve something you love so much and derive pleasure from.
Agreed
So my advice ...evaluate what you want. then apply the appropriate cure......but whatever you do don't blame anyone else or situations......the balls in your court.You can suck but think you are good and never get to play with the big boys...or be perfectly happy hack with your friends... as long as it's a very definitive decesion and action to do one or the other...in between never works....good luck
BP
At my age I will never be a rock star. I can put some blame on my teacher, but please reread the thread title. My first lesson he asked me what I wanted to learn(songs). I told him I used to play and to treat me like I had never held a guitar. So we started on some theory and learning notes on the fingerboard and reading standard notation, something I never learned in the past. It was a good lesson. The next lesson he found I was having some difficulties with theory and then he stop trying to teach me, wrong thing to do on his part. Many times I've asked about theory and I got some short answer.
He saw that I could play chords and I did not have any problems hitting the notes cleanly for the most part so he just jumped me up to playing 12 bar without giving me any more therory.
So you tell me, how am I going to know what notes to play in a key without theory? Just fumble around the board till it sounds right? I was an automotive teacher/mentor for 10 years, I know a bit about teaching. I would never let anyone go diagnose a car without a full understanding of the circuit they were working with. I was constantly asking them questions to verify they had a full understanding and if they didn't we went back over it until they did. I did not leave it up to them to make the decision about learning it
Also before I quit playing I could belt out quite a few songs and play them well enough to be on stage without being boo'ed off. I am starting over and trying to learn good habit and part of what I'm am paying this guy is to unlearn my bad habit, I even told him that.
Please fell free to comment more. I know the type of students you have, my youngest daughter falls in that category :D I am not that type of person. My dilemma is more likely the winter blues and stress and some frustration.
