The “Forever Beginner” Curse and How You Can Break It - Guitar Lesson

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

What do you think is holding you back the most? Leave a comment and let me know. I'll be reading them all! 😊

[@terrence8858]

I can’t really understand all the music theory to join together and applying them to real use on my guitar. Any suggestions or ideas?

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@terrence8858 That's tough for sure. I'd say, if you haven't, watch a few of my music theory videos. I try my best to make it immediately applicable to the fretboard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnmuqKKaibd-hJI kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHTMdZ-AmtWfY9E kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHTdkHydo7CSmLc

[@Schnoig]

For me its definetly bad rhythm. I just bad with it. But mostly its chronic pain in the fretting arm above the ellbow. Its not a severe pain, its more a feeling of soreness/inflammation. This holds me back the most. Tried everything to get rid of it but nothing works. So i just ignore it and use ibuprofen based liniments

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@Schnoig I'm sorry to hear that. Without the intervention of a professional, the best advice I have for guitarists dealing with pain is to assess their posture and technique. I hope it's something that gets better for you over time.

[@dream9831]

slow chord transitions!! I've got a couple easy chords in the muscle memory, but more often than not I'm staring at the fret board haha

[@sebastianmusic6205]

I reckon it's a lack of groupies that has been holding me back....

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

That's gotta be it 😂

[@FrostyFreeze541]

😂

[@christopherholmes2272]

😂😂 that’s it! 😂😂

[@Chase-yz6nr]

Imaging being literally being held back by groupies.

[@eddyray666]

I had the most groupies when I was 18, playing bass, in the mid-2000's. Drunk every gig. Mostly pretending to play because I couldn't remember my parts. Moral of the story is to just skip practice, wear nice shoes and get a decent haircut if groupies is what you're after. Aaaaand I just realised this is the equivalent of your stepdad telling you how much he used to bench.

[@daveduffy2823]

The best fix is to record yourself. Once you listen back, you will know what to work on. Trust me, this works and is what got me over the hump.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Totally. It can be humbling, but if you can be honest with yourself it's crazy how much it'll help.

[@ronhutcherson9845]

I’m preparing a song for a performance - this is the 3rd time in a week I’ve heard that advice so I ll use it this time.

[@NeCoruption]

Yess, especially when you play over that recording and hear things as you feel them

[@bambampewpew32]

Yeah doing covers (recording me playing with a song playing at the same time) actually has been helping me realize what I'm doing

[@MossMan888]

The best (for technique) and the worst (for ego)

[@NeonBeeCat]

Proud to be a 10 year beginner

[@nedcramdon1306]

18 years and have never learned to use a pick! Wish I was kidding.

[@chaseallbert6368]

@@nedcramdon1306No way

[@paulwestlake4278]

HAH! 50 years and counting...😪

[@tw0pointoh654]

My big breakthrough was playing with other people. Like even playing through songs or with jam tracks - that never did it for me like playing with other people it. I luckily live in a big city and was able to find some jam sessions, both acoustic and plugged in. And sometimes I play drums or bass, but most times I play guitar. And it kind of forces you to find the groove and hold it. And even if you screw up and blow a chord...you cant go back, you have to find the next one. And even if you have to drop out of the measure and come back in on the one...thats fine. Because musicians are mostly nice people and the bassist will cover you and help you get back into the progression. And it's the same if you are playing lead...if you connect a few licks and then lose it....a good and gracious rhythm player will look at you and count off the progression and call you back in for another try. One of the biggest things I learned from this process is don't make things more complicated than they need to be until you can really feel it and your ear can follow it. Even if you blow a note or chord...as long as you do it in time, it's not THAT bad. And lots of players will take a blown note in a riff or lead line and repeat it that way 3 more times and all of a sudden it's "dissonance" not a blown note and it's totally legit if you do it in time. 😂 But yeah playing with other highly gracious and encouraging people is what turned me into a real "player" not just a forever "beginner."

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Absolutely. Such good points you made here too! Learning to play through your mistakes is a gamechanger.

[@P_dude_007]

I feel like the biggest thing holding me back is I don’t have a roadmap and I’m not sure what to learn and when I should start learning it. Hope this makes sense :)

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Yeah, that's tough. Especially, when the roadmap can look different for everyone. Someone else mentioned this problem and I think I'll have to make a video on what I think a good roadmap would be for learning the guitar.

[@OneJamesH]

In the same boat. Sometimes I feel like a butterfly and everytime I see a cool video I want to learn that new skill but I never really mastered anything. I went in and unsubscribed from some really good channels but I needed to cut down on the noise. Yes this one made the cut. Then I decided I wanted to focus on triads and linking scales to them. That has become the majority of my practice time. I also set a goal of focused practice time. Weekends I work on playing by ear (Andrew's video on this is the best I have seen) then I play along with those songs during the week using triads. I set a goal to join my churches worship band this year. That was 2 months ago and I am making progress. I have been recording myself and as painful as it is the camera doesn't lie.😢

[@transmathematica]

Get a teacher. That’s what teachers are for.

[@toddblackmon]

This is a general problem with the intermediate level of almost every skill. My theory is that it is because the beginning level of most things are pretty structured, so everything is just a bit harder than the last. But now you have to learn how to learn. The right teacher can help a lot though.

[@uselessbag]

Check out Kevin Nickens channel, he's the first dude i stumbled on in search of a road map for learning guitar few months ago. He recently lade an updated version of his roadmap. I think it's good if you take a look

[@carlosc6165]

I think that what's holding me back the most is not having other musicians to play with. As you get older your circle of friends gets smaller and smaller. I'm in my 50's now and picked up the guitar again after some 25 years of not playing. It seemed to be so much easier to find people to play music with when I was in my 20's.

[@tw0pointoh654]

Playing with other people helped me make like YEARS of progress in a few months. It was huge. You are forced to really play in time and find the groove. You are forced to keep going if you mess up. Depending on where you live...look for rehearsal studios in your closet city. A LOT of them will host jams that are beginner friendly on big gig nights like Friday or Saturday when bands aren't looking to book rehearsal space. Most of them in my area are like $30-$40 for a 2 to 3 hour jam. Still way cheaper than a private lesson and unbelievably helpful. I found my bandmates through those jams, and we are all in our 40s and 50s - just looking to play some and have fun knowing we'll never be session players or touring players. There's so many like minded people out there! Hang in there you will find them! And honestly, once I started playing with other people I started getting a LOT more out of Andrews videos and course particularly. Like applying the concepts I learn here in a real live music setting has been HUGE for me. Good luck! Keep jamming! ❤

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I can't really say it any better than @tw0pointoh654 did here. It's definitely hard to find people. But they ARE out there. Lots of folks in the exact same position as you are. I'd do a little searching in your area on Google or on Facebook maybe to see what's out there.

[@gwoody4003]

Get a looper and drum machine. Changed my life.

[@carlosc6165]

@@gwoody4003 I had been thinking about doing that exact thing. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking into buying a Boss RC-5.

[@gwoody4003]

@@carlosc6165 I had the simple version of the Digitech Jam Man... just record and overdub is all it had. I really liked that but the foot switches kept breaking. I got that Donner Circle Looper and it does a bit more and has drums built in. I use a Beat Buddy for drums, its got way more beats than the looper. I use a the pitch shifter in my multi effects pedal to play bass lines, I play a rythm part and some little riffs or arpegios to kinda fill in the missing keyboards and then jam with that. I got 10x better in a couple weeks. 😆

[@gwoody4003]

I am self taught, been playing 15 years. Didn't even use a lesson book. Just listened and played some tabs when I couldn't figure it out. And I learned a lot of stuff "my way" which is like the wrong way but it still sounds right. I got a lot of bad habits that I can't break cus I literally can not play another way at this point. I have tried to fix my fingering but I been playing my way so long, those wrong things are muscle memory at this point. But what has really helped me improve massively was a looper and drum machine. I got better at rythm and lead, and it helped in understanding the Bass as well. I can play and improv with a band now as a result. My goal was never mastery. I just want to have a good time making music. I am half-decent at a bunch of instruments and production software. I have no ambition to go beyond hobby level. Most important lesson... never give up. I have so many friends that got an instrument and had the desire but not the patience. They were not good right away and gave up. It will all click one day. Getting a decent guitar helps too. I had a knock-off strat I got from the pawn shop for 100 bucks that I didn't realize was garbage til I got my hands on a $1000 Ibanez RG, and then it was easy mode. Holy hell... it stays in tune, I don't have to break my hand pressing on frets and there is no buzz! The neck isn't 3 inches thick. The pickups pickup above the 12th fret. Wow 😂. Nobody wants to buy someone a $1000 guitar and have it end up in the closet, but learning on a junk instrument is so difficult. You think YOU can't do it, when its the guitar fighting you the whole way.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Great insights! Thanks for sharing :)

[@itsmarmalade]

Awesome comment

[@MrPhins]

Wow this was so spot on. I'm an older beginner and disconnect is such an issue. I know chords, a few scales and minor theory points but I watch someone solo over a backing track and think "how do they so quickly know what what notes to play?" I keep waiting for some "thing" to give me that magic aha moment when everything will make sense and connect. Great vid.

[@jjgalletta66]

Guitar is like golf. It takes a great deal of time, money, talent and energy - all of which I have very little of. But, I keep at it!

[@ryanguffy4739]

Playing woth good musicians at my church pushed me to up my game and improve all aspects. Learning different types of music and solos were holding me back.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I played in church for years back in middle and high school. I owe a lot of my musical development to those oppourtunities.

[@tysctt]

Definitely rhythm and timing, it’s not something that comes naturally to me and struggle hard with it. And as soon as I try to count /play my brain implodes.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Funny enough, I find it easier to NOT count while I play. There are plenty of exercises you can work on to develop your timing, but one of the best is simply "playing drums" with your hands on your lap along to songs you like. It's crazy how well it can build up your internal sense of rhythm.

[@MrJacobThrall]

​@@andrewclarkeguitar I'll second that. I'm a drummer, principally, and have been for about 35 years; I probably started on guitar about five years after starting drums, but I had proper drum lessons, whereas I just had a few tips and hints on guitar from talented friends. What lets me get away with *still* being relatively beginnerish is that the rhythm and timing element of my guitar playing is effortless because of my percussion studies. I totally feel like an imposter on guitar, but I sound kind of OK because the rhythm is dialled in.

[@markbrown7103]

I have played guitar since 1974. Through all the ups and downs through all the mistakes I’ve made it through. Although I’ve come close to quitting a couple of times glad I didn’t love this instrument. Been a great friend of mine for many years, I still make mistakes, but that’s OK, I try my best to correct them. I am a solo instrumental finger style guitarist. I don’t sing. I let the guitar do the work for me. Just remember, never give up look on the bright side and keep going. You’ll get there. It just takes time. Thanks for the video. Have a beautiful day. You’re very excellent guitarist.❤️😄👍🎸🎼🎵🎶🎸😎

[@skelolion6939]

Do have any general tips for beginners?

[@andrewmallard2301]

I think you've nailed it. Disconnection between the various elements.

[@daphne_turnbull]

Rhythm and technique definitely held me back. A while ago, I realized that I needed to fix my timing. I have spent a lot of time practicing to a metronome. I also reviewed chord changes. It has been tedious at times but it is paying off in my playing.

[@teleacousticplayer9386]

I just wanted to come to your latest video so you would see this comment. I was watching a video from a few years ago based on the Major Scale and just wanted to say Thank you so much for your videos. You are very informative and when your explaining stuff, you don't assume someone already knows what your saying and just run through it so quick that your left wondering what the heck was that? So THANK YOU FOR THAT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!!! Very appreciated!!!!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Hey! I really appreciate that. I'm glad my older videos still hold up. Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave such a nice comment. ☺

[@HumbleBaritonics]

Andrew. I am really enjoying the clarity of your videos. I am playing in DGBE tuning on a tenor guitar. Having fun turning your info to something useful for this tuning. The overlap is amazing.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Hey! That is so cool! I've never played a tenor guitar before, and it's really neat that there's some overlap there. Might have to try one out!

[@wagonet]

this held me back, i ended up quitting many years ago. just recently picked it up and really focused on understanding scales, triads, etc. now i'm far beyond where i was when i quit.

[@kinleydorji]

Thanks Andrew. Totally agree with you. I've been playing guitar for 10 years now and been all over the place, including spending tonnes of time on gear - amps, guitars, pedals, modelers. Sure I learned a lot that someday will be very useful, but the reality was that skill wise I was barely past beginner guitarist level. That was about 6-8 months ago. Since then I've stopped everything and focused on chord changes, rhythm and strum patterns, and strum technique. I know I'm not going anywhere before I get past this.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

The gear trap gets everyone at some point 😅 I'm glad you've identified the issue and put your focus on the right thing.

[@infinitecycle3479]

You nailed it with the last 2 I don’t even think i would’ve been able to put it into words

[@barondavis5692]

Well done. I like that you’re not afraid to talk about music theory.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks! :)

[@davidmolloy126]

Practising in front of a full length mirror can really help to overcome problems with bad posture, and can make a big difference for the better both for technique and health. Thanks very much for a great video, David.

[@JiffyJiff-eu4tf]

As someone who has played the violin for 9 years, and having just started the guitar the last year, the hardest thing for me is strumming. I know how to stay in time, but strumming consistently while playing and singing is so hard for me. I've watched some of your rhythm videos as well, and have practiced a bit the excercises you added. I don't know if anyone else has any tips? Also thanks for the time you spend making these videos and helping us out!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I've mentioned this before, but one of the things that worked the best for my rhythm was putting on songs I liked, muting the strings with my fretting hand, and strumming along. That way I didn't have to worry at all about chord changes or anything else and I could just be a percussionist. Beyond that, it's just about putting the hours in. The muscle memory will build up and you'll get it :)

[@wholegroinbread593]

Singing WHILE playing is a completely different ballpark of its own. You have to be decently good at both to even start combining them (at least in my case). Don't worry if you can't do it well immediately because a vast majority of guitar players actually can't do that

[@hotpenguin607]

Okay u got me, I'm making a lot of the mistakes mentioned in the video No excuses

[@b.c.a.d.3071]

I feel like my biggest hurdle starting was always trying to be perfect when learning a new song, so rhythm and precision were killing me. Once I learned to just play a piece all the way through with many mistakes, it helped me brake the barrier of "man, i have to keep restarting cause I keep messing up" to "man, that was hard and my fingers are tired, but now I know i have the stamina and skills to play it well. Now i just need to practice it."

[@hvxn21]

I've been playing guitar for a year now, but in a year I only have Acoustic, I guess I got stuck with playing such chords, flatpicking, bit of plucking and so. But these past 3 days I've been watching Music Theory namely one of your videos as well, somehow it helped me expand my brain even just a little bit even if at first it's a little hard to understand. I want to have electric guitar so bad already but I just don't have the money to get one so, I tried learning scales, and any other electric guitar things at my acoustic but it seems just hard.

[@NateNakao]

I played piano as a kid, violin for almost 20 years, and then eventually started teaching myself guitar on an acoustic. I played a lot of rhythm acoustic since I'm mostly a singer, but getting past just playing chords and rhythms has been tough. I have some trauma associated with practicing scales on piano and violin, so I have a feeling that's what's holding me back on electric.

[@dream9831]

thanks for the pointers for chord transitions, to 'reset' and build a solid approach.. Ive definitely been one for finding the strings one finger at a time and i'm still working against myself haha. make the Milliseconds and millimeters count

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're welcome!

[@knarfdatsmoh4378]

I was left broke and homeless after a wildfire. Now I play 6 or more hours a day 7 days a week busqing to keep me and my people fed. Finding time to just practice depends on how my fingers are holding up.

[@odmineypiju4761]

You got this, you'll get through 💔 music is a wonderful tool I just picked up the guitar after an enormous break. A recent series of events messed up my mental health big time, so I use the guitar to help me heal. I live in Ukraine in a massive genocidal war, which is hard enough. I lost a close friend in this war, then my partner joined the military, then half of my apartment burned down. Now I sit in my burned apartment and play my guitar every day. This is how I find inner calmness and focus on what's important.

[@greblus]

My biggest problem is memorization. I've no problem to remember an equation, a poem, everyday duties at work, but the song structure, progressions, theory details i try to use to remember it better, it all simply fades away quickly and I've to re-learn it again and again. I've learnt to accept it and start over. It's still a lot of fun though 😊 but somehow I feel that my brain wants me to return to the basics: finding notes on 2 strings without thinking, hearing notes and intervals, then mapping out the fretboard and caged, then scales, not before 😅

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Memorization is such a huge part of playing an instrument, but I'd say Internalization is even more effective. Where you're not actively thinking about the concept but your ears and fingers react naturally. It's tough to get there, but I believe we all have the ability within us. There's nothing at all wrong with returning to the basics either! I still work on them weekly myself ☺

[@cflores1889]

Love the music you play, then anything is possible

[@stanleyjungleib650]

"milliseconds and millimeters"-brilliiant!

[@Metalord874]

I never had this problem, I just "got it". But if I had to say what I did was that I played songs that was way above my level. Pick a part of a song that you're obsessed with and play that part for days until it works. Learn scales all over the neck. Start with Em/G when playing E standard. It's 12 notes on every string til 12th fret, then it starts over. So 0 and 12th fret is the same note "E" on the lower E string, string 6 and 1 is the same. Learn to find the note E on the remaining 4 string, then chose another note and learn all their places. About chords, start with playing it on 3 strings and 3 notes. Baree chords (when 1 or more fingers covers more than 1 string) might look hard but if we take G, it's really just 3 notes you hold down on 6,5 and 3rd string counting from the lower E string. Then on 4,2 and 1st string your are golding down the same notes. To change from major G to minor G you change the 3rd string note one step down. Work from there. Like playing a G7, ut just means that the 7th note in the G major scale is added. This is why learning scales is super important, learn Em/G scale in all positions so you easy can play it all over the neck. You'll also notice that after learning the major scale and plaing it in G, that the 1,3 and 5th note in that scale are the ones you are holding down in a G chord. -5th chord? Just means you move the 5th note in the scale on fret down (towards the head). Remember that the 3 notes in a major/minor chord can be played anywhere on the neck in any order. This is how you make chords sound interesting. Check out arpeggios, very much used in classical music and by fast guitar players. They go hand in hand with chords so might be useful. I started playing classical music, this is very good to learn scales and chords and also to get in tecnique. I recommend checking out different plucking tecniques if you're using a pick, and get really good at it. I started with alternativ plucking and it did't take long until I could do some minor shredding and more difficult solos after that. From my observations a guitarplayer never gets better than the music he/she likes to listen to. I started liking classical music at age 10, at 14 I was a big fan of steve vai, Alexi Laiho (children of bodom), petrucci, yngwie malmsteen, joe satrian and Jason becker. So I practiced their stuff every day for hours. Hope this can help someone😊

[@rickpearlstein6421]

This was very awesome for me. Thank you. My biggest issues are rhythm and chord transitions. I'm an 18 month "beginner" on mandolin but the lesson still applies. I'm just starting my guitar journey. Saving a bit more money to buy my first and I'm chomping at the bit to get started.

[@markbrown7103]

I started playing guitar at 22 years old. Now I am 71. I have been playing since 1974 the first 10 years were the hardest. I didn’t know nothing about music. I learned a lot of chords and a few lead scales got pretty good at some of that stuff, but I just wasn’t going nowhere, I can’t play by ear but I was told that your ear doesn’t pick up all of the sound and your ear is not that accurate. I agree totally with so I started reading music learning all the notes on the fingerboard of a guitar started out reading basic music. Today I play all the time, the first 10 years were rough, but the last 40 have been beautiful. I am now a solo instrumental guitarist Johnny Fortune soul surfer was my teacher. He’s the one who encouraged me to read music. He was a finger style guitarist I never knew or never realized but fine you’re natural style. You might be a rhythm player maybe even a single note player or maybe you just might be a guitarist no your style. I learned that much I can go out and play gigs all by myself. After 40 years of nothing but totally musical knowledge I love my guitars. I only have seven of them. Most people have a lot more than that so encourage people to read music they will go along way. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for the video. It brings back old memories.👍👍😄😄❤️🎼🎵🎶🎸❤️

[@AvidGaymer42]

Been playing since March of this year. A couple things holding me back (I feel) Possibly no end goal? (I do want to write music eventually, kind of a pipe dream to me) Slow chord changes (working on it) How to make stuff up on the fly Like you said in the beginning, all of the things I have in my brain are just in their own little islands. No one has broken down guitar music theory or music theory in general to something digestible for me. It just feels like I can watch a guitar video, and within minutes I'm lost already. Been just playing tabs and 'learning' a couple songs, and even then it's a few seconds of said songs, if that.

[@teentitansrock88]

I HATE walking into shops and staff ask me what I play, I say "guitar" they go, "oh, how long?" And I say "um, about 22 years" they hand me a guitar and ask me to show them something, and I hold the guitar backwards. Okay, over exaggerating. But I do always have to say "20+ years, but you'd only guess 6-8 months if you heard me play!" Or else people misjudge my capabilities. I KNOW it's because I just pick up the damn thing too infrequently. When I practice a lot, I get better. I can see improvements. Sometimes it just sucks when it feels like you're plateauing, or life gets in the way. Then it just sits and waits for the next time your interest is piqued.

[@xt00gaming]

Please make a guide video how to start learning electric guitar … what to learn , what to practice . How to play aswome❤

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Good idea!

[@xt00gaming]

@@andrewclarkeguitar i have watched more than 50 videos of urs just aswome ❤️…… finally found something good to learn ….. now i got to know about music theory … just fun and aswome 🙌

[@Tilbily]

Great lesson. Yeah thats me, too, at this point. Was recently pondering how to move on from this point.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment. Cheers :)

[@doncarriere9901]

I kind of associate to some degree to all of them. My biggest thing that hit me during this video was trying to learn to many things at one time and not getting good at any of them. Identified with the islands and not connecting them together. Thanks for this video, will start to retrain myself

[@matepojbics2386]

Hi! Can you make a videot about how to build up 7th chords in different keys and strings? Exactly like the one you made about chord roadmaps with simple major/minor barchords, but with 7th chords. Its hard to remember every 7th chord shape in different keys. You're still the best guitar teacher, wish you the best!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Good suggestion! Can definitely do that :)

[@donnacolwell3988]

This is a very timely video. I'm an older beginner. I've been having a lot of doubts about my progress after four years of face-to-face lessons. I practice daily, but it is obvious to me that my practice isn't as affective as it could be. I have all of the problems you outlined at the beginning of the video to some extent. However, I think the worst is not being able to get all my fingers to move at the same time.

[@HonestlyHolistic]

I think my biggest problem is being disconnected from what I learn and not knowing how to tie everything together (especially music theory, knowing which chords are in which key without thinking about it etc.), so when I DO improvise or write a song, I always use the same 6 basic chords to do so, even though I want to become an advanced guitar player I am learning to listen by ear atm thanks to you and I am getting better, but it is still difficult!! Dean Lewis is usually easy to figure out though lmao

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Yeah, that's such a common one. You'll want to make sure you're tying every music theory concept to something on the fretboard. The chord roadmaps (kzbin.info/www/bejne/morWkGOIrZh2iqs) are a great way to do this with chords. And then expanding into the diatonic 7 and 9 chords to build up your chord vocabulary a bit will help. Here's a video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWmke5yCjK6enMU I'm glad you're working on playing by ear. That's awesome! And Dean Lewis is a really good place to start! His songs are great and easy to understand. Same with artists like Dermot Kennedy and Luca Fogale (two of my favorites).

[@HonestlyHolistic]

@@andrewclarkeguitar I appreciate it a lot 🙏🏻 thank you

[@josecarlosoliveira5018]

Two things hold me back the most 1 -- lack of technique, I just can't play lead if my life depended on it, and I even struggle with rythm parts if they're not simple 2 - lack of playing with other people. I just never had a band or friends to play with, and as I get older it gets harder and harder and harder.

[@suran396]

1:10 rhythm and timing. In middle school I played trumpet and counting was so easy! Maybe because trumpet was easy for me and I had plenty of room to think about little details. But then I played nothing for 25 years. Fast forward, my son is learning violin, one of the hardest instruments. I would poke fun at him for not being able to count to 4. Fast forward 10 more years and I have decided to learn guitar. My son is teaching me piano (which he also plays) as prep and intro to basic music. One thing g he has me doing is turn on the metronome and count/clap to sheet music (just whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and eighth noted and I just clap ... don't need to worry about anything else) .... and damn!!!!! I told him I take back everything I ever said about him not being able to count to four while he laughs at me! (P.S. my 1st guitar lesson is in a few hours!)

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks for sharing! Good luck at your first lesson :)

[@justawfulgamer7738]

Life. Real life. And it's not holding me back, but my family is more important. They only grow up once.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I can totally understand that. Family is definitely more important ☺

[@BulletForceKngz]

One of the thing holding guitarist back is not taking it serious enough, like I mean you have to practice and learn stuff 8 hours a day for a whole year if you want to make real progress or breakthrough. If you wanna get good at something or anything then you need to put in the crazy amount of hours to get good and you have to want to understand everything about music and the guitar like being REAL passionate about it, not talking about "I love the guitar, I want to play it" I'm talking about wanting to know why things work and how, wanting to understand everything.

[@christopherdcorran]

Sliced the tip of my L index finger last night - but yes my major stop is losing the bad habits I developed 50 years ago. After two years of scales and 'stuff', I am not yet enjoying myself on the guitar. But I haven't quit. I liked you 'Improvising on Guitar for Complete Beginners' - I have the opening riff weighed off :) I do like your method.

[@ravikaiwar257]

Andrew, thank you for this ‘timely’ video. I started on guitar very late, but have kept at it for the past eight or so years. I have a good understanding of scales, fret board and some basic music theory. I have problems with bar chords (I don’t practice enough as I am not good at it!); but even bigger problem is soloing. I usually play the pentatonic, but it always sounds boring and never as good as all others that I listen to, mainly because I play the scales straight up with occasional skipping of adjacent notes. Huge fan of Bonamassa and Clapton which makes my guitar playing even more disappointing🙁

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

That's a very normal place to plateau. Have you worked on aiming for chord tones within the pentatonic? Hitting those chord tones and connecting them with notes from the scale is a great way to start sounding more intentional and melodic. That'd be my suggestion ☺

[@ravikaiwar257]

@@andrewclarkeguitar Thanks.

[@Chase-yz6nr]

Jokes aside my biggest Guitar learning challenge is hitting the chords and the right strings sometimes. Like my left hand will hit the chord then my right will strum a string too low. Funny enough as I write this comment you answered how to fix this. Lol wow great video

[@christinachristina8271]

Thankyou Will do those other videos Nice to have answers for this curse ! Also improv i find incredibly difficult, scary especially with major scale

[@brianzweizig1073]

Consistency was a factor. Same applies in working out and martial arts, etc. Using a metronome helps. I always applied proper technique, a plus.

[@thermalshoes]

Strange buzzing noise in the video making it hard to focus on what you’re trying to teach. But love your channel. Thanks for the help!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

It's the vintage pickups in the Jazzmaster. I've ordered new hum-cancelling pickups that should be here later this month to solve the issue. Thanks for watching :)

[@VilleHalonen]

I took my first lessons 31 years ago. I have my strengths, but I've always played for a few weeks and then stopped for anything from six months to three years until picking up the instrument again. Right now -- knock on wood -- I think I have my longest streak going on since high school. I think my main issues have been the lack of a roadmap, especially the lack of decent challenges. Or maybe my former inability to really recognize my existing challenges and work on them. Now, I've found satisfaction in slowing down and really practising on some basic things like nailing down awkward chord shapes and making sure that everything I play sounds good.

[@f.massaquoi9841]

So far my biggest challenge is just being able to accurately and consistently hit the notes in the chords I play when changing chords. There always seems to be a buzz here, a muted string there... not really sure how I can get past this, maybe just comes with more practice?

[@tw0pointoh654]

I think it's just muscle memory and doing it a zillion times. 😂 Like back in the early aughts none of knew how to type on a touchscreen. Then the iPhone came out and almost 20 years later our thumbs are flying around a keyboard like Eddie Van Halen on a fretboard. But there are still chord shapes I don't use a lot, some diminished chords, the C and G caged shapes, 7sus4s rarely come up sadly and it's a lovely airy chord. If they pop up on a chart I will try to practice moving in and out of it as much as I can - but they are still hard because I don't use them enough. But it's OK. You can't ever compare yourself to pro players who can move into and out of any chord shape at any time. Those people aren't real life lol. Like if someone offered me a gazillion dollars to play in Billy Joel's backing band or something...I guarantee you I would sit there for like 20 hours a day until I could play every altered chord written on piano to every other chord fluently. But barring that, I have come to accept that songs and charts will often toss a occasional chord I don't have the muscle memory for. So I change it something I do know with a similar quality and purpose and move on. 😂

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Work on the exercise I mentioned in the video where you take your hand on and off over and over to build up that muscle memory. You can also totally add a muted strum or two while changing chords. Tons of players do it!

[@agh7786]

My problems that I don't know how to create an effective practice and I don't have anyone to play with(teacher is remote). Even though you said it doesn't matter the level no one is going to want jam with someone who can't strum very well and still makes constant mistakes after almost three years. At this point I starting to feel like I'm just fundamentally not able to learn how to play guitar.

[@johnhartley3022]

The key to real learning and success is to maintain the beginner’s mind. No matter what you think you know in music or how far you think you have gone there is always something you have yet to learn where you are still a beginner.

[@DougSmith-y4o]

I’d say not having a consistent approach to make connections. My ear is pretty good, and I know the caged system, but working on things like triads, or expanding my sense and better feel on the most important thing, RHYTHM PLAYING!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Sounds to me like you're working on all the right things! Keep at it and you'll definitely make good progress.

[@DougSmith-y4o]

Andrew, do you have an actual rhythm Courses that deals with all the aspects of rhythm, including timing and how to hit the strings in certain areas, percussive techniques, etc… Seems there are so many subtleties to Rhythm, and yet it is so overlooked by far too many!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@DougSmith-y4o Not yet. But I do have plans to create a rhythm course! There are so many intricacies like you mentioned. In the meantime, here's a video that goes over some of my best tips: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKDTimWvg7eobJo

[@ajhd95]

I think jamming along to drum tracks, jam tracks, your favourite songs or a metronome is the absolute best thing you can do as a beginner. You're building an ear, learning timing, finding feel and learning to play as part 'of a band'. Even if just simulated. Have fun.

[@lizzardlife]

Somehow playing with myself never really gets me as far as playing with other's. 😉 it helps to be pushed and critiqued.

[@jimwalshonline9346]

You've read my mind - thank you!

[@gavinsheets1846]

For sure I don’t practice enough or at least practice what I need to do. I use to practice like he explained about 10 to 20 hours every month or when I felt like it. However it has changed to a few practice sessions throughout the week and maybe I’d go 1 to 3 days without practice and a whole week if I’m not emotionally there. I don’t know if my technique needs work but I also tend to not practice certain exercises like I should. Another big one for me are bar chords even when I turn my finger to the side instead of flat, there are still certain strings I can’t get to ring out with bar chords. Mainly the G and B strings.

[@LuffyToons]

I've looked everywhere on KZbin and there's not a single video that teaches properly. They all start at level 1, then 2, and then they all randomly jump to level 5 and skip other stuff expecting that i already have knowledge of that. NO. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, EXPLAIN IT TO ME... the frustration is impeccable

[@GeorgeKennell]

Yeah I understand this video when I was a beginner now I’m more of an intermediate player and I feel stuck again idk what I’m missing especially my soloing

[@scotttravis7245]

Finger dexterity/muscle memory and time to work on it. I started 3 or 4 years ago at age 52 and I know neuroplasticity ain't what it used to be which I'm sure is a factor. Also unsure of what road to go down for a better understanding of theory. I'm in the water but it's dark and I don't have a compass. Thoughts?

[@Mr.Krinkle]

Thanx Andrew, Playing 1-4-5's using triads around the neck, I occasionally (or often times) hit a wrong string depending on the string sets I'm strumming. Not clean sounding at all. Muting correctly would be one for me.

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

For some reason, the thought of recording myself playing is abjectly terrifying and I often refuse to do it.

[@jordanlfk]

understandable, i’ve been in the same place, just gotta find a place u can be comfortable in, or otherwise, whatever you’re trying to record won’t ever be recorded and no one will hear it yk, u can have so much anxiety and fear over something but if you never get out of your own way and do what you set out to do, it won’t be done, so it’s just really all in your own hands, and most importantly u just have to have fun with whatever it is you’re doing, do it bc you wanna do it, don’t let others influence your decisions or opinions or especially don’t let their judgement affect your desires to shine, u can go out and shine if u wanna go out and shine just go and do it ya know

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I TOTALLY understand that feeling. In the past, I felt like any time I turned on the camera, I'd play 10x worse. It took some time to really get used to it and realize that it's not like someone else is watching or judging me. It's really just an inanimate object in the room. Only do what you're comfortable with, but I promise that the fear goes away the more you do it.

[@jordanlfk]

@@andrewclarkeguitar so true, and it is just an inanimate object at the end of the day, we fear so much and get so anxious like we’re playing or singing infront of a packed crowd and make it bigger then what it really is but all it is, is you singing to yourself, so you might as well blow yourself away while ur the only one really listening, plus so tf what anyone else has to say or think, don’t compare yourself to anyone, compare your own abilities and accomplishments to your own abilities and accomplishments because that’s the one person you’re really against once u listen to the negativity and hate either from urself or other, and really the person who has u most should be yourself, there’s no need to compare when the unfulfilled potential is right at your fingertips, there’s no telling where you can go, we know where kurt cobain can go we know where jimi hendrix can go, but the most important question is where can u take yourself, rhetorically, the answer is beyond any unfathomable limitations

[@jaca-k]

the more you do it the easier it gets, and its one the most beneficial things you can do as you learn - basically the more you record yourself and listen back, the more of a musician you become, just like those people you listen to yourself (if that makes sense hah)

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

@jaca-k that I know. It's just that the beginning hurdle is like a wall. One that shoots flames and arrows and poisons you if you touch it.

[@christianiffland3729]

Seems like you made that video especially for me. 😂😂 Greetings from Germany

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Hahaha 😂

[@donaldburrus6942]

The main thing I've seen that keeps people back is wasting time on constant "lessons". Most just need to concentrate on learning repertoire. This will teach them technique.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I agree for the most part!

[@cyberspark4206]

What is holding me back and I know it is, is HOW the song is played. I can read tab just fine but I don't know when to use bar chords or like one solo video showed me when to use a modified sweep pick to play a fast lead part. I know how it's supposed to sound I don't know how it's supposed to be played

[@scorpionleader1967]

The problem isn't getting into intermediate, it's getting out of being forever intermediate. Beginner to intermediate to expert. We need more levels. I get frustrated that intermediate guitar takes forever to get to expert. Learn some scales your intermediate. Learn all chord types your still intermediate. Learn the notes on the guitar? Nope, still intermediate. Ok, Learn a bunch of songs, write a bunch of songs with melodic solos Still intermediate? Do I not play fast enough? I certainly don't feel expert, but after 35 years of on off playing, I feel better than intermediate, but the ceiling is too high to get out. Beginner is cowboy chords, power chords, and starting scales. Intermediate is where you build confidence. Expert is convincing yourself you are, in fact, an expert. Pro is convincing everyone else that you're an expert.🥰🥰🥰😝

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I COMPLETELY agree that we need more levels. The whole beginner, intermediate, advanced thing is just far too broad. However, I think the graduation beyond intermediate is super ambiguous because advanced (or expert or pro) looks wildly different depending on your goals. It's where players really start to specialize. Some folks get really into shredding. Others are into creating beautiful solo fingerstyle arrangements. While other players aim to become the tightest funk rhythm player. All different forms of "advanced" in my eyes. Once you get the basics down it's important to not be too hard on yourself. Enjoy the journey and don't get too hung up on where you fit in with everyone else.

[@rodmorrison47]

I've been a professional guitarist for nearly forty years and I would honestly say that, technique-wise, I never progressed beyond beginner standards. I guess I just have something that people want in their bands or on their recordings but I've never liked or rated my own playing and find most of what I've done unlistenable. In the early stages of semi-retirement now, at fifty five, I've taken up learning the guitar and I've discovered something that 13-year-old me certainly didn't have: patience. My sloppy fretting is becoming a thing of the past because I'm willing to take the time to address it, the way I used to hold the pick is starting to feel odd and I've realised I know a lot more music theory (perhaps not the vernacular but certainly the practical application) than I'd imagined. The missing element was always patience. Work on the exercises and scales and most efficient playing positions until you know them. If the stretch is too far, move it up the neck to where it's more comfortable. Get the muscle memory locked in. I don't harbour any expectations of turning into Yngwie Malmsteen any time soon but if I can achieve intermediate level shredding by sixty I'll be happy enough.

[@steve-zo4bf]

lets be honest, those people in youtube comments who say they've been playing for 30 years but just learned something new from watching a short about the pentatonic scale, probably only practiced a total of 10 hours or less over those 30 years, self teaching is almost never the way, even most geniuses start out with some kind of mentor

[@shhh3846]

I have been playing for about 8 months and 7 of them months have been me just learning chords and barre chords but in the past month I have challenged myself and learned a lot of finger style songs at first it was simple stuff like small town boy and other simple song’s then I challenged myself with abba the winner takes it all and from one of your videos the 221-2221 pattern helped me memorize that song and now I have fully learned how to play sultans of swing including both solos and the chords and the little licks in between would you say my next best option is to learn theory and scales cus i haven’t done that yet, I want to learn new songs but i only know some of the notes on guitar and the 221-2221 pattern

[@bjornerickson6075]

Music theory for sure... I guess as a 9-5 wage slave picking up guitar I tend to try and fit learning actual melodies to have a repertoire (currently Blackmore's Kingdom Mimmingen, Breton Dance and Minstrel Hall, plus Greensleeves) while also fitting in pentatonics scales and some legato practice scales. I've also discovered Carcassi etudes, each of which practice a specific technique.... BUT.... Time issues. I basically kill hours from my sleep to fit guitar into my busy life schedule often 30 minutes a day... Sometimes rarely an hour a day, and find that I'm learning quite slowly. Also, I know that some techniques with my current repertoire I am doing wrong but without having time to sit down with a teacher I don't have the opportunity to figure it out fast, so end up learning by trial and error. But thanks for the video man, I will think how to incorporate your comments into my practice regime

[@trevorgawdin2200]

But wait.... The ad that played right before this video said that learning music theory won't make me a better guitar player, and all I need is to memorize one simple pattern!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

😂😂 I know the exact ad you're talking about.

[@UnsuperableGenius]

Ι know my barre chords, sevenths, a few ninth dominant and other spicier chords, I can strum a few basic 4/4 and play some arpeggiated accompaniments. I know the minor pentatonic and major scales and recently began studying the blues scale. I am advanced in theory because I am an advanced singer, but the problem is I have no way to understand or judge my playing level, whether or not after years it has veered into intermediate territory or if i am just fooling around. What's more, I have a not great sense of rhythm that's innate and years of semi professional singing have only marginally improved that. So the question is, where do I go from here? I don't think I wish to become a shredder, I just want to be able to accompany myself and compose on my instrument. But I feel like there is a breakthrough just out of my reach.

[@ultimaterelaxationfocusmus317]

It takes time for me to identify next chord to play in a song (even a familiar one)

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Being able to "look ahead" to the next chord while playing the current one is really challenging. If you can, practice strumming a chord for as long as you want, at any tempo and with any strumming pattern, and visualize the next chord in your mind's eye. Think about what it looks like and more importantly how it feels. Once you're ready, make the change. If you work on it this way, without the pressure of HAVING to change to the next chord at a particular moment, you'll develop that skill in a safer environment.

[@biofuels69]

Being able to practice consistently bcz there's so much to learn and apply not only chords and chord changes but music theory as to what scale, what Key to play. I wrote down the cage theory, correction "circle of fifths" it'll take forever......

[@itsaron3958]

I guess I could need lil improvements on my chord changes (pretty common for beginners like me)

[@JC.77776]

Finding and taking the time to sit down and practice without getting distracted. Being an older guitarist , over 60 , is my lack of consistency with my guitar.

[@leahmccormick9639]

Whats been holding me back, is I first learned guitar 23 years ago. I played for a few years, then my guitar got stolen and didn't start playing again until a couple months ago. I am left handed and play a right handed guitar (my brother has a right handed guitar which I learned on). Up until a month ago, I have only used my fingers to strum and pick. I'm finding that using a pick is difficult for me due to my clumsy right hand. It feels very awkward. There are plenty of great guitarist that are leftys and play right handed, so I know it's possible. It's just going to take more work to get that rhythm using a pick with a non dominant hand, but I am determined!

[@TylerAStinson]

I’m more of a “forever intermediate” player

[@sukodoodle6808]

as a beginner who has just started out, this is a new fear unlocked

[@nomivix]

i’m 15 and just started i really hope to find other musicians who can make my ideal band with meeee

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be able to do it!

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

I see lots of tutorial videos, but they jump straight to all these terms I don't understand. Dominant 7 chords etc. Don't know all these. I used to just learn playing off tabs and don't know any basic music theory. Then I just get lost with what basic stuff I should start out with. All feels too overwhelming

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I hear you. It's hard when there's no set structure to it. I'd really recommend starting with a few of my basic theory videos if you have the time and energy. They should help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnmuqKKaibd-hJI kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHTMdZ-AmtWfY9E kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHTdkHydo7CSmLc

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

@@andrewclarkeguitar cheers mate, thank you very much. I shall give them a go for sure 😌 👌

[@Bopsterjazz]

I think I’m the inconsistent practice person. I have started and stopped so many times. I have a few different method books, but I want to learn songs I actually listen to, but it seems that what the books have taught me don’t connect with the songs I want to play, so I’ll be going good with the book for a while, then I’ll gain some confidence and/or get bored with the book, then go to Ultimate Guitar to look at tabs for a song I want to learn, only to find out that I don’t know any of those chords, and have the confidence and energy drained from me, so I stop.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

That can be a frustrating loop to get stuck in. I wish there was a simple solution I could give you. It's possible that the books you're trying to learn from aren't giving you a modern enough approach, but I can't say for sure.

[@billwhite9701]

Great video and informative Thank you

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to watch!

[@MeadowsOfSound]

The disconnected-pieces thing is right on the money! Also, not knowing how to articulate to someone what it is I want to learn, because I don't know what it is called. Also, not knowing where to go to get the overall norms of a given genre, so I can see how/where the new piece of info slots in.

[@Emrys345_Guitar]

Mine is no direction. I've gone from one "beginner" level thing to the next just repeating. A year later, I haven't learned a single song, but I know 5 pentatonic positions, 1 3nps pattern, all my bar and open chords, a few 7ths, but that's it.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

All the stuff you mentioned is important foundational stuff, so you're definitely not spinning your wheels which is good. Might be time to shift your focus into learning a song or two to keep things fun. :)

[@Emrys345_Guitar]

@andrewclarkeguitar any suggestions? I'm into most music from classic rock, blues rock, up hard rock a d country... I've been mostly into acoustic stuff though lately.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@Emrys345_Guitar I wish I did. But honestly, I'm not personally someone who learns songs unless it's for a gig, which I don't really do anymore. So I wouldn't say I'm qualified to suggest anything. I do think country is a solid place to look though, since the song stucture is usually simple and guitar is a heavy focus of the genre. As long as it's a song you enjoy and it's not going to take you too long to learn you can't go wrong.

[@devin6272]

I learned polyphia G.O.A.T and nothing else. I just like the song and it’s stuck in my head constantly. I don’t know anything else but smoke on the water and that is a fading memory. The issue I face is now learning anything without harmonics or crazy melodies I feel like I’m going backwards which isn’t true. I made a list of everything I plan to learn within the next 6 months like chords and where the notes are etc. I’m sure learning that song can give me a lot of good starting but I probably could have learned so much more instead of imitation alone.

[@anthonycandell5397]

Just started 1year ago. Tempo and strumming is the challenge.

[@CaptainBrash]

Where do I start!? I think not knowing how to improve. I've got some tab books, other guitar books, practice scales, watch videos to learn songs, occasionally try to learn some theory to see if I can tie it all together. I also have terrible rhythm and hate both of my guitars xD

[@Craig_KCfan]

I think my greatest challenge is that I love song writing and coming up with new music ideas… However I start out practicing um.. let’s say bar chords I suck at bar chords so I tell my self “ Today I’m working on bar chords” I start out that way but then I either hit a note some how and I’m like “ hey that sounded cool” and then I’m off plinking around and coming up with something and I move off bar chords😂 So I guess my lack of staying focused I guess you would call it… Plus my knowledge of keys and other chord shapes like for awhile I have known and have been using triads mostly because of trial and error and on how it sounds but if some one asked what chord I’m playing out side of the “ Cowboy Chords” I couldn’t tell ya.. That is until I watched your videos on triads and connecting the a Pentatonic scale ( still learning that one”.. Craig

[@ankitjangid1]

Dont know if its a bit late to ask, but i can't seem to get as clean pick/tap sound as i would want going across the strings. Maybe its high gain or improper technique??

[@daithiod]

Wonderful online lesson as usual. I'm a forever beginner (I think) but my students think I'm awesome. My forever beginner mode is becuase my hands are old and slow! Rhythm is no problem, but God help me, I can't (as far as I'm concerned) do a riff with speed for the life of me!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you for watching! Speed is overrated anyway 😅

[@3BeatSketcher]

Cutting my fingernails more regularly lol. I was surprised how much of a difference making sure my nails were short makes

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

So true! Really helps to always keep them short.

[@NiamhSinclair]

I've always struggled to start learning more solo and melodic playing, I'm okay at playing through a song with chords, but unsure how to start playing more the lead/ licks etc

[@keenang4705]

Im a lefty playing regularly righty guitar. My strumming hand has a hard time staying on best. Especially while trying to sing and play at the same time.

[@tonyfdesign]

Great video. And such a cool guitar!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you so much, Tony!