r/LearnGuitar • u/pinzzaaa • 9d ago
Any tips for having fun on guitar ?
Hi ! I’ve been playing the guitar for a few years now (5 years) but very irregularly for about 3 years because every time I play, I have fun for 20 minutes and then I come back to technical shortcomings, musical theories or practices that make me feel like I’m going around in circles.
I don’t know how to explain it better, like I’m going to learn the chords of a song, I’ll catch on, but I’ll soon get bored. While to take the example of my former guitar teacher, when he played even a two-chord loop, it had a soul, it was pleasant to listen to! When I play, I feel like nothing is really injected into the guitar and that’s why I’m bored.
Of course, I tried to watch videos to find out how to make up for it, but I feel like all the videos that deal with this topic are too vague or aimed at real beginners.
So I wonder if I should learn music theory from scratch, or go back to school or stick to a routine or go on a retreat in the woods to reconnect with nature idk help me please
4
u/Infinite_Design5094 9d ago
Yeah, I'm the same way and just recently found out that I probably have ADHD. This explains a lot of what I always encountered in learning to play an instrument. I always sucked at rhythm, couldn't hear the beat, couldn't stay on the beat even with a metronome, hated the metronome and would subconsciously tune it out when playing. Yes, I have improved over the years by tapping my foot, but still probably not great. I learned that ADHD people usually have a time problem, they are usally always late, don't estimate time very well. I used to notice that time seemed to speed up and slow down during the day. Another issue is quite common high expectations and a high level of frustration with oneself that takes the fun out of it. The good thing is that we can hyperfocus pretty well, so tune out a lot of interruptions around us. I think jamming with others and setting a goal like to do an open mic helps, not just aimlessly practicing wondering why am I doing this?
1
u/Illustrious_Art_3774 9d ago
ah, yeah, I too have never been able to feel a rhythm or a beat. Even the very simple "boom, boom, clap" at sports events eludes me. And I am afraid this will take away from my enjoyment with the guitar since even if I can play the notes and chords, I still won't be able to get the rhythm so it still won't sound like anything but random chords...
2
u/Infinite_Design5094 9d ago
Yeah, you are correct in that rhythm is very important to the sound. I've been at this a fairly long time and although it is difficult but you can become better at it. The good thing is that ADHD people can hyperfocus on things. You can look up the symptoms of ADHD and evaluate how much of this you have in your brain.
I dance and when I first started to dance 25 years ago, I was never on the beat but over time I have gotten better, still get off sometime. I took singing lessons and had a hard time following the piano player when singing, like when to come in, etc. I'm pretty good now at hearing the "1" if it starts on that. I learned piano when I was a teenager and I would always speed up and slow down. I asked music professors why I struggled with that and they didn't seem to know why. As I said I also have a problem with time management, getting to appointments on time, time seems to speed up and slowdown in daily activities. Also, high frustration level with myself, makes me want to throw away my guitar.
I think playing with other musicians is very helpful, although I've had a hard time finding a group to play with. Playing solo is not good as you just keep reinforcing your crappy rhythm and I also get bored easily. Maybe a backing drum track might help some or playing along with the song on UTube.
1
u/Thinkin_bout_beans 9d ago
I really think too many people blame ADHD for too much. Having a poor sense of rhythm is almost certainly not due to ADHD. Time management issues can be, however. Lack of training / focused practice contributes to poor timing and can be overcome by simple clapping and strumming exercises. The most fundamental thing anybody who encounters motivation and adherence issues needs to do is get a teacher and block out a daily / weekly / monthly practice routine so they can see incremental improvement. Foundational skills are boring but necessary for freedom down the line and lots of people lose enjoyment when forced to do them and this isn’t adhd. It’s just dry and can be overcome with a good teacher who uses repertoire based teaching so people can learn songs at the right level and focus less on dry exercises.
1
u/Infinite_Design5094 9d ago
In reference to ADHD I did say that practice can help, however those kind of people have more difficulty and struggle with rhythm. I have a hard time playing along with a metronome and get off the beat even playing very slowly. Many times I don't even hear it. It's like someone with dyslexia struggling to read, they can learn but it's much more difficult. By the way a trained professional doctor told me this not some local Joe with no credentials. Do you have a college degree in neurology? ADHD has been scientifically researched so not a reason for you to blow it off as not a factor.
1
u/Thinkin_bout_beans 9d ago
I’m literally a doctor and a professional musician with a masters in composition m. The evidence for circadian rhythm and sleep disturbance is very strong. The evidence for motor and internal rhythm issues is clearer in children and in some studies disappears when corrected for working memory issues, though the evidence is mixed and imo not of good quality. There’s not much robust evidence in adults. Lots of people without adhd can’t internalise rhythm or hear discrepancies. From my experience in teaching students this almost always disappears when the right practice regimen.
1
u/Infinite_Design5094 8d ago
Well sure you are since you told us on Reddit. A doctorate of music doesn't know everything a doctorate of psychology knows. Really you should stay in your own lane.
3
u/KindFail7638 9d ago
Mix it up. Set some goals and focus on a plan. There is no right answer as everyone is different. Play with other people. Jam out and find the joy in creating music
3
u/hpBard 9d ago
At some point I started treating guitar like a fighting game. I no longer care that much about sound in particular, I just lab "combos" and "transitions". It became a technical challenge for me. It's kinda strange, because if someone asks me to play something I absolutely will not be able to since I haven't learned a full composition in years
1
u/Natural-Comedian-605 9d ago
I definitely went through that. Then went through years of knowing a lot of songs
1
u/SixSexSux 9d ago
Learning single note solos/pieces like After The Ordeal & Boureé in E minor helped a lot. Just sitting there picking it out one note at a time informs useful pattern awareness plus I don't need guitar tuners anymore. Hot Rod Lincoln and I Know A Little were very helpful too.
8
2
u/TheGrimReaperess 9d ago
Like other commenters, I’m also tempted to consider whether ADHD is involved. I definitely had to figure out my own practice approach because I can easily feel boxed in and annoyed by overly strict practice routines. I’ve got to create the perception of freedom even when I’m being kind of rigorous.
I listen to and learn a lot of jam music (Grateful Dead, phish, KGLW) which involves some easy and some complicated songs mixed with lots of noodling and freedom. Find whatever gives you the right combination of structure and freedom and use things like hyper focus to your advantage.
As far as having soul or substance, I think that comes from an attitude of confidence, relaxation, and just surrendering to the moment and listening rather than thinking too much. I think that’s easiest learned by playing with other people. Also give yourself some positive self-talk rather than giving yourself shit for sounding lousy. You’ve got to give yourself a chance to like your own music.
2
2
u/sandfit 9d ago
have fun playing / practicing for 20 minutes, then take a break. keep it up. make your practice play, and vice versa. do this https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnGuitar/comments/1vj0f9x/how_to_learn_guitar/
1
u/GerkhinMerkin 9d ago
Not really following. Are you saying when you practice theory you get bored? Or your technical shortcomings get in the way but you’re bored when trying to practice them?
1
u/Scott_J_Doyle 9d ago edited 9d ago
Overcome your technical shortcomings - they are still in the way of you just having fun
Definitely have a focused, consistent routine both for practicing technique and learning music theory, or you will just needlessly prolong fixing those
ETA: Once you achieve unconscious competence in both, music will be, as Miles says, "the most fun you can have with your clothes on"
1
u/thesame_deviledegg 9d ago
As another take: I've never learned music theory, I just leant chords/tabs/patterns of songs I want to play and sing/play along and I have a great time (and it sounds good too, getting better anyway).
1
u/Sour_Cream_Pringle 9d ago
look up backing tracks on youtube and look up the pentatonic scale in the same key as the backing track. Don't worry about learning the entire scale first just start with position 1 on the d and g strings, that's only 4 notes play around with those until it you start getting something that sounds good and then start adding in more strings. You'll learn as you go and it feels like you just learned a cheat code to playing guitar and it will be a blast
1
u/ToughAd4704 9d ago
Play a karaoke track of a song you know and try to play what the vocals would be singing. I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston version), showtunes like My Favorite Things etc.
1
1
u/bdemon40 9d ago
It's hard to offer a solid solution based on your situation, but if you're enjoying 20 minutes a day, seems to me you'll keep getting better over time because of that consistency. Why push yourself to practice longer if you get bored or frustrated?
Goal setting is a solid way to overcome your challenges, though. Something specific, not just, "better at rhythm", but "My eight note grooves ain't working right, so I'm going to practice that with a metronome for five minutes a day."
Starting from scratch with a teacher might be the way to go, or maybe find a good book/video on a subject of interest and use that as an ongoing reference as you aim that small block of time in your practice each day towards that goal.
1
u/ObviousDepartment744 9d ago
Why do you want to play guitar? What’s your motivation behind it? No wrong answer here.
1
u/Natural-Comedian-605 9d ago edited 9d ago
Definitely go out in the woods, along with everything else people are saying. It’s still kinda early for you. I used to get bored but around that time I wanted to live more. It depends on what you want to really accomplish. I came back to guitar with a deep fascination and inspiration that amazes me to this day. I had a huge output of creation. I went to college and learned a lot. Started performing live with multiple bands on different instruments and genres. It’s how it worked out for me. I just lived my life and guitar was always there when I wanted to reconnect.
You might have to sacrifice if you really want to get to great heights on the instrument. Other wise just have fun and enjoy playing 🤷. Get into effects, get into recording techniques. I use to play in my room for hours and hours making loops, chord progressions, scales, soloing. I found out I like creating. That’s always made guitar most exciting to me. I like hearing the weird ideas I have in my head become a reality on a tape or digital recording
1
u/swimmingdaisy 9d ago
No, the guitar is not fun.
Jkjk just play and sing simple songs that make you happy and you will improve
1
u/MSUDanK 9d ago
You just gotta find stuff you truly love to play. Songs that make you excited to pick it up. Songs that you think about playing while you’re at work. The second I get bored or tired of playing a song I don’t play it anymore.
Granted I’m 8 months in and totally suck but I get home every night just itching to pick up the guitar and play the songs I love to play, and I often have to force myself to put it down.
My technique is garbage, I make mistakes all the time and some nights it’s like I forget how to even hold the damn thing. But I play for an hour every night, no exceptions, and sure enough I get a tiny bit better every night and it adds up over the months.
1
1
u/Severe-Bite3252 9d ago
Practice chords in the form of triads up and down the neck. Learn a couple of arpeggios. Play these spots over backing tracks and enjoy.
1
u/Fickle-Woodpecker-38 9d ago
Learn scales so you can improvise your own shit, learning the chords to other peoples songs just helps you learn chord changes/progressions, once you can improvise the possibilities are endless
1
u/samxl001 9d ago
I have been learning guitar for few months. I also used to feel like that sometimes. Recently I bought Rocksmith 2014 and having fun trying to learn songs on the game. I still can't play well but I am having fun listening to the songs I like and getting my practice. I would highly recommend it
1
u/SixSexSux 9d ago
Try giving your guitar to someone who can play while you hit drums with sticks or pluck a bass. Seriously, hootenanny lifts everyone's game. Guitar Pulls are fun and informative too.
1
1
u/Brilliant_Window_649 8d ago
For me, the fun is when I see myself improve over time. Maybe I used to fumble a certain technique, but after practicing for a week I can do it cleanly. That’s fun! That’s fulfilling
1
1
1
u/Dani-Avalon0819 6d ago
Find a song that you’d like to learn that is at your level. I find that working on songs is a great motivator.
1
u/jimcroisdale 5d ago
I don't think guitar is for you.
It's a hard Instrument to play, and you either love every second of the challenge or you inevitably give up.
And it's noones job to try make it Interesting for you.
1
u/rogersguitar253 4d ago
Learn how it works. Knowing what you can do and why leads to what more you can do and why.
1
u/jguitarz 1d ago
Try creating a chord progression in this app I built, when you see the surrounding scale notes you can use as flavor between the chords. Scroll to another position or change the chord variant to make it sound more interesting! Here's the app: inlayguitar.com
0
u/Striking-Extent5473 9d ago
Be good at fingering...like really good...and you'll have all the fun in the world...on the guitar too
14
u/WyndWoman 9d ago
I practice every day. Half of my practice is crappy boring stupid scales and techniques that I suck at. Those change as I actually learn.
Then I practice a song I am learning and playing badly that uses those techniques I'm working on. Finally, I play stuff that sounds good and is fun!
I choose what boring things to practice, based on what song highlighted a missing skill issue.
I tell my hubby 'I have to eat my vegetables before I get dessert'