Who doesn’t want to play guitar? Who hasn’t picked up or tried to play guitar before? I don’t know the stats, but when you consider guitar’s popularity, the drop out rate is a little concerning.
As someone who has played various instruments casually since childhood, guitar is certainly a whole nother beast. If I ever wanted to learn a song on piano after a 2 year break, I’d have no issue. I haven’t played clarinet in over 10 years, or viola in 5, but I’m sure getting back into it wouldn’t be that hard for me.
But guitar? Breaks can make you feel like you’re starting over again, and that may mean bearing the pain all over again too. It’s not a forgiving instrument, I will tell you that.
I do think more beginners would be willing to stick out the learning curve if they knew what to expect beforehand, so I’m here to tell you just that so your new guitar doesn’t end up in the closet.
1. Guitar = Pain
Out of all the instruments I’ve played in the past, guitar has certainly been the most painful. This may be a given for other string instruments like harp or cello, but just know that pain is to be expected. You will be pressing down on metal or nylon strings, and they’re going to be resisting it. It’s going to dig into your fingers and make it hard to play for more than 10 or so minutes your first few days.
How do you get over this pain? You need to play daily until your calluses kick in. Your fingers are going to be dry, then ugly and flaking for a few weeks. But eventually, your fingers will have built the defense needed so you can play guitar as long as you like.
Note: Some have hard, rough looking calluses forever, while some like me have soft fingers. There is a way to keep nice looking fingers, and I write about that in this article.
And while finger pain may be the most common, your wrists and arm may feel it too, and sometimes your neck as you look down while playing. Just something to expect. Practice good form, stretch regularly, and you’ll get over it soon.
2. You’re Not Going To Sound Good For Quite Some Time
Unlike a piano where you can make a note sound clear on your first day, or wind instruments like clarinet or saxophone where it may just take a few hours to get a good note out, guitar is another story. You are going to suck, and you’re going to sound like you suck for quite some time.
Guitar requires a lot of factors working together perfectly to sound good. Your fingers need to be pressing down on the strings with enough pressure, and without touching or muting the other strings. You need to hold your pick properly and pick or strum the strings firmly but smoothly. You need to coordinate your left and right hand to do all these things well and at the same time.
Even with a lot of musical knowledge, guitar requires a lot of technical aspects and muscle memory to play it well. It’s not something you can jump into and learn a song in a week or two. Any show that presents a beginner somehow learning to play and performing within a month or two is a lie. Don’t fall for it, and don’t feel discouraged when it doesn’t work that way for you.
3. The Skill Gap Will Be Discouraging
Advance players definitely make it look easy, don’t they? Strumming can’t be that hard? That solo sounds slow and easy, I could do that! Oh, how deceiving it could be.
When you start playing, you’ll very quickly realize how hard the instrument is. And even after playing for a year or two, there is still so much to learn and master to even get close to playing the complex songs you like or solos you see others playing.
Guitar is a lifelong path. It’s not about talent, but about persistence. Those who are great have probably been playing for 5, 10, or even 20 years. I started playing in my mid-20s, but other great guitarists around my age have been playing since childhood.
I can’t catch up to them right now, but I can remind myself that I’m not behind. It’s not that they have talents or that it was easy for them, it’s that they’ve practiced for ages. I can get there too if I’m consistent. I can’t rush the journey.
I really love this video from Music Is Win. It’s easy to feel alone, or like everyone is better than you, but we all go through the same things on our path. It was scary how accurate it was, even for me haha
4. The Basics are The Only “Easy” Part
When learning your first few open chords are over and you got your pentatonic scale down, you could stop there. There’s a whole lot you can do with the basics thankfully. You can also use a capo or stick with power chords. But, if you want to go beyond that, and create more original or unique songs and solos, you will need to get into harder stuff.
Barre chords is something every guitarist dreads. Open chords were difficult, but barre chords require you to fret every string with your index, and fret 1-3 other notes with your remaining fingers. It not only hurts, but it’s also something that takes ages to do well. If you avoid them, you won’t be able to play B, F, and many other chords, thus limiting you. There’s also full scales, arpeggios, triads, etc etc.
There is so, soooo much to learn. So much skills to develop, styles to understand and learn. It’s going to take a lot of practice and it’s going to be hard. Are you ready to commit? Actually, let me rewrite that-
5. You Need To Commit To This
Sure, you could play guitar once or twice a month for fun if that’s all you care to do, but if you ever want to really advance as a player, you NEED to practice regularly. Everyday preferably, but at least a few times a week minimum.
The longer your breaks are between playing, the quicker you’ll forget stuff and have to spend your next rehearsal remembering it. Muscle memory also requires regular practice, and muscle memory is what helps you transition chords or play solos easier.
You can easily jump back into other instruments, but to get good at guitar, commitment is a must. You need to maintain your calluses and you need to remember your chords and scales and songs and techniques and so much more.
Bonus: The Internet May/Will Be Your Worst Nightmare
Considering the popularity of guitar, there is loads of free videos and blogs out there for you to learn from. This may sound great at first, but as a beginner, you won’t know which have the best teachers, and blogs may overcomplicate concepts and confuse you.
A lot of the content is also intermediate or advance material. I find each channel has maybe a handful of beginner content, but everything else is more complex. You’ll be tempted to try these things out as it’s what you want to play, but that’s really not best. You really have to work your way up and learn how everything ties together, instead of learning bits and pieces of different techniques.
When I decided to try guitar again as my 2020 New Year Resolution, I had to face this battle myself. (In 2017 when I first picked up guitar, I didn’t have internet at home the first time. I had to print things out and figure what it meant out on my own. 6 months in, I invested in private lessons. My teacher saw a lot of potential in me…but then pushed me to do many things I’ve never done on the spot and I got discouraged). After browsing many videos, and seeing Guitar Trick ads a few times, I decided to give it a shot.
It’s honestly, one of the best decisions I’ve made. For the cost of 3 or 4 private lessons, I have access to a full library of teachers, lessons and concepts, and I can play as much or as little as I like. It really fill in the blanks in my playing, gave me songs in my skill level to practice, and is something I can always refer to.
Read this article for more details about my experience with GuitarTricks, or click here for a full access 2 week trial!
Conclusion
Guitar is not easy. As easy as it may appear, even the simplest things required hours, days, or months to do well all the time. However, if you are serious about learning and you stick it out, you will definitely have more fun with it and reap the benefits.
It’s not impossible to be a great guitarist, and depending on what you want to play, you can get pretty far with just the basics. Just be aware that it’s much more than ‘natural talent’ or musical knowledge. Guitar is all about practice, practice, and more practice.
I do hope you take the plunge into this wonderful and full-of-possibilities instrument. If you do, definitely connect with me on Instagram at @key2nostalgia. I’d love to talk and share any tips I have. You’ll also find inspiration as I’ve been recording my progress from near the beginning.
Also, subscribe to this blog, bookmark it, and be sure to look around for articles that may interest you. I write about topics I couldn’t really find information from elsewhere, and I share advice and guidance as a recent beginner myself.