"Help! I'm still practicing but I just can't seem to make any progress."

Have you ever had a song or skill that you've been working on (maybe for weeks) and you're getting nowhere with it? I think all of us as guitarists have come across this at one time or another. I want to break it down for you as best I can here in this article.

First, it's good to realize that what you are experiencing is normal. I find it helpful to answer two distinct questions about the barrier you're facing:

1) Why can't I break through on this task? It seems like even things I already know seem to fall apart when I try to play through this one task.

2) What do I do to break through?

WHY CAN'T I BREAK THROUGH ON THIS TASK?

The short answer: You are now at the far outer reaches of your ability. Welcome to the "outer limits"!

The longer answer: If your brain were a CPU, it would be at about 98% capacity when you are playing this difficult song or exercise. You're just maxing out its ability to process all of the tasks of playing.

You may be able to play the notes involved slowly with no problem (Brain CPU Usage 60%). Or maybe you can even play the right rhythms occasionally (Brain CPU Usage 60%).

But when you try playing the correct notes, with the correct rhythms and feel, at the desired tempo, that's when things start to fall apart (Brain CPU Usage Maxed Out!). And once your brain gets maxed out, it starts dropping things — things that you could otherwise handle if your "processor" wasn't maxed out by the total load.

So that is what's happening neurologically (in the opinion of this non-brain-surgery-performing guitarist). But the good news is, unlike your computer, your brain will actually grow (and quite rapidly) in its ability to process all of these tasks. Which means...Today's impossible struggle is tomorrow's warm-up exercise.

WHAT DO I DO TO BREAK THROUGH?

In your guitar learning journey, you are going to be running into these "Wow, I just can't seem to get this" problems from time to time. The names change but the challenge appears over and over again: Barre Chords, Strumming, Pentatonic Scales — just fill in the blank with your "impossible struggle of the moment." I want to share my approach to these struggles.

Tips to Finding a Breakthrough on the Impossible Skill or Song

1) Break the Song Down Into Smaller Pieces— Take the song and split it up into bite-sized pieces. Start with 2-bar phrases. Work on the first two bars only, then the next two bars, and finally try to play them both together. I've heard this called "chunking" and it works miracles. "Chunk" your way through the song, eventually combining them together into bigger and bigger sections.

2) Take it Slow— When you are working out the finger gymnastics of a particular passage, go slow - ridiculously slow - so that you can train your muscles to do what they need to do. If you don't go slow, you'll go sloppy. And if you go sloppy, you'll just be creating habits that you'll have to spend time unlearning later. Only after the muscles are comfortable doing the proper moves should you begin to speed them up.

3) Learn to Work in Intervals— Work on the problem area for a while then put your guitar down and go do something else. I've seen this work time and time again. I'll be working on something, banging my head against some musical problem, making very little progress. Once I realize that I'm tangled in a ball of frustration, I'll put my guitar down and go play some basketball or something else for a few minutes. It's like my brain needs some "cool down" time. Once I come back after a time of doing another task, I can now (mysteriously) play through the problem. Go figure.

4) It's OK to Detour— If you aren't making any progress on a particular musical problem after many practice sessions, then "wipe the dust off your feet" and move on. In your guitar-learning journey you are going to occasionally run up against a song or musical problem that fits into this category. Don't let it stop your progress. Go around it... and keep moving.

There will be some songs or skills that are going to take a very long time to master. For instance, I think barre chords can fit into this category for most people. Some initially approach them as "Well, with a little bit of work, I'll get this. The last concept took 2 weeks to get, so I'm sure this will be the same." They don't realize that they may have come up against a "6 month" problem, not the normal "2 week" problem.

It's perfectly fine to think, "this is going to take longer than I thought." But it's not fine to let yourself get discouraged, confused, and frustrated. All of these musical problems will get mastered eventually. It's not a matter of "if" but "when." Some problems require a different approach or some different tools.

In no time at all, you'll be on to other challenges and you'll flip back nostalgically a few pages in your book and play that old problem song perfectly...easily. You'll smile and think to yourself, "Wow, I remember when I thought I would never be able to play that." As you progress in your ability you will be able to look back and see more and more of those "impossible struggles" in your rearview mirror.

Keep Learning & Growing!
Steve Krenz

P.S. Voting is still open for the 2011 Acoustic Guitar Magazine Player's Choice Awards. Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar was nominated, and your support in the voting is appreciated. You can vote here. Thank you!

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March Featured Student Profile

Name: Dagan Heaps Screen Name: "Dagbone" Gender: Male My city: Broken Arrow, OK   My instruments/gear: Manuel Rodriguez C3 Classical * Ibanez Artcore Semi-hollow body electric * Blueridge BR-341 parlor steel string * Takamine TF740FS fingerstyle steel string * Carvin Vintage 16 amp Favorite Artists/Bands: I love timeless Country/Western from artists like Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, The Carter Family, Bob Wills, John Denver, Glen Campbell, and George Strait. I also love Classic Rock/Metal from artists like Guns n' Roses, Van Halen, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Eagles, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Finally, I enjoy Big Band music and American Classics from Glen Miller, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, etc. Is that eclectic or what? Favorite style(s) to play: Very tough question, considering my taste in music. But I think I get the most fulfillment out of playing a nice solo fingerstyle piece, like Canon in D or Steve's arrangement of Silent Night. What made you want to play music?: I've always loved music, and I've always wanted to play the guitar. But watching Stevie Ray Vaughan play on Austin City Limits inspired me to get serious about it...which in turn led me to Learn & Master Guitar. Previous music experience: I remember learning how to play "The Letter (Give Me a Ticket for an Aeroplane)" on the guitar in 7th grade with a whole class full of kids. I enjoyed it so much I took some private lessons, but the instructor wasn't very good so I gave up. I just figured I didn't have what it took to play anything like my heroes...big mistake! If your house was on fire, which one piece of gear would you grab and why?: Another tough choice, but I'd have to go with the Manuel Rodriguez. It's my go-to guitar because it is so comfortable to play. It sits in a stand by my favorite chair, always at the ready. My favorite place to be when I'm playing music: I'd have to say my recliner chair in our sitting room on a cool morning in the fall with the windows up. My highest musical moment: Playing a simple fingerstyle accompaniment for my wife as she sang "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)" for our family at Christmas. A close second would be playing with my old country jam group on Tuesday nights and nailing a nice solo! Hobbies: Playing guitar pretty much consumes all of my free time. I may not be very good, but I’m dedicated! I do take a little time off now and then to play golf, though. Current Job: I'm the owner of a small business named Impressions in Stone (www.ImpressionsInStone.biz). We've been making manufactured stone veneer products for the building industry for 7 years.