Playing Guitar Is Not Rocket Science!

Playing guitar is not rocket science.

It doesn’t require a degree in engineering, years of intense study in an institution of higher learning, or a commitment of 20 hours a day in order to be successful.


It only requires a little bit of desire and passion. We play guitar to make and create music, to relieve stress, to relax, and to add something special to our lives.

For all those reasons and more, learning how to play the guitar should be fun!

I have friends that are passionate about playing golf. They get out on the golf course every chance they get.

They study golf. Some take golf lessons. They talk about golf. They eat and sleep golf.

Yet when they get on the golf course all civility seems to go out the window and they turn into angry wild creatures, tossing clubs,spewing cuss words, faces etched with frustration and hostility.

But still...they keep coming back for more!
I occasionally hear from students who are experiencing that kind of frustration with learning how to play the guitar.

They’re upset that their hands won’t “cooperate”, or they don’t seem to “get it”, or they’re convinced they just don’t have the “talent” for it.

However, there are other guitar students who plow through these periods of frustration seemingly with ease. Why is that? Because they’re having fun!!!

It’s just like my friends who play golf.

They may beat themselves up over a few bad shots, pitch a fit over a missed putt, or cry like a baby as their ball splashes into a water hazard – but at the end of the day (in some perverse way...) they’re having fun!

I’m reminded of that familiar saying...
“It’s not the destination – it’s the journey”...

Learn to embrace those periods of frustration.

Know that we all make mistakes and hit speed bumps on the road to becoming
successful on the guitar.

Know that none of us came out of the womb knowing how to play guitar.
Eric Clapton wasn’t born with a Strat in his hands while playing ‘Sunshine of Your Love’.

Every guitar player you’ve ever seen or heard had to sit down, at some point, and figure out how to play an E chord, or how to play a major scale, or a barre chord. It’s a process that we all go through in the beginning!

Also know that every time you pick up the guitar you are advancing, and improving and getting better.

Sometimes only in little,almost indiscernible steps, and other times in giant leaps.

But regardless of where you are on the road to success on theguitar, travel that road with the knowledge that the road never ends and that it’s a trip well worth taking.

Enjoy the ride and have fun!