Well this will sound funny, but my Dad used to play guitar 30 years ago. When he picks up a guitar now, he plays better than he did 30 years ago, and he doesn’t know why, since he hasn’t touched a guitar for 30 years.
So, be patient with yourself. It will come.
If there is something that you are struggling with, then practice a different chord progression and move on. I remember when I was learning piano there were lines in pieces that I couldn’t play since I would become confused. I moved on from them, and now I can play those pieces with ease.
just keep at it, trust me,
Hi. When I was teaching myself to play guitar, I went at it with a passion. I mean, that guitar became an extension of myself for quite some time.
The one drawback was the development of calluses on my fingers. OUCH!
So for my learning time I switched from metal to nylon strings.
My point is, could it be the strings that are causing you to fumble?
No, I have heard other people say this!
Just try to develop a passion for it and go for it…..
ENJOY!!! :o)
Teaching yourself to play an instrument is always hard at first, but then it’s so rewarding once you start making progresses!
If you really can’t do it by yourself, try taking private lessons, you can find fairly cheap ones
You’ll be more motivated and helped
And if you want to try another instrument, well for most you need the “finger dexterity” but you could try the drums even if it’s not a melodic instrument
or you could try electronic music, composing with a computer.
Those are just suggestions
I had the same problem as you! For the first two years I played the drums, I just didnt get it. I practiced hard! All the time, but it just wasnt coming to me. In my third year I had a teacher teach me breathing exercises. He told me that I needed to relax, and enjoy the practice. Then, almost miraculously, things started to make sense. It became a lot easier to learn. It flowed the way it was supposed to.
The point is, you can try to hard. If you start to get frustrated trying to learn an arpeggio or cord, Stop! Breathe, relax. Then go back to it later when your calm. I know it sounds silly, but it works!
I also play the bass guitar. For a while I tried learning the guitar. For whatever reason, it didnt make sense to me. I never got the hang of swithching from one cord to another with difficulty. There were things I could do, just not that. When I picked up the bass, it just made sense. It is a much easier instrument to learn, Like the drums, but difficult to master.
You sound very commited, very passionate about music. Dont give up! Relax, it’ll comr to you….
Like everyone has said give it time. You have to be persistent with it. I have gone in and out of playing and that is the worst thing to do. If it is important just play some everyday, try different stuff (plucking, strumming, power chords, etc.) Also, if you haven’t tried it you should really learn scales but you said you knew the theory and then that would be something you would know this already.
check this out and laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQ…
smile and have fun … life is too short
Percussion instruments don’t all take the finger dexterity you seem troubled with. It could also be that the instruments you have tried playing just didn’t fit you correctly.
The cello is the most ergonomically correct instrument and may be easier for you.
You could also try looking at the wind instrument family. Trombone doesn’t need fast fingers, but needs a fast elbow/arm combo! Trumpet/Tuba/French Horn need 3 fast finger (or sometimes 4 or 5 depending).
You can probably just go to your local music shop and try some out to see what works best, or even signing up for band at school will let you try out a realm of instruments.
If you really want to stick with guitar, you can have a repair man fix the string height so you can play easier….or finding a good teacher (say at your local community college) could give you helpful techniques to build your fingers!
What specifically are you having difficulty with when you play the guitar? Switching between chords? String buzz? Finger picking?
What kind of guitar do you have? Do you use a pick? What weight?
also, acoustic guitars are easier to start on because lighter and with thinner strings… you might want to consider that =)
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