Becoming Unstuck

Whether you have just started to play guitar or are a seasoned player, you may become “stuck” at some point. Finding yourself unable to progress beyond a particular level, caught in tiresome playing patterns or battling frozen creativity is no fun, but don’t despair – there ways out of your guitar rut!

If you feel that you are only temporarily frustrated or uninspired, check the list of suggestions at the end of this article for ways to get moving again. If, however, you’ve been stuck for a period of time, you’ll need to look more deeply into reasons and solutions.

Although a guitarist’s progress can become immobilized at any stage of playing, people often become stuck in one or more of the following stages.

Stuck in the Beginning Stage

I’ve taught lots of people who have spent thousands of dollars on instruments, books, videos, and lessons, only to be stuck in the beginning stage of playing. My heart really goes out to these people! 

These issues require help from someone who not only can spot the problem, but also can provide solutions. I do this by first observing the details of their perceptions and mental processes and the way they physically handle the guitar. I then create specific, individualized approaches and exercises to boost comprehension and mechanical facility.

This email I received from an Austin-based actor, Kevin Karwoski, describes how his guitar lessons with me helped him out of a painfully long beginning stage:

You taught me that there’s a difference between guitar lessons and guitar study. I’ve been wanting to learn guitar all my life, and went through five teachers over a lot of years before I found you. Those teachers were nice people and good guitar players, but they were poor instructors, compared to you. The last one came right out and told me that we had gone as far as we could go. That pattern of trying and quitting continued until I met you. You took me under your wing and with a LOT of patience, helped me recognize my bad habits. For example, I couldn’t play in time, but didn’t even know what a metronome was until I studied with you. Now I’m playing songs that I’ve always wanted to learn (and classical songs, too!) and I’m enjoying the instrument more than ever.

Kevin’s is a great success story. The things we did that helped him the most in becoming unstuck were improving his rhythmic skills, deepening his listening, and making use of efficient and effective practice methods. He’s a happy guitar player now!

Stuck in or Around the First Position

The next place that guitarists get stuck is in the first position. Guitar players often spend years avoiding songs that require barre chords or soloing up the neck of the guitar. Although it’s true that it’s wise to gain facility with first position chords before moving up the fretboard, once you have that facility, it’s time to move! A logical, organic approach combined with genuine support will change everything!

The experience that former student Anthony Toprac described – having played guitar for over thirty years, yet being “stuck at a modest level for many of those years” – is common to a great number of guitar players. In Anthony’s testimonial, he goes on to say that after studying with me, he was able to “break free to a higher plane of understanding and a level of playing skill (he) was never before able to reach.” The information that enabled Anthony to break free to that higher plane was gathered in a single, one-day workshop!

Stuck as a Competent and Respected Musician

Even experienced, competent guitarists get stuck sometimes. Guitar players who are working with a set library of chord voicings or scales may feel dissatisfied with their limited vocabulary. People who suffer this sort of dissatisfaction usually feel confident in the areas of finger strength and dexterity, but are bored by what they play.

If you fall into this category, you are a prime candidate for receiving empowering information! While you may be aware of the benefits of expanding your knowledge base, you may also be concerned about wasting precious time with endless or irrelevant study. It will be important to learn from someone who is sensitive to your goals and capable of efficiently guiding you toward them.

Here is what Austin singer-songwriter Tanya Winch reported about her lessons:

Before I started taking lessons from Charlotte, I would practice and practice my songs and never really seem to get any better.  However, after practicing and learning the exercises Charlotte suggested (and not yet even mastering them!), I have noticed a DRAMATIC difference in my playing.  Not only am I more relaxed and efficient, I am much more comfortable with moving on the fretboard.  It has really surprised me.  I have not noticed that with any of the other teachers I worked with.

Stuck Creatively

Many musically educated guitarists reach a point where they feel dissatisfied with their ability to express creatively. Members of this group may have studied music formally and may read standard notation, know theory or even teach music, yet are locked up when attempting to improvise, arrange or compose. I help these players to climb out of their box by giving them the tools they need to generate ideas, redirect established playing patterns and facilitate access to the right brain.

The following description of discovering and trusting the right brain is excerpted from and email I received from Marty Brickley:

I remember when you taught me how to find tonic. It reawakened in me the part that knows that not everything comes to us through reasoning thought – ahhh, a window pointing to the way of freedom! I remember that it was kind of like jumping off a cliff and trusting that my feet were going to find ground. I remember trying to reason it at first, and realizing I couldn’t, I just had to trust that something inside me would find it, and I was so surprised when I did. I know that may seem like a small thing. But, at that time in my life, it was a very important moment for me to begin retrieving a part of me that had been a source of pain and so I’d become afraid of it….so thanks!

How I Can Help

Regardless of how you’ve become stuck, I can help. When we meet, I will diagnose and address the issues that are holding you back. I may determine that we need to increase your music literacy or pump up your aural skills. Or, you might possess sufficient information, but need help putting it together in a way that serves your music. Perhaps your technique or posture is inhibiting your dexterity, strength or speed. You may be a victim of faulty practice habits or a limiting style of thinking. There are countless reasons for being stuck, but the good news is that there are more solutions than there are reasons!

Quick-Fixes for a Temporary Slump

Here is a list of things that you can do to put some fresh energy into your guitar playing. These practices will benefit your playing, even if you’re not stuck, so give them a try!

1. Create new technical or theory exercises on the fretboard
2. Move (gently!) into an area of your playing where you have diagnosed chronic resistance.
3. Take a song you’ve played the same way for a long time and do five different things with it. Try changing the tempo, chord voicings, or the picking or strumming pattern. Create new fills or leads. Add or rework and introduction or ending. You get the idea.
4. If you don’t already play with other people, start now! Join a jam, throw a music party, sign up for an open mic, or book a gig.
5. Jam with some music that is completely foreign to your usual style of playing.
6. Record yourself.
7. Teach someone else what you know.

If you’re stuck in the intermediate phase of playing, go to this article. You’ll discover the nine things that keep intermediate players stuck—and what you can do about them!

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