Guitars aren't just instruments

January 2023 and as it is the month of declaring things I must do to create the new and improved “me”, I decided to learn the acoustic guitar.

It can’t be that hard, loads of people play the guitar. I can do this!

I go to a shop that sells guitars and instantly realise I want the awesome one that costs more that I should spend.

YouTube videos tell me that I shouldn’t buy those £50 Amazon guitars. They are the worst. To have any chance of learning the guitar I must have something that is constructed well and will assist in my future musical greatness.
 
I go for the a £200 guitar, looks beautiful and feels how I perceive an instrument should feel.

I purchase from my local guitar shop. He asks me if I want lessons, I respectfully decline. I just paid £200, I don’t need another expense added to this venture.

The internet can teach me everything I need to know.
 
Full disclosure. I’m not entirely new to the guitar. I tried to play 15 years ago, and got a little way along, learning songs in a campfire kind of way, nothing that qualifies to call me a guitarist. I don’t really have much experience to bring to this second attempt. I know the strings and how to tune with a tuner, not by ear. I have vivid memories of fingertips being in such pain. Good times.
 
I apply my basic knowledge, things are good. I look up tuition on the internet, I am relativity impressed with the choice of online stuff available. I pick a provider a well known manufacturer of guitars that provides online tuition for a monthly or annual fee. That annual fee is roughly the price of two face to face lessons, so it’s a bargain. Potentially hundreds of hours to learn from. High quality videos, from multiple angles to show hand placement. It has it all.
 
On to YouTube I go, headphones on and listening to classic rock songs, acoustic anthems, while dreaming that I will be wowing myself and others as I will one day be able to make my instrument sing beautifully.
 
I start at the beginning and spend about 30 minutes per day learning, my fingers are on fire! Not in a good way, like hurting, pressing down on steel strings is painful and there is no way to avoid the pain, I just have to wait to become harder. Literally the skin has to harden on my fingertips. It’s all coming back to me now.

The requirement for elastic hands is also paramount, my fingers are expected to stretch across the fret board elegantly, but I physically can’t reach positions.

Influenced by all those musicians playing awesome songs and here I am struggling to press down on a string and transitioning from a C to a G chord takes a marked amount of time and is accompanied by a mistimed down strum.
 
Despite realising I won’t be shredding the axe any time soon I persist and start to see small improvements but the going is hard, it’s brutal. My dreams of being able to play songs I know are fading into nothing.
 
About two months in and I am trying to play everyday but sometimes I can only last five minutes, then I start to miss days. Those days turn into weeks and so on. Progress morphs into defeat.
 
It isn’t all bad news though.
 
I am the proud owner of two fantastic guitar ornaments that hang in my home office. Yes I have two guitars. I can’t play either of them, but they look damn fine. I don’t seem to possess the skills required to communicate with them, but that doesn’t mean I’m going give up completely, I occasionally treat myself to hurting my fingers.
 
The mystery of not being able to take command of a stringed instrument is intriguing to me. It could also be that trying to sell guitars is a pain, as postage is a risky business so I’m stuck with them. It’s not the worst situation.
 
Playing an acoustic guitar is hard. It is a reality I am fully aware of now and I have the most respect for anyone who plays proficiently, it is a skill I will struggle to work with let alone master.

I can only assume that playing any instrument is like a journey that will never end. You can spend your whole life doing it and be potentially amazing, but I think there is always something new to learn.
 
Online tuition has a place for learning musical instruments but I think I made a mistake not taking face to face lessons. Having the right teacher showing you the fundamentals and install good habits is crucial.

The absolute most important part of playing a guitar is frequent practice. Apparently as little as fifteen minutes per day of solid practice is gold. That would be just over ninety-one hours a year. I am informed this level of commitment would show a significant improvement. I am yet to commit that long, so I can’t comment.

As for right now they look awesome in my home office.