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"Hi Max,

I've been attempting to learn guitar for years and now it seems I keep playing the same things over and over again, and really not getting anywhere.
I can do the basic strum patterns and open chord progressions. I know the 5 pentatonic scales and learning my barre chords. As far as theory I know
some basics like where the C and A's are on the fretboard and the notes on the E strings and the A string.

As far as the scales I play them up and down with each scale and can go through all of them ascending and descending on the fretboard. Im not
musical and really don't know phrasing and such and really can't make the scales sound musical, just very basic. I have purchased every course dvd
and even online memberships and I just give up and get bored. I hop around from course to course and learn little from each. Im trying to go through
levels of guitar's website but its so boring with the exercises and practicing drills I don't really enjoy tedious exercises.

After years of practice what I just mentioned above is all I have learned with the exception that I just started finally attempting to learn a song. I can't
believe after years of effort I can play anything. Everyone has different opinions about learning. One will say learn fundamentals , the next one will say
learn songs, so confusing. My practice sessions I go through my scales and I try to do different sequences within the scale to try to make it sound musical.

I can hear in my head what I want to do but its sounds terrible when I try to play it. ….. I strum the open chords in different progression as well as beginning
strumming of my barre chords. But that is about it and i'm about to go crazy and pull my hair out.

After years of effort there has to be a better way. It seems everyone that plays can really play except me, its so frustrating. I enjoy listening to you and like
your approach and how you explain things , from what i've seen so far. I just want to make music and just play and make my guitars sing with soul., like you.

I love classic rock and the blues, Im 54 years old so I love the greats, because they are a dying breed. As far as your courses I like the blues basics, big bag o
blues, do the overlap one another or no. I like fretboard fundamentals, simple lead guitar or would your online course be better suited for me. .

Which is the best approach and what do you suggest to get me where I need to be, like you. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated."

Thanks for the comment Alan! Please keep an eye on this thread for comments and suggestions from those that have been through similar challenges.

Hi Alan, thanks for writing to me. I can totally understand your frustration and don't worry, many people go through this type of situation. There are many facets to learning guitar, and playing music is usually the end result of practicing fundamentals. I have always had great success in teaching students how to improve through a mixture of technique and theory, and then applying both of those to a song in order to give them context and applicability in a real musical scenario.

It sounds like you have a good understanding of certain techniques and theoretical concepts, but are lacking the ability to put them into practice. Without seeing you play its hard to give you a detailed analysis of where you should focus your efforts. Generally speaking, practicing technique is very useful, but there needs to be a specific goal in mind. Simply running scales for the sake of running them is not very useful and will easily lead to frustration, and most likely building in bad technical habits. If you'd like, feel free to send me a video of you playing and I can address certain issues that I see and give you some tips on where to go. My email is [email protected] Since each person has a unique situation and is at a different point in their musical development, my advice really has to be tailored to each individual and where they currently stand. That being said, if your goal is to learn to play the blues and rock songs of the 50s, 60s, and 70's, it is very important to learn other peoples music. Try learning the intro to Purple Haze or Whole Lotta Love or some blues rock songs like that. Once you can comfortably remember the notes and somewhat play the riffs, try to slow it down and execute each note deliberately with correct timing. Using a metronome is a must for any musician. If you don't know how to use one, let me know and I can help you with that.

Overall, it seems like you may be on the right path but are most likely stuck repeating the same things each time you play. This is very common and can easily be overcome with some new material. Feel free to reach out and tell me your thoughts and if possible, be as specific as you can about what issues you are having,

I would add: get used to being bored stiff. Be patient. Learning new stuff -- like a new chord -- can be a real slog. A chore. You sometimes have to do it a billion times before you get it. But once you do, it's a real feeling of accomplishment, because it is!

I think this might be the biggest barrier for most people. It had always been one for me, and still sometimes is. But once I got to the point where I knew something was going to take a lot of work, and accepted that hard reality, I made tons of progress. One thing I keep reminding myself: if you can physically do something once, and slowly, eventually you'll be able to do it fast and without even thinking about it. If you put in the time and work. The fact that you're unable to do something doesn't mean you *can't* do it, it means you have to work at it.