Learn to Play a Song on an Instrument

“The first song I learned was Amazing Grace which required me to simply strum up and down, up and down with my right hand and move my left hand just a few different ways. And on top of that, I slowed it waaaayyyy dooowwwwn. In the case of learning to play a song, taking it at the original tempo at the start is almost never the best way to learn. By playing downtempo, I find it much easier to grasp a song’s concepts and apply things that I’ve previously learned. Only once I felt comfortable playing Amazing Grace slowly did it speed it up. [...] I felt like I had actually accomplished something, like I had made a step toward proficiency.”

“Frequently, I’ve found my immediate response to being unable to find the right fingerings on the fretboard, properly sync my left and right hands when playing, or play a rhythm correctly to be frustration and a desire to put my guitar down and do something else. [...] In the first week or two that I began playing the guitar, my fingers were constantly red and sore from being unaccustomed to pressing on a hard fretboard. I persisted, though, and by playing just five minutes a day I built up callouses and gained some strength in my fingers. Now, I don’t struggle nearly as much with pain or pressing while playing.”

“Even though I had the challenge and a goal in mind, sometimes it was hard for me to really find the energy after a day of school, work and homework to play. Once I got into the swing of playing, however, it ended up being an enjoyable part of my day that I looked forward to; a time to unwind almost. The only other day-to-day struggle I faced was pain in my wrist. The special guitar I had did help with my fingers, but having to turn my wrist in a new way to play caused problems for me in the beginning. However, as time went on and I learned the best ways to hold my wrist, that slowly became less of a problem.”