Hopeless Student.
There's spot-on advice above from compart1 and axe2. To theirs I would add, "prioritize." That is, prioritize your playing and practice. Find a block of time that you can afford to dedicate to guitar and virtually never miss a practice session. If necessary, whittle out some time from something else if your day is already full. And if you can, gradually increase that dedicated time.
Just as important...maybe more so...have fun with music, guitar and GT.
-- Chet Atkins
Finding a great guitar teacher is not always easy to do but is definitely something that I would recommend keeping an eye out for as you continue to grow as a player. Don't let the bad experience with your local teacher dissuade you - there is a tremendous amount of value in having a dedicated teacher at your side to help accelerate your progress.
In the meantime, being a member of this forum will help you a lot whether you have a teacher you take regular lessons from or not. You are in a great place here. Everyone is very supportive and have great insight to offer - don't be afraid to ask questions about anything because you never know who may also have the same question that just hasn't asked yet.
Have fun with the site and make time for yourself to practice the guitar. You have access to a lot of really great instructors and material that you could benefit from greatly. It can be easy to be overwhelmed because there is so much to learn. Just like the other members suggested - think about what you want to do on the guitar and start working towards that. If you aren't sure how to get started working towards your specific goals, make a post and I am confident some of the members here can make suggestions on ways to get started and what to focus on.
Have fun!
A friend told me recently "I've never heard you play but you're better than any of my other friends". Think about that, you're already better than 90% of the world.
Hang in there.
Ampy
Find people who you can play music with. Don't worry about how well it sounds, just make noise. Get comfortable with jamming with others and you may well find that there are many people along the way who can help you. Be it a cool chord progression, a good lick, insight into theory or just a friend you can make music with. Just get together, get comfortable, and howl at the moon. That is how music got started in the first place.
Something I also found useful in gathering these groups is to have some percussion instruments available. 5 guitars all playing the same chords can easily get muttled and having a steady beat can really help keep everybody on track. It will also help you to get rhythum down deep in your spine, muscles, and bones... which is where you actually learn this stuff.
After all it all comes down to rhythum.
In fact I have always maintained that melody, lyrics, harmony, and tone color are all there just to keep the mind distracted while the bass and drums work the real magic. If you can get their asses moving, their hearts and minds will soon follow. When people dance, even if they have no clue about the deeper understanding of the music, it is rhythum that carries them. I have found that percussion is the easiest way to join in a song you don't know or don't yet have the guitar skill for. Make noise and keep at it.
MOST IMPORTANT... HAVE FUN. I repeat...HAVE FUN!
Captcha is a total pain in the........
How do we report SPAM here?
[u]Guitars:[/u] 2014 PRS Santana, 2013 PRS Paul's, 2009 PRS Hollowbody, 1972 Gibson ES-325, 2012 Fender Strat American Standard, 2012 Yamaha Pacifica, Martin M-36, Martin 000-15M, Seagull S6 Classic[br][u]Amps:[/u] Fender Blues Junior III, Boss Eband JS-10, Line 6 POD 500X, Quilter Microblock 45
It's been 6 years since the original post. I wonder how jdriver got on. We'll probably never know Ć°ÅøĖā
Welcome, John! As you can probably already tell, this is a good place with lots of support available.
I wonder if it's also a matter of timing. I tried to learn on and off for about ten years... would buy a guitar, I'd try for awhile and then it would sit in the corner, I'd sell it, then a little while would go by and I'd buy another one, try again, sell it... couldn't really get the hang of it.
Then this time, when I bought yet another guitar, something clicked and what had felt alien and clunky in my hands suddenly felt like it belonged there. I don't know what shifted, but something did.
Hopefully your time has come!
"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."