Hi Keith and LawDog,

I think we've all been there. It's easy to learn new things at a basic level, but it's getting to the next levels that presents the most challenge. You may have answered your own question. You upped your practice time to 3 hrs a day. That's a lot. I might do that on weekends, but I pay for it afterwards with fingers that feel like they've been in a vice. You might be burning yourself out. I agree with what Bill said. Step back, maybe take a little time off from it. Use the time to remember why you took this hobby up. It'll come back to ya. If it doesn't then maybe you've come full circle with it and there is no shame in that. I know we all want to conquer our battles and never give up on things we started, but if something is not fun why do it. Whenever I have a bad practice session (which happens a lot) and feel like I wanna give up I just put it away for another day. When I pick it back up it's a different feeling altogether. Fingers go where they need to go and the guitar sounds great and then the joy comes back to me.

I would suggest however, if you get to that point and ready to put those instruments on craigslist go back to some of the earlier lessons you were taught in Fundamentals 1 &2.

When your now able to play the songs and melodies with so much more ease then when you first learned them it might rekindle some of that fun again. It's worth a shot. Also try new songs. Not just songs that are in your comfort zone, but songs you really want to play. In the end this journey is different for everyone. This site has been around for quite some time and I'm sure there have been thousands of users by then. Some have stayed, others moved on. Maybe there journey ended quickly or they just continued it somewhere else. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

As for LawDog I would post your question directly to Lisa in her forum thread. She can give you the best advice as to pace of lessons and when it's time to move on. I myself just play the songs she teaches afterwards because they incorporate the lessons into the song. That's how you get good at playing the chords. Just play the songs after and there is your practice session. Also check the songs in the library. Look for ones that say Made Easy afterward. Some of them have only two or three chords in them and they repeat throughout the song. Lynrd Skynrd (sp) Simple Man made Easy is a perfect example. It's four minutes of C,G, and Am with a little bit of Am7 optional thrown in. Even if you hate this song after four minutes of switching between those chords you'll have it down trust me. This is how I practice. I hate doing scales and drills but I understand their importance.

Moe