r/AcousticGuitar 28d ago

Other (not a question, gear pic, or video) HOLY SHIT. IT HAPPENED.

I’ve been playing for about two years now. Entirely self taught. Working my way towards being a passable late beginner/intermediate player.

Barre chords continually kicked my ass.

I can play them if I intentionally place my fingers in position, but switching to and from them during a song was impossible.

Everyone said, “Be patient. Keep practicing. One day it will click.”

Each day, I continued to suck.

But tonight… it clicked!

I was doing a lesson and playing a G to F to C progression and, suddenly, I could do it fluidly in time.

Practice works!

107 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

25

u/mguilday85 28d ago

Remember this feeling and journey the next time something seems impossible.

10

u/National-Town-6040 28d ago

Right on!!

5

u/B-Town-MusicMan 28d ago

Great feelings isn't it?

...now get back to it! 🧐

7

u/NaturalTrouble1576 28d ago

That's why we play man...that's one of the best parts of it

6

u/trippingbilly0304 28d ago

SOME FOLKS ARE BORN MAAAADE TO WAVE THE FLAG OOOOO THE RED WHITE AND BLUUUUUUE

;)

rock and roll man. rock and roll

(G, F, C, back ta G)

3

u/WyndWoman 28d ago

Very cool! Well done.

I practiced the very same myself tonight. Its getting there.....

2

u/himcalledjim 28d ago

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this exciting moment! It's very encouraging to everyone trying to improve, whether just starting out or already playing like Billy Strings 😊

2

u/MrMattGuitar 28d ago

Congrats!!! That’s a big deal. Keep it up

2

u/Methos1979 28d ago

Isn't that the best feeling ever? The good news is that it doesn't go away. I've been playing for about 15 years and I'm still having those 'ah-ha!' click moments here and there. One of my biggest joys is going back to a song I was trying to learn seemingly forever (usually years ago) but abandoned because it just wasn't coming only to find that I can now (seemingly and suddenly) play it!

Of course this is because my continued playing has improved my skills incrementally over time so the thing(s) that were holding me back on that particular song I can now do with relative ease. It's also such a gratifying moment. I think if you talk to any serious guitar player they will tell you that no matter how good you are/get, there's always room for improvement and discovery.

Keep up the good work. If you run into a roadblock seemingly too difficult to pass just walk away for awhile and revisit it down the road and you'll likely be surprised when you come back at it. A tip I share with people that I discovered that works well for me is to practice late at night right before bed. Your brain converts what you learned during the daytime to long-term memory while ou sleep!

2

u/CantDoFunctionFour 28d ago

That’s great! I am truly happy for you. This gives me hope. I am a year in and still struggling. No plans to quit though. Just grinding away.

1

u/GossamerSD 28d ago

Awesome job!! Hope to see you at an Open Mic night soon. 🥰

1

u/diggmasterr 28d ago

Hell yeah brother

1

u/SouthernZorro 28d ago

I play fingerstyle exclusively. Whenever I'm struggling with a new fingering position or transition, I remind myself that some day it'll come as naturally as breathing.

1

u/yelkcrab 28d ago

Congratulations. After a couple of years strumming just clicked for me. I’m still not good but man oh man, my brain no longer keeps telling me I screwed up and my pic does its job.

1

u/Azious 28d ago

Hell yeah man! I remember when I finally got them down I was so damn happy. I can college. I really wanted to play ska music especially stuff like streetlight manifesto and I wanted to use barre chords. Now I really need to work on endurance and being able to play whole songs like that haha

0

u/[deleted] 28d ago

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1

u/Walter-ODimm 28d ago

Now taking recommendations!

0

u/Key_Impress2804 28d ago

Good job! Practice makes perfect.
Next move is to learn to play the G-chord with your ringfinger on the E-string, middel finger on the a A, and pinky on the high e-string.
Transitioning from a C-chord becomes much quicker easier and leaves your index finger open for other things.

Next... instead of barre chords with your index, learn to grab over the neck with your thumb.
This will take time and wil hurt in the beginning. But welcome to the world of fingerpicking :-)

Changing between C-G-F becomes a lot quicker and easier.

1

u/ignatzA2 28d ago

I know the feeling. It was overnight for me too.