If you’ve been playing guitar for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed something: some weeks everything clicks. Your fingers land where they’re supposed to. The song you’ve been working on finally sounds right. You walk away from practice thinking, “I’ve got this.”
And then the next week? Nothing works. The same song that sounded great three days ago falls apart. Your hands feel clumsy. You can’t figure out what changed.
This is completely normal. Every guitar player who has ever lived has experienced this — beginners, intermediates, and professionals. It’s not a sign that something is wrong. It’s just how learning works.
Progress Doesn't Move in a Straight Line
People expect improvement to be steady — a little better every day, every week, every month. But that’s not how it actually happens.
Real progress comes in waves. You’ll have a stretch where everything feels like it’s moving forward. Then you’ll hit a patch where it feels like you’ve stalled or even gone backward. And then one day, without warning, something unlocks and you jump to a level you didn’t know you were close to.
That flat stretch in the middle? That’s not wasted time. That’s your hands and your brain catching up to each other. The work is happening even when you can’t feel it yet.
The Danger of the Quiet Frustration
Here’s the thing I’ve learned after 30 years of teaching: most students don’t announce when they’re frustrated. They don’t call and say, “Hey Brian, I’m hitting a wall.” They just start showing up less. A student who was steady every Monday at five starts popping in randomly. Practice drops off. And eventually, they drift away — not because they stopped loving guitar, but because a rough patch convinced them they’d stopped making progress.
That’s the part that gets me, because almost every time it’s fixable. Maybe I’m pushing too hard and we need to shift focus for a while. Maybe we need to spend some time on something different to break the routine. Maybe they just need to hear that what they’re going through is temporary and that they’re closer to a breakthrough than they think.
But I can’t fix what I don’t know about.
What I'd Rather Have You Do
If you’re in a stretch where guitar doesn’t feel fun — where it feels more like a chore than something you look forward to — the worst thing you can do is quietly pull away.
The best thing you can do is tell me.
A quick call. A text. An email. It doesn’t have to be a big conversation. Just something like, “I’m not enjoying this as much right now” or “I feel stuck” is enough. Because once I know, I can adjust. I can change what we’re working on. I can pull back if I’ve been pushing too hard. I can push harder if you need more of a challenge. I can remind you how far you’ve come when you’ve lost sight of it.
Every student I’ve ever taught has hit rough patches. The ones who keep going aren’t the ones who never get frustrated — they’re the ones who let me help them through it.
The Other Side Is Worth It
Those flat stretches? They end. Every single time. And when they do, the jump in ability on the other side makes every frustrating practice session worth it.
The students who stick around long enough to experience that will tell you the same thing: the weeks where nothing felt like it was working were actually the weeks where the most important growth was happening.
So if you’re in one of those stretches right now — hang in there. And if you need to, reach out. That’s what I’m here for.
About The Author
Brian Fish is a professional guitarist who has been dedicated to helping other guitar players in Northeast Ohio pursue their musical dreams since 1994. He’s passionate about guiding others on their musical journey! He is the Guitar Playing Transformation Specialist, instructor, mentor, trainer, and coach at
Guitar Lessons Geauga.
Brian has also assisted people from around the globe in developing a solid sense of timing and enhancing their creativity through the fantastic rhythm course, “Ultimate Rhythm Mastery,” available at MusicTheoryForGuitar.com.
If you live in Geauga County / North East Ohio, Guitar Lessons Geauga can help you become the player you’ve always wanted to be.
