# What's The Hardest Part of Playing Guitar?



## Miscreant (Jul 16, 2019)

Other than making time for practice!

I'd break it down two ways: fretting hand or picking hand.

I'd say, hands down, the picking hand. I've been playing over 20 years and my fretting hand is fast and loose. There are problems and weaknesses, sure. But I've never really fought with it.

The picking hand, on the other hand, I still fight with, almost everyday. Really, it's the cross-picking. I try really, really hard--unless I want the effect of exclusive downpicking--to cross-pick everything. And I still get tripped up in it. The really hard part, I find, is picking from the inside, especially when moving *back up*. I almost always jump the string, unless I'm really relaxed and well-practiced.

And when I'm not well-practiced, the _first _thing that goes is my picking accuracy. \

What do you guys find tough?


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## JustinRhoads1980 (Jul 16, 2019)

Everything


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## Miscreant (Jul 16, 2019)

Still struggling with those Green Day powerchords, huh? 

Tough bro.


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## High Plains Drifter (Jul 16, 2019)

Forcing myself to keep practicing parts that are uncomfortable... subsequently... getting away from bad fretting & picking habits.


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## Mathemagician (Jul 16, 2019)

PRACTICING to a click. When what I want to do is PLAY whatever the fuck my hands want to do.


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## Anquished (Jul 19, 2019)

Sitting down and actually being disciplined enough to practice to a metronome. 

I get bored way too easily.


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## budda (Jul 19, 2019)

Sounds like the OP needs to practice at a slower speed.

The hardest part of guitar is coping with the steep learning curve.


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## jaxadam (Jul 19, 2019)

The hardest part about playing guitar? Dealing with other people who play guitar!


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## Joan Maal (Jul 19, 2019)

Have to hear things like "could you play any song of Coldplay?"


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## USMarine75 (Jul 19, 2019)

Staying married?


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 19, 2019)

jaxadam said:


> The hardest part about playing guitar? Dealing with other people who play guitar!



x1000000000000000000000


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## prlgmnr (Jul 19, 2019)

Being happy with what you _can _play more than worrying about what you can't.


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## Ilia Tilev (Jul 23, 2019)

For me it is always the fretting hand.. I seem to have a weird problem with my ring and middle finger.. They don't listen to me. But with slow meditated practice i think you can slowly diminish some problems.. My picking hand is weird i've never really paid to much attention to it since my fretting hand is so shitty  And since i'm really easily bored i've never really truly practiced guitar..I just noodle and record some music.


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## Stevie_B (Jul 23, 2019)

I found general orientation on the fretboard to be the most confusing thing.
Compared to how the notes are layed out on a piano keyboard, the guitar just seemed completely counterintuitive for a very long time.
Mick Goodrick's advice on playing single string "unitar" scales helped me a lot to actually feel like I'm not just playing memorized patterns and to understand scale degrees and distances between notes.


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## bostjan (Jul 23, 2019)

Playing guitar is super easy. Trying to interest other people in something is hard. Trying to interest other people in your guitar playing is super hard.


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## MYGFH (Jul 23, 2019)

Not enough time. This sleep and work stuff keeps getting in the way


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## BenjaminW (Jul 23, 2019)

I'd probably say not living up to people's expectations when you tell them you play guitar. 

I don't suck because I can't play Wonderwall or Free Bird, it's because I chose not to learn them and decided to learn other songs.


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## Mathemagician (Jul 23, 2019)

Joan Maal said:


> Have to hear things like "could you play any song of Coldplay?"



Look the answer is no. We both know I damn well can’t play 3 entire chords and all my music is single note stuff for a reason. No need to personally attack me like this bro. Now you want me to play a WHOLE SONG? No solo? Just like, a song? With strumming? A whole one? That doesn’t fit in between my sweep picking practice and overhand tapping practice.


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## Hollowway (Jul 24, 2019)

Realizing that I _still _can't get girls.


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## Drew (Aug 2, 2019)

This, easily:


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## GunpointMetal (Aug 14, 2019)

Thinking its a good idea to start a band and deal with other musicians on a regular basis. Having more theoretical knowledge than guitar ability.


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## GunpointMetal (Aug 14, 2019)

BenjaminW said:


> I'd probably say not living up to people's expectations when you tell them you play guitar.
> 
> I don't suck because I can't play Wonderwall or Free Bird, it's because I chose not to learn them and decided to learn other songs.


It really does boggle the average person's mind when you tell them that you only ever learned 1-2 songs from another artist all the way through. I didn't pick it up to play other people's songs, I picked it up to WRITE MUSIC. Or explaining to them that getting paid is tertiary concern.


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## Vyn (Aug 16, 2019)

The hardest part about playing guitar or any instrument for that matter is reminding yourself that you don't suck because someone can play XYZ and you can't. Everyone progresses at their own pace. Also reminding yourself that you are good at a certain technique or song or whatever in times when you're struggling with something else. Very easy to hate yourself and your playing if you're not careful.


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