Biggest Barrier to Learning to Play Guitar

I have been playing guitar for over thirty years. In that time I have taught many a child and grown up how to play. I teach rhythm guitar for those that want to accompany themselves singing. I never taught lead or bass, since I don't play either and don't necessarily have the skill sets for those types of playing styles. But I can strum. And I can play every chord out there. I have come to realize that the biggest barrier to learning how to play guitar is practice time.

You might say this is not a big "ah-ha" but it was for me. For the longest time I thought my students weren't succeeding because of their technical skills like how they position there wrists and fingers, the way they hold their pick and how they strummed, many using full arm instead of the wrist. But in the long run, it all came down to practice.

My students had different levels of interest in learning to play, that didn't help either. But I don't count that. Any kid being forced to play something they don't want to play is hardly ever going to succeed. If you don't want to play, why would you bother learning? I never understood that. But I digress.

Practice time was the key..is the key. Now I'm not talking abou two hours a day (heck on steel strings your fingers might bleed and then the student definitly won't want to play) Consistant practice. Even fifteen minutes a couple times a day will get you there. Practice, practice, practice.

It is up to the teacher to understand the practice habits of the student and then work their "homework" around it, not the other way around. I had students that promised me twenty minutes a day. I took the time, worked it into a structure that would give them a little bit of everything on alternating days and had great success. And, wonder of wonders, the better the student played the more time they managed to find time to practice. Funny how that works.