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[Michelle Lo]

Hey guys, I thought I’d introduce myself. I’m 18 years old, and have decent musical knowledge (played piano for a few years, passed my grade 6 piano exam and grade 5 theory exam) and I started playing guitar a few years ago because of Syn. I love Syn so much and he inspired me to play, and I was doing relatively alright (I self learnt some simple Beatles songs (chords) in a few weeks) but then I moved to boarding school so I abandoned my regular guitar playing, also because of exams and stuff so it has been a few years since I last played. I’m now back at home and last month I tried to pick up the guitar again, and it’s really stressing me out. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but I have depression and I’ve recently been feeling really down because of how much I fail at everything and I’m really upset because although my progress was alright before, I keep feeling like a failure because I feel like I’m not doing anything correctly. Sometimes I think it may be because I have small hands, (for reference, I’m a 5ft 1 female who weighs around 50kg so I have pretty tiny hands). I’ve been overthinking alot recently and this probably isn’t the right forum to discuss all this, but I have been extremely upset as well because in 2015 I was supposed to watch an Avenged Sevenfold show in Hong Kong (we rarely get any shows here) but my grandma had an emergency and went into hospital so I missed the show. I’ve been feeling really down because I really wanted to go and I already had tickets and this probably isn’t the right forum for it but I don’t know who else to tell. If there is any advice I would really appreciate it, regarding my guitar playing and how I could improve, also maybe how to stop obsessing over a missed concert. I am really considering flying over to the UK in June just to go to the Download concert, because I really want to see a7x once before I die.
Thanks all,
Michelle.

 

[idssdi]

Hey Michelle,
Just keep it up and continue playing. Perhaps upload some riffs so we can help you.
As for seeing A7x. They are doing a world tour right know so I assume you get to see them closer to home sometime.
Small hands can be a problem with some stretches but sometimes you can be creative with chord shapes and licks too. At least that is what I do.
Please don’t feel down because of this try to think of things you love to do and do thinga ypu like to do and don’t think about things that upset you so much.
Hope this helps a bit

 

[Michelle Lo]

Hi Ids,
Thank you for your response. I will try to upload some videos, and also for the a7x world tour, they’re not playing anywhere near me I live in Hong Kong which is in Asia, and they’re not playing any Asia tours I really want to see them once before I die, and I don’t know how long I will last. These past few months have been horrible for me so I’m considering going to the UK to see their concert, just one last thing for myself that will make me happy.
Again, thanks for the reply.

 

[idssdi]

Hi Michelle,
You’re only 18, don’t say things like this. If you really feel this bad, Try to find some help near you so you can feel better.
As for shows in Asia. It seems they usually do some shows in Asia near the end of their touring cycle. Going to Download is also cool. You can see Guns N’ Roses too

 

[Michelle Lo]

Hi Ids,
I’m seeing a psychiatrist and I’m on medication, and yeah I am considering going to Download.
Thanks for your response,
Michelle

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Hey Michelle,
Cool you’re here. I know myself that guitar playing can be frustrating, especially when you are in a bad mood. Just don’t rush things, take it slow. Maybe you are awaiting to progress too fast. If you are interested in guitar playing then just keep it on and it will come. And to the other topic, I am 19 years old but managed to never feel down over a too long time. I guess the trick is just to carry on and always set new goals, find new things to enjoy, maybe like playing guitar and getting in touch with people in the school

 

[Jen Hapke]

Hi,
to some extent I know how you are feeling.
Sometimes it really helps me to play guitar. I just try to enjoy the time and do something I like. And I try to think that I don’t have to be that good at it. I probably never do it as a profecional.
In these cases I just play something I can play easily and have fun with it. I can forget about all the s*** around me while I play guitar.
This works most the time. Maybe this will be the same way for you. Maybe there is something different that works for you. Just try it.
If you can afford to go to Download I’ll recommend you to do so. There will be many awesome bands and you will have a blast. As I was in my last year of my bachelor’s degree I had to get out of all the stress and I went to Rock im Park for only one day. And it gave me some strength to get through the hard weeks even though it costed work time.
I hope you will feel better soon (I know it’s difficult).

 

[John Tierney]

Hi Michelle,
I totally understand where you are coming from. I myself have ADHD, anxiety and minor depression, also I am consistently surrounded by people who are very talented and successful while I’m just meh. What I do is keep reminding myself that they sucked at one point in their life and I just spoke with them and I quickly realized that I knew a lot more stuff than them given I had much less time on the instrument. How I mainly learned was a program called Rocksmith, its like guitar hero but you use an actual guitar, this taught me a lot of stuff and gave me more confidence. Then I joined this school and my theory knowledge sky rocketed.
Just remember that in this journey there will always be someone better than you and they learn differently in both rate and quality. Find a method that you can learn from and just keep practicing. As far as the concert aspect goes, if you can swing the UK and REALLY want to do it, then go for it. Just remember your young so there will be other opportunities more than likely to see A7X.
Also keep getting inspired by just listening to songs that you like and think on what are they doing? I hope this helps Michelle, just remember if this was easy then everyone would do it so when you finally nail it, that feeling is just amazing.

 

[Ben Thorpe]

All hardship is temporary. Don’t forget that!