Your relationship to playing guitar is the most essential part of practicing and getting better. Always try to relax and have reasonable expectations. For instance, if you are working with tabs, just learn a small manageable section at a time. If you focus on the enjoyment of learning in the moment it will help you to stick with practicing more than if you are thinking about how good you should be or want to be.

Playing guitar well takes allot longer than most people think. It takes at least 5 years of considerable practice in order to perform live with any kind of professional proficiency. So until you reach that point don’t doubt yourself in terms of progress. Even when you get really good it is still most important to focus on the enjoyment of the beauty and quality of the sound you are producing.

You can tell when someone is thinking too much because the playing seems stiff and mechanical. So when you play tuitar try to just feel the music and concentrate on the moment. Not on what other people think, or what the meaning of the situation is in terms of thoughts about it. Just let yourself be. Just feel the music in your body.

That is called effortless mastery. Zen applied to guitar.

Dan-O