Being an intermediate guitar player should be an exciting step toward becoming a proficient guitarist.
However, I often encounter guitar players who still consider themselves to be at an intermediate level, despite having played the instrument for many years, even decades.
This is sometimes caused by shyness or imposter syndrome. That is, the player is actually at an advanced level, but because he is not a virtuoso, he tells people he is an intermediate so they don’t think he’s overestimating himself.
If you are one of these people, you might be interested in reading my article on imposter syndrome, which I personally struggle with.
This article is for people who have been practicing the guitar on a regular basis for a long time, and are really stuck at an intermediate level.
Although this is very common, it indicates that you are doing some things incorrectly.
And you’re here to find the causes and fix them.
Note: There is no one agreed upon definition for intermediate guitar level. For the purpose of this article, intermediate is defined as the stage where:
“You have mastered the fundamentals of playing the guitar but are yet unable to use them correctly and at will to compose, improvise, or learn new songs.”
Cause 1: You don’t have specific goals
It’s hard to achieve something if you don’t know exactly what you want to achieve.
If your goals are generic, such as “becoming a better guitar player,” you will learn things at random rather than in accordance with what you want to achieve.
Make your goals very specific, such as “I will become the lead guitarist in a heavy metal band.” I’ll learn how to improvise my own licks and solos, and eventually how to shred like a demon. Before I die, I want to have released at least one full-length album and had experience playing gigs and touring.”
Having specific goals causes a shift in thinking that leads to learning the right things at the right time.
Thus, you should start from writing down your primary goals with guitar playing and music, and get as specific as possible.
Before every practice session, ask yourself: “How will this practice item help me get closer towards my primary goals?”
This will provide you with a clear sense of direction and save you a lot of time spent practicing things that have little or no value in the big picture.
Cause 2: Your skills are unbalanced
One of the reasons you may be unable to do what you want on the guitar after years or decades of practice is that you have become very good at some skills while others are weak or non-existent.
If that’s the case, you may be stuck at an intermediate level because some of these weaknesses are limiting your strengths.
Let’s see this through some practical examples:
- A guitar player knows a lot of scales, arpeggios and chords, the name of all the notes on the fingerboard and can play pretty fast. However his sense of rhythm and his phrasing are very poor which prevents him from reaching his main goal of joining a band.
- A guitar player knows a lot of intermediate songs, some of which involve pretty complex guitar technique. He has a good sense of rhythm and can quickly learn a song if given the guitar tabs. But he becomes helpless without the tabs. His ear is not trained and he has no clue of how to compose or improvise music which prevents him from reaching his goal of writing his own songs.
- A guitar player is very creative and can improvise his own riffs and licks, but they sound sloppy. There’s a lot of unwanted string noise, the bends are out of tune and the vibrato is messy. This prevents him from reaching his goal of sharing his music with the world through the Internet.
In each case, the guitar player can quickly get unstuck by identifying the flaws that are undermining all his other abilities and directing the majority of his practice efforts toward improving in those areas.
Cause 3: Your skills are not integrated
Beginners spend most of their time learning new skills – how to hold the pick, press the notes, read guitar tabs, learn the first chords, easy songs, etc.
Some intermediate players get stuck in this mode and keep adding to their skills without spending time integrating the ones they already have.
If this is the reason you’re stuck, you need to spend less time practicing new skills and more time integrating the skills you’ve learned together.
For instance if you have learned:
- The minor pentatonic scale
- How to sequence a scale
- How to bend a string
- The name of the notes on the low strings of the fretboard
- Vibrato
You shouldn’t just be learning new scales, new sequences or new techniques but also spending time integrating the above 5 skills by creating licks and solos that make use of them.
After you learn something new, before going to next new thing, find ways to incorporate it with the things you already know.
Cause 4: Ignoring bad habits
If you are self-taught or did not have good teachers during your musical journey, you are likely to have picked up bad habits that you have reinforced rather than corrected over the years.
These bad habits can be related to both how you play the guitar (for example, how you hold the pick, where you place your finger when you fret a note, the position of your thumb, and so on) and how you practice (for example, whether you repeat a practice item enough times before learning the next).
Since these bad habits are specific to the way you learned I can’t show you how to correct them without meeting you in person.
If you think this is the reason why you’re stuck at intermediate stage, I strongly suggest that you find the best teacher that you can right now.
A guitar teacher who can identify what these bad habits are and show you how to fix them.
Why spend another minute reinforcing a bad habit?
Cause 5: Not practicing consistently
A reason why intermediate level took me longer than it should was due to my practicing habits.
I used to binge practice on the guitar for a day, or obsess with it for a week, then leave it hanging for a week or two, until I felt motivated to pick it up and start binging again.
Even though during these binges I sometimes put in long hours, progress was very slow because nothing beats consistent practicing, preferably daily.
Set a goal to practice for at least 5 minutes per day.
In many cases, you’ll start enjoying yourself and practice more, because getting started is the most difficult part.
However, even if you only practice for 5 minutes, you will have invested in consistency, which is essential for becoming a proficient guitar player.
Other factors
Based on observations of both my students and my own previous practicing habits, the above are the most common reasons people become stuck at intermediate guitar level.
If one (or more) of them is the reason you’re stuck, you might be surprised at how quickly you will see results once you fix it.
The following are some other factors that may be contributing to getting stuck:
- Practicing on an acoustic: Unless you play a genre of music where the sound and style of the acoustic or classical guitar is required, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t practice on an electric guitar – which feels easier to play. This is usually attributed to the fact that to get the notes from an acoustic you need to push the frets harder. However I frequently notice another reason why electric guitars are easier to play – on an electric you can easily see your hands.
If you’re stuck at intermediate level, and always play on an acoustic, the solution may lie at a nearby guitar center. - Toxic relationship with the metronome: If you never use a metronome or if you use it all the time while practicing, you are not using it correctly.
There are times when you shouldn’t be using the metronome such as when learning something new or when rhythmic accuracy is not the reason why you’re practicing that item.
There are other times where you need to focus on the rhythmic accuracy of your scales, arpeggios, licks and riffs. That’s when you need to switch the metronome on. - Cycle of fear: Earlier on I mentioned imposter syndrome and how some advanced guitar players dismiss themselves as intermediate (or even beginner) out of fear they are overvaluing themselves.
Imposter syndrome can happen at any stage and intermediate guitarists can get affected too. Not simply by addressing themselves as “beginners” with other people but also through fear, shame and frustration while practicing.
All this leads to unnecessary tension (which makes playing an item way harder than it should) and inefficient practicing habits.
If this is the reason why you’re stuck, getting unstuck on a practical level requires working on tension while playing (ex. Taking deep breaths before practicing, progressive muscle relaxation exercises etc.)
However you may also need to take care of psychological aspects, which may take longer to fix.
I’m not a psychologist and cannot give you that kind of advice, however I will suggest 3 things that have had a massive impact on me and the way I deal with imposter syndrome, and related issues like shyness and anxiety.
- Read books about self development. My author of choice in this field is Tony Robbins. When you’re in the path of self development, everything gets clearer and moves forward. This includes conquering fears that cause you anxiety while you practice.
- Speak kindly to yourself: Everyone hears a voice in their head chastising them for doing something wrong. This is healthy and helps us stay on the right track.
However, for people suffering from imposter syndrome, this voice is unreasonable, cruel, and expects us to do the impossible. Do not tell yourself, “I failed to get an accurate bend ten times.” Rather, tell yourself, “I’ve learned ten ways to play a bend incorrectly. I’m a step closer to getting bends right” - If you have serious issues with imposter syndrome and it’s affecting you in many areas of life, you may consider seeking the help of a therapist.
With the right therapist you will work on the causes that led to imposter syndrome and improve not just your guitar playing but your overall quality of life.
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