Learning guitar with me is vertical. Think of it as a building with a staircase running up the middle, and every lesson is another flight of stairs.
Each song we finish together is a flight completed. When you reach the top, a new floor unlocks. That floor is full of other songs at the same level, and they are waiting for you. You couldn't play any of them before. Now you can, because of the climb you just did.
It is supposed to be hard
I make you struggle, and that is on purpose. It works like the gym. Nobody lifts a heavy weight because they love the weight. They lift it so that carrying groceries, moving furniture and climbing stairs gets easier in daily life. The hard bar, the awkward chord change and the rhythm that won't sit are what make you functional on the instrument.
There are no shortcuts to the top of this building. There is no elevator. Getting there takes effort, persistence, dedication and a good dose of stubbornness. Some days you will have all four. Some days you will only have the stubbornness, and that is enough, because stubbornness is what gets you up the next step.
"I don't feel like I'm getting better"
Almost every student feels this at some point, and it is normal.
The reason is simple: a staircase has no windows. Inside the stairwell, every step looks like the one before it. Same wall, same railing, same effort. You can't feel your height from in there. You are climbing, but all you can see is the next step.
Progress on guitar is mostly invisible while it is happening. Your hands are building strength and coordination in ways you can't feel day to day, like a plant growing too slowly to watch. Then one day you play something that used to be impossible and realise you are several floors higher than you thought.
So when it feels like you are going nowhere, don't trust the feeling. Trust the staircase. Go back to a song from three months ago and play it. That is the window. Look down and see how far you have climbed.
Don't stare yourself blind
When you finish a song, step out onto the new floor and look around. Wander the corridor and try the other songs at that level. Notice what your hands can do now that they couldn't do a month ago. That is the payoff, and it is easy to miss when you are focused on the next flight.
A few other ways to picture it
A hiking trail. The steep section is tiring, but the view from the ridge is the reason you went. Turn around and look at how far you have come.
Learning a language. Grammar drills are tedious, but one day you understand a whole conversation without trying. Songs at a level work like that conversation.
A video game. Beating the boss unlocks the next world. The boss fight feels like hard work, but the new world is the reward.
Learning to drive. Early on you think about every mirror and pedal. Later you drive and talk at the same time. The skill sinks below conscious effort, and that is what each level builds.
Fog on a mountain. You can't see the summit or how high you are, but your legs know the climb. The fog lifts eventually, and you are always higher than it looked.
So keep climbing, and let me keep making it hard. Enjoy each floor you reach, because that is the point of the building.
See you on the next flight.