Every guitarist hits that wall where watching someone else play starts to feel discouraging instead of inspiring. You hear someone tearing through an insane solo, and think, “Man, I’m way behind.”
But comparing your progress to other players is like comparing apples to oranges, it doesn’t push you forward, it just keeps you stuck.
Here’s how to break out of the comparison trap, stay motivated, and actually enjoy playing guitar again.
Comparison is the trap. It steals focus, breeds doubt, and makes practice stressful. Track your own reps, set tiny weekly goals, and measure progress against yesterday’s you.
Choose your YouTube feed (your Home, Subscriptions, Shorts, and recommended videos), pick lessons that match your level, and hide channels that spark comparison, practice with clear intent, and celebrate small wins. That’s how you build momentum and have more fun playing.
Maybe it’s the lightning-fast runs, maybe it’s their perfect tone or expensive setup. Whatever it is, it hits that little nerve that whispers, “You’ll never sound like that.”
The problem? That voice doesn’t just distract you, it can quietly kill your motivation before you realize what’s happening. And if you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or like you’re losing the joy of playing, comparison might be the reason.
It’s very important to find your motivation and inspiration in your guitar playing.
Remember, only compare yourself to yourself. This is the only way you will effectively progress as a player.
It’s completely normal to look up to other players. This inspiration keeps us moving forward.
But in the age of social media, it’s way too easy to forget that what you’re seeing is just the best 30 seconds of someone’s entire musical life. Behind every flashy solo is a pile of bad takes, stiff fingers, and rough sessions they didn’t post.
When we compare ourselves to those polished moments, we start chasing an illusion. Suddenly, your focus shifts from YOUR journey to THEIR progress and that’s when the fun starts to fade.
Guitar progress isn’t a straight line. Some players get good at fingerstyle fast; others take years just to feel comfortable with barre chords.
It doesn’t mean one is better, it just means you’re walking different paths. I’ve been playing for decades, and there were stretches where I didn’t feel like I was improving at all.
Later, I’d realize that those “stuck” phases were when I was actually building the skills that made the next breakthrough possible.
This will cost you more than you think. Don’t pile up tons of comparison debt that you’ll never be able to pay off.
Chasing someone else’s level of playing is exhausting. You might start practicing harder, but instead of feeling motivated, you feel tense and impatient. You’re no longer celebrating small wins, you’re grading yourself against someone else’s highlight reel.
That pressure builds fast. Eventually, you stop wanting to pick up the guitar at all because it feels like a reminder of what you’re not doing well enough.
When you start playing to “catch up,” you lose sight of why you picked up the guitar in the first place.
Instead of exploring sounds you love or writing guitar riffs that make you smile, you’re stuck trying to prove something. That mindset doesn’t just slow progress, it steals the joy that makes you want to play in the first place.
| Theme | What Happens When You Compare | Why It’s Harmful | What To Do Instead | Quick Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Voice | “You’ll never sound like that.” | Quietly kills motivation | Notice it; re-focus on your goals | Swap “I can’t” with “What can I learn?” |
| Social Media Highlights | You see only the best 30 seconds | Unrealistic bar; illusion chasing | Follow teachers; limit scroll time | Unfollow flex-only accounts |
| Progress Isn’t Linear | Feels like you’re falling behind | Misses hidden skill-building phases | Track your own progress | Monthly clips; simple practice log |
| Energy Drain | Tension, impatience, burnout | Avoids picking up the guitar | Celebrate small wins | “Clean F chord today = win” |
| Warped Motivation | Playing to “catch up” | Steals joy; slows growth | Play what you love; stay curious | Try a weird tuning or an old fave |
| Unfair Context | Different time, life, priorities | Apples-to-oranges comparison | Compare you vs. yesterday | 20 focused minutes > 5 scattered hours |
| Copying Idols | Chasing tone/speed/style | Boxes you in; blocks your voice | Learn, don’t clone | Borrow phrasing; keep your feel |
| Plateaus | “I’m not improving” | Quit before breakthroughs | Trust compounding practice | Skills form under the surface |
| Style Anxiety | “I don’t have a sound yet” | Paralysis; endless mimicry | Blend influences into your voice | Blues phrasing + rock tone |
| Lost “Why” | Chasing approval | Burnout; empty practice | Reconnect with your reason | Jam messy for fun; write 4 bars |
| Envy Loop | Jealousy at others’ solos | Resentment; avoidance | Turn envy into curiosity | Ask “How did they do that?” |
| Jam With People | Competing mindset | Isolation; pressure | Collaborate; connect | Friendly riff challenges |
| Comparison Debt | Never “enough” scorekeeping | Long-term mental fatigue | Set specific personal goals | “90 BPM clean by Friday” |
| Reframe Progress | Speed/songs as sole metric | Misses feel and expression | Measure confidence and connection | “Freer than last month?” |
| Core Principle | Comparing to others | Stalls growth | Compare you to you | Yesterday vs. today |
The path you decide to take is up to you, so why go on someone else’s path. Do your own thing.
No two guitarists have the same roadmap. Life, time, priorities, they all shape how we learn.
You might be learning after work or between family time. Another player might be practicing five hours a day. Comparing those situations isn’t fair, and honestly, it’s pointless.
The real question is: are you moving forward compared to yesterday? If the answer is yes, you’re doing just fine.
It’s awesome to borrow ideas or techniques from players you admire. But chasing their exact tone, style, or speed can box you in.
Instead, ask: What do I love about their playing? Is it their phrasing, their feel, their creativity?
Then, take that inspiration and twist it into something that feels like you. That’s how you start building your own unique sound.
PONDER THIS: “Agonizing over learning your favorite guitar hero’s solos note-for-note is a waste of time. It’s already been recorded and most of them don’t ever play their solos exactly the same. Be influenced by their FEEL and then blend this into your own playing.” -String Shock Steve
Here are some realistic steps to grow as a player and become the best version of yourself.
Stop chasing “better” and start chasing specific.
Maybe your goal is to nail a tricky riff cleanly, or to write one short solo that feels like you. Clear, measurable goals give you direction and small wins that fuel progress.
We forget how much we improve over time because progress feels slow in the moment.
Record short clips, jot down what you practiced, or keep a note on your phone.
Looking back a few months later, you’ll realize how much tighter, cleaner, or more confident you’ve become.
If scrolling through guitar videos makes you feel worse instead of inspired, take a break.
Follow players who teach, not just show off. Fill your feed with people who encourage learning, not comparison. Learn how to survive as a musician and protect your headspace, because it’s one of your most valuable tools as a musician.
Some of the biggest breakthroughs come from chasing curiosity, not perfection.
Try a weird tuning, explore a genre you’ve never played, or learn a song you loved in high school.
Curiosity leads to consistency and consistency leads to real growth.
Life always has roadblocks and guitar playing is no exception. As players, we all hit a wall from time to time. It’s a love/hate relationship that’s as real as it gets.
Everyone hits plateaus. The trick is to recognize that improvement often happens under the surface.
Even when it feels like you’re not getting better, your fingers, timing, and muscle memory are catching up. Keep showing up and your progress compounds over time.
We all start by copying someone. It’s how we learn. But your real voice comes from what you do differently.
Blend your influences. Mix a bit of your favorite blues phrasing with that rock tone you love. Don’t worry about being “original”, worry about being authentic.
If you ever feel “guitar burnout”, ask yourself: Why did I start playing guitar?
For most of us, it wasn’t for followers or competition, it was because playing felt good. Reconnect with that reason. Write something messy. Jam with no goal. Just play because you love it.
There was no internet when I started, so the only comparisons were of local bands around town or another newbie guitarist in my neighborhood. Then, the biggest mistake I could make was to compare myself to professional rockstars, my guitar idols.
What was I thinking? No clue, but it added unnecessary pressure to my already fragile ego. Comparing yourself to your rock idols will most certainly crush you. DON’T DO IT!
Fast-forward to the current digital age we’re in, there was a stretch where I spent more time watching guitar YouTube than actually touching my instrument.
Every time I saw someone rip through a solo, I’d think, “What’s the point?” It wasn’t that I didn’t love guitar, I just felt like I’d never measure up.
A friend finally called me out on it. He told me to stop trying to sound like everyone else and start chasing the sound that made me feel something.
Once I did, things changed fast.
I started enjoying practice again, even if it was just 20 minutes a day. Progress came back naturally and it felt way more satisfying because it was mine.
Everything starts in the mind and having a healthy mindset as a guitarist allows you to keep moving forward.
Playing with other musicians reminds you that music isn’t a competition, it’s connection.
You’ll learn, share, laugh, and screw up together. That kind of energy keeps you grounded.
The next time you see a guitarist do something amazing, instead of thinking “I’ll never play like that,” try:
“How are they doing that? What can I learn from it?”
Curiosity replaces jealousy with inspiration.
Don’t wait until you’re “good” to celebrate.
Nailed a clean F chord? Learned a new song by ear? That’s progress. Treat it like it matters because it does.
Grab your guitar bro and challenge each other to write a riff or jam over the same progression.
You’ll both grow, and it keeps practice lighthearted instead of stressful. Music should feel fun, not like homework.
Comparison pulls your focus off the work and onto the scoreboard. You start practicing for approval, not growth. That creates tension, shortens your attention span, and makes you avoid the guitar when it feels hard.
Real progress needs calm reps, clear feedback, and curiosity. Comparison swaps those for anxiety. Less practice, less joy, less momentum.
Use comparison like a map, not a mirror. Spot one thing you admire, then turn it into a small, personal goal. For example, borrow a phrasing idea, not the whole solo. Study their timing, not their speed.
Curiosity invites learning. Scorekeeping shuts it down.
Measure what you can control:
Clean notes at a set tempo
Relaxed hands and steady time
Daily or weekly consistency
Short recordings that show feel and tone
One tiny win per session
Track these for a month. You will see proof you are moving.
Set a simple rule, practice first, scroll later. Follow teachers and players who explain, not just flex. Mute accounts that trigger envy. Give yourself a time cap and stick to it.
If a clip stings, pause and ask, what can I learn from this, then try it for ten minutes. Action beats rumination.
No. Different lives, different lanes. Adults learn well with focused practice and clear goals. Twenty calm minutes with a timer can beat two scattered hours.
Your only fair comparison is you, yesterday. Keep the guitar in reach, show up often, and stack small wins. That is how progress sticks.
Progress isn’t how many songs you can shred or how fast you can sweep-pick.
It’s about feeling more confident, more expressive, and more connected to your playing than you did last month.
🔑When you stop chasing someone else’s timeline and start trusting your own, guitar stops being a contest, it becomes a conversation between you and the instrument.
And that’s the whole point, right?
So, pick up your guitar, play something you enjoy, and remind yourself: every note you play is another step on your own path.
You’re not behind, you’re just where you’re supposed to be.
(Because even after four decades, I still catch myself staring and comparing sometimes…the trick is knowing how to let it go.) – String Shock Steve ⚡
I’ve been playing guitar 40 years now; writing, recording, and rocking in bands. Randy Rhoads, Warren DiMartini, and of course, Jimi Hendrix all lit the fire for me, and I’ve been chasing that passion ever since.
