A couple of years ago, during the summer holidays between university terms, I decided to give learning the acoustic guitar a shot. A flatmate of mine was moving out and left behind a fairly decent second-hand instrument, so I thought it would be a brilliant chance to pick up a creative hobby rather than just spending my evenings scrolling through social media.
To get started, I relied mostly on free tutorials on a video-sharing platform. Every evening after work, I would sit on the sofa and try to get the hang of basic open chords like G, C, and D. It looked straightforward enough when the online instructors demonstrated it, but in reality, it was surprisingly tough. My fingertips were completely numb after about ten minutes, and getting my fingers to transition smoothly between chords without pausing felt near impossible.
I kept at it for about three or four weeks, managing to strum along clumsily to a couple of simple folk tunes. However, once the new academic term kicked off, my schedule filled up rapidly with coursework and lectures. On top of that, I realised that without proper one-to-one guidance, I had hit a plateau and was picking up bad habits with my posture and strumming technique.
Ultimately, I ended up putting the guitar aside because I simply could not dedicate the regular, focused practice it required. I think musical instruments demand immense patience and muscle memory, and with my limited spare time, it just was not realistic to keep going. Still, it gave me a newfound appreciation for anyone who plays well.