As I sat down with my guitar this morning, trying to figure out the chord progression for Never Meant by American Football, it struck me how much learning this iconic emo track parallels the martial arts journey described in our reference material. You see, I've been playing guitar for about fifteen years now, and I've always found that mastering any skill - whether it's playing complex chord progressions or practicing martial arts - follows similar patterns of growth and development. That fighter's progression through wushu and kickboxing that Sangiao observed? That's exactly what happens when guitarists tackle challenging pieces like Never Meant.
Let me walk you through what makes this particular song both challenging and incredibly rewarding to learn. American Football's Never Meant features one of those guitar parts that looks deceptively simple on paper but requires significant finger dexterity and timing to execute properly. The opening riff alone uses about seven different chord shapes in the first fifteen seconds, with quick transitions between them. When I first attempted this song back in 2015, I probably spent three hours just getting the first measure to sound right. The math rock influence means you're dealing with unusual time signatures - primarily 6/4 time with occasional shifts that keep you on your toes.
The beauty of learning Never Meant lies in how it trains your hands to move in new ways. Much like how our martial artist from the reference material developed through different striking disciplines, guitarists develop their own "muscle memory vocabulary" through songs like this. I've found that students who master this piece typically improve their chord transition speed by approximately 40% across all their playing. The finger positioning requires what I call "spider walking" - where each finger operates independently rather than in the block shapes common to most rock music. It's the guitar equivalent of transitioning between wushu forms and kickboxing combinations - different disciplines that ultimately make you more versatile.
Now, here's where I might differ from some guitar teachers - I believe in learning the hard parts first rather than building up to them. With Never Meant, I always start students with the most technically challenging section, which occurs around the 1:20 mark where the tapping riff comes in. This approach reminds me of how serious martial artists often train - they don't avoid the difficult techniques, they embrace them as opportunities for growth. The tapping section uses eight notes per measure with a syncopated rhythm that trips up about 70% of players on their first attempt. But here's the secret - if you can get this part down, the rest of the song feels comparatively straightforward.
What most tutorial videos don't tell you is that the emotional quality of your playing matters as much as technical accuracy with this song. American Football's music has this wistful, nostalgic quality that comes through in the spaces between notes as much as the notes themselves. I've noticed that players who focus solely on hitting the right frets often miss the song's essence entirely. It's like our martial artist friend - the technical strikes are important, but it's how they flow together that creates true artistry. When I play Never Meant, I focus on letting the chords ring out fully, using subtle vibrato on the sustained notes, and paying attention to my picking dynamics to create emotional contrast.
The gear you use makes a noticeable difference too, though this is where personal preference really comes into play. For authentic tone, you'd want a Fender Jazzmaster through a clean amp setting with just a touch of reverb - that's what Mike Kinsella used on the original recording. But honestly? I've gotten great results with my Telecaster and a simple delay pedal. About 60% of the tone actually comes from your playing technique rather than your equipment. The light gauge strings (I prefer .009s) help with the extensive bending and finger stretching required, while a properly set-up action makes those complex chord shapes much more manageable.
I've taught this song to roughly 200 students over the past decade, and I've noticed distinct patterns in how people progress. The average learner takes about two weeks of consistent practice to play through the entire song without major mistakes, though mastering the subtle nuances might take months. The breakthrough usually happens when players stop thinking about individual finger placements and start feeling the natural flow of the progression. It's that same "aha" moment our martial artist experienced when different striking disciplines began to complement rather than conflict with each other. The song becomes not just a series of chords, but a cohesive musical statement.
What continues to fascinate me about Never Meant is how it serves as a gateway to more complex math rock and emo genres. Once you've conquered this piece, songs by bands like Tiny Moving Parts or This Town Needs Guns feel more approachable. It's like building your own musical martial arts repertoire - each new technique expands what you're capable of expressing. The song's popularity has created this wonderful community aspect too - I've met countless guitarists at shows who bonded over struggling with the same tricky passages. There's something special about that shared experience of working through a challenging piece of music.
Ultimately, learning Never Meant teaches you more than just guitar - it teaches patience, the value of breaking complex problems into manageable parts, and the satisfaction of mastering something that initially seemed impossible. Every time I return to this song, I discover new subtleties in the phrasing or dynamics that I'd previously missed. It's been seven years since I first learned it, and I'm still refining my interpretation. That's the mark of truly great music - it grows with you, revealing new depths as your skills and perspective evolve. So grab your guitar, embrace the challenge, and remember that every master was once a beginner who refused to give up.
