I know this is 'folk lore' around these parts.....
why oh why oh why etc...etc... is it that.........
I pick up my guitar and it instantly becomes a part of me one day...then the next it feels like an instrument of torture from the dark ages...it takes on a mind of its own and torments me...it frustrates the pants off me...shows me how humble I am....it reminds me of how much further I have to travel along the musician's path
but then...... I LOVE IT!!!!!! :lol:
am I masochist?......
...NO....I'm a guitarist
so to all the newbies out there......
keep going cus you already sold your soul to the devil :twisted:
I hear ya. Some days I can play no wrong.. Most days I can play no right... But I keep on playing.
Jim
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
DITTO for me.
Not sure what it is, focus, feel, the kind of day I'm having, but there are definetely days everything just seems to flow nicely. Granted, I haven't been at this long so, for me, having a "good" day could be something a simple as hitting a set of chord changes smoothly, or finally getting through a difficult part of a song I've been practicing, or getting all the strings to ring cleanly on a particular barre chord, etc.
Next day comes around and I could try practicing the same thing and its like "WHOSE FINGERS ARE THESE"
good days and bad days//!!! you bet. what time is it?
I think guitars have hidden 'humanizer' buttons on them. just when we think we're gods, the button is activated and the stoopid fumble finger ogre pops out and rubs our belly.
it keeps me in the game. I always want to find that player in me again.
I agree completely with dogbite! The guitar is such a humbling instrument (as I'm sure most instruments are). Some days I can pick, some I can strum, some I can do both, and some I can do none! :lol: But the bad days make you look forward to the good days!
Life is my friend
Rake it up to take it in
Wrap me in your cinnamon
Especially in Michigan
...well I could be your friend- RHCP
There are days when it just does't sound right. Those are rare latley though. Thank heavens!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
There are days when it just does't sound right. Those are rare latley though. Thank heavens!
It's the same way for me.
Some days you can record a song in one take, other days you keep messing it up until after about 10 attempts you actually realise it's going to be one of those days....
I've had one of those today. Wrote a song a couple of weeks ago for the Sunday Songwriter's forum, been gradually arranging the music for two guitars - one acoustic track, one electric. Came up with a nice, though fairly simple, fingerpicked riff that's constant through out the song. Had it nailed this afternoon - decided to record it tonight. Watched football, then fired up audacity.
Result? Nothing. Tried it half a dozen times, every single time I messed it up. Not even in the same place everytime, either - different every time. Gave it up, put the guitar down, decided to try again tomorrow.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Guitar plays with your mind. I don't think anyone knows that when they start, and that's good, because if they did they might take up another instrument, or not play at all. But guitar will always play with your mind. See those guys on stage like Yngwie Malmsteen or Steve Vai? I bet if you asked, they would tell you that some days guitar tortures them. It will never change, so get used to it.
I always compare it to Tiger Woods. Everybody knows he is the best golfer in the world. But I have seen him hit balls in the woods, in lakes, in sandtraps etc.... I don't care who you are and how much you practice, we are all human and have bad days. There have even been times when Tiger misses the cut. And he is the best. :twisted:
So, you've got to realize you will have bad days, lots of them. But just keep playing and playing and you will improve.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
A good friend of mine once told after his bad round of golf, "Some days you're the windshield, some days your the bug."
Hell, it's with anything, including work. Some days you just got it. Some days you don't. I've heard people say that how good they become when they are not having a bad day will help determine they're success.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
You know, I used to feel this way, but I have to say the guitar now is my oasis, a safety zone where things are usually consistent. Why? Because I decided to learn how to sing! To my mind there is nothing more frustrating (or scary, if one is performing) than singing. One day, it's all there :P the next day, nothing! :x I like to use the golf swing analogy--you correct one thing, and something else goes haywire!
Of course, this experience is my own, and I'm not at all diminishing the struggles of the guitar. Perhaps I feel this way because I'm not that good at guitar and don't put much stake into my guitar playing. I guess what you love the most is going to be most frustrating.
Now, about my wife.... :roll:
Best,
Jersey Jack
Man, I understand how you feel.
One thing is for sure, playing takes me away from worldly problems.
I like to look at it this way:
There are some things I can always do on the guitar. For example, if I pick it up and try to play an E minor chord, it will always work. I can't have a bad day when it comes to playing an E minor chord.
There are other things I can sometimes do on a good day. If I pick up the guitar and try to play "Blackbird" straight through, it will work some days, not others.
My goal is to move things (songs, techniques, etc.) from the "sometimes" category to the "always" category. The "always" group used to include just a few basic chords - now it includes a few songs, and the more I practice the more things become "always" possible. As long as the "always" category is growing, I'm making progress.
(There's also a "never" category, but I don't like to think about that.) :D
I like to look at it this way:
There are some things I can always do on the guitar. For example, if I pick it up and try to play an E minor chord, it will always work. I can't have a bad day when it comes to playing an E minor chord.
There are other things I can sometimes do on a good day. If I pick up the guitar and try to play "Blackbird" straight through, it will work some days, not others.
My goal is to move things (songs, techniques, etc.) from the "sometimes" category to the "always" category. The "always" group used to include just a few basic chords - now it includes a few songs, and the more I practice the more things become "always" possible. As long as the "always" category is growing, I'm making progress.
(There's also a "never" category, but I don't like to think about that.) :D
Yes...of course you are right...that is a great way of putting things too :!:
indeed there are plenty of things i can do straight off the bat......and everyday,without fail,i discover a little something new that inspires me to keep going forward....
I just hope this thread has helped a newbie or two to realise that they are not alone when the frustration bites :twisted:
Its ok. That's why the blues are played on the guitar.
