Self criticism...

I'm finding the better I get, the more self-critical I am....

....

It's no good looking to beat yourself up all the time

:D :D :D

Vic

+1 to Vic's excellent post.

I know that I'm never going to be really good, but I also know that's mostly because some idiot inside my head keeps moving the damned goal posts. When I started I would have been happy to play 3 chords around a campfire, I didn't care how roughly. As soon as I got there I wanted more.... :roll: I may not be a patch on a pro player, but I'm certainly in far better class of crap than I was 2 or 3 years ago. Some days it's almost odour free... as long as you don't breathe too deeply..

But, like Roy, I sound pretty good until I hit the record button (well, to be honest, it's more the playback button that causes the trouble...) and then the stark reality of it all can't be avoided. So I've been spending a chunk of time over the past few weeks trying to learn how to use some decent software properly. If you can do that then you can fix up a whole heap of clunky stuff, even if you have to plod through bar by bar, or even write half of it in midi.

So far all I've done is acquired a few more layers to be mediocre at - added crap sound engineer, crap midi composer, and crap hardware/software setup dude to an already impressive array of crapness at various instruments...

But every now and then I catch glimpses of bits that work.... :mrgreen: :note1: :note2: :note1:

And it's still enormous fun, and deeply satisfying especially when I turn off the electricity to the machinery and also turn off the inner voice of the anal nit-picking control-freaky bastard that keeps beefing about my lack of instant genius at it all... and just have a quiet play for the joy of it..

Play on. How can you not. Even if the noise isn't always up to scratch, it's worth hanging in there just for the toys...

Cheers,

Chris

...sometimes i can 'zone' and even surprise myself....

THIS is the heardest thing to get by with guitar...or most anything else, for that matter.

You need to be "in the moment"...you said "zone". Okay. You know what I mean. This is a tough nut...distractions abound. For me, I have a mantra...and I see it at the bottom of every one of my posts.

So at least take some comfort in knowing that you ain't by no means alone!!!

Cat

Chris! Long time b'tween drinks!

Me? I've found an unambiguous measure of what self-criticism means: what do they pay you to play your guitar? I laugh about it. WHAT a bunch of turkeys! I'd do it all for nuthin'!!!

(Hope you've been well, matey!)

Cat

As I've improved, both as a guitarist and as a writer, I've noticed my recorded output has dropped considerably - I'm no longer willing to release a song for general listening unless it's pretty well close on perfect. Or as close as I can get, anyway.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Vic

It's the ONLY thing, Vic! Not good nor is it bad. No-one knows how you managed to come up with your stuff...so don't fret about it (pun intended!).

Tattoo this somewhere:

Yer only as good as your last punch!

cat

Chris! Long time b'tween drinks!

(Hope you've been well, matey!)

Cat

Hi Cat,

Yes, all's well here thanks. Just not playing guitar quite as much as before. Dividing the time between guitar, keyboards, etc and trying to learn the software too. I hope your studio build's still moving forward.

I'm still strumming a few chords with the group most weeks though. Maybe that's something that Ballybiker might find good for keeping the motivation going when things start to feel a bit stale? Playing with other people has a lot of advantages. Firstly, you share the work around, so in my case I can just add a few chords, or some quite modest contributions and yet the overall outcome can still be really good - because the others are doing a lot of it too. :) Of course you also get the benefit of other players enthusiasms, different ideas and general experience too. Even the disagreements can sometimes re-focus your attention.... :wink:

Cheers,

Chris

And it's still enormous fun, and deeply satisfying especially when I turn off the electricity to the machinery and also turn off the inner voice of the anal nit-picking control-freaky bastard that keeps beefing about my lack of instant genius at it all... and just have a quiet play for the joy of it...Chris

Chris!

Sounds idyllic. STILL think you've got the best verandah!

Yes, indeed...good advice. Ya need to ignore these distractions, of which I think is the greatest roadblock to not just playing guitar...but pretty much anything a person desires to do well. Adjust to the others around you is only gonna teach you more than you think you already know. Geez,I wish I could find some folks (nearby) to jam with. Only wallabies and kookaburra (and Fiercies) 'round here. I'm stuck playing to a structure that's gotta pay...on the other side of the earth...but I've had enough...so I said I was "cutting out to be with my family and to work on building the studio and so don't bother me".

Now...I need that little stirrup-bone replaced in my left ear: STAPEDOTOMY. Me=Chicken when it comes to microsurgery inside my head... :shock:

Hey...I just had an MRI of my head...and they found...nothing! :lol:

Cat

Self-analysis is good, but you have to be reasonable. You can't expect to play like your favorite artist who has been playing 15, 20, 30 years or more if you've only been playing a few years. It took them a long time to get good, it will take you some time too.

I think it is important to learn simple songs at first. There is nothing wrong with learning some simple songs with 3 or 4 chords with an easy strum. Get those down, many famous songs are very simple really. This will give you confidence and the desire to keep going on.

And as someone else said, Where is quitting going to get you? So, just patiently keep practicing, perfect the simple things you do know, and work on new material, in time you will get there. :D

Kind of alonmg these lines, I met up with a friend of mine this past weekend. He is a full-time musician and lives in a different part of the country, so I only really get to see him about once a year. I consider him somewhat of a mentor because he is really good about giving me honest, constructive criticism and he has been playing a lot longer than me. He let me play with him on stage at a performance, and he remarked how every time he sees me I have made a quantum leap in my ability.

Of sourse, his perspective is, only seeing me once a year, he can really tell the differecne in my playing, whereas It's harder for mee to see that since the improvement is really gradual over the year.

The lesson is, even if you think you aren't making headway, you probably are, as long as you are praticing and trying to improve.

thanks to all of you guys...

I kinda lost a grip when I posted this...blame some mighty fine rum :oops:

one minute of your time to watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgx2FRK4id4

sums up everything :D

8) 8) 8)

I think we're our worst critic,period.There's a lot of things that can help improve,like playing with other guitar players for example.I never set a high goal for my playing,but did reach the goal I aimed for.I never wanted to cop other players leads ,rather make my own.Now after years of playing rythym,and learning a few scales I done that. And I can copy other artists I like,like Jimi Hendrix.We all go thru this and it's frustrating,I know.It took me a year before I learned how to make a F chord and barre chords in general.Just recently on another forum,there was a player who recently took up the guitar......at age 70! That's enough to inspire me to try and get better.

I started playing guitar year 1994 then I stopped year 2000 for the reason of my work... i returned to play year 2007 when i found out that composers now may compose songs using computers.. it inspired me again to play upto present... and its so nice that theres a web, softwares, gears available anywhere..