I know there have been a few threads like this, but I wanna make one.
It really saddens me when a person picks up the guitar and then quits a month later, its like a baby dying, sorry for saying that o.o, but it is!
I started playing when I was 13, and lol I sucked, and didnt like it that much, I was treating it like a chore, and I kept at it only because my mom had bought me the guitar and I would feel too bad if I just stopped playing. So you know something happened ( :P teenaged heartbreak ) and I started playing guitar, I played guitar for hours and hours, maybe because I had nothing else to do, maybe because it stopped me from thinking and stuff, but I realized that i loved it.
So then I started to play guitar, like every day alot of time not because I would feel bad, but because I needed to play ( to appease my broken hearted woes xD ) and I needed my time with the guitar, and time gradually got longer, an hour a day turned to an hour and a half turned to 2 hours turned to 3 hours a day, and now I keep a guitar in my room, and a guitar downstairs, and a guitar in the basement, to play whenever I feel like it, so thats when I started to get good and serious about everything.
And now my days are spent either here, in the theory forum and around here, just asking questions, or playing my guitar :D.
I understand that people have a life, and problems and distractions, and before I started my parasitic ( oh yes I live off of it :P ) relationship with the guitar, I didnt care much for it. And also it can be frustrating when you start, but why oh why?
yes, lol, I get really frustrated when people give up on the guitar, its like a gift we must share with the world :P.
ahh this post I dont know what its about, but just to give it some discussion.
Why do you think people give up ? not just on guitar, but on all kinds of stuff.
I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)
You gotta set your sights high to get high!
Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.
( wise stuff man! )
Its Kirby....
Everyone who's ever picked up a guitar has gone through that initial period of self doubt.
"Oh Man, I'll NEVER be any good at this...."
"Oh man, my fingers HURT!"
"Oh, dear, I absolutely suck at this - I'll never be able to do it."
"Hey, I managed to change between E and A today!"
"Hey, I played Horse With No Name!"
and a few months (OK, maybe years....) later.....
"Hey, I managed the solo from (insert song title here)...
"Hey, I understand the minor pentatonic...."
"Oh, wow, this time I really NAILED the solo to (insert song title).....
and on and on and on it goes.
Everybody and his brother and his sister is a ROTTEN guitarist when they start....it's only by playing, practising and working hard they improve. Some people are quicker than others - some people make slow and steady progress. The main point to remember is, the more you play, the more you'll learn.....The more you practise, the better you'll get....the more you put into playing guitar, the more you'll get out.
I've been playing a long time now, over thirty years on and off - I wish I could go back to the 17-year-old me and whisper in my ear, "practise....then practise some more. You'll thank me for this advice, someday!" I'm never going to be a shredder - I'll settle for a nice melodic solo if I'm playing lead. What I am is a decent rhythm guitarist - I can keep time, I can work with a bass player or drummer, and I can sing (after a fashion) whilst playing AND keep the rhythm tight.
Like our friend Mr Bob "Notes" Norton says, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it - it ISN'T easy playing guitar, it needs hard work, practise, dedication, and then the willingness to pay another half-hour or so, even if your fingers are killing you.....and then you might want to play a little more.....
: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.)
Good timeline list Vic
After 5 years I'm somewhere in between "Horse With No Name" and "Hey! I managed the solo from"
You go through bad patches and then you surprise yourself and advance in leaps and bounds. It's all part of this guitar world we live through.
IMHO I still a lousy guitarist but I don't care, I love playing, practicing and attending open mics once a week. The open mics give me a buzz and a reason to go on and get better at guitar. The time spent with the other open mic attendee's helps as well.
Off the cuff last night Rodders and I ripped into "Bad Moon Rising" followed by "Whiskey In The Jar" We hadn't practiced either song together recently, it was a snap decision in front of everyone in the pub. Could have gone really disasterous but it didn't. Great fun! A bit ragged on the timing but by the end of "Whiskey In The Jar" we were smokin!
Rodders had already done his solo set and it was a good link for me to go into my solo set.
You don't have to be brilliant at solo's and scales, just have fun playing at what ever level. "ALWAYS!"
So I'm still motivated not giving up yet a while.
Chris
The guitar is all right John but you'll never make a living out of it! (John Lennon's Aunt Mimi)
Hi Dudes,
I am trying very hard to broaden my repatroir and try to have a new song for every week I attend the open mic with Chris.
Only thing is i now really have to push myself to go out to the studio. Not the same as having all your gear in the house and just picking it up when the mod takes you. Also trying very hard to work without sheets and learning the whole song, lyrics and chord changes!
I seem to be in two minds what to pick up first when I get in there, acoustic or electric. Its usually the electric that wins as I usually like to tinker around with a slow blues first to get my fingers working.
I seem to be playing the more obscure songs than the really well known ones. For instance I'd rather play "I'm so tired" from the White album than "If I Fell" (which by the way I think I've mastered the singing side of that one) not becuase its easier, because it isn't. I'm having a go at learning "Oh Well" by Fleetwood Mac at the moment. Now thats not the sort of song you hear all that often at an open mic!
I love playing some of Mark Knopfler's stuff and will probably have a go at "Brothers in Arms" tonight. Learnt "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot last week and whilst researching his music, stumbled upon a not so well known (by me anyway) song "The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald" Got to get that one nailed.
I don't think I will ever go a week without picking up something with strings on, I just couldn't. I like the surprises that get thrown at you when you least expect it. :wink:
I'm also playing songs like
"Hey Joe"
"Running on Faith"
"China Girl"
"Keep on Rockin in the Free World"
"Sing"
"Labled with love"
"Dream Baby"
So there are some well known songs that I do, but I am allways looking for something different, something thet will stretch me !
Keep up the good work you guys ,
See you Wednesday Chris.
Be excellent to each other & party on dudes!
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=686668
When I first started t learn this stuff, I was playing and managing a Senior League baseball team on top of going to my son's ball games, riding motorcycle, playing golf, cooking and plugging in about 45+ hours a week geing a geek. I had several extended breaks during the warmer months as I was being pulled in many directions. The guitar was always the first to get set aside. I mean, all during that time I also have to be a husband and father, each of which I relish doing very much.
Fast forward and now it's a much bigger part of my life due to not being able to enjoy some of the other things. As far as the family stuff goes, I have set-ups in three rooms and play quiet enough for other reasons that it bothers no-one and I'm part of the scene. If the T.V. is on, I'll let it rest in my lap until commercials if they're into what's on. Most often, though, it's just some mindless drabble and I play even more lightly.
I do have a first "public" appearance lined up when I'm able to do so. Doing a sing-a-long volunteer thing for some old folks. About once or twice a year I play with my brother-in-law during visits and that's always fun. I've got a friend who plays too, and where a perfect match. He does 99% lead/solo and I do 99% rhythm. Alas, his time constraints are tremndous and we only get to play together maybe a couple times a year. New job and new woman has him out of town more than in town.
I guess there are too many things to do and not enough time for most folks. It's not easy either. Some folks can't handle something that isn't instantly gratifying. Some folks can't make or take the time. Some buy bad gear unknowingly, like a cheapo set at the wholesale club that isn't close to being set up and would take a seasoned player to play. Lots of reasons Craigslist has many starter type pairs (axe & amp) advertised from people who thought it would be a lot easier than it is. Perhaps someone only has a passive interest in music and is simply not worth it to them to do the hard work it takes to learn. Time is valuable.
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
Everyone who's ever picked up a guitar has gone through that initial period of self doubt.
"Oh Man, I'll NEVER be any good at this...."
...
"Oh, dear, I absolutely suck at this - I'll never be able to do it."
Vic
And don't forget "why and who am I doing this for?" I think that because as a singer I suck; it will be a long time before I can play melody with chords. So for now I am limited to the rhythm I can keep up with in the recording. Sometimes I get really good at that with a particular recording; other times it's a lost cause just because of the song itself.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
I don't think there's any A+B cause and effect formula for why people give up. It's just a natural decision which is the culmination of the circumstances of their life combined with their goals and desires at the time. I tried to learn how to play many times before I really got serious on my most recent, and ongoing, attempt. I would play for a few months and then just stop for one day, which turned into two and three, and then I would stop altogether. I had a bunch of these phases before I got frustrated with myself and just made the committment.
