It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:50 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 39 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:24 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:47 pm
Posts: 28
Whatever you do, don't give up. I taught myself to strum at 16 and didn't take lessons until I was in my early thirties. After sitting for almost ten years I've picked it up again. Will I ever play in public? Most likely not but I've ordered the new gdec and will hack away at that for my own enjoyment. Put some structure in what time you have to practice so that you spend a few minutes on scales, chords, pull offs, hammer ons, etc.. and don't give up. I'll never play like my heroes but I'll show my own children what persaverence means and the enjoyment of music even if Dad isn't Lenny Kravitz......


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:34 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:30 pm
Posts: 2278
Location: Canada
Hi Pineknot14, I read your post, then the answers, then your post again and I felt that I could add my two cents. Great advices you've got so far, but from your post, you say that you seek feedback from your family, are they musicians? Do they play an instrument? If not, they might not be the best source to ask for a usefull opinion about your playing. Family and friends who don't play music cannot be objective because they judge by what they feel instead of by experience. Maybe you could ask someone to come hear you play, or go to his place yourself and have some king of evaluation. Or post something on Youtube and seek out for opinions.
Sometimes we overlook the real progress that we make because we play alone and it seems that it is just the same stuff day in and day out and we kind of hit the wall. I say "we" because I did it myself and I am sure that a lot of players here had the same feeling at some point in their experience of playing alone.
Maybe that you could tape yourself while you play and record the song and the date of your playing, then do it again with the same song a few weeks later, and then again another few weeks later. So you could listen to your playing and judge your progress for yourself.
I find that your post is positive in a way because you realized that your playing was not up to your expectations and instead of giving up, you made the extra effort to post here and ask for help and clues.
All I can say to you is "Bravo", don't give up. Try to make what you can from the posts you've had so far, and I am sure that in no time you'll find that you made some progress. Good luck. :)
Claude. 8)


Last edited by Claude Gallichand on Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:59 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:13 pm
Posts: 19026
Location: Illinois, USA
airbornestrat wrote:
Never give up! Anything worth while takes time. Here is a great website
[url

http://all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_cho ... =7&get=Get

Hope that this helps you as much as it has me!
ABS[/url]
8)

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: How do you know when its time to give up?
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:13 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:55 am
Posts: 4017
Location: Australia, VIC
Pineknot14 wrote:
I feel like I've made almost no progress on the guitar the last 6 months. I have no time to take formal lessons. I'm really not any good. My kids can sometimes tell what I am trying to play but my wife rarely can. I have no set routine, it seems I am just skipping around youtube aimlessly trying to find some song that I like that I can actually play. I clearly will never be good enough to play publicly. Yet for some inexplicable reason I think that if I keep plugging away, one day it well actually "click" and I'll start moving in a positive direction. Its not like I just started playing, I've been at this a few years. All that being said, I really enjoy it when something actually sounds good that I play. Sorry to whine, but I just wondered, is it time to give up the ghost?

Its not time for you to give up man, I suck but I love it, I haven't made any improvement for 2 years!! An I have dystonia!!! Can you imagine how hard it is for me? But I still love it. Dont give up, you'll get your time to shine.

_________________
riley


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:15 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:31 am
Posts: 1398
Location: scotland
hi there , do not give up , you can play the guitar all your life and still learn something new every day . i'm getting back into it after a 10 year break , it's been a bit of a bugger but slowly it's all coming together again 8) from struggling to remember things to getting the hands working together again i can now sit and blast away to a lot of my fave stuff , in fact i even got myself a couple of new guitars :D . as a few of the other guys have said you need to get some structure in your practice routine , it will pay dividends in a very short time . keep at it mate 8)

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:22 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:10 pm
Posts: 2132
Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas (San Antonio, y'all)
Claude Gallichand wrote:
Great advices you've got so far, but from your post, you say that you seek feedback from your family, are they musicians? Do they play an instrument? If not, they might not be the best source to ask for a usefull opinion about your playing. Family and friends who don't play music cannot be objective because they judge by what they feel instead of by experience.

This is a great point, Claude. Someone who doesn't play may not recognize the quality of your playing if it "doesn't sound just like the record."

I also like Claude's suggestion of recording yourself. I've recorded myself just a few times, and I always feel stupid and frustrated when I'm doing it. I listen to it immediately and feel disgusted with myself because it's so bad. But you know what? I listen to it with fresh ears about a week later, and it doesn't sound too bad! :shock:

Hang in there, man. Believe me, you're not alone. 8)

_________________
I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm. :wink:


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:37 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:43 pm
Posts: 1113
Location: North of Pittsburgh PA
Progress is never linear, though it may seem like it at first due to all the new material that is learned in the beginner stages of playing. After you have learned all the technique you need (chord shapes, scale patterns, keys, etc...) then you transition to the period where you master those techniques. The thing about mastering anything in life is that it takes just that, your life. The progress will no longer be linear, rather you'll advance in plateaus, where you could go months, maybe years without seeing improvement then all of a sudden find yourself on the next level. The best advice I can give you is just pick up your guitar and play. Everything else will take care of itself if you do that.

_________________
I traded my car in for a microphone.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:50 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:00 pm
Posts: 83
These are all great tips here. But I feel like adding my coin to it, as (surprisingly) no one has mentioned the following site yet. www.justinguitar.com is truly brilliant. Justin Sandercoe is a great guitarist, and an even better teacher. Here he has tons of video lessons and complete songs of all kinds and techniques. I've taught several tricky sngs and styles here. The site is free, but if you can afford contributing by donation, it helps the site going.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:58 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2008 11:21 am
Posts: 959
Hey Boffer; thanks for the link to justinguitar. He seems to be a very humble and informative fellow. He also does a lot of good for people in need. I am going to check out his info on recording the guitar and major scales.

To add my "coin" to the collective heap on learning the guitar:

You are making progress weather you know it or not because the act of playing the guitar creates pathways in your brain that stick around long term. I am a slow learner on the guitar and never even got any good at playing along with records. I just stuck with it for a lifetime and I sure am glad I did. So many things in life are taken from you as you age. Guitar playing is not. I am closing in on 60 and can play a lot better than most of the people I see stinking up the airwaves at Guitar Center. There are also plenty of 80 year-old players who can leave me in the dust. Stick with it, pal.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:22 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:42 pm
Posts: 230
Location: Central PA
Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and support people. I guess when I read a lot of the posts on the Fender Lounge, the majority of people posting sound light years ahead of where I'll EVER be. I've put the guitar down once before for about 18 months, and vowed to never do it again. It just seems that I've been more frustrated lately than I've been enjoying it. It seems as though after posting last night and giving some thought to it there are 2 major things I need to focus on: fretboard knowledge and scales. It seems I can play a song on the electric until I hit a lead part and then I just lose it. I well definitely heed the advice of my fellow friends here at the Lounge and try your recommendations and stick with it! Thanks all!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:42 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:59 am
Posts: 1250
Location: Mississippi
So you'll never play in public? So what! I'd wager the majority of us here on the site wont either!

The only time I would advise anyone to give up on the guitar is if there is just no joy to be had in it at all! Otherwise you have nothing to lose!

Best of luck!

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:59 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:13 am
Posts: 3317
Location: The Alpha Quadrant.
Pineknot14 wrote:
Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and support people. I guess when I read a lot of the posts on the Fender Lounge, the majority of people posting sound light years ahead of where I'll EVER be. I've put the guitar down once before for about 18 months, and vowed to never do it again. It just seems that I've been more frustrated lately than I've been enjoying it. It seems as though after posting last night and giving some thought to it there are 2 major things I need to focus on: fretboard knowledge and scales. It seems I can play a song on the electric until I hit a lead part and then I just lose it. I well definitely heed the advice of my fellow friends here at the Lounge and try your recommendations and stick with it! Thanks all!


'When do you give up?'

WHEN YOUR HANDS FALL OFF TRYING!

Seriously bro, EVERYONE gets these ruts where they don't seem to be getting any better. I make my living playing guitar and I find myself in these ruts all the time.
It can get so frustrating when you don't seem to be improving. I'm involved in the music scene a lot here in Belfast so I see a lot of bands. There's nothing worse than seeing some guy 10 years younger than you making the walls melt with licks that you feel incapable of. We all get it bro!

You're correct in learning scales and chords but don't forget the one essential in music: pure raw emotion. When you are practicing anything put your life and soul in your fingertips.

Never give up, you will only ever regret it in the long run!

CC


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:03 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:34 am
Posts: 60
Location: Baltimore, MD
Hang in there...I feel the same way sometimes. I would recommend the Learn and Master Guitar course. It comes with 20 dvds and 5 play along CDs. If you don't want to purchase the full course, you can download the coursebooks for free: http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitar/resources/. But, I highly recommend the full course.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:40 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:49 pm
Posts: 3233
Location: Memphis
MissJackson wrote:
Hang in there...I feel the same way sometimes. I would recommend the Learn and Master Guitar course. It comes with 20 dvds and 5 play along CDs. If you don't want to purchase the full course, you can download the coursebooks for free: http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitar/resources/. But, I highly recommend the full course.

I have this course as well, and like a few others I highly recommend it. All of the other advise is great... I guess the main thing is, stay encouraged. Sure looks like (from these posts) that you have a bunch of buddies here that want to see you succeed. Play on!

Bill

_________________
Hey, Boy Blue is back!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:32 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:27 pm
Posts: 3448
Location: Connecticut
What you have reached is a plateau. It happens to everyone in every field every so often.
Being a common scenario, you have to go back to basics, self negative feedback is detrimental, it only worsens the perceived problem.

In Alpine ski racing GS/SL I often hit that plateau where you feel that you are becoming slower, blowing out of courses that were once routine and getting beat by other racers that you used to outperform.

When stagnation sets in, take a break, find something that takes you away from your routine, and lets you view your playing in an objective view.
Then when feeling refreshed/rested get back on the horse...


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 39 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: