As I read your posts it's like looking into a mirror. Pretty much word for word my story. I guess it's like most all of us older players. We gave up on something wee loved, for the sake of something that had to be. Now That the pressures of our working lives is off we've returned to our true passion,(MUSIC). And who's to say that if one or more of us had stuck to the music, we might have made it. Some did, and I've never heard of one of them quiting at some point in there lives. In fact its just the opposite. They all say "NEVER GIVE UP" When your hands begin to throb with pain and you cant bend your fingers, think of someone like BB-King, 80+, and still a headliner. Maybe he's propped up on a stool now days but he's still out there. Keep on playing your guitars, and who knows, there's still time. And thanks you guys for giving me a boost when I need one.
----Danny,

well not everyone has the same goal .
perosnnally ive always like thrash metal and punk rock . i like fast riff of palmuting . and i can nailed them pretty good .
i never cared for shredding at all . make 24 note a second .. i dont care at all . im more "rythm" than "lead" .. so malmsteem etc.. have incredible talent . but its not what i want to become . i play some little solo but not much

Music is about having fun . unfortunatly .. people around us only see the greatest .. the profesionnals , the "final result " .. people dont realize the time it takes to get there . they just wanna see the pro and not "average" . its like that in sports . in a world of child prodigy ... its hard for people to understand wanting to try something at 30 . and this can be discouraging. seem like the society make you feel old before your time .

your parents didnt get you into hockey , figure skating , an instrument etc.. at a young age .. too bad you'll never be a great in those things . its almost like that

i have a friend who's passionate by figure skating .. she's 20 .. she watch to it on t.v and love it .. so i said .. why dont you take lesson ??? - "I'm too old .. you need to start very young , some skaters at the olympics are 16 " . . " yeah but it doesnt matters .. do it for yourself , you might not get as good as those skaters .. but you'll learn a few tricks for yourself . and you might surprised yourself and have fun .


the worst thing is that people who never accomplish their dream are the first one to talk you out of it .
" aren't you too old for figure skating " . " you need to be taller to be a model " etc..

theres so many discouragement here and there that some are just afraid to try . if you never try .. you never fail .. some people feel good like that :" i never failed" ... but i never tried either .

some people are in their 20's and say their too old . WTF . too old maybe for profesionnnal level . but not for practising a sport for yourself . You can sing , you can play guitar .. maybe never like malmsteen and vai .. but you can get the basic and some great licks .. for yourself .

losers wanna see everybody loses so they dont feel bad . "He tried to start his own comany and didnt succeed . good thing i didnt try .. it would have failed " .

surround yourself with winners and people who encourage you . and theres not much . believe me even members of your family can be the worst to laugh , discourage you when you want to try something new .

i refuse to think that at 30 .. my life and my goal are over and i should spawn little kids and try to make them lived the dream i didnt lived and accomplish . So many people are like that . Pushing their kids into a sports that the kid dont ever liked and gonna quit in his teenage years because he lived the dream of his father instead of his own .

ill live my dream and let me kid ( if i ever have any ) live their own .

peace .

"If you think your too old to start something . your right . If you don't .. you're also right "

Cool! Yeah, Little Texas was a heck of a band back in the early 90's. They were "country" but yet they ROCKED!

True story... One of my old Coast Guard buddies was from Arlington, Texas. He mentioned how he went to school with some of the members from Little Texas. We all sort of said, "yeah, right...B.S..." and stuff like that. So, the next day, he came into work with an old H.S. yearbook and flipped it open. Sure enough, there was Tim Rushlow (lead vocals/guitar) and (I think) Dwayne O'Brien (rhythm guitar, vocals), in his senior class!

Damn funny article. Spot on ..........

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Hmm, some people here talk about giving up musical dreams and stuff like that for life--that happens--but that's not really what I got out of the article--to me the article was about just plain giving up.

And so many of you came back to it.

You might not be in a band or making a living doing it--but you play and enjoy it.

When I was younger that's what I wanted--to be in a band and make my living doing that--I didn't have to be in the biggest band--but in one that played concerts & put out albums and all that.

It never happened, but you know what?
I never stopped playing--although I stopped trying to put together a band.
And I enjoy playing now more than I ever have.

I play at home for my own enjoyment, and sometimes I play at church.
My life turned out pretty cool in a lot of ways.

But glad to hear so many of you came back, at least to the guitar.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Why to stop playing on guitar? Playing on guitar is the only thing I really like.

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As far as my solo record, I don't want a gold record or anything, I'm happy to be small and to have the people appreciate the music who really like me for being me.
John Frusciante

About 30 some years ago I had an injury at the Newport News shipyard the made the bone at the tip of my left ring finger a cloud (on the xray). But I started playing again a couple of years ago and am enjoying playing more than ever.

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08 Fender Highway One Tele-Sunburst
09 Squier Custom Tele II-Blonde
04 Squier Standard Strat Antiqueburst
07 Washburn D10SCE natural with Rosewood backing
Fender Mustang II amp


Experience is the best teacher

I like other things, but my only reason to quit--as I posted above--is if I'm dead.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Great list.

After reading several biographies about some of these rock gods its clear to me that none of them should be worshiped in any way, shape or form. Appreciate their talent and their gift, for it is a gift, and not of their own creation.

There is a common thread to their success:

First: There is inate talent. By-in-large they achieve a relatively high level of proficiency and understanding very early and very quickly. Most of them are in quasi-successful positions by the time they are 16-18 years old.

Second: There is a intense drive that is very focused.

Third: A killer work ethic. While you and I were watching re-runs of Star Trek on TV they are out practicing, promoting themselves and seeking work.

Finally, Inate ego, a sense of image and identity, that is self promoting , confident and bold. The downside of this is that they are usually willing to crush the opposition to supplant and replace without a twinge of remorse. Very close to what is identified as Narcissistic Personalitiy and at its worst a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Thes are the same qualities that all successful bussiness persons demonstrate. Be it Bill Gates, Steve Jobs......etc. In fact you might want to look at them as guitar enterpenurers.

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I remember when we were free!

Nashville is full of people as described by oneal....in all walks of the music business,it can be very sickening to be around some of them.

That list may very well be true oneal, but I'm curious as to what that has to do with quitting guitar.

I can see perhaps a point to quitting a musical career, but not to playing in general

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Interesting thread, some people don't get the choice of whether to give up it's forced on them. At times when i get down i feel like that, i've got Focal Dystonia in my picking hand and particularly acoustic fingerpicking can be real hard compared to the way it used to be.

Even gripping the pick is different as the muscles involved tend to fire at random and your hand can tire more easily.

BUT i can still play, and play well, particularly on electric, although on acoustic when fingerpicking i just have to work round the problem.

They say you get it through playing and practicing all the time, when i first noticed it i thought it was carpal tunnel.

But no matter what i will never give up playing. To me music is in the soul and so connected to our emotions that once you become a musician then whether it's a career or just playing at home it's a thing you feel compelled to do no matter what.

I'd encourage anyone with hand problems to not give up but try to find a workaround and keep on picking.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

^^^That's the kind of thing I like to read^^^
Not that somebody has a physical/medical/etc. issue--that I don't like, but that it doesn't keep them from doing what they love.

Sure you may need to adapt, but you find a way.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Hi zontar, that's it, you just have to try and find a way to get around it. Look at what happened to Django Reinhardt, with his fretting hand all burnt up and he only had two fingers to use really.

I think that's the moral of the story; when you love it so much you adapt your technique and carry on, and if there's something you can't play properly then try to play it in a slightly different way, but with the same impact. That's what i try to do anyway.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Well I read the small article. I didn´t find it amusing or educative in any way.
I got nothing from it.
It left me thinking that magazines often have a hard time filling out their pages with
valuable content.
I think any member of this Forum would have written a better piece of that assignment.

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FIGHT!