Time to assess my progress

Fuengi

So, bought my first proper guitar to learn in January of 2013, so closing in on 5 years of playing. 

Ten things that have happened so far:

1. I have learnt to play a few pop / rock songs, but prefer to play instrumental pieces with single note runs. I don't necessarily play what I like listening to. 

2. I've bought and sold a more than a dozen guitars and amps, most used. That has been as interesting as playing. 

3. I have been 'price conditioned' from thinking I could just own one £250 guitar for life, to understanding there is no such thing and if there were it would cost ten times that amount.

4. I've gained an surface scratch understanding of music theory which I find as much fun as playing. 

5. I've confirmed to myself that I cannot study / learn in a methodical way. Rather I jump from one thing to the other and back again. 

6. Pedals are incredible fun and you cannot have too many. 

7. Creating music yourself is more fun and far more satisfying than learning something. 

8. When you are stuck in a rutt just keep going. A breakthrough will come shortly.

9. I have absolutely no desire to perform in front of an audience live, but would quite like to play with other musicians some day. 

10. Compared to other family and friends who have tried to learn, I'm doing pretty well. That gives me great encouragement / satisfaction.

What will the next 5 years bring?

Lestratcaster

As a tutor reading this I get these sort of learners all the time, they can play already but it’s all very fragmented, and there’s gaps in their knowledge. I know not everyone learns the same way or wants to learn “properly” but I do find having structure and focus helps you get to where you want to be quicker.

I played acoustic for 6 years and pretty much knew a bunch of chords and a good batch of songs. My theory was rubbish, my rhythm and timing was poor and I didn’t know how to solo very well. I went to ACM in 2007 and got much better in 4 years. But that’s just me cos I wanted to get better, and quick.

A lot of these people I see in trial lessons don’t like the idea of someone else telling them what to do either, everyone is different I guess but if you want to progress quicker then lessons is the way forward. If not then fair enough, in 5 years you’ll probably have improved a little but not by much, know a few new things so it'll be slow and fragmented. And a fair bit poorer due to the gear you’ve been buying haha.

Good luck!

Fuengi

I had a series of lessons when I started. They were incredibly useful in getting the basic technique down for chord changes etc.

I have got to the point where technically I can comfortably play everything I want to in order to create the music I want to make - currently.

The tricky bit is the music theory, but that I can learn myself.

OnTheRopes

I have played on and off for years, had some teachers, one or two were great players and one in particular had amazing theory knowledge. I learnt loads of theory, practiced scales but after several years could not hold a rhythm, could not count and could not really play a single tune well enough to play for others.
I blamed the teachers and some of it was probably down to them but in hindsight it was really all my lack of attention span and not really knowing where I wanted to get to.
Anyway I have recently picked up the guitar again, have signed up to an online course, this one is quite structured which is what I need as previously I would flit from one thing to another and never really do any of them well.
I have already caught up with where I was before and moving on with more motivation. They also do some decent song lessons so for the first time I have my first tune I would actually play for someone else.

Neill

Fuengi said:

So, bought my first proper guitar to learn in January of 2013, so closing in on 5 years of playing. 

Ten things that have happened so far:

1. I have learnt to play a few pop / rock songs, but prefer to play instrumental pieces with single note runs. I don't necessarily play what I like listening to. 

2. I've bought and sold a more than a dozen guitars and amps, most used. That has been as interesting as playing. 

3. I have been 'price conditioned' from thinking I could just own one £250 guitar for life, to understanding there is no such thing and if there were it would cost ten times that amount.

4. I've gained an surface scratch understanding of music theory which I find as much fun as playing. 

5. I've confirmed to myself that I cannot study / learn in a methodical way. Rather I jump from one thing to the other and back again. 

6. Pedals are incredible fun and you cannot have too many. 

7. Creating music yourself is more fun and far more satisfying than learning something. 

8. When you are stuck in a rutt just keep going. A breakthrough will come shortly.

9. I have absolutely no desire to perform in front of an audience live, but would quite like to play with other musicians some day. 

10. Compared to other family and friends who have tried to learn, I'm doing pretty well. That gives me great encouragement / satisfaction.

What will the next 5 years bring?

Haha I laughed when I saw #2 - if you're one of those types expect it to get worse...

#5 - honestly, the key to making continued improvements is having a bit of tunnel vision.  How many times do you spend an hour or two on the guitar and feel that you have made no real improvement?  I agree it is so difficult these days though, in many respects we had it easier before the internet came along, even magazines with CD's started to muddy the water as legions of guitarists wasted time trying to master tunes/songs when they would have been better off getting to grips with scales and intervals.  I'm as guilty as anyone BTW.

I hope you will change your mind about #9.  It might be the scariest thing you ever do but believe me, playing in front of an appreciate audience is also one of the most exciting experiences you can have.   There must be scores of bedroom guitarists who regret not having plucked up the nerve to get up on stage.  Most folk think you have to be Eric Johnson before you even think about it but really, you don't have to be that good, it's not like the violin or piano.  

Fuengi

#2 - My GAS has slowed considerably of late I think it was my was of exploring the guitar / amp market to see what I wanted. I made a profit on all the used acoustics I bought which paid for my current setup. Pedals are my only ongoing vice. 

5# - Counting is something I really need to work on that doesn't come easily. 

#9 - I've never, ever wanted to do this and still don't. This may change but I'd be surprised. 

OnTheRopes

Fuengi said:

#2 - My GAS has slowed considerably of late I think it was my was of exploring the guitar / amp market to see what I wanted. I made a profit on all the used acoustics I bought which paid for my current setup. Pedals are my only ongoing vice. 

5# - Counting is something I really need to work on that doesn't come easily. 

#9 - I've never, ever wanted to do this and still don't. This may change but I'd be surprised. 

Counting is also something I never really got. This time though on my latest comeback I am focusing on Rhythm. I d/l a rhythm course off Truefire and the tutor  spends a lot of time with counting and this seems to be hammering it into my thick skull.
I have books on rhythm which of course tell you how to count but it is only since following this guy and counting with him that it seems to be sticking

Fuengi

I asked one guitar teacher about counting for playing the chorus of Yellow by Coldplay which I was struggling with at the time.

He said he didn't want to be prescriptive and would rather I worked out my own arrangement, which was credit I then went on to prove I didn't deserve.

Justin Sandercoe is very good at emphasising the count I find. 

Lestratcaster

I find it quite shocking many people can't count from 1 to 4! But I think the more you listen to music and try to find the "pulse" you'll listen differently and get used to it. For Yellow you can count it half-time or double time so you can be in two-minds on how to count it.

Rhythm is 90% of guitar playing so its essential if you want to play anything from chords to riffs to solos. I really work on timing with my learners so when they play with the recording its tight and all the rest/stops/pushes are in the right place on the right beat. Makes a big difference to someone who can just about get by playing to the tune to someone who can play it really really well.

OnTheRopes

Lestratcaster said:

I find it quite shocking many people can't count from 1 to 4! But I think the more you listen to music and try to find the "pulse" you'll listen differently and get used to it. For Yellow you can count it half-time or double time so you can be in two-minds on how to count it.

Rhythm is 90% of guitar playing so its essential if you want to play anything from chords to riffs to solos. I really work on timing with my learners so when they play with the recording its tight and all the rest/stops/pushes are in the right place on the right beat. Makes a big difference to someone who can just about get by playing to the tune to someone who can play it really really well.

When I am not playing I can count just fine, and when I am playing straight quarter eighth or sixteenth notes then I can usually play and count. The problem starts when the count gets complicated,  I can often  play it in time but I cannot do the count.

Fuengi

Currently trying to figure out the count for Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad. It's 4/4 with the odd 3/4 bar thrown in. Nightmare to play.

Also trying to play Weller's Wild Wood with that little skip change, cannot get it.

I do like trying to work stuff out, but when I get it I might play the song through a couple of times then never play it again.

I just don't see the point, and it bores me to tears. I literally can't get past the first chorus before I get terminally bored of playing the song.

I can noodle for hours though. 

Lestratcaster

OnTheRopes said:

Lestratcaster said:

I find it quite shocking many people can't count from 1 to 4! But I think the more you listen to music and try to find the "pulse" you'll listen differently and get used to it. For Yellow you can count it half-time or double time so you can be in two-minds on how to count it.

Rhythm is 90% of guitar playing so its essential if you want to play anything from chords to riffs to solos. I really work on timing with my learners so when they play with the recording its tight and all the rest/stops/pushes are in the right place on the right beat. Makes a big difference to someone who can just about get by playing to the tune to someone who can play it really really well.

When I am not playing I can count just fine, and when I am playing straight quarter eighth or sixteenth notes then I can usually play and count. The problem starts when the count gets complicated,  I can often  play it in time but I cannot do the count.

Tap your foot or nod your head in time with the music. Usually your hand follows downbeats when the foot hits the floor and upbeats when you raise it. Useful for offbeats and dotted notes. Helps keep the pulse too even if there’s rests.

OnTheRopes

Lestratcaster said:

Tap your foot or nod your head in time with the music. Usually your hand follows downbeats when the foot hits the floor and upbeats when you raise it. Useful for offbeats and dotted notes. Helps keep the pulse too even if there’s rests.

Yes that definitely helps, but should I count the numbers, well I know I should but when it is complex?

Lestratcaster

OnTheRopes said:

Lestratcaster said:

Tap your foot or nod your head in time with the music. Usually your hand follows downbeats when the foot hits the floor and upbeats when you raise it. Useful for offbeats and dotted notes. Helps keep the pulse too even if there’s rests.

Yes that definitely helps, but should I count the numbers, well I know I should but when it is complex?

You should but for some of my learners I use words instead, e.g so for quarter note beats it’s “tea” and eighth notes “coffee”. The word has a rhythmic value now as you have to say it within a time framework. For 16ths I use Coca Cola but I guess this is more of a subdivision thing as opposed to the pulse. Try counting the pulse as you’re walking, it’s very hard to not walk in time in 4/4 (unless you’re drunk)

OnTheRopes

I tried walking to a 2 e and-and a a 
I have a sprained ankle now. 

seriously though I am going to keep working at it with the truefire course.

Rocker

Why does the OP feel that he *has* to improve? Guitar playing is not a competition - if you enjoy what you are doing and you find that playing helps relieve or reduce the stresses and strains of daily living brings, be happy. 

Fuengi

You're right @Rocker my drive is actually improving my theory.

If I get to the point where my playing is restricting implementation of theory I'll look to work on my technique.

CarpeDiem

John Petrucci said that he used to structure his practice time into chunks so that he would cover new stuff, theory, and consolidating existing material within a session. It's clearly worked well for him.