I will never be any good at guitar ....

menamestom

Personally my main priority for the guitar is creating something of my own.  I’ve never obsessed about nailing any song, I’d perhaps work on a song for a bit and let a few ideas sink in but the thought of note for note copying somebody doesn’t fill me excitement.

I suppose we all want something different out if the instrument but perhaps trying to nail a virtuosos’s instrumental isn’t the best use of your time?  

Perhaps a challenge is good but if it isn’t working try something else.

phil_b

i am a beginner and also have problems remembering songs.

but maybe that is because I only play for myself. there is not the pressure of not making mistakes or learning songs. Maybe not being in a band is the reason you dont remember songs rather than a lack of function

GuyBoden

axisus said:

or any other instrument. It's a sad realisation. 

OK, some people think I am amazing at guitar/piano, but the fact is that I am missing some fundamental skills:

1) poor motor skills in terms of accuracy
2) poor memory recall

I looked at the detail in iTunes, and there is an instrumental song that I have been trying to play for years and years. The play count for the backing track is almost 2000 times, and yet I am still nowhere near getting the short widdly bit right (it's probably 6 seconds tops!). I will never have accuracy, it isn't in my mind and fingers unfortunately. 

And remembering stuff. At the start of lockdown one I decided to do a simple arrangement for a piece of piano music that is less than 3 minutes long. I got it all worked out in a couple of weeks, it's just chords with some melody thrown in. 10 months on and I still can't play it through without forgetting something. It is BLOODY frustrating!

These two flaws are annoying as I clearly have some ability in other areas, but at my age (57) nothing is going to improve.

Satriani's Always with Me song, I have wrestled with for a decade. I have never got past the legato run at 1.10. I simply CANNOT remember the notes from one day to the next.

I've never played in a band, and I never could have to be honest, can't learn songs or play with accuracy for solos! 

So yeah, this is just me crying into my (non-alcoholic) beer, watching people on Youtube playing difficult stuff effortlessly. Still, not giving up ...


Self-absorbed introspective rant over, my cage beckons ...

Well I think you should be nice to yourself and stop being over self critical, some years ago you posted this video of you playing the Chapman stick, which is probably the most difficult string instrument to play. Two handed tapping is very, very difficult, the pinnacle of guitar technique in my opinion.

DesVegas

Play from your heart and the music will remain sweet

axisus

@GuyBoden hah! not seen that video in a while. Ironically I gave up Chapman stick as I wasn't good enough at it ...

chotu495

phil_b said:

i am a beginner and also have problems remembering songs.

but maybe that is because I only play for myself. there is not the pressure of not making mistakes or learning songs. Maybe not being in a band is the reason you dont remember songs rather than a lack of function

I think there is a lot of truth in this.

I still love playing, despite my average abilities, however, IF i were to commit to a band and have to learn a setlist of songs, i’d do it. It is likely that I dont learn songs through, because there’s no need for me to.

Playing guitar is a massive investment in time and effort. Easy to forget until you put your guitar in the hands of a friend who can’t play. 

I watched Idris Elba interview Paul McCartney recently, and Idris brought his acoustic along. Idris is clearly at the start of his journey in guitar, and it was a little awkward watching him play a chord and ask Macca if he could name it. It underlined how hard guitar is, and yet how Idris played his C chord and got happiness from doing something what more seasoned players would do instinctively. 

Its a blessing and a curse 

Kasalic

I think it is easy to be over critical of yourself, even when family, friends and other musicians are telling you how good you are. I know I focus far more on the bad parts of my playing, I can be sloppy and have many bad habits picked up by being self taught before the internet was available to tell me how to do things ‘right’. With me it comes around every now and then when I get into a rut, and I find I have to change direction/focus to keep the enthusiasm going.

Teetonetal

axisus said:

@GuyBoden hah! not seen that video in a while. Ironically I gave up Chapman stick as I wasn't good enough at it ...

maybe a reassessment of your aspirational standards is required? 

Fuengi

I'm just one more pedal away from being really good... 

TheBigDipper

axisus said:

@GuyBoden hah! not seen that video in a while. Ironically I gave up Chapman stick as I wasn't good enough at it ...

I gave up Chapman Stick at a far lower level of achievement than you. But, for someone exclusively playing instruments that require the left and right hands to act in unison (like guitar) it just became "mission impossible" for me. I'm sure drummers and pianists have an easier time of it if they try a Stick. They're already used to having two hands work independently.

Lovely tone from the bass strings on that Stick, BTW. 

axisus

TheBigDipper said: I'm sure drummers and pianists have an easier time of it if they try a Stick. They're already used to having two hands work independently.

Well, that's what I thought at first, but my piano playing didn't seen to help with the stick. It was my inability to get my hands working independently that made me give up in the end.

EricTheWeary

chotu495 said:

phil_b said:

i am a beginner and also have problems remembering songs.

but maybe that is because I only play for myself. there is not the pressure of not making mistakes or learning songs. Maybe not being in a band is the reason you dont remember songs rather than a lack of function

I think there is a lot of truth in this.

I still love playing, despite my average abilities, however, IF i were to commit to a band and have to learn a setlist of songs, i’d do it. It is likely that I dont learn songs through, because there’s no need for me to.

Playing guitar is a massive investment in time and effort. Easy to forget until you put your guitar in the hands of a friend who can’t play. 

I watched Idris Elba interview Paul McCartney recently, and Idris brought his acoustic along. Idris is clearly at the start of his journey in guitar, and it was a little awkward watching him play a chord and ask Macca if he could name it. It underlined how hard guitar is, and yet how Idris played his C chord and got happiness from doing something what more seasoned players would do instinctively. 

Its a blessing and a curse 

There was an article in Guitar and Bass once, something about how much music there was in an average pop song. Between verse sections, chorus pre chorus, etc ( but ignoring any fills or solos) there is only something like 17 seconds of music to learn - everything else is repetition of those sections. You have to remember the sequence but the actual amount of music to learn to play a song is quite small. 

This probably doesn’t work if you are determined to start a King Crimson tribute band. 

Barney

I think iff you enjoy what you do it makes you want to practice more ...you don't get hung up on what you do and eventually get better anyways ....I think everybody needs a fair bit of the need to improve but to much and it just leafs to frustration .....it's happened to me a few times 

tanihhiavlt

Frustration! If we don't have dreams, put in the work and make sacrifices we don't earn the right to feel frustration, only regret. 

Nobody "needs" to be a better guitarist, and "good enough" is who we'll be tomorrow, our brain craves progress and sees beyond the effort - but a deeper part of us wants connection to a moment - I suspect when we get to play more and woodshed less, these feelings of frustration won't dwell for as long and better memories will steer and fuel us.

TheMadMick

Join the club brother. I'm 72 and have been playing on and off since my early 20's. I still struggle with some of the simplest things. It just takes hours and hours of practice. Just don't throw the guitar from you. It can be expensive

proggy

axisus said:

@GuyBoden hah! not seen that video in a while. Ironically I gave up Chapman stick as I wasn't good enough at it ...

Not good enough at it!
Looked and sounded alright to me. 

amj

Playing the guitar well is like speaking a foreign language fluently - and there's no defined bench mark.

John_A

axisus said:

or any other instrument. It's a sad realisation. 

OK, some people think I am amazing at guitar/piano, but the fact is that I am missing some fundamental skills:

1) poor motor skills in terms of accuracy
2) poor memory recall

I looked at the detail in iTunes, and there is an instrumental song that I have been trying to play for years and years. The play count for the backing track is almost 2000 times, and yet I am still nowhere near getting the short widdly bit right (it's probably 6 seconds tops!). I will never have accuracy, it isn't in my mind and fingers unfortunately. 

And remembering stuff. At the start of lockdown one I decided to do a simple arrangement for a piece of piano music that is less than 3 minutes long. I got it all worked out in a couple of weeks, it's just chords with some melody thrown in. 10 months on and I still can't play it through without forgetting something. It is BLOODY frustrating!

These two flaws are annoying as I clearly have some ability in other areas, but at my age (57) nothing is going to improve.

Satriani's Always with Me song, I have wrestled with for a decade. I have never got past the legato run at 1.10. I simply CANNOT remember the notes from one day to the next.

I've never played in a band, and I never could have to be honest, can't learn songs or play with accuracy for solos! 

So yeah, this is just me crying into my (non-alcoholic) beer, watching people on Youtube playing difficult stuff effortlessly. Still, not giving up ...


Self-absorbed introspective rant over, my cage beckons ...

Years ago I took a few guitar lessons, first lesson we talked about what I wanted to achieve and I proudly showed the teacher this George Lynch lick I’d been working on for 4 weeks.  He said ‘you could have learned 50 George Harrison licks in that time”  that’s really stuck with me and 20 years later I can still do a piss poor impersonation of Mr Lynch, but can play a big part of the back catalogues of Beatles, AC-DC, Thin Lizzy etc, played in original bands and cover bands and thoroughly enjoy it.

Ditch the Satriani, and play something you can actually get your fingers around, you’ll feel a whole lot better for it

axisus

John_A said:

Years ago I took a few guitar lessons, first lesson we talked about what I wanted to achieve and I proudly showed the teacher this George Lynch lick I’d been working on for 4 weeks.  He said ‘you could have learned 50 George Harrison licks in that time”  that’s really stuck with me and 20 years later I can still do a piss poor impersonation of Mr Lynch, but can play a big part of the back catalogues of Beatles, AC-DC, Thin Lizzy etc, played in original bands and cover bands and thoroughly enjoy it.

Ditch the Satriani, and play something you can actually get your fingers around, you’ll feel a whole lot better for it

I completely understand that, but the heart wants what the heart wants ....

octatonic

axisus said:

John_A said:

Years ago I took a few guitar lessons, first lesson we talked about what I wanted to achieve and I proudly showed the teacher this George Lynch lick I’d been working on for 4 weeks.  He said ‘you could have learned 50 George Harrison licks in that time”  that’s really stuck with me and 20 years later I can still do a piss poor impersonation of Mr Lynch, but can play a big part of the back catalogues of Beatles, AC-DC, Thin Lizzy etc, played in original bands and cover bands and thoroughly enjoy it.

Ditch the Satriani, and play something you can actually get your fingers around, you’ll feel a whole lot better for it

I completely understand that, but the heart wants what the heart wants ....

Then do the work.

Seriously, you can't wish this to happen.
You can make it happen, but you need to be focussed and disciplined.