What's your goal?

koneguitarist

When playing guitar, is it to be playing in a band, is it to impress other guitarists, or is it to be part of a group playing and creating music for others to enjoy. Whilst also enjoying it yourself.  

I love playing live, that's it for me, it's the moment where things can happen that you have not rehearsed such as playing off another band members mistake. 

 What about you guys, what is your goal with a guitar?

mike_l

Practise more, and be a better guitarist and musician.

And productively work through the pile of books I have.

And learn more complete songs (Inc solo's).

LordOxygen

None of the above, I've no interest in playing in a band or impressing other guitarist. I'm more than happy playing at home in my spare time. My short term goal is to lean to use my new (Xmas present) looper pedal properly. I can play scales and would like to improvise over some chords looping on my pedal. (problem I have at the moment is I'm not sure which chords to play with a particular scale).

Longer term I'd like to become more proficient and and be able to play nice blues, licks and chords, heavy metal riffs and playing along with songs.

ThePrettyDamned

I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST

ThePrettyDamned

LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS

ThePrettyDamned

TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST, 

TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAUSE!

ThePrettyDamned

ThePrettyDamned

Well, now I absolutely have to learn that on guitar. 

richardhomer

Mainly to sound like me....

In my youth I copied my heroes note-for-note. I'd like to think over the years that my playing has developed enough personality to sound distinct from my influences.

LightB4sound

@richardhomer that is probably what I would suggest is the best ambition to have. To find your own voice, I mean that is what all the people we try to copied did, that's why we copy them. I think the 2000's need some new heroes!

thomasross20

Haha to @ThePrettyDamned!!

@richardhomer - nice one.

I always wanted to "be the best" and still have dreams of making it big, but they're just dreams (so many amazing guitarists around). I'm finally in a band so that's great. 

Too many goals to mention:

- Learn lots more songs and understand what's happening in them musically. 

- Keep progressing technically, learn more acoustic fingerstyle and sort out my picking once and for all. 

- Not master the theory as such, but have a really good fretboard knowledge and not rely on scales quite so much. 

- Play more venues with the band.

- As richardhomer says, find my own voice and keep writing my own licks/tunes.

Playing guitar is almost spiritual for me. If I could quit work and do it all day, I would. I'm not joking when I say it fills a big void in my life - it's something that really fulfils me. 

not_the_dj

I can play to a standard where I can bash out covers to a packed pub, and impress balding middle aged men with my bluesy pentatonic widdling. That's fun, but I am starting to think I should expand my technique and knowledge a bit.

I had guitar lessons in my teens (I'm now 39) and I don't really think I've learned much more since, I've just got good at what I can play without adding anything new, so yes I have been stuck in a rut for years, but it gets me in bands and gets me gigs so I've not had any urgency to get any better. 

I have recently started to watch a few YouTube lessons (Pete Thorn/Paul Gilbert stuff) which is the sort of fast widdly stuff that's always impressed me but I've never been able to do. So lots of speed and alt picking exercises (which I am finding I'm learning pretty quickly). So that's what I'm concentrating on now, and for the first time in years I'm actually sitting down with the guitar to practice.  

nickp

what @not_the_dj said.

I'm 10 years older than him.  I have been in a pub covers band for the last 18 months and lovin' it.

I nearly know where all the notes are on the neck, so my aim is to pick a couple of areas of and get them (more) sorted this year - picking being one of them and funk rhythm the other.

So my goal is to be able to play as much music as I can proficiently and to stand in a room of average musicians and not feel that I'm going to hold anyone back

bluechargeboy

For me guitar playing is being in the moment and forgetting the complexities of the modern world. Playing the things I want to play and having people dance and tell us they loved it (and getting paid!) is an amazing feeling, but I think that is secondary to the simple act of making music.

I enjoy band practices almost as much as playing live. Improvising and creating music that nobody has ever heard is great. Tunes emerge into the world from nowhere and become tangible things with a name. Me learning the guitar for 29 years has allowed this to happen in a very satisfying way to me.

If I lost the ability to play the guitar I would make music or rhythms with whatever I could physically do. Our drummer does drum workshops with kids with learning difficulties, and music unlocks something in people. It is powerful magic, and my "goal" is to maintain my body so I can keep at it. Les Paul made music for about 86 years, I need to keep myself in working order until I am 99 to beat that!

Roland

My goal in guitar playing was always to be able to play melody and accompaniment simultaneously, Martin Taylor style. About 15 years I reached this dizzy height. Since then my playing has just drifted. Then last month I saw that clip of @monquiote with his new band, and realised that I really need to brush up on my rhythm playing.

viz

Make an acceptable sound on unaccompanied classical guitar.

dafuzz

To pull ladeez.

I mean seriously I can't be the only one

stickyfiddle

I really need to get out playing with others again. It's been almost 2 years since my last gig and I think if I can't at least find someone to jam with this year I'll go insane.

robinbowes

For me, it's all about the music. I don't consider myself a guitarist, I'm a musician.

My goal is to be able to perform like this:

Or this:

And I love this:

In fact, I think I'll go practise now...

bigjon

This year has been the first year where I've done as many gigs as I wanted to, and it's been my best-paying year by far. I didn't play a full-length gig of my own songs this year, though, so maybe a bit more of my own music this year. Technique-wise, the country playing is just starting to fall into place, so maybe 2015 will be the year of chicken-picking!

Gassage

mike_l said:

And productively work through the pile of books I have.

Mine is not to split infinitives on guitar forums.