will I ever be able to realy play?

[adorshki]

"Degree of difficulty is determined by desire."
Keep going,
Joe

Hi Kydog: I think what that's supposed to mean is that the more you want it the less difficult it is to achieve. Anybody who ever asked me, I told 'em the most important thing is you gotta love music, at least one particular favorite band or style, SO MUCH, that you give up doing a lot of other stuff for the sake of learning how to "Do it yourself". In other words, good old fashioned "woodshedding" or "practicing" or "just playing" instead of televison or video games or women (well, you can fudge there a little maybe). You gotta want it for the sake of playing for your own satisfaction first.
Some folks are gifted with a natural coordination and instinctual grasp of the structure of a fretboard. The rest of us DO have to "practice, practice, practice". But even those who have that gift have to WANT to play enough to develop it. They just probably "get it right" a lot faster than the rest of us , I suppose. :wink:

 

[killdeer43]

Pete Seeger's "How to play the 5-string banjo" (it was the only banjo book in the store :lol: ). It turned out to be one of the best purchases that I've ever made;

Slightly veering but remaining on the basic thread, I'll throw in a second for that book and Pete's focus on playing/practicing. You perfectly articulated exactly what I got out of it way back when.
Pete has always been about celebrating and enjoying the music and playing every chance you get.

Joe

 

[TonyT]

Practice AND playing with others is key here. All of the sudden, you'll find yourself able to do things you didn't know you could do and you'll have no clue how it happened.After a year, I'm already better than I ever hoped to be and still I'm not even remotely satisfied. Just make sure you're not practicing the wrong things. Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. You gotta go slow before you can go fast. You'll get better in spite of yourself.

 

[Paddlefoot]

Chazmo, you are wise.[/quote]

I will second that.

In some of his books, Lyle Ritz (ukulele jazz master) talks about" the magic of the noodle". Just sitting and noodling with chord progressions and riffs. Whatever pops into your head or flows out of your previous practice. I have found that my playing has improved a great deal since I started trying to hear a song in those minutes spent "noodling". Playing guitar with my son has also helped alot since he will play something I am totally unfamiliar with and we will work on it and clean it up and danged if I won't find out that it's by "Nine Inch Nails" or some other group I would never have listened to. He is broadening his horizons too. I now have him fingerpicking old Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot tunes.
Bookwise I think the best dollar value I ever spent was on a Hal Leonard publication called "Fretboard Roadmaps" by Fred Sokalow. Also get one of H. Leonards Chord/Key chart wheels. That thing has helped me start understanding music and how chords work together more than anything I have messed with in 20 years.

 

[chazmo]

Chazmo, you are wise.

Please inform my wife and kids! I believe they have a different take on it.

 

[Ian]

I keep seeing the word 'Practice' here....just play

Sorry to disagree with you but the reason I am a mediocre, at best, bassist is because all I ever did was "just play". I'm lazy but I know what practice is and what it can do. If someone wants to get better then it is not going to happen without some real work. Perhaps you call that work "just play" or perhaps people are having so much fun that they don't realize it is work but "just play" won't cut it without some discipline and focus.

Thanks for that Dad !!
:lol:

I suppose it all comes down to what your aspirations are then doesn't it ? I have no illusions or desires to be a professional performing musician, should I have then your advice would be well warranted. I play the Guitar for fun, it's relaxation and a social event for me. I'm learning a new skill, and I'm way better than I ever thought I could be, but still not as good as I'd like to be.

 

[taabru45]

I'm way better than I ever thought I could be, but still not as good as I'd like to be.[/quote]

Now that is something a real musician would say, and I'm sure applies to practically anyone who plays an instrument...Take care...... Steffan

 

[southernGuild]

I agree Steffan, thats a great quote.........i wrote THAT in my little book of quotes. And YES Paddlefoot, that Fretboard roadmap IS GREAT!!! my copy is all scribbled on.....by ME and my daughter....Now it looks great! I made my own chord wheeL.....using the 'colors' that I associate with the chords as a mental guide....and mixing THOSE colors in my mind makes sence...mentally, visually, and good music too! I can SEE the progressions, AND their colors! THAT has helped ME.....reinventing the wheel to suit MY MIND! I LOVE the learning, and THAT feeds the playing which I also love and enjoy...So for me, its very personal....but its ALL GOOD! Now, i am doing more playing for family and friends, and YES, THAT has sure helped my own musical growth. "Enjoying yourself" AND 'Challenging yourself " to me is KEY to keeping a good thing going.

 

[Default]

Like the pretty girl asked the guy with the small *&^% "Who are you going to please with that?"

His answer, like your's should be "me".

Honestly, I keep hoping that one of my guitars will have some talent sticking to it from the last player. :lol:
OTOH, sometimes when I'm home and no one else is, I can crank out some Tom Petty and it sounds almost good.

 

[bluesypicky]

Well Kydog, if you're lazy like me, the sad answer is a resounding NO !!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Cold..... but true! It's all in the practice hours, like anything else that involves motor skills.

 

[fronobulax]

As one of the people who firmly believes in practice, even if I don't practice what I preach, I should remind others that practice does not have to be tedious and it can be fun. I suspect a reason for this discussion has been that there are people who have never had fun practicing :wink:

There's an old joke about a bordello that was staffed by ladies in their second career. The former telephone operators were not popular because they always asked for $.10 for the next ten minutes. The former taxi drivers always let people know that the meter was running. But the music teachers. They were popular. They kept saying "we're going to practice until you get it right".

 

[adorshki]

As one of the people who firmly believes in practice, even if I don't practice what I preach, I should remind others that practice does not have to be tedious and it can be fun. I suspect a reason for this discussion has been that there are people who have never had fun practicing :wink:

There's an old joke about a bordello that was staffed by ladies in their second career. The former telephone operators were not popular because they always asked for $.10 for the next ten minutes. The former taxi drivers always let people know that the meter was running. But the music teachers. They were popular. They kept saying "we're going to practice until you get it right".

That's great! :lol: Full agreement here, I should have mentioned that earlier. MOST of my practice involves a beer or more and one of those "So-and so made easy for guitar" books... pick a song you like and try to figure out how it's supposed to be done from the little clues they give ya! It's the easy ones that make it fun and the hard ones that teach you something! :mrgreen:

 

[Paddlefoot]

That's great! :lol: Full agreement here, I should have mentioned that earlier. MOST of my practice involves a beer or more and one of those "So-and so made easy for guitar" books... pick a song you like and try to figure out how it's supposed to be done from the little clues they give ya! It's the easy ones that make it fun and the hard ones that teach you something! :mrgreen:[/quote]

I think those "made easy" books kept me stuck for a long time because nothing ever sounded much like the recorded version of the song. Once I got the "Fretboard Roadmaps" and started playing the chord fragments and finding the chords up the neck I started to hear what the pros were really doing. It improved my ear as well as my playing which made playing a lot more fun.

 

[taabru45]

That really is a good tape Paddlefoot, I had some of that stuff already figured out....but it took me about30 years...and I still learned a lot from Freds instruction....really good...Playing the same song in different keys is good 'practice'... Steffan....now I gotta find a music teacher girlfriend... :lol: :lol:

 

[adorshki]

I think those "made easy" books kept me stuck for a long time because nothing ever sounded much like the recorded version of the song. Once I got the "Fretboard Roadmaps" and started playing the chord fragments and finding the chords up the neck I started to hear what the pros were really doing. It improved my ear as well as my playing which made playing a lot more fun.

It was more a suggestion on a way to the "fun" aspect of practice. It's true I used 'em a lot as a way to learn a bunch of basic chords, then like you said you realize there's a lot more going on. These days it's more of a way to get "kick-started" and warmed up with reminders of the basic progressions before I get down to serious jamming or composing. Kind of like, "Oh yeah, I'm in the mood to work on such-and-such today" If you can afford to start collecting the books or at least down-loading stuff you know you like, so it's at your fingertips (so to speak), you're more likely to get inspired to pick up the instrument. I have to admit though that there WAS a particular jamming buddy in my youth and that's another big and equally important motivator.

 

[Paddlefoot]

Awwwww, I wasn't baggin' on you Adorshki, just putting out a feeling that I had from all the frustration of trying to make sense out of those books. Steffan I have to warn you that when you find a female guitar teacher and get serious with them they want to do all the guitar playing and you get to do the support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vr20gCZdNU

 

[killdeer43]

....now I gotta find a music teacher girlfriend... :lol: :lol:

Your expectations are so high, Steffan.
How about just a girlfriend for starters and YOU can teach HER to play guitar? Start with the G string! :wink: :wink: nudge, nudge...

From south of the border,
Joe

 

[taabru45]

I was thinking about the joke...remember the part about you can't leave till you get it right. :lol: I've already gone thru more G strings than most women would ever think of Joe. :lol: :lol: Steffan

 

[killdeer43]

I've already gone thru more G strings than most women would ever think of Joe. :lol: :lol: Steffan

Badda bing!! :lol:

Joe

 

[adorshki]

Awwwww, I wasn't baggin' on you Adorshki, just putting out a feeling that I had from all the frustration of trying to make sense out of those books.

Thanks Paddle, I got into "serious contribution" mode thinking more about putting stuff out there for folks who might still be where we were back then. I should have been normal but my momma dropped me but I landed on the grass and lived. :lol: