Off Topic How many years....

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Hey guys. How many years of practice did you put in until you thought to yourself "I'm actually getting pretty damn good at this!"? How many years of practice until you felt confident you could play anything you had up in your head? I used to think if I could just cover specific Dream Theater songs id have the ability to play anything I wanted. This is not the case... I can still just play those sections in those songs. Although, the patterns and techniques used in certain songs can be applied elsewhere, there is still so much ground that isn't covered.

Is it wise to try and learn a ton of content or would you say it's better to try and master smaller segments of songs?

I find myself playing the same things over and over.

 

[JDguitar]

Master some Steve Morse tunes...then you'll be getting some where

 

[ozzyrules]

I'm still trying to achieve that level.

 

[rutgart]

Take private lessons with a qualified Teacher and you'll learn from all their mistakes as well as your own

 

[musikarero]

Never have felt that way and probably never will

 

[peterd79]

when it comes to tuning a guitar.... i always say "i think i'm getting somewhere" otherwise it's a constant learning environment between 1-24 (frets)

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Any recommendations?

 

[cjl5150]

I've had moments when I've had flashes of feeling like I'm starting to 'get it'. Although it's always short-lived. I soon realize that I might be making a little progress but, I still suck. I find that that I make the most progress when I break out the metronome and grind out an area of weakness or learn a song-the whole thing.

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Master some Steve Morse tunes...then you'll be getting some where

Any recommendations?

 

[matty76]

been playing since I was 10, I'm now 35, I can learn/play most anything you could throw at me, but I'm never satisfied, always want to be better at some aspect of my playing than I am. I find for me the best way to progress is to pick something out of your realm, technique wise, slow it way down and learn it as precisely as possible, speed is one of the bi-products of good technique.

Steve Morse - Teumanynotes is a great warm up excercise

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

been playing since I was 10, I'm now 35, I can learn/play most anything you could throw at me, but I'm never satisfied, always want to be better at some aspect of my playing than I am. I find for me the best way to progress is to pick something out of your realm, technique wise, slow it way down and learn it as precisely as possible, speed is one of the bi-products of good technique.

Steve Morse - Teumanynotes is a great warm up excercise

Thanks for the great advice and song recommendation.

 

[Jamie M]

Never look on Youtube as there is always a 6 year old who can play better than Satch and it is soul destroying!

 

[savannah_sean]

Any recommendations?

The intro to "User Friendly" is good for warming up/metronome practice. I've also found that "air on a 6 string" makes an excellent exercise:

http://www.stevemorse.info/tab/air1.jpg

 

[Soulkeeper]

A pretty good method for getting better IMO:

1) Identify your weaknesses.
2) Take the biggest weakness, and work with it. A lot.
3) Which you're going to hate, because it sucks.
4) And you're going to end up playing something you're good at instead, because that's more satisfying in the short run.
5) Identify your lapse and stop it.
6) Pull yourself together and continue working with today's weakness.
7) Repeat.

 

[ScoobySteve]

Here's my two cents, and please feel free to pick and choose what you feel is important and what isn't, as all our roads are different, to say the least

I'm coming up on 15 years of playing, and I feel like I'm nowhere where I want to be. (Though this feeling seems to be common amongst us all) and for a solid 5 years of those 15 I just did good old fun cover band gigging. It was fun, and wouldn't trade it, but I definitely feel like I was having a good time but not improving and practicing fundamentals as much as I should have now.

I guess we guitarists feel like the years we play should be proportionate to the level of play, but that's certainly not the case. For me, when I really started to improve, was when I identified "What it is, that I want to be able to do with the guitar" this is the most important. Having a clear goal. We're all guitar players, but what we do with it is totally unique to each of us. Do I want to be a great blues player? Do I want to be a melodic lead player? Do I want to be a jazz/fusion improv player? Do I want to learn covers to my favorite tunes? Do I want to dig deep into theory/application to be a well rounded musician? Do I want to be a songwriter in X genre?

It's not so much that you must pick one or the other, but concentrating on one at a time, whilst giving good attention to fundamentals and technique will really help you to see progress, which is key to feeling satisfied.

This is where a good, rooted instructor/teacher is really useful. They'll help you pursue the ends you want to meet.Of course you don't have to, you could turn to teach yourself, and there's so many awesome instructional material out there.

So..... to cut my long-ridden babble short, and sum it up:

-Figure out what you want to do, and work at them one at a time
-Practice fundamentals (particular the ones that work in the goals you have, i.e. I want to be a great soloist, so practice alternate picking)
-Take a break every now and then
-Get a "good" teacher.

Good luck dude, I am in the same boat

 

[Tollywood]

I'm coming up on 15 years of playing, and I feel like I'm nowhere where I want to be. (Though this feeling seems to be common amongst us all)

Very common feeling, Steve. No matter how many years under your belt.

Devin, I also often find myself in the rut of playing the same songs. Try to set a goal for yourself, like one new song a week, or whatever your schedule will allow. Maybe that will help...but don't forget the older songs in the meantime.

 

[spkirby]

Firstly, and I can't stress this enough, play to have fun...that's really important as many players get too obsessed by trying to up their notes per second count or be able to pull off an Abdim#7aug11sus4 on the fly! It's not a competition, its a hobby (for most of us!), it should be art, not a technical workshop.

I'm happy with my playing now and have got there not through pouring over books, or learning to emulate Vai/Morse/Satriani/HeroOfTheDay, but by simply enjoying the moment and working on my own style and licks. Sure, if I'd religiously studied and practiced scales and chord theory then I'd certainly be a better guitarist, but would I have enjoyed the journey as much????

Absolutely not dissing teaching, I taught guitar myself for a few years, but don't make it the be all and end all at the expense of the enjoyment we experience with these bits of wood and metal! Sometimes just noodling over backing tracks or jamming with friends will teach you more and the music will be yours....

One thing I almost forgot, try learning a song in a style of music you wouldn't normally listen to, it's amazing how much you can progress by going out of the boundaries and then incorporating this knowledge into your style. I learnt a lot from a few gypsy jazz and 70's funk tunes...

 

[guitarp77]

Been playing for about 15 years now.

I´m pissed that I didn´t took formal lessons when I was younger and had the time and determination to improve as a player. Now I feel I´m stuck in a rut and, even though I´ve taken some theory lessons, it´s a lot harder to get better and get out of the confort zone.

I´ve found out that learning Morse songs has been an excellent challenge, since it makes you improve your vibrato, your phrasing and your bending. And they´re not always full of hard passages, so they don´t tear you down when you see the tab (as it happens with DT songs, where I see so many notes I say to myself there´s no way I´m going to learn all of this). Other amazing exercise has been playing Led Zeppelin songs. Though regarded as easy by some, Page´s use of chords and rythm is simply outstanding...you gotta get in the groove!

Nowadays I find guitar to be a great hobby, so I try to give myself affordable challenges. I know I´m not going anywhere serious or pro with it and having a family and a full time job, I try to squeeze the most out of my practicing time.

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Here's my two cents, and please feel free to pick and choose what you feel is important and what isn't, as all our roads are different, to say the least

I'm coming up on 15 years of playing, and I feel like I'm nowhere where I want to be. (Though this feeling seems to be common amongst us all) and for a solid 5 years of those 15 I just did good old fun cover band gigging. It was fun, and wouldn't trade it, but I definitely feel like I was having a good time but not improving and practicing fundamentals as much as I should have now.

I guess we guitarists feel like the years we play should be proportionate to the level of play, but that's certainly not the case. For me, when I really started to improve, was when I identified "What it is, that I want to be able to do with the guitar" this is the most important. Having a clear goal. We're all guitar players, but what we do with it is totally unique to each of us. Do I want to be a great blues player? Do I want to be a melodic lead player? Do I want to be a jazz/fusion improv player? Do I want to learn covers to my favorite tunes? Do I want to dig deep into theory/application to be a well rounded musician? Do I want to be a songwriter in X genre?

It's not so much that you must pick one or the other, but concentrating on one at a time, whilst giving good attention to fundamentals and technique will really help you to see progress, which is key to feeling satisfied.

This is where a good, rooted instructor/teacher is really useful. They'll help you pursue the ends you want to meet.Of course you don't have to, you could turn to teach yourself, and there's so many awesome instructional material out there.

So..... to cut my long-ridden babble short, and sum it up:

-Figure out what you want to do, and work at them one at a time
-Practice fundamentals (particular the ones that work in the goals you have, i.e. I want to be a great soloist, so practice alternate picking)
-Take a break every now and then
-Get a "good" teacher.

Good luck dude, I am in the same boat

Great post!

I guess my goal has and always will be to be the next John Petrucci. It's funny though, I thought that if I could just play all his material I would achieve this goal then, reality set in Not only can he play the way he does but, he's writing all that great music himself. I've never once sat down and tried writing my own material. Probably because I'm too afraid that I would soon realize I don't have what it take to write some great riffs or beautiful solos like John. Then again, I remind myself that I've only been playing for 3 years and the fact I can cover any material by him is a success story.

It's funny you say take a break because there will be times where I'm just too busy to play. A week will go by before I know it and ill feel like I'm going through withdrawals, then when I pick up the guitar again it's so exciting and it feels like I'm playing for the first time. I generally play a lot better when I have this feeling.

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Firstly, and I can't stress this enough, play to have fun...that's really important as many players get too obsessed by trying to up their notes per second count or be able to pull off an Abdim#7aug11sus4 on the fly! It's not a competition, its a hobby (for most of us!), it should be art, not a technical workshop.

I'm happy with my playing now and have got there not through pouring over books, or learning to emulate Vai/Morse/Satriani/HeroOfTheDay, but by simply enjoying the moment and working on my own style and licks. Sure, if I'd religiously studied and practiced scales and chord theory then I'd certainly be a better guitarist, but would I have enjoyed the journey as much????

Absolutely not dissing teaching, I taught guitar myself for a few years, but don't make it the be all and end all at the expense of the enjoyment we experience with these bits of wood and metal! Sometimes just noodling over backing tracks or jamming with friends will teach you more and the music will be yours....

One thing I almost forgot, try learning a song in a style of music you wouldn't normally listen to, it's amazing how much you can progress by going out of the boundaries and then incorporating this knowledge into your style. I learnt a lot from a few gypsy jazz and 70's funk tunes...

I agree completely. I've taken one guitar lesson and I learned absolutely nothing from it. Not saying the teacher was bad just, he made guitar this very complex complicated thing. I realize that, when you get down to it, it really is! I just got discouraged and thought to myself "ill never remember all of this crap!" He really threw a lot of material my way. It was more discouraging than empowering. I've been able to learn some complicated technique on my own and I guess, there's a little more satisfaction that comes with knowing you did it all on your own. Although the journey has been fun, there have been many times I've contemplated just giving it up as I was putting the guitar away after moments of sheer frustration of not getting a lick down.

When I finally master what was giving me such difficulty it makes it all worth it.