Am I the only one here that can't play guitar?

Here's some advice to folks who say they can't play:

1. For players who say their timing sucks, practice with a metronome or a drum machine every time you practice or just play for fun. Every time. Your timing will improve by leaps and bounds because it eventually becomes second nature.

If you look at the David Grissom lessons videos, there is a drum machine going that he plays along with. Even he needs a tempo and a beat to play to.

2. Play through mistakes, don't go back. Everyone, including the greatest virtuoso and symphonic players who train for their entire lifetime, hits a clam. Everyone. Hit a clam? Just move on. You wouldn't turn around, go home, park the car in the garage, and start over if you forget to signal a lane change driving to work, right?

3. If it's OK for Neil Young to play simple guitar parts, it's OK for you. Simplify everything. Make every single note count. Maybe you'll start adding stuff to your lines. Maybe not. But one right note, played with a vibe and feeling, in just the right spot, kills.

4. If you stumble playing 16th notes, play 8th notes. If that's a bit complicated, play quarter notes. Too much? There are half note lead lines that sound magnificent. Or play a note per measure. Get the idea? Play the same note over and over if you don't know exactly what to do next. See above comment on Neil Young.

5. Play every single day, even if it's just for a few minutes. The brain and the hand muscles love repetition.

6. Playing scales can be useful, but it can also be incredibly boring and rote. Play some songs. Mix it up.

7. Get together with other musicians who are more advanced than you are, and jam. You'll learn new things, pick up tips, and have a good time. Host the jam. A place to play is always appreciated. If you can't put an electric band into your place, then host an acoustic guitar jam. If you go elsewhere to play, bring the beer. The guy who brings the beer is always welcome!

I have a talented friend who switched from concert flute to electric guitar about ten years ago. He loved jazz, and was trying to learn all this complicated material. A very good sight reader from his orchestral flute playing, he also has a good ear. But he was constantly frustrated. He'd get about two measures into a song, and everything would fall apart. Then he'd stop playing, swear a little, and put the guitar down. He asked me what I'd suggest (why, I don't know, since I'm relatively worthless on guitar).

"Why don't you first start with some simpler stuff and learn some blues," I suggested. After all, so much contemporary music is rooted in the blues, it's a good place to start. Some players stay there and love it.

He took my advice. He progressed from blues to more complex stuff, and along the way he got into classic rock. He's the lead player for a pretty good band and he's in his 60s now.

I'd add: unplug your electric and play it. Sit on the couch or wherever without an amp and play. A lot. Listen to the strings.
 
Like Les said, Neil Young can do more with one note (Cinnamon Girl) than many can do with "Weedley, Weedley, Weedley" all the time...
 
Like Les said, Neil Young can do more with one note (Cinnamon Girl) than many can do with "Weedley, Weedley, Weedley" all the time...

True. It probably takes Satch and Vai a hundred notes before I can reach for the skip button... from Neil it takes just one. :tongue:
 
I say never stop trying until that all magical switch finally turns on.........

For some the switch was never off, but for some of us like me it could take many a year before that switch turns on.

How it gets turned on is different for everybody.

I was born to parents of which both sides of the family played some kind of instrument, including cousin Merle Haggard (no, I never saw the man, just for making a point:). So, there was always a guitar around and people that played really well.

In all honesty, I was just plain lazy..........I wanted everything to come easy and if it didn't then I would find something else to do.

Now I am older and I am willing to take the time and patience to work through the different walls that come up.....

For me I have found (after looking for a long long time) a guy on YouTube that teaches guitar in a way that clicks with me. Since finding him, I have made leaps and bounds in my playing.

I also found a guitar I LOVE playing, so now I can no longer blame the guitar for my lack of playing , something like a crappy buzz in the strings or action set too high or whatever.

RUTS...It is easy to get into a rut playing the guitar with the same tone/sounds. For me that would have me putting the guitar away for long spells, So I got a Eleven Rack that allows me to change up the sounds which helps me stay out of a rut.....The are tons of things you can get cheap or used that allows you to change your guitar sounds to help you stay away from ruts........

Play because you love playing, not just trying to get to a place where you can impress someone.
 
Play because you love playing, not just trying to get to a place where you can impress someone.

Wait just a dang minute -- I started playing guitar to impress women.

As far as I'm concerned, that's the only legitimate reason to accomplish anything. ;)
 
Exactly.
The point isn't how well you play, the point is how good playing makes you feel.

Unless you have an audience, in which case the point is how good playing makes everyone, including you, feel. ;)

But it doesn't have to be complex or dazzling to be good. I'm living proof.
 
You can always find something to suck at, right now I'm trying to work on getting my bends spot on again. Nothing more exciting than recording bends and hearing how sharp or flat they are.
 
Unless you have an audience, in which case the point is how good playing makes everyone, including you, feel. ;)

But it doesn't have to be complex or dazzling to be good. I'm living proof.

Instead we just take pleasure in the contorted faces of those who hear us play.

Of course I prefer this guy, he makes me laugh every time. The original doesn't do anything for me.

So I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with me, but I'm ok with it.

 
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Wait just a dang minute -- I started playing guitar to impress women.

As far as I'm concerned, that's the only legitimate reason to accomplish anything. ;)

Once I realized I could get laid playing James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg songs, my desire to improve waned...
 
...and so did the quality of the women. ;)

What you don't get from playing James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg songs.

Though I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
 
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I agree with just about everything on here except 'IKnowALittle' s comment. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO PLAY CRAPPY GUITARS.
I started late, I am still not very good, but I bought the best guitar I could afford (PRS HB2) and this guitar has inspired me to keep practising every day. When I open the case I am still excited by its quality and beauty, it just HAS to come out and be played. A $99 Squier would not do that for me.
Its set up and intonation is perfect and vey rarely needs tweaking. You would not get that from a $99 guitar.
The PRS playability is fantastic, easy to fret and low action without buzz. You wouldn't get that from a $99 guitar (and in my experience not from one other US guitar makers at any price, hint G)
Learning to play guitar is a great challenge, its not easy, but when you see some improvement it is tremendously satisfying. I practise playing music I like (even if it is a simplified version), and that way I don't get fed up (Row the Boat Ashore is not on my playlist!).
So - buy the best you can afford, practice every day even if only for a short time and most of all remember to enjoy it.
 
I agree with just about everything on here except 'IKnowALittle' s comment. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO PLAY CRAPPY GUITARS.
I started late, I am still not very good, but I bought the best guitar I could afford (PRS HB2) and this guitar has inspired me to keep practising every day. When I open the case I am still excited by its quality and beauty, it just HAS to come out and be played. A $99 Squier would not do that for me.
Its set up and intonation is perfect and vey rarely needs tweaking. You would not get that from a $99 guitar.
The PRS playability is fantastic, easy to fret and low action without buzz. You wouldn't get that from a $99 guitar (and in my experience not from one other US guitar makers at any price, hint G)
Learning to play guitar is a great challenge, its not easy, but when you see some improvement it is tremendously satisfying. I practise playing music I like (even if it is a simplified version), and that way I don't get fed up (Row the Boat Ashore is not on my playlist!).
So - buy the best you can afford, practice every day even if only for a short time and most of all remember to enjoy it.

I couldn't agree more.......:beer:
 
...and so did the quality of the women. ;)

Wrong. Totally, completely, wrong. ;)

But once you reach a "certain age" (which I have) you are invisible to women unless you are very, very rich. Doesn't matter WHAT songs you play. ;)
 
Wrong. Totally, completely, wrong. ;)

But once you reach a "certain age" (which I have) you are invisible to women unless you are very, very rich. Doesn't matter WHAT songs you play. ;)

You know you have hit that wall when they start calling you 'pops':bawling:
 
Eeh, I can't play worth a damn either... but I'm also my own worst critic. I heard something a few years back, a list of common mistakes guitar players make, and how to get rid of them. It is actually pretty damn close to the list of tips from our resident Thor... err, Les, posted earlier with the addition of 1 more thing... making goals.

Ever since I read the original list, the thing I took away from it the most was setting goal for myself. Every time I practice now I set some sort of goal, and the practice doesn't end until I reach it. My goals are generally a bunch of short term goals to get me to where I want to be in a long term goal. Creating goals for yourself can be just as rewarding as recording yourself and listening to it a few months later. Set a goal for yourself, write it down, throw it in your gig bag, or in a random page of a song book, and start working on it. Eventually you'll run across the paper, look at it, and realize you know how to do what you set for yourself. If you don't know how to do it yet, put it back and keep working toward that goal.
 
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