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

I still haven't played a complete song through from beginning to end without stopping or going back over something. Except in Rocksmith. That game makes me feel like i can actually play, until i try the same song into my amp. Then i hear how awful i really am.
 
It's a great solo because it is well-written, has something to say, it's utterly original, and it's a focal point for a great, beautifully crafted song.

Lots of players can play something faster. Few can create a solo that's as good.

You know it's good when another group covers your song and keeps the solo.
[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SLhoLkTyNkM[/video]
 
I still haven't played a complete song through from beginning to end without stopping or going back over something. Except in Rocksmith. That game makes me feel like i can actually play, until i try the same song into my amp. Then i hear how awful i really am.

Don't stop when you make a mistake, keep playing. Listen to the isolated guitar tracks of a lot of classic songs and you'll hear mistakes. Live a lot of great players make mistakes. It's all part of playing.

When learning something new break it out into section and learn each part. And don't be afraid to go slow.
And a lot of our favorite players weren't as good on record as we think they are with some of their best work done by ghost players.
 
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All that matters is that you're enjoying yourself. Playing(level of proficiency doesn't matter), collecting, drooling over...it's all good!
 
I just try to be creative... Sometimes that means I play guitar more often and sometimes not, don't judge yourself on proficiency, make something.

I remember reading a guitar magazine article with Chris Cornell during the SuperUnknown days and he said something that really stuck with me. It was something like...I spent my time trying to be creative and not necessarily good. To some it might sound like an excuse, but for me it was more than that. I think making something is really the key so well said Sergio.
 
The better guitar will make playing easier. Then you will want to play more. Then you will get better.
 
My advise is record yourself often and listen back a month or two later, then a year later. You will see progress. We slowly improve in certain areas and others it's like a light switch that just goes on one day. My other advise is set goals. I wanna learn a whole song in 2 months, then in 6 weeks etc to where you can do it in a few hours. Train your ear that will make you a better player quicker than anything. When your driving or hanging out and can hear that's an A chord or a minor scale lick etc.
The most important thing is have fun and be happy
 
And these days with GarageBand on the iPad or something like the Zoom products you can do it on the cheap.
 
I still haven't played a complete song through from beginning to end without stopping or going back over something. Except in Rocksmith. That game makes me feel like i can actually play, until i try the same song into my amp. Then i hear how awful i really am.

Pick an easier song! Get some confidence, nothing wrong with getting your confidence up on a three chord classic like Highway to Hell!
 
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.
 
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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 while glaring at the bass player.

fixed that for ya Les.
 
I love listening to awesome guitar solos. I can't really play them though. I figure I'm a decent rhythm player, but when I learned to play guitar (age 16) it was all by myself and I wanted to play things that would be recognizable... so I played chords and didn't really focus on lead parts. Now, at age 33, I can still play decent rhythm. Lead licks, not so much. Working on it though.

For all you guys who have feelings of inadequacy about your playing ability... do you ever find that it makes you NOT want to try stuff out at the guitar store? Every time I think "I want to play that guitar through that amp, but I don't want to be put on audition while I'm doing it" and I end up walking out without trying things out. In the end I guess it saves me money, but I wish I could get past that feeling so that I could try out some new and better things.
 
All that matters is that you're enjoying yourself. Playing(level of proficiency doesn't matter), collecting, drooling over...it's all good!
That right there is the key.
I am the king of crappy players, I am doing it for fun, and it amazes me how much fun it can be sounding like a pile crap :D
 
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.

Very good advice. Especially about the metronome, I never thought about that.

Thanks
 
If being good at something was a requirment for buying or doing something all the guitar companies would go out of business and the roads would be empty. I might be the worst guitar player in the world but I have fun trying to get better.
 
Very good advice. Especially about the metronome, I never thought about that.

Thanks

Les's metronome tip is very good advice, but I'd recommend a drum machine (or DM software) instead of a regular metronome. One, the drone of a metronome gets boring. Two, the drum machine can give you more realistic timing cues. I got the idea from an old Rock School videotape (I'm old) with Omar Hakim - he said he uses a drum machine for a click track, and he knows he's playing in time if he doesn't hear the machine.
 
Les's metronome tip is very good advice, but I'd recommend a drum machine (or DM software) instead of a regular metronome. One, the drone of a metronome gets boring. Two, the drum machine can give you more realistic timing cues. I got the idea from an old Rock School videotape (I'm old) with Omar Hakim - he said he uses a drum machine for a click track, and he knows he's playing in time if he doesn't hear the machine.

FYI, I did also recommend a drum machine.

Software works, but it's often hard to hear computer software when you're playing your guitar through an amp, whereas, you can hook a simple drum machine up to another amp, or the one you're using with an ABY switch. Same with the metronomes that come on many tuners, like the little $20 Korg ones.
 
FYI, I did also recommend a drum machine.

Software works, but it's often hard to hear computer software when you're playing your guitar through an amp, whereas, you can hook a simple drum machine up to another amp, or the one you're using with an ABY switch. Same with the metronomes that come on many tuners, like the little $20 Korg ones.

You did - what I meant to say was that I'd go with the recommendation of a drum machine. You probably just couldn't hear it over the loud amps! :2channelh:
 
Well, I guess I'm the contrarian.
I can't imagine paying the price of a core PRS if all I can play is "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" or "When The Saints Come Marching In".
Just me, everyone is different.

If being good at something was a requirment for buying or doing something all the guitar companies would go out of business and the roads would be empty. I might be the worst guitar player in the world but I have fun trying to get better.

I gotta agree with MotorPro here. Talent and aptitude are easily trumped by desire. He even used the same analogy I thought when I read the first quote. Shouldn't every car sold have governors to limit max speeds to 70 or 75? And I know PLENTY of people who have no business driving over 40mph.

Here's the proof of why the first quote doesn't fly ANC why the second one is closer to the mark...
Listen to "Michael Roy The Boat Ashore" on a $99 Squire and then obnoxious a $3K PRS - no comparison no matter WHO is playing.

I think it was Hans who said he's rarely on time, but the still wears a Rolex. THAT'S the mindset I'm talking about and one anyone how values themselves should have.
 
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