A Guitarist Looking for Motivation

[DarkXorius]

So I've been playing guitar for approximately 2 years and still dealing with frustration. I've been in two bands and recently gave up one because I couldn't improvise with them and felt left out. The first band ditched me at a school talent show and the recent one won't talk to me anymore.The thing is I can't play the music I like to get better practice whether I can't reach the tabs, too complex or requires another device and I don't have $1,000 to blow on a guitar and gear. I thought hobbies were suppose to be fun.

 

[18]

I've only been playing for a month and a half and I'm still learning (the only full song I can play is 'Polly' by Nirvana, I know only about ten riffs, and I can't solo at all yet), so I don't know about how it is when you've been playing for more than a year, but it doesn't sound like your bands ditched you because you were really bad or anything. More like they didn't agree with your direction or it was something personal or whatever. Don't bother with them, it's their loss, they'll have to find a guitarist now.

If you're in a town where lots of people are musical (and it sounds like it, if you've been in two bands in 2 years), why not form your own band? Maybe put out flyers and when people call you, talk to them first about what music they like and how they play so that you guys find it easier to agree with each other.

The thing is I can't play the music I like to get better practice whether I can't reach the tabs, too complex or requires another device and I don't have $1,000 to blow on a guitar and gear.

I know it sucks, everyone wants to play the music they like immediately. Do you watch video lessons or just look up text tabs? The videos are a lot more helpful. Marty Schwartz (I think he's called) has great lessons - he has lots of good advice for people who find certain parts difficult.

And while it's frustrating and slow, keep practising. A good way to do it is to play it at a very slow speed first, adjusting your fingers to correct mistakes as you go, and keep playing that way while increasing the speed every few tries until you're at the actual speed. Then stop and try playing it in full. When you make a mistake, don't overthink it. Everyone makes mistakes, even professional guitarists make mistakes all the time while playing live, but no one notices as long as they keep their cool and don't get completely derailed.

As for devices, I don't think you need them. As long as you can play the part, you know you'd be able to make it sound perfectly right if you had the Dunlop wah-wah pedal or whatever. In fact, there's something great about raw, stripped-down live guitars. It doesn't need to sound like it's in the studio. Listen to live albums from your favourite bands and you'll see the difference when they don't use some effects - it almost always sounds better, really.

Motivation - yeah. I struggle with it even though it's been less than two months, because a lot of people assume a month is more than enough to become Eddie Van Halen. They think it's easy. They usually profess to hate the music I listen to but fancy they know all about it, and the stuff they say is really silly (most of them don't even know that other instruments have to be played alongside to make the full song, believe it or not)... but it's still discouraging. On some days it does feel like I'm forcing myself to practise, but I practise everyday anyway. Think that the time and energy you invest in it now will be worth it when you end up being in the best band in your city, playing to 250 screaming fans in an underground room (ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง
Try to change what you're focusing on if it feels like you're going nowhere. Listen to lots of different music so you'll have plenty of influences to form your own distinctive style. If you can't play a certain band's music yet, try another one's, and try learning other parts (e.g playing rhythm instead of lead).

Guitar-playing is something everyone looks at and assumes is fun and easy (I'm not saying you, I'm saying the... how do I put this... discouraging outsiders I talked about in the previous paragraph), but like any other hobby where one actually makes something instead of just consuming (e.g writing, gardening) it requires a lot of time and energy and there are parts where it's not that fun. It'll be worth it in the end though, I assure you.

Just rehearse with your next band a lot and make sure you guys like each other - if the band members don't like each other there's no chemistry and it won't sound the best it can be, plus they won't give a member a chance before ditching them. Don't be just 'the guy who plays guitar' to them, be friends \: D/

And if you ever feel like you're not as good as you like, tell yourself, "Well, at least I'm better than Spinnerweb right now," and practise some more Best of luck

 

[4362]

Dont listen to toher people,play your own style
A few years ago,there was an band that received alot of negative critic including such quotes as "An monkey with no arms could play better than the guitarist",well guess who is seen as inventor of an new genre now
Also,there are songs that are easy to play and songs that are difficult to play.
Start with the easy ones to get better.
If you want to learn an song,play it slow the first few times,until you remembered everything,then you can try playing faster
BTW You dont need to recognise the notes from hearing and/or watching performances,the majority of people who play guitar cant do that,anyways

 

[DarkXorius]

Its difficult to understand how people are so passionate about music in general. Its like I can only see gray and only make gray. My old guitar teacher and other classmates think I'm some kind god of lead guitar(shockingly this is what everyone else thinks of my other hobbies that I'm not enjoying), but I had my mind set on rhythm because I don't want such an important spot. The music I like is different that the beginner stuff I should have learned. I just skipped the boring stuff and tried to act like I knew what I was doing with the complex songs. And I really did it this time by not playing for a month or two and COMPLETELY forgot the things I knew. No matter how high I go I always fall. There are so many good guitarists I've seen, It feels like I'm wasting time being a poser.

 

[18]

Its difficult to understand how people are so passionate about music in general. Its like I can only see gray and only make gray. My old guitar teacher and other classmates think I'm some kind god of lead guitar(shockingly this is what everyone else thinks of my other hobbies that I'm not enjoying), but I had my mind set on rhythm because I don't want such an important spot. The music I like is different that the beginner stuff I should have learned. I just skipped the boring stuff and tried to act like I knew what I was doing with the complex songs. And I really did it this time by not playing for a month or two and COMPLETELY forgot the things I knew. No matter how high I go I always fall. There are so many good guitarists I've seen, It feels like I'm wasting time being a poser.

The number of people who are actually passionate about music has decreased exponentially over the past decade, methinks.

Skipping the beginner stuff was a mistake, yes, but that kind of thing shows (along with people thinking you're a god of lead guitar) that you're not bad at it like you seemed to think in the initial post. You can still learn and play rhythm. No one can force you to play lead if you don't want to. Try learning to sing backing vocals alongside rhythm so you're more attractive to bands looking for rhythm guitarists. And since you're tab-oriented, re-learning what you forgot won't be very difficult.

Of course, if it really is just making you unhappy, you can always look for another hobby or put it away for now and pick it up later. It'd be regrettable, but better than feeling down about it. I wish you luck.

And those good guitarists probably felt the same when they were learning. 'Guitar frustration' ought to be a term in itself.

 

[PersonSP]

Go to flea markets and second hand shops (including those on the internet), they sell a lot of guitars, actually. As for music practice, the are tons of tutorials on youtube and apps to help you out. Teaching yourself how to play is a lot harder than having a teacher, but it's doable. As for not being able to improvise; I played flute for three years, practicing every week and only after that did it become possible to properly improvise. You've got to know your instrument really well to just 'create' music out of nothing. Be patient, it will come. And of course, a flute is a killer instrument (meaning you literally have to train on breathing in a different way, and you can't see your hands while playing), a guitar doesn't have to take three years.