Where are you at ..music playing wise ??

BFT Gibson

BFT Gibson

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Being the most awesome gear page ever..pretty close bunch here..love the posts..where are you at in the music? Always like to understand that perspective as the gear posts come up..thanks everybody !!

Maybe. explain..are you in a band..working on a project....working on certain skills..recording...ect
 
I am into noodling. My patience is thin so I struggle learning songs and have always been like that. If there is a name for it "I'm in". Every morning and every night for a hour or two I play along with video's which comes easy for me and sounds decent. The wife and dog loves it so that's all that matters.
 
BFT Gibson said:
Being the most awesome gear page ever..pretty close bunch here..love the posts..where are you at in the music? Always like to understand that perspective as the gear posts come up..thanks everybody !!

Maybe. explain..are you in a band..working on a project....working on certain skills..recording...ect
Click to expand...

It seems like it's always changing...

I been working full-time in several bands down here in So-Cal over the past few years. Most of that - except my current (Fire Control) and most recent (Maxon-Axxe) bands, were simply musician replacement positions for hire.

In 2017, through professional contacts in the Musician's Union, I was able to nail down steady full-time work between two recording studios. The commuting is the only downside.

Over the past year and a half, I have shifted gears somewhat and really focused on Engineering and Production. That's where I am really investing the time to hone my skills.

On the flip side of that, my current band mates are all happy with part time status, so I'm the only member with a full-time music committment. I'm just not happy with part-time work, so my current goal is to expand my knowledge of general songs with an eye towards working as a solo artist during the week for hire and continuing with my current band project.

I am currently working with two, well-established local artists - as a duo - to learn the ropes so to speak.

My #1 goal is to replace my weekly income from the studio with solo artist work and end my commuting into Los Angeles daily.

I've even started to dabble in writing original material a little.

I'm currently working on releasing a CD of covers and might possibly throw an original in here or there.

As guitar playing goes, I've settled on my gear and I now devote several hours a day to practice and learning as many new things as possible. I'm really trying to sharpen skills and get used to playing live more with greater confidence. The 'safety net' environment of the recording studio has hampered me somewhat. I feel myself playing more reserved live to keep from making a mistake. If I can couple the fearlessness of my studio persona with the cautionary feel of my live persona, that will be a giant leap forward!!!

Sorry to ramble on so...
 
Started playing guitar in my early teens. Played in bands for a few years then got into drugs. Didn't pickup a guitar for 30 years, although the drugs only lasted for ten years. Ten years ago I took up guitar again. Within a year I was hooked, buying and selling guitars and amps, experimenting, finding my sound. I played in a weekly bar jam for about eight years until the venue was sold last year. Since then I've been playing a lot of acoustic guitar and trying to sing. mostly covers but a few originals. I struggle with writing songs but I keep trying. I'm currently playing in a duo with another like minded guitar player. He switches between acoustic and electric. I switch between acoustic, electric, bass, and mandolin. We play some originals, some Dylan, some blues, some White Stripes, and whatever strikes our fancy. We are currently looking for a female singer to round out the sound. We haven't played live yet as we are still working on arranging the songs to make them ours.
 
Currently been getting music requests from friends for a fantasy project that really like my style. I think i came a long ways after figuring out my sound. EMG pickups through a marshall amp. doing it for free because im not under any time constraints, and im honestly having fun with it. Plus a chance to really get my music out there in form of a soundtrack which is what i've been wanting to do.
 
I am a hack at best on a good day...I wish I were a better player, but starting to learn at age 55 has it's drawbacks. I still have no idea where to go on the fretboard
when I try and noodle around to a backing track. I'm only fair at playing along to a song with TAB in front of me...can't get past a small riff without it.
 
Sp8ctre said:
I am a hack at best on a good day...I wish I were a better player, but starting to learn at age 55 has it's drawbacks. I still have no idea where to go on the fretboard
when I try and noodle around to a backing track. I'm only fair at playing along to a song with TAB in front of me...can't get past a small riff without it.
Click to expand...
That is the problem with playing to backing tracks. You are the star and have to play lead all the time. Playing live you play more rhythm than lead. When I play to backing tracks for practice I play a lot of rhythm trying tp figure out rhythm parts. I know we are all guitar players and love to think we are Van Halen or Clapton but in reality it is about the song not our guitar playing. The singer is the lead, not the guitar for most songs. The guitars are there to support the singer. In a lot of cases the guitar is the least important member of the band. To make music that most people want to listen to the singer comes first, followed by drums and bass, then any other instruments.
 
Started late at 50, and almost 5 years in with (almost) daily practice.
I still consider myself a beginner / not quite Intermediate level player.
Just cant seem to put it together consistently.
I can play riffs, licks, and bits and pieces, parts of leads from several songs but can only play through a few whole simple songs.
Even those I cant quite smoothly play along to the record.

Noodle around the scale boxes and mixes of power chords, etc.
Play a lot of clean full barre chord changes as part of warm ups / noodling too.
Still cant get those bastages to ring clearly on the regular.

Keeping at it and having fun.
 
I am like many others I can hold my own on rhythm can do a couple of fills , used to play with others , now I mostly create riffs , that I post on these music forums, yes I am having fun, and this last go round is after a 17 year lay off of the guitar, but I am now into year 11 and still learning !
And boring every one who can grab a listen!
Cheers Mitch
 
jtcnj said:
Started late at 50, and almost 5 years in with (almost) daily practice.
I still consider myself a beginner / not quite Intermediate level player.
Just cant seem to put it together consistently.
I can play riffs, licks, and bits and pieces, parts of leads from several songs but can only play through a few whole simple songs.
Even those I cant quite smoothly play along to the record.

Noodle around the scale boxes and mixes of power chords, etc.
Play a lot of clean full barre chord changes as part of warm ups / noodling too.
Still cant get those bastages to ring clearly on the regular.

Keeping at it and having fun.
Click to expand...
cool..switched from bass to guitar at 50 also....year 5 now...the 2 extra string are finally making sense.. do know the guitar side of things seems to be more expensive for some reason..
 
Mitch Pearrow SJMP said:
I am like many others I can hold my own on rhythm can do a couple of fills , used to play with others , now I mostly create riffs , that I post on these music forums, yes I am having fun, and this last go round is after a 17 year lay off of the guitar, but I am now into year 11 and still learning !
And boring every one who can grab a listen!
Cheers Mitch
Click to expand...
Marshall owes you some gear for "your" garage sales of their product !!
 
Last edited:
I'm a hack.
I noodle, I play overly distorted harmonic laden noise to swamp creatures.
It makes me happy.
Been playing for at least 50 years, but never disciplined structure of any kind.
When I was a kid I thought lessons were stupid. Too much like school.
So I never lasted long at that. Faked my way into jazz band in high school by playing bass.
But I couldn't read music. They put me on a stand up bass thing that you bowed.
Wouldn't work for me so I started just plucking it. Got yelled at and asked to leave the jazz band.
I jammed with other kids and never took it seriously but enjoyed playing and always had a guitar handy.
I hung out at music stores for years, first as a young pest, then as a young potential customer, then as that that cat that always buys something.
In my 20's having a guitar at the local park playing Neil Young songs meant instant chicks. So that's how I rolled for a while.
Life went on, got married and interests wane.
But I always had a guitar. They often got traded, but one was always there.

Sometime in my early 40's life had settled down to a nice predictable routine and I revisited the old guitar that I had always kept.
It was rough. A series of amature hack mods and missing parts.
I started collecting parts and brought it back to life and it sparked an interest that had been dormant for years.
Then I fell into the rabbit hole...
Down, down, down I tumbled. It started with a new guitar.
Harmless enough, right? Then another.
Then I started playing more & started to go to local bar jams that friends hosted.
One thing led to another and I started doing setups and repairs for local musicians.
I was scrounging pawn shops for "deals" and flipping guitars.
My repair work was getting more interesting and challenging, and I was making some beer money.
Life was good.
I'd spend that money on more guitars. I was getting a new guitar a month for a while.
More came in than went out. Then the amp thing started harmlessly enough with a smattering of decent but non remarkable amps.
One fateful day I had a few extra bucks in my pocket and I harmlessly discovered a Dr. Z.
I had to have it.
Then it was a Mesa...
Then an 18 watt Marshall build from Trinity amps.
First one, then another. Pretty soon I gave away the bed out of our spare room to make room for the guitars and amps.

It was a good decision at the time because then...
I was hired by a guitar store to do repairs and setups.
This led to more contacts, more friendships, more jams, more repairs and way more guitar and amps coming in.

Then I met eSGEe through another forum.
Did dozens of deals with him while ending up here and doing dozens more.

Oh back to the original question, I still suck playing wise but at my age I just don't give a $hit anymore.
I'm enjoying my current stable, old memories and time spent creating.
Life IS good.
 
Full-circle back to noodling at this point, sorry to say. The last project I was involved in ended about 2 years ago and I just have not found the right thing again...so while I still play daily it ain't for makin' music, just for my personal enjoyment and sanity.
 
gball said:
just for my personal enjoyment and sanity.
Click to expand...
This says it all. Over 50 years ago I knew I didn’t have what it takes to make it as a professional musician. To make a living as a musician you have to be disciplined and have an indomitable spirit. I consider myself a musician, an amateur not a pro. I study music. I like to figure why some things sound good and others don’t. I love to play live. I get high off the audience. I love the give and take of playing with other musicians. I do all this solely for my enjoyment and because I have to to keep my sanity.
 
Hackmaster said:
I'm a hack.
I noodle, I play overly distorted harmonic laden noise to swamp creatures.
It makes me happy.
Been playing for at least 50 years, but never disciplined structure of any kind.
When I was a kid I thought lessons were stupid. Too much like school.
So I never lasted long at that. Faked my way into jazz band in high school by playing bass.
But I couldn't read music. They put me on a stand up bass thing that you bowed.
Wouldn't work for me so I started just plucking it. Got yelled at and asked to leave the jazz band.
I jammed with other kids and never took it seriously but enjoyed playing and always had a guitar handy.
I hung out at music stores for years, first as a young pest, then as a young potential customer, then as that that cat that always buys something.
In my 20's having a guitar at the local park playing Neil Young songs meant instant chicks. So that's how I rolled for a while.
Life went on, got married and interests wane.
But I always had a guitar. They often got traded, but one was always there.

Sometime in my early 40's life had settled down to a nice predictable routine and I revisited the old guitar that I had always kept.
It was rough. A series of amature hack mods and missing parts.
I started collecting parts and brought it back to life and it sparked an interest that had been dormant for years.
Then I fell into the rabbit hole...
Down, down, down I tumbled. It started with a new guitar.
Harmless enough, right? Then another.
Then I started playing more & started to go to local bar jams that friends hosted.
One thing led to another and I started doing setups and repairs for local musicians.
I was scrounging pawn shops for "deals" and flipping guitars.
My repair work was getting more interesting and challenging, and I was making some beer money.
Life was good.
I'd spend that money on more guitars. I was getting a new guitar a month for a while.
More came in than went out. Then the amp thing started harmlessly enough with a smattering of decent but non remarkable amps.
One fateful day I had a few extra bucks in my pocket and I harmlessly discovered a Dr. Z.
I had to have it.
Then it was a Mesa...
Then an 18 watt Marshall build from Trinity amps.
First one, then another. Pretty soon I gave away the bed out of our spare room to make room for the guitars and amps.

It was a good decision at the time because then...
I was hired by a guitar store to do repairs and setups.
This led to more contacts, more friendships, more jams, more repairs and way more guitar and amps coming in.

Then I met eSGEe through another forum.
Did dozens of deals with him while ending up here and doing dozens more.

Oh back to the original question, I still suck playing wise but at my age I just don't give a $hit anymore.
I'm enjoying my current stable, old memories and time spent creating.
Life IS good.
Click to expand...

A Hack....Master...:-)
 
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