Guitar Skill

ibmorjamn

ibmorjamn

Ambassador of Moar Jammin
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I have "0"
I have to ask myself after all these years am I better?
The conclusion is no.

I have a few things I worked on and after time has gone by (2 weeks)
Non of it is usefull. It's all garbage.
I am not just in a rut , I am spinning backwards.

I have to try something else because what I do does not work.
 
ibmorjamn said:
I have "0"
I have to ask myself after all these years am I better?
The conclusion is no.

I have a few things I worked on and after time has gone by (2 weeks)
Non of it is usefull. It's all garbage.
I am not just in a rut , I am spinning backwards.

I have to try something else because what I do does not work.
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Admitting you are lacking just means you are a real guitar player. No one on this planet ever mastered this instrument, no matter how well they were. There were faults in every single legend and by their own admission, they had miles to still go.

And what does qualify as great anyways? A wizard such as Eddie Van Halen means nothing to someone who is into Punk, where a person like Steve Jones would be appreciated for minimalism and attitude. Meanwhile, someone like Kurt Cobain had what would barely be called skill, yet he sold millions of albums more than a person like Robin Trower.

It's all subjective really. But don't get discouraged, keep trying! Something eventually clicks and you find your own sound and style, regardless of what others might rate it
 
ibmorjamn said:
I have "0"
I have to ask myself after all these years am I better?
The conclusion is no.

I have a few things I worked on and after time has gone by (2 weeks)
Non of it is usefull. It's all garbage.
I am not just in a rut , I am spinning backwards.

I have to try something else because what I do does not work.
Click to expand...

Play out more. Open mics. Anything.

I have found nothing better than playing live for skill building.
 
Some time back I made much the same statement here like you just did. Said something like I’m a bedroom hack at best. A wise man…. Fellow TTR member…. Who shall remain nameless, but he goes by inspector #20, laid some wisdom on me. Reminded me regardless my skill level I do something the majority of people can’t do. I place fingers on a fret board and make notes. That makes me a musician. And he was correct. Something I already knew but needed to be reminded. Didn’t make me a better player, but I did feel better about myself and can accept me as me.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I am just disappointed right now.
Kind of miss my friends. It's been years since we jammed.

Yeah, well I never really played out much.
One open mic with a friend years ago. I sort of sucked but at least I knew the drummer.

I think I just need to study the instrument theory more instead of just trying to write.
 
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ibmorjamn said:
I think I just need to study the instrument theory more instead of just trying write.
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An exercise that I’ve found useful in learning, and creating, has been the exploration of intervals, and creating chord structure around them. Instead of pounding out power chords, or strumming cowboy chords, I’ll choose a note, or melody, and choose a related interval to that melody. Like a major third, minor third, sixth, seventh…whatever fits the melody…build a chord around that pair…like add the fifth of the major third…and so on. I may find another use for this chord. I may build another progression from it…and another melody….that leads up to another chord…and so on. I may even recognize the chord I’m goofing around with as something Alex Lifeson used somewhere, or something (he seems to have a penchant for using random chords that may seem “haphazard“). I may look it up in a chord finder somewhere, and discover that I’ve discovered “nothing new” again…but I may have learned something, and written something, new to me…and got some good experience doing it.
Sorry…just rambling…bummer to hear of your frustration.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
An exercise that I’ve found useful in learning, and creating, has been the exploration of intervals, and creating chord structure around them. Instead of pounding out power chords, or strumming cowboy chords, I’ll choose a note, or melody, and choose a related interval to that melody. Like a major third, minor third, sixth, seventh…whatever fits the melody…build a chord around that pair…like add the fifth of the major third…and so on. I may find another use for this chord. I may build another progression from it…and another melody….that leads up to another chord…and so on. I may even recognize the chord I’m goofing around with as something Alex Lifeson used somewhere, or something (he seems to have a penchant for using random chords that may seem “haphazard“). I may look it up in a chord finder somewhere, and discover that I’ve discovered “nothing new” again…but I may have learned something, and written something, new to me…and got some good experience doing it.
Sorry…just rambling…bummer to hear of your frustration.
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Thanks Don, that helps. I just need another direction. I kind of feel trapped in my current state.
 
ibmorjamn said:
Thanks Don, that helps. I just need another direction. I kind of feel trapped in my current state.
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I do understand. Most times I feel the same way. What I do, I do fairly ok. But I don’t push myself into new space. That I need to do more. Figured one way to push was work on playing bass. That was two months ago and I still haven’t picked it up.
 
ibmorjamn said:
Thanks for the kind words. I am just disappointed right now.
Kind of miss my friends. It's been years since we jammed.

Yeah, well I never really played out much.
One open mic with a friend years ago. I sort of sucked but at least I knew the drummer.

I think I just need to study the instrument theory more instead of just trying write.
Click to expand...

It always gets better!!!! We all have creative slumps, but its temporary. Bless you. Bless your hands. Keep Going!!!
 
I know how that feels with singing. I try and spend endless hours but know I have no real talent for it. No band ever wants me and if I post clips of me with an ad I never get contacted. I've found that I know I've "learned" to sing by what I am doing and it feels right; however I'm one of those people that just don't have the beauty in my voice. That, regardless of practice, keeps one out of the game.

Don't feel so bad and just have fun doing what you do. If you suck, have fun sucking if you can - I'm sure there are things you can do on the guitar and with recording that can make you happy. Remember too that it's all subjective - you are an expert to someone else that does not play as well as you do.
 
iblive said:
I do understand. Most times I feel the same way. What I do, I do fairly ok. But I don’t push myself into new space. That I need to do more. Figured one way to push was work on playing bass. That was two months ago and I still haven’t picked it up.
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ibmorjamn said:
I do like the Bass. I might try that to. Thanks iblive
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As a bass enthusiast, I concur! Playing with different rhythms and melodies around another instrument can be….instrumental in sparking a breakthrough learning experience….ummmm…sorry.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
As a bass enthusiast, I concur! Playing with different rhythms and melodies around another instrument can be….instrumental in sparking a breakthrough learning experience….ummmm…sorry.
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I chose to learn guitar. But I really should have made the bass my emphasis and the guitar a side job. Played low brass in band. Sang bass in the church choir. I read bass clef. When I hum along with songs, I’m messing with the bass line. Basically. I think in bass. However. The guitar player gets the girl….. so…….
 
Hire a good teacher get you on the fast track invest in yourself
My friend Joe and I have been playing music together many years we both play drums bass guitar keyboards
now were learning Mandolin My drum teacher had me learn many different styles of music
Joe and I were in a band for over ten years I let Joe pick most of the songs so I was learning something new all of the time
 
Sapient said:
You're a singer. You'd take your voice over any instrument in the world. :wink:

:giggle:
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But I just like expressing the crazy shlt that rattles around my decrepit little mind. It’s taken a long time to gain a reasonable vocabulary with a few instruments to be able to actually express these insanities with a small measure of accuracy.
I need to play my banjo more often…but I really like my bass guitars….and my guitars are like my favorite old boots and sneakers…
 
67plexi said:
Hire a good teacher get you on the fast track invest in yourself
My friend Joe and I have been playing music together many years we both play drums bass guitar keyboards
now were learning Mandolin My drum teacher had me learn many different styles of music
Joe and I were in a band for over ten years I let Joe pick most of the songs so I was learning something new all of the time
Click to expand...
You speak of teachers. I’ve read several of Neil Peart’s books. Not only could he write great songs for Rush…. He a pretty good writer when it comes to books. One thing that he has mentioned many times. His teacher….. that he was still working with late in his career. Basically right up to the end.
 
I will admit a few things with everyone right here and now that is
A) I don't know the first thing about music theory
B) I don't know how to read sheet music
C) I never had an instructor or a lesson
D) I never learned any scales other than the minor pentatonic and blues scale
E) I am quite terrible at soloing but, can replicate what I see and hear closely, sometimes getting it right lol
Do I wish I had done any of the above? Well of course!

But, I never let any of that stop me from playing or trying. I just sit down with a CD player ( today, MP3s and Youtube) and began copying what I hear to the best of my knowledge. Eventually, you stumble upon the right notes and you take from it, putting into your computer bank ( your brain!) and use it elsewhere. Lots of songs often use the same exact notes and patterns, just a slight variation, which makes it easier to begin to learn something else.

From there? That's how I began to come up with random stuff of my own. I SUCK at writing anything, because I'm not a vocalist, a lyricist and I don't have the know-how to record anything other than myself ( i.e splicing in existing rhythm tracks or even fine tuning something in "production"). But, using old memory of things I learned on the guitar, I can conjure up something random out of that. Sometimes it sounds decent I guess? Other times its hack as hell lol

But again, I don't let it stop me! If it's something I can say " hey that was kinda cool" and be proud of if absolutely NO ONE else liked it, then it wasn't a failure.
 
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