ScarletMacaw Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I've been listening in on this thread because I've been thinking recently about playing guitar again. I haven't played in 30 years, and one thing I'm curious about is what motivated people to keep it up. The reasons I quit playing were 1. I didn't think I was very good , 2. Girls didn't play electric guitar in the 70s, which meant I would never play with a band even if I had gotten to that level, and since I couldn't sing, I didn't see the point in continuing with acoustic guitar since I saw most acoustic playing as accompaniment for singing. Now I'm thinking I could learn instrumental acoustic which is probably what my instructors should have been teaching me (instead of riffs from the rock songs I liked, which were fun to play but somewhat pointless). But the issue I keep coming back to is if I don't play with/for other people I can't see being motivated to keep it up. Do you guys have bands, do you play for family members and friends, or what exactly is your motivation? I mean, I enjoyed playing the guitar just by myself, but since I've done that, I don't know if it would be that much of a thrill to do it again...I'm the kind of person, once I've climbed a mountain, I want to climb a different one. I also kind of feel like if I learned to play again, I would want to write my own music, but at the same time that seems grandiose to me...what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
googlywoogly Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 My only audience member is a dog who appears apathetic to the whole affair. I play because it is healthy for the soul, fun, and a good thing to do when you have spare time. When I'm torturing the Tele all of life's troubles get shoved way in the background. I will never be good enough to have other folks wish to hear what I'm playing, and I'm 100 percent okay with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINI_Zoso Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 My only audience member is a dog who appears apathetic to the whole affair. I play because it is healthy for the soul, fun, and a good thing to do when you have spare time. When I'm torturing the Tele all of life's troubles get shoved way in the background. I will never be good enough to have other folks wish to hear what I'm playing, and I'm 100 percent okay with that. A lot of the same here. Everyone has different reasons to play, but I think a common link in all of us is that part inside that feels the music. The satisfaction, just the simple feeling of a guitar in your hands, the appreciation of the crafts person who made the guitar or what the song/music writer was thinking or inspired by when the crafted the piece you are playing. And all those other intangibles that are hard to put into words. Guess what? Time to sign off now, I have a wonderful urge to pick up one of my guitars right now. See ya! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
googlywoogly Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 A lot of the same here. Everyone has different reasons to play, but I think a common link in all of us is that part inside that feels the music. The satisfaction, just the simple feeling of a guitar in your hands, the appreciation of the crafts person who made the guitar or what the song/music writer was thinking or inspired by when the crafted the piece you are playing. And all those other intangibles that are hard to put into words. Guess what? Time to sign off now, I have a wonderful urge to pick up one of my guitars right now. See ya! Steve Wonderful urge is a spot on definition. I get those urges too. They come out of nowhere and when they happen it doesn't go away until I plug in the guitar, crank up the volume and bang out a chord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugra Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I generally agree with most of the other posters. Not having a personal guitar teacher isn't a bad thing at all, there are plenty of resources on the web that'll be of mighty help. Watching accomplished players covering zep song on YT was very helpful for me. I started off playing the acoustic guitar in march 2010 & the electric in sep same year, so ist been round 2.5 yrs, but with a little hard work and dedication it can be done. Here are some of my zep covers. sibly : achilles : rain song : stairway : Hope that was of some use lol, am sure you can do it, its not daunting n' intimidating as it looks lol. Your love for zep will eventually take you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINI_Zoso Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Well done on the covers Ugra! I really like the song choices you chose as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amie1974 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 My seven year old is having lessons at school (since January) and can now play the riff from smoke on the water! He's not learnt any Zep yet though I learnt the opening to stairway first when I was a teenager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
googlywoogly Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 My seven year old is having lessons at school (since January) and can now play the riff from smoke on the water! He's not learnt any Zep yet though I learnt the opening to stairway first when I was a teenager. The riff from The Girl I love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair is super fun to play, and not too hard for a beginner to master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missguitar Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 your dog is lucky ! me, i play for my family and sometimes in the streets on the 21th of june when in france it's the day when everyone plays everywhere. i think the most important is to play for fun and to appreciate every song you play. for me it's also a personal challenge to try to play and sing but i admit i'm very shy... My only audience member is a dog who appears apathetic to the whole affair. I play because it is healthy for the soul, fun, and a good thing to do when you have spare time. When I'm torturing the Tele all of life's troubles get shoved way in the background. I will never be good enough to have other folks wish to hear what I'm playing, and I'm 100 percent okay with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarletMacaw Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I took the plunge and bought a guitar today! I bought a Yamaha electric acoustic, an APX500II if that means anything to anyone...I bought it because it was the easiest to play of the guitars I tried in the store...I could have bought a slightly better sounding guitar for the same money, but because I have a shoulder injury, a neck injury, an elbow injury and a back injury, I thought "easiest to play" was the way to go...wanted to get an acoustic because that's what I used to play before, and plus I live in an apartment building; I don't want to annoy the neighbors at least until I get some skill :0...I remember 6 chords and can play 3 after 30 years, so I also bought a book, "FastTrack Music Instruction Guitar 1" which also comes with a CD and DVD I haven't looked at yet...the book starts out teaching scales, which is not how I was taught before; my old teacher had me start with chords and learning songs that were easy to play...funny the tune it has you playing to start learning scales is Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Things sure have changed in 30 years...the guitar comes with its own built-in electronic tuner...I remember tuning my old guitar with a tuning fork... I like to listen to other people play the guitar even if they aren't good...so, googlywoogly, I think you could branch out and play in front of another human... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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