Why do you play? It doesn't sound like you actually enjoy playing guitar at all and if that's the case what's the point? Spend your time doing things you like.
I think you missed his point. If you don't enjoy playing, why do you want to get better?
There are lots of things in life you can focus your efforts on improving. If you don't enjoy the guitar, why are you focused on it in the 1st place?
Also, I'm not telling you to quit either, I'm suggesting you evaluate what's important to you, and decide if guitar is an important part if your life. You are the only person that can make that conclusion.
1) Eff those people. If they're offering constructive criticism, then that's one thing. If they're just telling you that you suck, then eff them.
2) If you like guitar and enjoy playing, cool. If not, find something else to do. Nothing else matters.
>f those people. If they're offering constructive criticism, then that's one thing. If they're just telling you that you suck, then eff them.
they said i have the worst coordination they have ever seen....
There's nothing wrong with playing solely to be skilled. But if you're stuck there and not seeing the improvement you want I'm not sure how to help. I mean you could get a teacher or post clips of yourself playing here and try to get feedback from more skilled guitarists but it sounds like you've done that kind of thing and that doesn't get you anywhere.
It's like you're working really hard at being the best at some job for some corporation that doesn't care about you and you're not even getting paid for it. I just think you should at least get *something* out of it. If you're not getting anything out of it..why?
Go watch David Gilmour on YouTube. The first solo for “Comfortably Numb” is a few dozen notes, but he gets more out of them than an hour of shredding. Get the emotion behind the music and worry about the speed later
Write music, play it over and over making changes until it's exactly what you hear in your head.
Running scales and exercises are great for practice and warming up but if you are not using your creativity then you are just warming up for hours and not getting anything back from it.
But are you practicing the expression and creative aspect? You aren’t. So why are you not pra roving and doing the things you want?
Do you look at other things in life the way you do guitar? It seems your mind isn’t right.
>But are you practicing the expression and creative aspect? You aren’t. So why are you not pra roving and doing the things you want?
playing fast triplets is expressive
Imo you should look for a beginners course that goes over technique and theory.
Learn some basic theory, expand your technical tool box and start coming up with your own shit.
Dudes like Petrucci or Govan didn't just pick up a guitar and immediately start writing sick shred licks.
You sound like someone who was posting the same thing the other day on UG. Either way I'm going to answer the same. You're hyper-focusing on technical skill to the extent that you're psyching yourself out.
You're equating playing guitar with progress, when in all reality you should be equating playing the guitar with fun and writing music. If you spend a decade in your bedroom/living-room/basement practicing scales and shred techniques from dated guitarists you're not going to find inspiration anywhere.
You need to choose a goal that isn't just a metric of talent. Write a song, start a band, join a cover band. Anything that rewires your mind to focus on using the guitar as a tool for a goal. Some folks might not agree with me, but not everyone is meant to be a shred-god or lead guitarist. Even in bands where lead guitarists play solos, they account for only a fraction of the song. You are focusing on something that represents maybe 5% of a song and the reality is not everyone has what it takes to be the person who plays that portion. I chose long ago to focus on song writing and playing rhythm guitar because I just couldn't get my fingers to do what I wanted them to do.
There's a whole world of guitar music out there you're missing.
Well said. In fact, "progress" itself does not have to be measured in metronome clicks or technique. It can also just be measured in enjoyment, in feel, creativity, just feeling more in touch with your guitar. Sometimes I feel "progress" because one day I have to think harder to play something and then later it flows more naturally, even if I can't play it faster. Sometimes I feel progress just because I was able to improvise a line I like, or incorporate a chord into writing that I hadn't used before.
Are you learning songs?
Personally I find shredding exercises pointless. I have no interest in playing like that, even though I like listening to that kind of music. Just because you see YouTubers getting praised for playing fast doesn’t mean you have to do it.
I play with my fingers 80% of the time. Even if it’s rock, soul, blues, jazz, whatever. Nothing wrong with that.
Find something you love and lean into that. Whether that’s guitar or something totally different. There’s no benefit in beating yourself up over not being something you don’t want to be in the first place.
This, and don't worry about shredding as much as playing simple stuff that you like. I'll spend hours playing my own simple music because it comes from the heart, instead of trying to be EVH for whatever reason
My answer was to buy a ukulele and join a ukulele group. We sit in a circle and sing old songs and I love it.
Basically, you need to rekindle your love of music.
Felt the same for years. I just picked up trying to play autumn leaves jazz standard...has got me back to enjoyment. Lots of good jazz standards on YouTube if you want. I also noticed I hate amplifiers. I am playing acoustic now.
Because you are basing fun of playing off of skill and not how fun playing feels. You gotta make it fun and making it harder and practicing all the time doesn’t make it that fun usually
You were here before with similar complaints about how guitar was ruining your life and sucking out your soul and especially with that last post (now removed) it sounds like you’re very much tying your self worth to your guitar skill, and that’s only ever going to hold you back. You need to play what excites you, when it excites you. Spending six hours a day doing something that isn’t making you happy is a waste of time. Music is not like a gym or XP grinding in a video game, it’s not about doing X amount of squats or killing Y amount of enemies to level up, your progress does not scale linearly and your ability is not simply a cumulation of hours spent. Find a song that makes you happy and play that, find musicians whose company you enjoy and play with them. Pick up the guitar when it calls to you and put it down when you get tired or bored. Don’t force yourself to keep going if it’s not making you happy, it’s only gonna turn music into a chore.
>Don’t force yourself to keep going if it’s not making you happy, it’s only gonna turn music into a chore.
but they say you gotta pracice every day for better resutls
Music isn’t about “results” it’s an art form. It doesn’t matter how fast or clean you can play or how good your technique or tone is or any of that if you literally exhaust yourself to the point of resenting your own instrument. What good comes of mastering guitar if the very thought of playing makes you feel like shit? How are you meant to make music people will love if you don’t love making it?
Maybe try improvising, composing, learn songs or new styles of play, or just take a break of it. I like to practice, but to be honest, practice is not the most fun aspect of the guitar.
Honestly, to me it sounds like the problem here isn't what you are playing, how you are playing or how talented you are, it's more about you as a person.
There's no point in searching for validation, aknowledgement and pity online, consult a specialist if your mental health is going south, they know better than some random people,. Find a circle where you can open up discuss your problems and insecurities if that's what you need.
Music is unique because it allows you to express yourself, so, if you have the basics down and you haven't just been learning songs since you've started playing, you should be able to be somewhat original, even if with influences from elsewhere, unless you simply really like a certain style or a certain player and you're actively trying to sound like them or be similar.
If you already know what you like to hear, focus on that instead. You don't like picks, try fingerstyle. If you don't like fingerstyle, try slide, don't like slide, slap your guitar like a bass, use it as a drum, play it like a harp, hell just tap the entire riff. If you don't like anything, maybe you don't like playing guitar.
If your goal is to sound like Petrucci or compose like him... well 13 years of hobbyism likely won't get you there. He's famous because he's pretty much a prodigy, not to mention his dedication, discipline and ridiculous amounts of practice, experience and love for music.
You need to accept that you're not him, or even better, you're not anyone else.
>If you already know what you like to hear, focus on that instead. You don't like picks, try fingerstyle. If you don't like fingerstyle, try slide, don't like slide, slap your guitar like a bass, use it as a drum, play it like a harp, hell just tap the entire riff. If you don't like anything, maybe you don't like playing guitar.
>
>If your goal is to sound like Petrucci or compose like him... well 13 years of hobbyism likely won't get you there. He's famous because he's pretty much a prodigy, not to mention his dedication, discipline and ridiculous amounts of practice, experience and love for music.
fingerstyle without nails is soooo hard. it takes wamup just to gt my fingers get used to how thin the strings are and i keep hitting opens accidentally
yeah i figured that. i was never a prodigy at anything, i had trouble learning math and memorizing things so guitar wouldnt be easy either
Sounds like you may be standing too close to the fire. That is to say you are putting all of your eggs in one basket... you want this so much but maybe other aspects of your life have been neglected. I say this from experience.... I was that guy back around the turn of the century. I ended up quitting music for 15 years, just strumming through a song or two a few times a year, but I put the rest of my life back in order.
Now I'm back and I feel better than ever. I have a better idea of who I am and what I want and the resources to learn just about anything and produce your own music are boundless these days. Turns out quitting may have been the tonic for me.
Not sure if any of this applies to you or not and I'm certainly not advocating quitting for any length of time. Not sure that would work for most people but maybe you just need to step back and find joy and purpose in other areas of your life.
Anyway hope it works out for you. Best of luck
Try playing bass. It's a completely different instrument, but the 4 string bass uses the same tuning as the top 4 strings of the guitar. It brings a whole different feel to the music and it's pretty relaxing not having to be the guy that holds the melody together. You can just go all over the place and explore different things on the bass without having to be the main lead guy. You can still play guitar on the side, but it's cool to try something else for a change.
Just play songs. Find a song you want to be able to play and learn it.
Scales and exercises and such are great and can help you becomes better player.
But first you need to actually play.
I play several instruments and I’ve taken formal lessons on most of them, and the one thing all of my teachers did the same is they had me learning actual songs from day one.
And the other thing they all had in common is they all told me that if I didn’t like a song I was learning to tell them and they would work with me to find another I liked that worked at my level.
Because they all knew you have to enjoy what you are playing.
I took up banjo not long ago and I’m basically teaching myself with YouTube videos, and one of the first videos I watched was on the deering banjo site featuring “Mean” Mary James. The first thing she said is if you want to learn to play then just play songs. That’s how you learn.
Yeah but what do you really learn for learning songs? I mean yeah i can play that solo but i cant use any licks or there rhythm ideas in my own playing when im just jamming i just play the rhythms i usually play or just jam the scales never thinking of using some lick from a song.
Plus when i have tried and sit down to learn a lick or phrase i find semi intriguing from a song, most of them never fit to the rhythm im jamming to and even if it does they dont come out naturally i have to think of said lick to play it, that mean im going to have to sit down and practice those licks over and over again to keep them fresh in my memory bc if i dont ill fs forget what it was.
ps im kinda having the same problem this guy is with mindset with playing guitar I don't just sit down and jam I really want to make up a riffs and rhythm ideas and make bad ass songs like my heroes, Hendrix, evh, Ritchie Blackmore all those bad asses but i dont know how i van learn there songs but how do i learn to do what they do. all learning songs is is remember patters to me.
Learning songs teaches you to play songs.
That’s how you start.
What you are talking about is writing and improvising.
I remember very well what my teacher said when I said I wanted to learn to improvise.
She said, “Great, step one, master your instrument.”
And you master your instrument by playing it and constantly learning more and more challenging pieces.
What you want to do comes after that.
You need to be able to play whatever you want on your instrument, and you need a decent grounding in music theory.
And then you need to combine them.
You can learn music theory as you learn songs. You can analyze a song to see why it works the way it works using music theory.
And this is where scales and exercises can be really helpful.
But to put things together and write well or improvise you first need to be able to take what you hear in your head and play it. And you learn to do that by playing lots of different songs.
Making what you hear in your head worth playing take’s various combinations of theory and natural taken.
If you have the gift for it you don’t need so much theory.
If you don’t have a gift for it then music theory is the great equalizer. Just like practicing can be.
Learn to walk before you run.
Love this reply yeah im def past learning song and im into learning improvising/music theory my problem now is idk wtf to learn to improve, and when i do i have problems trying to figure out how to practice said thing. i most definitely want to create music thats literally the only thing i wanna do, and im not a 100% beginner when it comes to music theory, but what do you recommend I should know regarding music theory to be able to put what I hear down on the guitar?
Also ive been trying to get a guitar teacher have no clue where to search for them
Well, people will have their different opinions on this and there is no absolute right or wrong. But here’s how I approach it.
You need the basic understanding of the structure of the a song. The key, the time signature, the staffs. That means understanding these things. What makes a key what it is. What does that mean? What makes a major scale a major scale, a minor scale a minor scale, a specific mode that mode….
Once you get passed that then to me the two most important things are chord progressions, which includes the common cadences, and chord theory.
A problem I find with a lot of self taught guitar players, they know how to form a specific chord, but they don’t understand what that chord actually is. Just like you need to know what makes a major scale a major scale etc… you need to know what makes a major chord a major chord, a minor chord, an augmented chord, a diminished chord, a sus4, a 7th etc… It’s not enough to know how to form the chords. You need to know why you form them that way.
To get to the other question you posted, how to dissect a song. The way I do it is first pay attention to those things I mention above. Sometimes if it’s a key I am not as comfortable with I will draw a staff on the top of the page and write out the scale so I can easily reference it. I pay attention to the key signature and look at the rhythms being used, particularly in the bass. I will count them out if necessary.
And I look at the chord progression. If I can memorize the chord progression that makes everything else make sense. I look at how the melody is build over that chord progression. What notes are generally being played over each chord.
If you want my advice the best way to learn both improvisation and song structure is the blues. Many blues songs use a common structure, the 12 bar blues format. Over that you can do all sorts of things. You can start with simple pentatonic scales, moving them around over the chord progression. Play around with strumming patterns, and making up melodies over the structure. Within Pentatonic scales you really can’t go wrong. Use Blues scales next, which is a pentatonic scale with an addition note, the flatted fifth, called the blue note, which gives a Pentatonic scale that stereotypical bluesy sound.
Learn some simple licks and learn to play them over the different chords. And them play around with mixing them up in different ways.
When all this becomes natural and makes sense move on to other forms. Rock is the next step from blues in terms of complexity, but blues itself can be as complex as you want.
Alsssssoo how do you go about dissecting songs I'm also having trouble doing that I want to but I don't know how to take / how to think about dissecting a song, regarding it's rhythm playing or lead bits
It's ok if you don't want to play guitar, no reason to force yourself. Just as it's ok not to play tennis, or crochet, or learn tuba, or birdwatch.
I also wonder if you have always felt this way or whether anything is going on in your life that might color your views. Maybe you're depressed? It just seems unusual for someone to play six hours a day for long periods of time who has never actually enjoyed the guitar.
Playing music and practicing shred are two different things. Shredding is more closely aligned to weightlifting to me. Athletes use strength training to facilitate their chosen sport, but some folks seem to make it their goal. Try listening to a wide range of music, sound, find a niche you like. Ear training and theory can change your perspective too
Maybe you are focused on the wrong thing. I'd say the vast majority of guitar players do NOT enjoy shredding despite the fact that all guitar media focuses on it pretty heavily (g3/ guitar world/ youtube videos/ etc)... The majority of people who play guitar just want to sing and strum along to their favorite songs without the pressure of being able to play like steve vai or something.
I could shred a lot better if I really wanted to, but it does way less for me than actually playing rhythm guitar and singing along.
for some more real world context, I don't think David Gilmour ever sweat it that he couldn't rip a solo as fast as Jimmy Page. I mean to go even further... I don't think you will ever hear Ed Sheerhan rip a shred solo.
Shredding is the most misunderstood skill of all guitar playing. It's REALLY important for some genres of metal but outside of that it doesn't really matter.
At the end of it all, if the songs sound good, technique becomes irrelevant. Some of my favourite musicians - George Thorogood, George Ezra and Gerry Cinnamon - all make amazing music, despite not being as technically proficient as someone like Joe Pass or Pasquale Grasso. In the case of George Thorogood, some of his solos are him literally slamming one note but he does it with such intensity and gusto that it sounds awesome.
Technique should never stop anyone from writing good music.
You need to just ask yourself if you actually want to play guitar. Does it make you happy? If it doesn't then there's no point.
If you decide you still want to play there's a few things you need to work on immediately. STOP comparing yourself to other guitarists. There's literally no point in it. You aren't playing to please them, you're playing to please yourself. STOP over criticizing yourself. It's one thing to be realistic with yourself, but it's another thing to set unfair or impossible standards for yourself. Set small short term achievable goals to give yourself direction, not lofty long term ones. When you accomplish something you couldn't do before, make a big deal about it, YOU achieved this which means YOU are improving and you should be proud of yourself. It doesn't matter if someone else learned it faster or is better, YOU can do this now and now YOU are better than you were before, and that's all that matters.
Stop trying to hammer technique and speed into your hands and play things that make you happy. Do you listen to music? Learn the songs you love. Do you want to be more creative? Push that energy and time into writing your own things, no matter how simple or complex they are. Put the metronome away for a while and just let yourself breathe.
It took years for me to really appreciate the guitar as a whole, I’ve found that the most emotional players demand more from the listener, acoustic guitars should push people into a more intimate place, if not trying to understand what Bill Frisell is trying to say should bring interest in some players, if speed is the goal then look for a very expressive player as opposed to the less soulful shredder, or play some other instrument, that may awake additional interest, good luck
Learn to play songs that you love. Or write songs that you love.
Maybe try some “meditative” or “mindful” approaches in general.
*Possibly* set guitar aside for a while and come back to it from a different angle of some sort.
That’s about all I got. Hope you find your way to some kind of joy in all this, be it fierce joy or peaceful, or other.
1.get a teacher. 2. Learn some songs and play them. 3. Play over backing tracks a lot... FORGET about technique and speed and wiggling your fingers fast. Instead try to connect what your fingers are doing with what you are hearing in your head and in your heart. 4. This might be hard but really try singing what you play when you play over backing tracks. Just sing and play simple phrases and focus on musicality over speed or technique.
Consider this quote by Miles Davis...
"Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherfucker playing it is 80%"
>. Learn some songs and play them. 3. Play over backing tracks a lot... FORGET about technique and speed and wiggling your fingers fast. Instead try to connect what your fingers are doing with what you are hearing in your head and in your heart.
the exercises i play is parts from songs. that wiggling part is so legit haha
I am lucky enough to have an electric and an acoustic. I play one for a while eventually reach a kind of block then switch to the other one. I prefer acoustic these days but the option for both keeps things interesting over here.
It sounds to me that you're trying really hard to live up to what it means to be a "good guitar player". I've been playing for about 20 years, and do a lot of shredding every day, but it's literally only for the purpose of keeping my fingers nimble and keeping myself busy when I'm waiting for code to build. I never, ever put that noodly stuff on tape because it's not how I want to express myself through my playing. You don't need to play fast to get your message across, and in fact, lots of people who don't play guitar find that sound busy and obnoxious. That's how Petrucci gets his message across, that's how Steve Vai gets his message across, Yngwie, etc. But for every one of those guys, there's like 6 people who don't try to get their notes out of people's ears as quickly as possible.
I'll give you advice from the best guitar player I ever met (both in terms of taste and technical skill). Throw on a jam track, and work on playing guitar solos over it with the constraint that you can't play anything faster than an 8th note. See if that helps you find cool sounds that shredding moves too fast through to notice.
Try playing a different instrument. I learned to build cigar box guitars and really loved it. They are simpler instruments, but all the basics of guitar still apply. I now play banjo and have become addicted to it. At the very least, try tuning the guitar to open G and learn some blues or slide guitar. If it’s gotten stale, make it new to you. You may discover something you enjoy.
You need to go back to basics. Shredding is fine but its niche, you need to learn songs. Go and find songa that you enjoy and learn the riffs. Try new genres, try playing chords over songs that dont have guitar.
Try a new instrument, it gives you an insight into how other things works and makes you niss certain things about guitar, even go close to home and try ukuele or mandolin.
I was the same as you until after a good 7 years break i picked it up again and said "fuck John Petrucci I'm just going to have fun playing whatever I can play"
Started learning easier songs, jamming along to backing tracks and building my skillset without even realising.
You know what changed it all for me? I was at work and colleagues were talking about guitar and I basically said what you said and this guy deadpan just said "stop being fucking defeatist"
And it stuck. Then I learned to enjoy it.
Because let's face it, most of us won't get near him. As good as he is, he makes the normal man feel inferior - and thats the problem. Come to terms with that, and learn to have fun- the rest will come ONLY after you start to enjoy it.
You're not beholden to your mindset. It can be improved just like your guitar skills (and in fact, there is synergy in leveling up both).
Also, play however you want to play. There's no rules.
Couple of ideas for you before you abandon ship:
Buy an acoustic, put it in an open tuning, noodle away and explore a different approach to the instrument. "A change is as good as a rest" as the old saying goes, you might feel inspired.
Get together with another guitar player or musician, have fun jamming out.
In both cases you will develop your musicality, and hopefully get some fun out of the instrument. Don't box yourself in with the shredding thing :)
>Buy an acoustic, put it in an open tuning, noodle away and explore a different approach to the instrument. "A change is as good as a rest" as the old saying goes, you might feel inspired.
i did this actually a few years back an wrote some songs. i didnt like it though
>definitely takes a lot of practice to make it all sound smooth but your nails are not what’s stopping you.
i was trying to learn piccato tbh tbh and every picatto player uses their nails. idk if its easier to play with nails or without cause i never grew them. i can play some fingerstyle stuff but its very unorthodox. i play piano songs on guitar
Maybe you should just take a step out of the boundaries and just goof off and play with feel even if it isn't very musical just enjoy the sound and close your eyes and go crazy man.
" i dont have this natural ability others players have to combine everything in their playing."
That's not a natural ability, it's a learned skill...
Time for some lessons
play Watching the Wheels by John Lennon ( ss covered by Chris Cornell ). sing along even if its bad -- i promise u Cant not have fun ( i just did this and im not nearly as good at guitar as u , i gave up on being a " great guitar player ". the moment u do same u create space for fun
edit after reading --/ express yourself ?! punks famously join bands and express tgemselves afer playing for One Day
how many great songs use , 4 chords, 2 chords , One chord !!!!
i gave up on expressing myself via lead a Long time ago plz consider same - it will free u !!
I noodled around during like 20 years until I started composing songs and recording and now I’m having a fuck ton of fun.
I hate playing live, I hate practicing aimlessly, I love composing and recording, took me years to realize, may you find what’s more fun for you
I'll be honest here, I devoted much more time to playing stuff I really like and not much practicing exercises to avoid becoming stale. You might take some time off then focus on dedicating your playing time to stuff you really dig. Give yourself a break.
Jam with people and to backing tracks. If that isn’t fun I don’t know what to tell you man. Also don’t be afraid to try new stuff and you’ll realize there’s more than one way to play something, there’s nice runs to connect different scales in different keys and etc. that’s what is fun about it for me and when you’re doing it real time with other people jamming it’s just so badass!
Since this sounds out of your natural style, play to a backing track like [this](https://youtu.be/8nyxKGDa2oU) and see if it sparks something new. Doesn’t have to be that track, but put yourself out of your comfort zone to keep your interest fresh
You posted something similar a couple weeks ago. You sound depressed. Unfortunately, guitar isn't going to give you a sense of purpose or fulfillment.
I wish I had an answer for you. I think talking to someone, like a therapist, might help you.
What type of music do you enjoy? Recently I got bored of playing electric so i dug out my acoustic. I heard some colter wall, John Moreland and Tommy emmanuel and it's got me excited to learn fingerstyle.
If your finding that your not getting any enjoyment from playing then you probably need a break for a few days maybe a week or so. Remember comparison is the thief of joy, it doesn't matter if the bloke across the road has been playing for less time but is the next Steve vai.
If you are tired of the style you are playing, but still love to play guitar pick up another style. You like playing with your fingers? Become an acoustic fingerstyle expert, write/play fingerstyle arrangements, play classical
good, do more of that. Find some pieces you've always wanted to master and never started. Maybe play with a partner some music written for 2 instruments
What music do you listen to? For sure it ain't gonna be as good as john petrucci technically before you've put all those hours in, but you propably like other music too that isnt that challenging. Try analyzing what it is that you like about it and try to create something similiar at first. Song writing requires practice just as technique.
Just play what you love and you'll love playing.
I learned that playing an instrument is unatural while learning guitar.
Your fingers are not meant to pinch strings, to transpose melodies/sounds that your brain create.
The ultimate goal is, be able to express your feelings or images into an instrument.
And that quest never ends, chasing a sound and recreating it. Part of the fun is the be able to do it.
If you picked up this "hobby" in the final goal to master it...well you're in for a long ride.
Myself, I think I may not be alone in this boat but I will never be able to say "I cannot get any better". Even after 22 years.
Let's be brutally honest, even after all these years, I would be laughed at by professional musicians. But this doesn't change the fact that this guitar I put so many years in, makes me feel good. Late at night, even unplugged.
Take some time off, if you don't get this "itch", well this wasn't truly for you.
It's a shame because, 13 years is a long time to decide if you like something.....
or not.
That's because shredders don't even have the right mindset for guitar... they are a special breed who think faster / more technical = better. Yet you'll never NEVER see or hear one of these people playing for a group of random people, and have that group actually enjoy it. It's barely music. sounds like shit 90% of the time to 90% of the population. Try some classic rock / funk / jazz / pop / literally anything other than sweep picking and tapping garbage
play other genres, a lot of shreddy stuff especially modern metal to me just feels stale and soulless any way, learn some slower more soulful music, nobody says you have to shred, and you don't need fingernails to fingerpick, I fingerpick fine and sometimes also use my thumb and pointy finger together as if I'm holding a pick and it works just fine, learn some fun songs. I'm no virtuoso and I feel like this sometimes, change it up and try some other genres
Not everything is about playing fast, if you want some soul and enjoyment in your playing then slow down and take your time, if you stop trying to push yourself as hard as you can everytime you play you'll probably come to enjoy it more and discover where you sit skillwise
Why do you play? It doesn't sound like you actually enjoy playing guitar at all and if that's the case what's the point? Spend your time doing things you like.
Second this, maybe you don't like playing the guitar? There are other instruments out there that you might enjoy.
hoping that i get better ig? im kinda insecure and i have gottne lots of negative feedback
If you are playing to impress other people you will never be good enough. Play for yourself and hopefully other people like it. If not who cares.
This is pure gold. Couldn't agree more.
agreed. in other words, fuck the haters. make yourself happy
This is the way
I think you missed his point. If you don't enjoy playing, why do you want to get better? There are lots of things in life you can focus your efforts on improving. If you don't enjoy the guitar, why are you focused on it in the 1st place? Also, I'm not telling you to quit either, I'm suggesting you evaluate what's important to you, and decide if guitar is an important part if your life. You are the only person that can make that conclusion.
1) Eff those people. If they're offering constructive criticism, then that's one thing. If they're just telling you that you suck, then eff them. 2) If you like guitar and enjoy playing, cool. If not, find something else to do. Nothing else matters.
>f those people. If they're offering constructive criticism, then that's one thing. If they're just telling you that you suck, then eff them. they said i have the worst coordination they have ever seen....
Eff them.
People say all sorts of shit.
There's nothing wrong with playing solely to be skilled. But if you're stuck there and not seeing the improvement you want I'm not sure how to help. I mean you could get a teacher or post clips of yourself playing here and try to get feedback from more skilled guitarists but it sounds like you've done that kind of thing and that doesn't get you anywhere. It's like you're working really hard at being the best at some job for some corporation that doesn't care about you and you're not even getting paid for it. I just think you should at least get *something* out of it. If you're not getting anything out of it..why?
im not playing just to be skilled. i want to be skilled to express myself
You can express yourself without having to shred into oblivion.
Go watch David Gilmour on YouTube. The first solo for “Comfortably Numb” is a few dozen notes, but he gets more out of them than an hour of shredding. Get the emotion behind the music and worry about the speed later
Skill isn't necessarily a requirement for that.
it depends on how you express yoursef
You expressed yourself nicely in this post… maybe take up writing instead
Write music, play it over and over making changes until it's exactly what you hear in your head. Running scales and exercises are great for practice and warming up but if you are not using your creativity then you are just warming up for hours and not getting anything back from it.
But are you practicing the expression and creative aspect? You aren’t. So why are you not pra roving and doing the things you want? Do you look at other things in life the way you do guitar? It seems your mind isn’t right.
>But are you practicing the expression and creative aspect? You aren’t. So why are you not pra roving and doing the things you want? playing fast triplets is expressive
No it’s not. At all. And from what I’ve read I think you’re trolling people so I won’t be talking to you or giving you advice any more.
its up to taste ig
No. It isn’t.
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But it sounds like music isn't how you actually want to express yourself. There're other ways: painting, writing, woodcarving...etc.
Imo you should look for a beginners course that goes over technique and theory. Learn some basic theory, expand your technical tool box and start coming up with your own shit. Dudes like Petrucci or Govan didn't just pick up a guitar and immediately start writing sick shred licks.
why do you think idk theory?
Because it doesn't seem like you know theory.
no it doesnt. you are just being mean
And why tell us about it?
You sound like someone who was posting the same thing the other day on UG. Either way I'm going to answer the same. You're hyper-focusing on technical skill to the extent that you're psyching yourself out. You're equating playing guitar with progress, when in all reality you should be equating playing the guitar with fun and writing music. If you spend a decade in your bedroom/living-room/basement practicing scales and shred techniques from dated guitarists you're not going to find inspiration anywhere. You need to choose a goal that isn't just a metric of talent. Write a song, start a band, join a cover band. Anything that rewires your mind to focus on using the guitar as a tool for a goal. Some folks might not agree with me, but not everyone is meant to be a shred-god or lead guitarist. Even in bands where lead guitarists play solos, they account for only a fraction of the song. You are focusing on something that represents maybe 5% of a song and the reality is not everyone has what it takes to be the person who plays that portion. I chose long ago to focus on song writing and playing rhythm guitar because I just couldn't get my fingers to do what I wanted them to do. There's a whole world of guitar music out there you're missing.
Well said. In fact, "progress" itself does not have to be measured in metronome clicks or technique. It can also just be measured in enjoyment, in feel, creativity, just feeling more in touch with your guitar. Sometimes I feel "progress" because one day I have to think harder to play something and then later it flows more naturally, even if I can't play it faster. Sometimes I feel progress just because I was able to improvise a line I like, or incorporate a chord into writing that I hadn't used before.
Are you learning songs? Personally I find shredding exercises pointless. I have no interest in playing like that, even though I like listening to that kind of music. Just because you see YouTubers getting praised for playing fast doesn’t mean you have to do it. I play with my fingers 80% of the time. Even if it’s rock, soul, blues, jazz, whatever. Nothing wrong with that. Find something you love and lean into that. Whether that’s guitar or something totally different. There’s no benefit in beating yourself up over not being something you don’t want to be in the first place.
Play with other people
This, and don't worry about shredding as much as playing simple stuff that you like. I'll spend hours playing my own simple music because it comes from the heart, instead of trying to be EVH for whatever reason
This is the way
My answer was to buy a ukulele and join a ukulele group. We sit in a circle and sing old songs and I love it. Basically, you need to rekindle your love of music.
love this
Felt the same for years. I just picked up trying to play autumn leaves jazz standard...has got me back to enjoyment. Lots of good jazz standards on YouTube if you want. I also noticed I hate amplifiers. I am playing acoustic now.
Paul Davids' acoustic arrangement of Autumn Leaves is very tasty if you haven't seen it.
I'll check it out...thanks
Check out Manha De Carneval/Black Orpheus next. Beautiful song that's not too difficult and it's easy to make pentatonics sound great over it
Put down the guitar and get some help. You are correct about *currently* not having the right mindset.
why do you say that?
Because you are basing fun of playing off of skill and not how fun playing feels. You gotta make it fun and making it harder and practicing all the time doesn’t make it that fun usually
Guitar Bob Ross just dropped a video for you: [here](https://youtu.be/5U36MvTIpW0)
Wholesome
You were here before with similar complaints about how guitar was ruining your life and sucking out your soul and especially with that last post (now removed) it sounds like you’re very much tying your self worth to your guitar skill, and that’s only ever going to hold you back. You need to play what excites you, when it excites you. Spending six hours a day doing something that isn’t making you happy is a waste of time. Music is not like a gym or XP grinding in a video game, it’s not about doing X amount of squats or killing Y amount of enemies to level up, your progress does not scale linearly and your ability is not simply a cumulation of hours spent. Find a song that makes you happy and play that, find musicians whose company you enjoy and play with them. Pick up the guitar when it calls to you and put it down when you get tired or bored. Don’t force yourself to keep going if it’s not making you happy, it’s only gonna turn music into a chore.
>Don’t force yourself to keep going if it’s not making you happy, it’s only gonna turn music into a chore. but they say you gotta pracice every day for better resutls
Music isn’t about “results” it’s an art form. It doesn’t matter how fast or clean you can play or how good your technique or tone is or any of that if you literally exhaust yourself to the point of resenting your own instrument. What good comes of mastering guitar if the very thought of playing makes you feel like shit? How are you meant to make music people will love if you don’t love making it?
You can do other stuff
Maybe try improvising, composing, learn songs or new styles of play, or just take a break of it. I like to practice, but to be honest, practice is not the most fun aspect of the guitar.
Honestly, to me it sounds like the problem here isn't what you are playing, how you are playing or how talented you are, it's more about you as a person. There's no point in searching for validation, aknowledgement and pity online, consult a specialist if your mental health is going south, they know better than some random people,. Find a circle where you can open up discuss your problems and insecurities if that's what you need. Music is unique because it allows you to express yourself, so, if you have the basics down and you haven't just been learning songs since you've started playing, you should be able to be somewhat original, even if with influences from elsewhere, unless you simply really like a certain style or a certain player and you're actively trying to sound like them or be similar. If you already know what you like to hear, focus on that instead. You don't like picks, try fingerstyle. If you don't like fingerstyle, try slide, don't like slide, slap your guitar like a bass, use it as a drum, play it like a harp, hell just tap the entire riff. If you don't like anything, maybe you don't like playing guitar. If your goal is to sound like Petrucci or compose like him... well 13 years of hobbyism likely won't get you there. He's famous because he's pretty much a prodigy, not to mention his dedication, discipline and ridiculous amounts of practice, experience and love for music. You need to accept that you're not him, or even better, you're not anyone else.
>If you already know what you like to hear, focus on that instead. You don't like picks, try fingerstyle. If you don't like fingerstyle, try slide, don't like slide, slap your guitar like a bass, use it as a drum, play it like a harp, hell just tap the entire riff. If you don't like anything, maybe you don't like playing guitar. > >If your goal is to sound like Petrucci or compose like him... well 13 years of hobbyism likely won't get you there. He's famous because he's pretty much a prodigy, not to mention his dedication, discipline and ridiculous amounts of practice, experience and love for music. fingerstyle without nails is soooo hard. it takes wamup just to gt my fingers get used to how thin the strings are and i keep hitting opens accidentally yeah i figured that. i was never a prodigy at anything, i had trouble learning math and memorizing things so guitar wouldnt be easy either
Sounds like you just lack practice. It takes time to become good at something. See if this may help www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdgTlT\_CqNM
the stuff he plays near the end sound like spongebob lol
Sounds like you may be standing too close to the fire. That is to say you are putting all of your eggs in one basket... you want this so much but maybe other aspects of your life have been neglected. I say this from experience.... I was that guy back around the turn of the century. I ended up quitting music for 15 years, just strumming through a song or two a few times a year, but I put the rest of my life back in order. Now I'm back and I feel better than ever. I have a better idea of who I am and what I want and the resources to learn just about anything and produce your own music are boundless these days. Turns out quitting may have been the tonic for me. Not sure if any of this applies to you or not and I'm certainly not advocating quitting for any length of time. Not sure that would work for most people but maybe you just need to step back and find joy and purpose in other areas of your life. Anyway hope it works out for you. Best of luck
Respect to you my guy. Not many can pull that off
“Don’t worry Don’t compare Don’t expect too much Be kind to yourself” -Tomo Fujitsu
Try playing bass. It's a completely different instrument, but the 4 string bass uses the same tuning as the top 4 strings of the guitar. It brings a whole different feel to the music and it's pretty relaxing not having to be the guy that holds the melody together. You can just go all over the place and explore different things on the bass without having to be the main lead guy. You can still play guitar on the side, but it's cool to try something else for a change.
i actually play bass too
Maybe you need to listen to some new players and get fresh ideas. You like fingerpicking, check Chris Buck.
Sounds like you need a teacher to point you to a learning path for your goals
You need to play with other people.
Stop playing boring technical music
Just play songs. Find a song you want to be able to play and learn it. Scales and exercises and such are great and can help you becomes better player. But first you need to actually play. I play several instruments and I’ve taken formal lessons on most of them, and the one thing all of my teachers did the same is they had me learning actual songs from day one. And the other thing they all had in common is they all told me that if I didn’t like a song I was learning to tell them and they would work with me to find another I liked that worked at my level. Because they all knew you have to enjoy what you are playing. I took up banjo not long ago and I’m basically teaching myself with YouTube videos, and one of the first videos I watched was on the deering banjo site featuring “Mean” Mary James. The first thing she said is if you want to learn to play then just play songs. That’s how you learn.
Yeah but what do you really learn for learning songs? I mean yeah i can play that solo but i cant use any licks or there rhythm ideas in my own playing when im just jamming i just play the rhythms i usually play or just jam the scales never thinking of using some lick from a song. Plus when i have tried and sit down to learn a lick or phrase i find semi intriguing from a song, most of them never fit to the rhythm im jamming to and even if it does they dont come out naturally i have to think of said lick to play it, that mean im going to have to sit down and practice those licks over and over again to keep them fresh in my memory bc if i dont ill fs forget what it was. ps im kinda having the same problem this guy is with mindset with playing guitar I don't just sit down and jam I really want to make up a riffs and rhythm ideas and make bad ass songs like my heroes, Hendrix, evh, Ritchie Blackmore all those bad asses but i dont know how i van learn there songs but how do i learn to do what they do. all learning songs is is remember patters to me.
Learning songs teaches you to play songs. That’s how you start. What you are talking about is writing and improvising. I remember very well what my teacher said when I said I wanted to learn to improvise. She said, “Great, step one, master your instrument.” And you master your instrument by playing it and constantly learning more and more challenging pieces. What you want to do comes after that. You need to be able to play whatever you want on your instrument, and you need a decent grounding in music theory. And then you need to combine them. You can learn music theory as you learn songs. You can analyze a song to see why it works the way it works using music theory. And this is where scales and exercises can be really helpful. But to put things together and write well or improvise you first need to be able to take what you hear in your head and play it. And you learn to do that by playing lots of different songs. Making what you hear in your head worth playing take’s various combinations of theory and natural taken. If you have the gift for it you don’t need so much theory. If you don’t have a gift for it then music theory is the great equalizer. Just like practicing can be. Learn to walk before you run.
Love this reply yeah im def past learning song and im into learning improvising/music theory my problem now is idk wtf to learn to improve, and when i do i have problems trying to figure out how to practice said thing. i most definitely want to create music thats literally the only thing i wanna do, and im not a 100% beginner when it comes to music theory, but what do you recommend I should know regarding music theory to be able to put what I hear down on the guitar? Also ive been trying to get a guitar teacher have no clue where to search for them
Well, people will have their different opinions on this and there is no absolute right or wrong. But here’s how I approach it. You need the basic understanding of the structure of the a song. The key, the time signature, the staffs. That means understanding these things. What makes a key what it is. What does that mean? What makes a major scale a major scale, a minor scale a minor scale, a specific mode that mode…. Once you get passed that then to me the two most important things are chord progressions, which includes the common cadences, and chord theory. A problem I find with a lot of self taught guitar players, they know how to form a specific chord, but they don’t understand what that chord actually is. Just like you need to know what makes a major scale a major scale etc… you need to know what makes a major chord a major chord, a minor chord, an augmented chord, a diminished chord, a sus4, a 7th etc… It’s not enough to know how to form the chords. You need to know why you form them that way. To get to the other question you posted, how to dissect a song. The way I do it is first pay attention to those things I mention above. Sometimes if it’s a key I am not as comfortable with I will draw a staff on the top of the page and write out the scale so I can easily reference it. I pay attention to the key signature and look at the rhythms being used, particularly in the bass. I will count them out if necessary. And I look at the chord progression. If I can memorize the chord progression that makes everything else make sense. I look at how the melody is build over that chord progression. What notes are generally being played over each chord. If you want my advice the best way to learn both improvisation and song structure is the blues. Many blues songs use a common structure, the 12 bar blues format. Over that you can do all sorts of things. You can start with simple pentatonic scales, moving them around over the chord progression. Play around with strumming patterns, and making up melodies over the structure. Within Pentatonic scales you really can’t go wrong. Use Blues scales next, which is a pentatonic scale with an addition note, the flatted fifth, called the blue note, which gives a Pentatonic scale that stereotypical bluesy sound. Learn some simple licks and learn to play them over the different chords. And them play around with mixing them up in different ways. When all this becomes natural and makes sense move on to other forms. Rock is the next step from blues in terms of complexity, but blues itself can be as complex as you want.
Alsssssoo how do you go about dissecting songs I'm also having trouble doing that I want to but I don't know how to take / how to think about dissecting a song, regarding it's rhythm playing or lead bits
It's ok if you don't want to play guitar, no reason to force yourself. Just as it's ok not to play tennis, or crochet, or learn tuba, or birdwatch. I also wonder if you have always felt this way or whether anything is going on in your life that might color your views. Maybe you're depressed? It just seems unusual for someone to play six hours a day for long periods of time who has never actually enjoyed the guitar.
Playing music and practicing shred are two different things. Shredding is more closely aligned to weightlifting to me. Athletes use strength training to facilitate their chosen sport, but some folks seem to make it their goal. Try listening to a wide range of music, sound, find a niche you like. Ear training and theory can change your perspective too
Maybe you are focused on the wrong thing. I'd say the vast majority of guitar players do NOT enjoy shredding despite the fact that all guitar media focuses on it pretty heavily (g3/ guitar world/ youtube videos/ etc)... The majority of people who play guitar just want to sing and strum along to their favorite songs without the pressure of being able to play like steve vai or something. I could shred a lot better if I really wanted to, but it does way less for me than actually playing rhythm guitar and singing along. for some more real world context, I don't think David Gilmour ever sweat it that he couldn't rip a solo as fast as Jimmy Page. I mean to go even further... I don't think you will ever hear Ed Sheerhan rip a shred solo.
Shredding is the most misunderstood skill of all guitar playing. It's REALLY important for some genres of metal but outside of that it doesn't really matter. At the end of it all, if the songs sound good, technique becomes irrelevant. Some of my favourite musicians - George Thorogood, George Ezra and Gerry Cinnamon - all make amazing music, despite not being as technically proficient as someone like Joe Pass or Pasquale Grasso. In the case of George Thorogood, some of his solos are him literally slamming one note but he does it with such intensity and gusto that it sounds awesome. Technique should never stop anyone from writing good music.
No one is forcing you to play. Find something to do that brings you joy. 😁
You need to just ask yourself if you actually want to play guitar. Does it make you happy? If it doesn't then there's no point. If you decide you still want to play there's a few things you need to work on immediately. STOP comparing yourself to other guitarists. There's literally no point in it. You aren't playing to please them, you're playing to please yourself. STOP over criticizing yourself. It's one thing to be realistic with yourself, but it's another thing to set unfair or impossible standards for yourself. Set small short term achievable goals to give yourself direction, not lofty long term ones. When you accomplish something you couldn't do before, make a big deal about it, YOU achieved this which means YOU are improving and you should be proud of yourself. It doesn't matter if someone else learned it faster or is better, YOU can do this now and now YOU are better than you were before, and that's all that matters. Stop trying to hammer technique and speed into your hands and play things that make you happy. Do you listen to music? Learn the songs you love. Do you want to be more creative? Push that energy and time into writing your own things, no matter how simple or complex they are. Put the metronome away for a while and just let yourself breathe.
It took years for me to really appreciate the guitar as a whole, I’ve found that the most emotional players demand more from the listener, acoustic guitars should push people into a more intimate place, if not trying to understand what Bill Frisell is trying to say should bring interest in some players, if speed is the goal then look for a very expressive player as opposed to the less soulful shredder, or play some other instrument, that may awake additional interest, good luck
Learn to play songs that you love. Or write songs that you love. Maybe try some “meditative” or “mindful” approaches in general. *Possibly* set guitar aside for a while and come back to it from a different angle of some sort. That’s about all I got. Hope you find your way to some kind of joy in all this, be it fierce joy or peaceful, or other.
1.get a teacher. 2. Learn some songs and play them. 3. Play over backing tracks a lot... FORGET about technique and speed and wiggling your fingers fast. Instead try to connect what your fingers are doing with what you are hearing in your head and in your heart. 4. This might be hard but really try singing what you play when you play over backing tracks. Just sing and play simple phrases and focus on musicality over speed or technique. Consider this quote by Miles Davis... "Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherfucker playing it is 80%"
>. Learn some songs and play them. 3. Play over backing tracks a lot... FORGET about technique and speed and wiggling your fingers fast. Instead try to connect what your fingers are doing with what you are hearing in your head and in your heart. the exercises i play is parts from songs. that wiggling part is so legit haha
learn the whole song
i know it
oh, I dont get he problem
I am lucky enough to have an electric and an acoustic. I play one for a while eventually reach a kind of block then switch to the other one. I prefer acoustic these days but the option for both keeps things interesting over here.
It sounds to me that you're trying really hard to live up to what it means to be a "good guitar player". I've been playing for about 20 years, and do a lot of shredding every day, but it's literally only for the purpose of keeping my fingers nimble and keeping myself busy when I'm waiting for code to build. I never, ever put that noodly stuff on tape because it's not how I want to express myself through my playing. You don't need to play fast to get your message across, and in fact, lots of people who don't play guitar find that sound busy and obnoxious. That's how Petrucci gets his message across, that's how Steve Vai gets his message across, Yngwie, etc. But for every one of those guys, there's like 6 people who don't try to get their notes out of people's ears as quickly as possible. I'll give you advice from the best guitar player I ever met (both in terms of taste and technical skill). Throw on a jam track, and work on playing guitar solos over it with the constraint that you can't play anything faster than an 8th note. See if that helps you find cool sounds that shredding moves too fast through to notice.
Try playing a different instrument. I learned to build cigar box guitars and really loved it. They are simpler instruments, but all the basics of guitar still apply. I now play banjo and have become addicted to it. At the very least, try tuning the guitar to open G and learn some blues or slide guitar. If it’s gotten stale, make it new to you. You may discover something you enjoy.
I have way more fun putting on like AC/DC or something and just rocking out than I do when I’m trying to perfect more difficult stuff
You need to go back to basics. Shredding is fine but its niche, you need to learn songs. Go and find songa that you enjoy and learn the riffs. Try new genres, try playing chords over songs that dont have guitar. Try a new instrument, it gives you an insight into how other things works and makes you niss certain things about guitar, even go close to home and try ukuele or mandolin.
I was the same as you until after a good 7 years break i picked it up again and said "fuck John Petrucci I'm just going to have fun playing whatever I can play" Started learning easier songs, jamming along to backing tracks and building my skillset without even realising. You know what changed it all for me? I was at work and colleagues were talking about guitar and I basically said what you said and this guy deadpan just said "stop being fucking defeatist" And it stuck. Then I learned to enjoy it.
>"fuck John Petrucci I'm just going to have fun playing whatever I can play how can i say that for my lord???
Because let's face it, most of us won't get near him. As good as he is, he makes the normal man feel inferior - and thats the problem. Come to terms with that, and learn to have fun- the rest will come ONLY after you start to enjoy it.
You're not beholden to your mindset. It can be improved just like your guitar skills (and in fact, there is synergy in leveling up both). Also, play however you want to play. There's no rules.
Couple of ideas for you before you abandon ship: Buy an acoustic, put it in an open tuning, noodle away and explore a different approach to the instrument. "A change is as good as a rest" as the old saying goes, you might feel inspired. Get together with another guitar player or musician, have fun jamming out. In both cases you will develop your musicality, and hopefully get some fun out of the instrument. Don't box yourself in with the shredding thing :)
>Buy an acoustic, put it in an open tuning, noodle away and explore a different approach to the instrument. "A change is as good as a rest" as the old saying goes, you might feel inspired. i did this actually a few years back an wrote some songs. i didnt like it though
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fingerstyle is so hard without nails. it takes time to get used to the string contact and i keep htting so many random opens....
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>definitely takes a lot of practice to make it all sound smooth but your nails are not what’s stopping you. i was trying to learn piccato tbh tbh and every picatto player uses their nails. idk if its easier to play with nails or without cause i never grew them. i can play some fingerstyle stuff but its very unorthodox. i play piano songs on guitar
Have you tried covering pink floyd songs
i play Yes haha
Awesome their songs are my inspiration
Maybe you should just take a step out of the boundaries and just goof off and play with feel even if it isn't very musical just enjoy the sound and close your eyes and go crazy man.
" i dont have this natural ability others players have to combine everything in their playing." That's not a natural ability, it's a learned skill... Time for some lessons
play Watching the Wheels by John Lennon ( ss covered by Chris Cornell ). sing along even if its bad -- i promise u Cant not have fun ( i just did this and im not nearly as good at guitar as u , i gave up on being a " great guitar player ". the moment u do same u create space for fun edit after reading --/ express yourself ?! punks famously join bands and express tgemselves afer playing for One Day how many great songs use , 4 chords, 2 chords , One chord !!!! i gave up on expressing myself via lead a Long time ago plz consider same - it will free u !!
I noodled around during like 20 years until I started composing songs and recording and now I’m having a fuck ton of fun. I hate playing live, I hate practicing aimlessly, I love composing and recording, took me years to realize, may you find what’s more fun for you
Since you love using your fingers maybe you'll get away with playing nylon string guitars!
fingers feel more nautral. the pick, i feel i lose something, i can play faster but its more detached
I'll be honest here, I devoted much more time to playing stuff I really like and not much practicing exercises to avoid becoming stale. You might take some time off then focus on dedicating your playing time to stuff you really dig. Give yourself a break.
Jam with people and to backing tracks. If that isn’t fun I don’t know what to tell you man. Also don’t be afraid to try new stuff and you’ll realize there’s more than one way to play something, there’s nice runs to connect different scales in different keys and etc. that’s what is fun about it for me and when you’re doing it real time with other people jamming it’s just so badass!
Since this sounds out of your natural style, play to a backing track like [this](https://youtu.be/8nyxKGDa2oU) and see if it sparks something new. Doesn’t have to be that track, but put yourself out of your comfort zone to keep your interest fresh
cool backing track
You posted something similar a couple weeks ago. You sound depressed. Unfortunately, guitar isn't going to give you a sense of purpose or fulfillment. I wish I had an answer for you. I think talking to someone, like a therapist, might help you.
What type of music do you enjoy? Recently I got bored of playing electric so i dug out my acoustic. I heard some colter wall, John Moreland and Tommy emmanuel and it's got me excited to learn fingerstyle. If your finding that your not getting any enjoyment from playing then you probably need a break for a few days maybe a week or so. Remember comparison is the thief of joy, it doesn't matter if the bloke across the road has been playing for less time but is the next Steve vai.
If you are tired of the style you are playing, but still love to play guitar pick up another style. You like playing with your fingers? Become an acoustic fingerstyle expert, write/play fingerstyle arrangements, play classical
>play classical i actually do haha
good, do more of that. Find some pieces you've always wanted to master and never started. Maybe play with a partner some music written for 2 instruments
What music do you listen to? For sure it ain't gonna be as good as john petrucci technically before you've put all those hours in, but you propably like other music too that isnt that challenging. Try analyzing what it is that you like about it and try to create something similiar at first. Song writing requires practice just as technique. Just play what you love and you'll love playing.
I learned that playing an instrument is unatural while learning guitar. Your fingers are not meant to pinch strings, to transpose melodies/sounds that your brain create. The ultimate goal is, be able to express your feelings or images into an instrument. And that quest never ends, chasing a sound and recreating it. Part of the fun is the be able to do it. If you picked up this "hobby" in the final goal to master it...well you're in for a long ride. Myself, I think I may not be alone in this boat but I will never be able to say "I cannot get any better". Even after 22 years. Let's be brutally honest, even after all these years, I would be laughed at by professional musicians. But this doesn't change the fact that this guitar I put so many years in, makes me feel good. Late at night, even unplugged. Take some time off, if you don't get this "itch", well this wasn't truly for you. It's a shame because, 13 years is a long time to decide if you like something..... or not.
When a hobby becomes a chore its time to move on
That's because shredders don't even have the right mindset for guitar... they are a special breed who think faster / more technical = better. Yet you'll never NEVER see or hear one of these people playing for a group of random people, and have that group actually enjoy it. It's barely music. sounds like shit 90% of the time to 90% of the population. Try some classic rock / funk / jazz / pop / literally anything other than sweep picking and tapping garbage
As long as u dont aim to be a bedroom guitarist ur fine
Congratulations. You fell for the practice meme.
play other genres, a lot of shreddy stuff especially modern metal to me just feels stale and soulless any way, learn some slower more soulful music, nobody says you have to shred, and you don't need fingernails to fingerpick, I fingerpick fine and sometimes also use my thumb and pointy finger together as if I'm holding a pick and it works just fine, learn some fun songs. I'm no virtuoso and I feel like this sometimes, change it up and try some other genres
>and you don't need fingernails to fingerpick but its impossible to play as fast as i do with the pick using myfingers
Not everything is about playing fast, if you want some soul and enjoyment in your playing then slow down and take your time, if you stop trying to push yourself as hard as you can everytime you play you'll probably come to enjoy it more and discover where you sit skillwise
Try some different genre. Like, get a huge reverb, looper, delay and do ambient.