how good were you at 18?

Don't worry. You're gonna feel like that even after decades. I do, anyway. Its normal. Just keep playing.

 

When I was 18, I had been playing electric for 8 years, maybe 10+ years altogether. Listening to the more riff-oriented stuff I recorded then, I thought my playing was immature and tasteless, regurgitating cliche'd licks where I'd heard them played before, not playing what I thought was correct for any given part. I played like an 18 year old kid with something to prove to the other guitarists out there.

Nowadays, professionally I'm known as much as a singer/songwriter as a guitarist, so I try to think in terms of producing a track. What's the right part? Play that. It helped me to find my own tone, playing voice, and style. When I stopped worrying about what I could and couldn't accomplish on the guitar, my playing improved my leaps and bounds. Don't be discouraged, keep playing.

And yes, I still think my playing is crap most days, it's what keeps me constantly playing to get better!

 

I started playing at 17.

At 18 I could nail some mean power chords and play them really fast.

That was about the limits of my skill at 18, but I also had that punk mentality that theory is useless sh*t that stifles creativity. I've since grown up, and I started taking lessons in theory a few months ago (I'm now 26, it's never to late to learn anything).

 

When I was 18 I was just beginning to move out of the bedroom and into the garage . I could play a bunch of songs riff wise and chord wise, but never tackled the solos. I knew how to drive my family nuts with pinch harmonics, dive bombs, a screaming elephant, power shift Ferrari sound effects, bad Eddie tapping imitations, feedback, and riffin' in E (dropped D? What the h*ll is that!?!). The hardest piece I had been working on back then was either the first side of Hemispheres or Broon's Bane (both by Rush). An acquaintance who played bass was impressed that I knew what I still call the Jimi chord (Purple Haze's finger twister). One of my friends just knew he was the next Tommy Lee and, there you go, instant power trio!! I had been playing guitar seriously for about four years by then.

 

Too true.

There are some licks that it took me many years to get down and I still screw them up sometimes.

Find your weak spots and work on them. Practice a minimum of one hour a day. Practice in a place with no distractions, including a TV.

Use a metronome no less than every other day. You should use it daily but I'm being realistic. Do not turn the speed up until you get the lick down.

 

Lance, as usual, has some sage advice. I wouldn't worry about how good or bad anyone else is, it isn't a competition. Pick some long term goals, and then break them down into little goals that you can accomplish in short periods of time, such as learning a new tune every week, maybe a new lick every day, etc. I used to write out practice routines, varying them day to day. For example
15 minutes chop building with metronome, 30 minutes practicing a new scale, 30 minutes sight reading, Spend 1 hour learning a song or licks from a solo by ear, etc.. Vary your practice depending on your goals, ie. chops, ear training, theory, improvisational skills. Most of all, have fun in the process and don't forget to jam with others to show off all the new stuff you learn!

 

I didn't start playing until I was 18 years old. I'm now 35 and play, ahem, professionally and have been for years... But, in my opinion, I've still got a long way to go! Get used to that feeling. It never goes away, if you're doing things properly. It's the players that feel satisfied with what they know that suck.

 

I felt the same about my playing at 18 as I do now at 48:

- There's some stuff I can do that's cool and I enjoy playing it.
- There sooo much I don't know.
- Almost every guitarist I hear can do something I wish I could
- There's a bunch of stuff I'm working on that I think I might get if I keep at it.


It doesn't change...

 

Hey Man..

Im in pretty much the same rut you are now, A few weeks ago that reality check just hit me, i never really used to practise at all mabye an hour a day at most and then just sit down watch tv or whatever and hope i get better by tomorrow, But i ralised that doesnt work and for about the last 2 weeks ive put in between 5 -10 hours practise a day with metronome, And ive found already my playing has improved,
Also im 17 and i feel like its too late also..

 

When I was 14 I took up bass, but everybody else in the neighborhood had started a year earlier. I was told I was starting too late.

 

Shoot - I inflict that same psychological punishment on myself every single day! You learn to deal with it a little better with time, but it's always painful.

At 18, I had been playing for about 8 years and had been playing professionally for 2 years. I thought I was pretty good but knew I had a long way to go. But at 18, it all came way too easily to me. I had a band with a national reputation and was signed with ABC Bluesway Records and fully sponsored by Fender. The company I kept was lofty to say the least, and, at 18, I had no real concept of how fortunate I was to be where I was.

I'm past 50 now and would love to see a little more of that kind of luck come my way. My best advice is just play your ass off and enjoy the journey. Don't worry, be happy! Life is short and seemingly pointless, and it will all be over before you know it and before you're ready to see it end.

littlemoon

 

P.S. It's only too late when they pry your guitar from your cold, dead fingers.

littlemoon

 

The first time in my life I ever picked up a guitar I was 21-22. I guess that means at 18 I must have been pretty darn awful.

 

Zappa made that claim as well in some interviews but it doesn't jive with some other things I've read.

You're a helluva player and even more remarkable is that you started at a later age.

 

Thanks Lance....I was lucky to have the teachers I had. Made all the difference! I fully credit Richie Hart for making me at least a decent player.

 

I was really good at Basket ball at 18.
Got hurt and bought a guitar,19 when I learned how to tune the darn thing.

 

Just check the "Members Soundclip" section for a lot of amazing clips.

Also check the amps section. For clips of TAG playing, look for threads about "Why the Bruno is the best Clean ever - and that's a fact" or "Why the EM Pro is the best - if you can hear" (Just kidding )