For the longest time guitar has been my primary instrument. I made electronic music for the most part but always assumed that I'd add more and more electric guitar to my pieces, maybe do something shoegazey or alternative.
I've generally felt fairly comfortable with an electric guitar, but my crippling ADHD made it hard to learn anything including much music theory. I also never really figured out a way of properly writing songs on guitar, so I mostly just noodled.
Recently I decided I wanted some sort of acoustic instrument so I considered the acoustic guitar, obviously. After a while I realised acoustic guitars, while awesome in the hands of the right person, sort of bored me as it felt like, especially as someone who tends towards lead, should be playing electric instead for all the extra cool things I can with distortion, delay etc. or just the dynamics and ambience of electric in general.
I ended up picking up a Mandolin. I was awkward about it because of my fat fingers and tiny neck - but now I'm kind of used to it. In fact, guitars now feel huge to me. Like a regular Steel String acoustic gives me that odd feeling that approaching a nylon string wide necked acoustic always seemed to give me. I can't even really play my electric. Whereas before the necks seemed plenty thin enough for me hands(especially after having played a 7 string for a while) I just don't know what to do.
I don't really have the money for example to start over with Tenor guitars(though it might be kind of neat to - I just watched the Sound City documentary, and while the analogue snobbery was grating I loved the bo diddley style tenor guitar Paul McCartney had towards the end) or something along those lines right now and it might be limiting myself and running away from developing technique properly.
I guess I feel like I can't do anything impressive or worthwhile on guitar and there's less pressure to do so on Mandolin(it feels a little more natural in some ways too, though it does suck that it's hard to make some chords). I was hoping the Mandolin would give me the spark to become more interested in playing physical instruments again in general and breaking my musical lull - which it did, but now full size instruments are just awkward.
I'm just not sure what I want! What should I do? Will I get used to guitar again? Was my boredom with acoustics actually a boredom with guitars in general, and this is why I've never been able to advance past a certain place? Or do I just need some extra spark?
I've generally felt fairly comfortable with an electric guitar, but my crippling ADHD made it hard to learn anything including much music theory. I also never really figured out a way of properly writing songs on guitar, so I mostly just noodled.
Recently I decided I wanted some sort of acoustic instrument so I considered the acoustic guitar, obviously. After a while I realised acoustic guitars, while awesome in the hands of the right person, sort of bored me as it felt like, especially as someone who tends towards lead, should be playing electric instead for all the extra cool things I can with distortion, delay etc. or just the dynamics and ambience of electric in general.
I ended up picking up a Mandolin. I was awkward about it because of my fat fingers and tiny neck - but now I'm kind of used to it. In fact, guitars now feel huge to me. Like a regular Steel String acoustic gives me that odd feeling that approaching a nylon string wide necked acoustic always seemed to give me. I can't even really play my electric. Whereas before the necks seemed plenty thin enough for me hands(especially after having played a 7 string for a while) I just don't know what to do.
I don't really have the money for example to start over with Tenor guitars(though it might be kind of neat to - I just watched the Sound City documentary, and while the analogue snobbery was grating I loved the bo diddley style tenor guitar Paul McCartney had towards the end) or something along those lines right now and it might be limiting myself and running away from developing technique properly.
I guess I feel like I can't do anything impressive or worthwhile on guitar and there's less pressure to do so on Mandolin(it feels a little more natural in some ways too, though it does suck that it's hard to make some chords). I was hoping the Mandolin would give me the spark to become more interested in playing physical instruments again in general and breaking my musical lull - which it did, but now full size instruments are just awkward.
I'm just not sure what I want! What should I do? Will I get used to guitar again? Was my boredom with acoustics actually a boredom with guitars in general, and this is why I've never been able to advance past a certain place? Or do I just need some extra spark?
But the thing is, even tho i can't play remotely close to as well as i used to, i still enjoy playing and even just for myself at home. Thats the key. If what you play gives you no enjoyment thats one thing, but if it doesn't because you feel it's not on par with what others do, then you need to rethink your priorities ! I we all felt that way everyone would give up except those at the top like tommy emanuel and paul gilbert etc ! But if you play guitar to impress, you're playing for the wrong reason. 
