I've been playing for two years and I'm still not good, but I can tell I'm getting better. It's really exciting. On to my next plateau.
Hey - this is a refreshing switch from the usual "Why do I Still Suck?" type of thread. Good on you man! Keep at it!
It is very nice indeed when you can see and hear yourself getting better every day. I have the same experience loads of times. Something like:"Hey...last week I couldn't play this that fast." Or:"This is easy now..." Keep at it!
It always seems when you are practicing you never seem to get better and then you are playing live and catch yourself doing something, and think where did that come from and you realise working on technique and scales etc is paying off
I'm my own worst critic and I suspect others suffer the same. Record yourself and listen to it later and you might think, "Shite! This guy rocks!!".
I can't measure improvements by "days." If I'm lucky, I can see marginal improvements by "weeks." It's slow, but definite.
That's like the guy in highschool I knew. He sucked on guitar, and I mean it was hard to listen to. He did something really bad like stealing a car and was "grounded" for two months. By the time he got out of "incarceration" he played amazing guitar. He's a millionaire now due to his playing (not his car theft).
You guys should check in, in the "What have you accomplished while practicing?" thread. I enjoy seeing what others are working on.
i just keep going and i just keep getting more and more comfortable---- the guitar scared the hell out of me when i started---
find some one to play with, everyday get togethers, really just playing alone does not get you where you want to be, a band if you can swing it is great, really forces you to do develop and playing with help you learn music, which is far more than just a guitar.
I can't see my improvement every day or every week. Most of the time, i think i'm stuck, but suddenly one day i find myself playing something i was not able to play in the past. Not as often as i wish, but when it happens it's great!
I guess I'm kinda lucky in that I don't play music that calls for a lot of virtuosic traditional technique. Our band plays kinda moody indie rock and the side group that I'm in plays free improv with a poet. So anything I practice on my own is simply to challenge myself to keep growing and learning. The more I learn the more it seems I know so little. Such is life.
