Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam-Y
I've gotten interesting replies from everyone, thanks a lot! So the overall message I've gotten is:
1. I could be bored because I'm not learning interesting/complicated stuff that I want to play.
2. I could be bored because I'm worrying too much about being good rather than enjoying it.
3. The guitar is not for me and I should stick to the drums.
My goal now is to find the cause of this lack of interest, which is harder than it sounds. I don't want to assume I'm not interested because of reason 3 (since I might be able to recapture that interest after playing for awhile). I don't want to give up the guitar and realize that I would have enjoyed it had I stuck with it.
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Hi, Sam-Y,
I agree that 1 and 2 above may be the answer, and yet it is also possible that right now guitar just isn't the instrument that grabs your attention (like the drums do), and if this is the case it doesn't mean you can't take it up again later if you do decide to put the guitar down now.
I agree with others that it is wise to take you where your interests lead, so that practicing your instrument feels like liberation rather than constraint. I played clarinet from 5th grade to 12th grade, and practiced many hours, did well in competitions, etc., but I never really *loved* playing. It often felt like a chore to practice. Sometimes I watched TV while I practiced to make it more exciting, and after high school I rarely picked up the clarinet again! Perhaps I was playing it more to feel accomplished and follow through with a choice I made in 5th grade (to play the clarinet), than to experience playing the instrument primarily as a way of expressing myself musically.
In contrast, the electric guitar rivets my attention. I'd play for hours if I could. Like others, I recommend you practice playing what you want to play. For example, if you want to play rock music and you haven't learned power and barre chords, I recommend those since then you can play lots of songs right away. In my case, I prefer to make up songs and try to come up with my own fingerings/chords. I've enjoyed playing "Steady as She Goes" by the Raconteurs after downloading the TABs (and playing along with their YouTube video so I feel like I'm part of the band!), but that's the only song I've played so far that was created by someone else (besides Home on the Range and some other simple folk tunes).
I would like to be able to play other people's guitar songs in theory, but in practice my interests take me elsewhere (I like to make up my own songs), and so I do what I like. When I play the guitar, I really feel like I'm *playing.* It is fun, like a game; playing makes me feel much more alive. My goal isn't to become an expert but to have fun making music that *I* like.
Sam-Y, what do you feel your musical goals are? Answering this will probably help you figure out what guitar-playing means to you and whether it is an instrument you want to continue with right now, like Mr Dave said. I wouldn't want you to end up doing what I did with the clarinet: spend thousands of hours with an instrument making music that really doesn't move you. I somewhat regret the time I spent on the clarinet. I don't regret my time with the guitar at all: when I practice guitar, time flies by quickly and seems to stretch out deliciously long at the same time.
--Erica