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#1
06-11-2017, 06:48 AM
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"What can you play"
"What can you play"
Mention you play a little bit of guitar and its the first question you get ...its starting to get on my nerves .When i first started i covered a few pieces but since i have learned theory i like improvising and creating ,there is often enough going on in a chord never mind a progression and take a whole key i'm happy for ever.I often wonder whether i will ever get to cover all the keys of the C major scale but i'm happy until someone says what can you play ? What do i do ...do i make others happy and go through the processes of covering music ( which i'm never really happy with ) or do i carry on with my own fantasies of creating some really good original (with influences obviously) pieces of music . I have paranoid schizophrenia so i'm never going to be a performer as much as i would like to be . 
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#4
06-11-2017, 07:50 AM
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Hi Ze,
It is difficult trying to teach yourself to be a musician but I would strongly recommend learning songs in the styles of music you like. My approach has changed lately so when I get interested in a song I really study the song now and obtain some sheet music (usually musicnotes.com). Then I study the melody and attempt to learn it off by heart. Then I'll study the piano left hand to see if I can salvage a usable bass line. If it goes well I'll either record the bass line by playing my bass or will paint the notes into Logic Pro X. If there is a guitar solo I learn that off by heart. Like you I'm a big Dylan fan so right now I'm working on "Everything is broken" from the album Oh Mercy (1989 a great album IMO). In the past when I played mostly electric guitar I was learning all the scales and modes but I didn't have the knowledge or the ears to apply this knowledge. But this way of working for me is making me play and sing better.
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#5
06-11-2017, 08:31 AM
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What I am starting to discover is that the better I get at improvising and creating my own music, the easier it is for me to pick out a cover of something that I like, so playing covers becomes more enjoyable. The problem with NOT playing covers for me is that I tend to make my own things too easy, e.g. come up with a cool progression, then realise there are no slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, position shifts, or even notes outside the key. It still sounds OK, but it's plain vanilla, and doesn't develop my technical skills much.
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#6
06-11-2017, 08:50 AM
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I tell them "a little blues".
I'd love to perform at some point, but maybe I'll just get a second dog..... Hey, you can always video yourself to practice and throw it on youtube for here and Facebook (old guitar pickers, for instance) for feedback.....
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#7
06-11-2017, 10:52 AM
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If people ask that question (and they aren't musicians themselves), they will want to hear a song they know. And they'll be more interested in how you sing it than in you play it.
As long as you can play 2 or 3 simple chords in tune they'll be impressed by your playing, as few people are interested in (or knowledgeable about) levels of instrumental skill. Hey, you can play guitar and they can't! That's all that matters!  If you can't (or won't) sing, then maybe some folksy instrumentals - like HHP's fiddle tunes - would do, because they'll sound happy and energetic. What they'll be distinctly unimpressed with is you strumming through the chord sequence of a vocal tune without singing it, even if you play it brilliantly. If they are musicians (of any kind) they'll be a lot more interested in your instrumental skills, and might even offer good advice.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. Last edited by JonPR; 06-11-2017 at 11:34 AM.
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#10
06-11-2017, 08:00 PM
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#11
06-11-2017, 08:28 PM
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I just say, "my own stuff" and a few covers". Instrumentals/fingerstyle..........(often with some small explanation). At my stage in life, I'm not looking to fulfill someone else's expectations to define, "what do you play"? It is what it is and I work to fulfill my own aspirations within that slice of musically enjoyable possibilities.
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1993 Bourgeois JOM 1967 Martin D12-20 2007 Vines Artisan 2014 Doerr Legacy 2013 Bamburg FSC- 2002 Flammang 000 12 fret 2000 McCollum Grand Auditorium ______________________________ Soundcloud Spotify
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#12
06-11-2017, 08:33 PM
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I know what you mean. I've been carrying my guitar as I travel, so even strangers ask. I could only say "I'm just learning" for about a year. But, like you, I've learned theory in order to develop my songwriting and composition and I'm not really interested in perfecting other people's songs to performance level. Here's my strategy. I figured if I can play maybe 3 songs by heart, that'll last me around a family campfire till they believe I can play. After 3, I figure it's legit to say, "sure, I can play that, I need to see the chords...." So my strategy was to pick 3-4 things that have simple repeated chord progressions and learn those well enough. I'm familiar with lots of songs they will know, of course, and I can strum those fine with the chords if they really want. But it's far easier to remember and play my own stuff so that's my focus. Good luck! Oh, also, I'm a lefty, so unless I have my own guitar, it's unlikely I'll be ambushed with one just lying about. 
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#13
06-12-2017, 09:50 AM
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Unless you're actually holding the guitar in your hands say nothing. They won't ask "what can you play?" if you don't tell them you play.
If you aren't performing, and casually playing, then play whatever you want to play ... and tell your "audience" they can get 100% of their cover (that they didn't pay) refunded on the way out if they don't like it.
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#14
06-12-2017, 10:22 AM
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I was at party once when I was in college. I brought out my acoustic and strummed and sang a few well-known songs. They were all simple, three-chord strummy songs since that's all I knew how to play (that's still all I play). People sang along, clapped, etc. and seemed to enjoy it.
Another guy came up and and asked to play my guitar. I handed it to him and he proceeded to demonstrate his mastery of the fretboard by playing all manner of scales all up and down the neck. I was impressed, but when he finished one of the folks at the party said "That was cool, but do you know any songs?"
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2015 Martin D-18 1982 Martin HD-28 2013 Taylor 314ce 2004 Fender Telecaster MIM 2010 Martin DCX1RE 1984 Sigma DM3 Fender Mustang III v2
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#15
06-12-2017, 11:13 AM
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If you are playing for yourself, what others think or know about it doesn't really matter.
Do what you like and enjoy. I wouldn't let people inquiries annoy you though. If they are showing an interest that is a good thing. Just tell them you have your own eclectic style and you just play for your own enjoyment. The answer doesn't need to satisfy them and your playing only needs to satisfy you. If you're having fun, that's all that matters - just keep doing what you're doing.
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