Is it strange to play guitar and NOT want to perform?

[ADK]

When I mention to someone that I play guitar:

"Oh, are you in a band? Where do you perform? You should play at 1) my bbq next week, 2) my nephew's wedding, 3) this open mic I heard about."

Me: "Oh, I just play for my own enjoyment. I'm not interested in performing."

<they shake their heads>


Playing guitar, for me, has become a rather private, personal thing. If someone else is around, I don't mind them listening, but I don't have an interest in performing. My sole focus is simply to improve and learn.

Am I the only one who doesn't play to perform?

[Stevied63]

I feel the same way. It’s a very relaxing thing, for me, and I have no desire to perform. Plus, I can’t sing very well, and I’m horribly self-concious. That said - I do wish I would try to seek out others to play with - not to perform, but I suspect playing guitar with others is a great way to improve.

[Nymuso]

Lots of people who play golf are not on the pro tour. Ever play softball in a pick up game? How bout tennis? Why can't one play guitar as a hobby? Many people do.

[ADK]

I should emphasize I'm not a singer. I don't learn chords/lyrics anymore, nor do I have 100 well-known sing-a-long songs memorized.

[Wade Hampton]

Obviously, the problem isn’t with wanting to play music for your own enjoyment, it’s with the perceptions of others who can’t understand why anyone would want to do that. It just shows how passive our culture has become on the subject, and how non-participatory.

I’ve noticed how the congregation at the Episcopal church where I lead music has become less likely to sing than they were even five or ten years ago. Where our culture is now, if someone doesn’t self-identify as a singer or a musician they’re less likely to take part, even when urged to do so.

Frustrating as that can be for me, it appears to be an ongoing and major shift in the culture, so it’s far beyond my feeble attempts to change it.

Same for you, ADK - this incomprehension you encounter when you say you play for your own enjoyment will continue, because for the vast majority of people nowadays music is a spectator art form, not a participatory one.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Lots of people who play golf are not on the pro tour. Ever play softball in a pick up game? How bout tennis? Why can't one play guitar as a hobby? Many people do.

Not the greatest analogy. All these activities involve performing with others, playing in front of others and not in a room or a back porch alone, and... they are competitive by nature.
For me, playing a guitar is a wonderful hobby with which I am happy to share with anyone who cares to listen.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by ADK

When I mention to someone that I play guitar:

"Oh, are you in a band? Where do you perform? You should play at 1) my bbq next week, 2) my nephew's wedding, 3) this open mic I heard about."

Me: "Oh, I just play for my own enjoyment. I'm not interested in performing."

<they shake their heads>


Playing guitar, for me, has become a rather private, personal thing.

Am I the only one who doesn't play to perform?

My favorite comeback when asked if I play ...."that depends on who you ask...."

[Tico]

Not strange at all.

Unfortunately in our culture there is enormous pressure to conform to the one single "right way" of being.

It's ridiculous!
People vary.

[FrankHudson]

When someone asks if I play guitar I usually reply:

Yes, and the guitar usually wins.

[RussL30]

I get complaints from my wife about how it’s ridiculous to own multiple $1000 instruments and not gig or play in public. I would maybe play in public if I had
any kind of singing ability or found a singer to play with. It’s not a huge desire though. I’ve also thought about joining the band at church, but I don’t know if I’d want to or not.

[Earl49]

It depends on YOUR motivation and reasons for playing. Some folks crave attention, and some play guitar as more of a meditation activity.

And I fully agree with Wade's active vs. passive observation. There are two kinds of people interested in music: those who play instruments, and those who play CD's. The first group works harder but has way more fun.

[VJP5]

I started at 50 yrs old with the sole intention of proving to myself I could do it. ZERO aspirations of playing for anyone, including my wife. My wife turned into my biggest fan but I do not consider that performing in the performing sense.

Fast forward 6 years and I have tossed about the idea of going to an open mic night. But if I never do, it will certainly not take away from the joy I get by playing in my house, with just me or my wife.

[3notes]

I've said this often... It could be that the best guitarist in the world doesn't play in public. Or, singer song writer.

And, there's a fantastic guitar player on every street in America.(meaning, at home)

So many great musicians are simply never heard. I know someone who plays flute and probably qualifies for 50% of the orchestra's in America. She never plays out.

I've been playing my own music for several years and I have absolutely no desire to play out. And it's questionable if I even qualify.

[GuitarDogs62]

I think guitar is what you want it to be. For me it was at first all for me and was having a bast learning to play guitar and then starting to play music.

Next I learned about jams and fell into a love with playing even more. At first I enjoyed the jam playing a lot and was shy about the singing part. After a year of being asked and coached I started singing and took off from there.

Singing in all the jams finding my voice then on stage as part of a picking shed jam set for a paid audience about once a month.

Then started performing on a regular basis on the boardwalk with a group of friends every Wednesday evening and playing and singing in the Saturday night jam.

From there the boardwalk crew we formed a band and performing ever since.

Last tried out for America's got talent last December and was cut after the first round. I learned a lot from that try out and been inveited back to try out for 2019's season.

Now I still sing on the boardwalk, sing in two jams a week, and play in a band and sing on weekends and starting to get bookings and repeat bookings too.

I did not think I would ever play for anyone else but me. So much for that.

[Rocky Dijohn]

I do not think it is strange to be a committed guitar player with no interest in being a performer. Performing has never been my goal, but I don't mind a family member overhearing me and telling me I sound pretty good. I just do not have the personality or confidence to perform in public. Heck, even when I hit the "record" button to listen to a playback I freeze up. I just become too self-conscious, worry about flubbing or forgetting something, etc. So I remain happy enough just keeping it as a hobby and trying to improve.