Are you as good or better than you think you are?

[CASD57]

I never fall for the "Con-Job" I know I suck so, therefore, I suck even worse

[jseth]

Who even thinks about that stuff? Has nothing to do with making music, leastways not to my mind...

In my 60 years of playing the guitar, I don't believe I have EVER thought about that subject...

...sigh... you guys!

[Merak]

My question to your question is: Will I be a better player tomorrow than I am today? How we feel about ourselves changes by the moment.

[JonPR]

I'm a lot better than I think I am.
I think.
Except when I think I'm not.
I think.

So hard to be sure, right?


I mean, I'm struggling to make sense of the question. I think I'm exactly as good as I think I am. How else could it be?
Obviously oher people may have differing opinions - they may think I'm better or worse than I think - but then their opinions will change how good I think I am. Whatever happens, how good I think I am is always precisely how good I think I am. It will naturally vary all the time, depending on how I feel (and think), and how others may respond to how I play.

Sometimes I may be surprised to discover that I can (or can't) do something I though I couldn't (or could). Then my opinion on how good I am will change. But at any specific moment, I'm always exactly as good as I think I am.

Am I making my point clearly enough?

What I mean is, your question is badly phrased. I expect I know what you mean, but it's not what you're asking.
I think what you mean is one (or all) of the following:
(a) do you think you're better (or worse) than other people are (whoever you choose to compare yourself with)?
(b) do you think you're as good as (or better or worse than) other people think you are (as far as you know)?
(c) do you think you're better (or worse) than you were in the past?

Those questions are not much more easily answered, but should be food for thought at least. (The only one that really matters is (c).)

[PeterMN]

If you're satisfied with your abilities you've probably reached your ceiling. Unless you can already play everything you'd like to and as well as you'd like to it's not a good place to be. I've been playing on an off for 14 years and I'm not at all satisfied with how far I've come. That said, I've come a long way and can do things that 90% or more of those who own a guitar can't. The fact that you and I aren't satisfied with our abilities just means we have a higher ceiling than most of those who are. Satisfaction and improvement do not go hand in hand.

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

The better you get the higher your peer group you are comparing yourself to. Also few if any (except some full time pros I suppose)
steadily become a more accomplished player month by month and year by year. It is a roller coaster of ups and downs.

Yes, I would believe that as your playing level improves, you experience the perception of a flattening out of the “learning curve”.

And keep in mind, that for 99.99% of us, it should not be a competition .

[stevemc]

After 53 years of trying to learn to play the guitar you'd think I'd be a lot better. But it brings me a lot of pleasure and I'm currently giving two granddaughters lessons so it doesn't get much better than that!

[tonyo]

When I was really young I wanted to play the guitar really badly. After years of hard work, practice and determination, I can play the guitar really badly.

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by tonyo

When I was really young I wanted to play the guitar really badly. After years of hard work, practice and determination, I can play the guitar really badly.

Lol......

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'm not good, but I like to play.

Same. I invest in the joy of playing but invest nothing in perfecting it. What occurs is a natural progression that is always positive because I keep it that way.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by GuitarLuva

Most people seem to think they're a lot worse than what they actually are and I don't think we can ever be as good as we want to be in our heads. Not gonna stop me though. I enjoy playing and that's all that matters...

That's it, right there.

[David Rock]

Howdy y'all:

A few weeks ago I posted that I had finally gotten "o.k." with my style/sound, and it was a 'freeing moment'. That was then.

Two weeks ago I dislocated my left ring finger. That is now.

My left pinky does not subscribe to my attempts to play. It's only been two weeks. I should make full recovery. Or I may not. It is not pleasant to look at a finger that gives me the finger.

Oh well, that is life. What I now get (bigly) is that tomorrow never comes.

What I now get is the impossibility of what we expect out of flesh and bone and brain. I recall just trying to make a C chord when I was learning. Yes what we expect of our fingers/brain/voice/et al. is beyond reasonable, and yet we often are able to pull it together. Sometimes miracles happen.

Tonight when you play, enjoy it. That is enough.

Regards
d

[DukeX]

I'm exactly as good as I think I am.

Not very.

And no one has ever told me otherwise.

[Mandobart]

Here's what you all wished you would have read before you answered this question - the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

[donkeybus]

I've been thinking about this exact thing, how hard it is to be objective about yourself. IMHO it's impossible, because you have a different perspective about you (from the inside) than everyone else does.

I came across this thread as I was thinking of posting something similar. For me, it's very difficult to get feedback or constructive criticism from anyone, the audiences I come across are mostly musicians themselves and want to be supportive, which is great but not very helpful when you want to improve. I sometimes start my set with "all the support is great but if you have any constructive criticism please don't hold back, I have thick skin!" or something to that effect (but I never get any).


The internet tends to be the opposite problem, there are many people who have no problem being overly critical and insulting.

What would be useful would be a place (maybe this forum?) where one could post a recording and get honest feedback, whether it be complimentary or not as long as criticism is helpful and constructive, not personally insulting.

I'm in a place with my playing/singing/writing that I have found a little bit of success just making music as a hobby when I feel like it and playing a few low paying small gigs that I'm offered. I'm interested in "taking it to the next level", but this problem of not being able to judge yourself accurately is giving me trouble. Would I be wasting my time and energy putting more time and energy into trying to satisfy paying audiences?

Is there such a place? Could this forum be that sort of place?