How long before you considered yourself good?

nnvan · #1 05-03-2002, 10:01 PM

I know the most common answer will be "I'm still working at it". Yes I know that learning to play is a lifetime journey not a destination. This is a very open ended question and everyone's standards are going to be different. But I'm just trying to gauge my progress since I've haven't been playing that long. My friends tell me I'm really good for someone who has only been playing for 4 months. I don't think that I'm not learning that fast though.

Lisa · #2 05-04-2002, 07:32 AM

Welcome to the forum!

Well I don't know what you can play but the fact that you can play anything after 4 months is something to be thankful for. as you said yourself it isn't a destination. Set goals for yourself and if you can get a good teacher so you can avoid the pitfalls of bad habits that have to unlearned later (I speak from experience) You'll learn faster when you have a good teacher rather than plotting a course for yourself.
If you stay with it and are diligent with your practice you'll get to the level you want to be at. When? I don't think anyone can say that with any certainty. Maybe a guitar teacher around here could speak up and give you an idea of how long it takes a beginning student to become basically "proficient"
I don't know if any of that helped or not. I say if you love the guitar keep at it. Don't worry about how long it takes as long as you're doing your best to learn. Above all, enjoy the journey.
The guitar is the coolest instrument in the world (well, to me

)
PS I don't consider myself good yet and I won't tell you how long I've been playing!

Aruthas · #3 05-04-2002, 09:27 PM

How long before I'm good? I'll do my best never to find myself good. I have to feel that there's a challenge somewhere, and having the feeling I am good at something just kills it for me. My goal, up till now, was to play good enough not to be ashamed when I try a guitar in a music shop. My new goal, since I bought my 4-track recorder, is to be able to lay down acceptable guitar tracks in less that half a day. That should keep me challenged for quite some time.

bnjp · #4 05-04-2002, 10:02 PM

I had been playing for about 3 years when my roomate in college started picking my guitar. In my mind he was blowing me away after just a few months (and I think he does have a great musical ear, which helped him learn a lot faster), but in reality if someone learns different things than you, they always sound better because they're doing something you can't do.

As far as learning goes, I've found it best to play with someone else better than me, or groups of people. That stretches me the fastest and I learn lot's more that way.

proy · #5 05-07-2002, 12:54 PM

Aruthas,

WHich 4-track did you get??

I know you were looking at both the PXR4 and the BR-532.

chrisb · #6 05-07-2002, 01:26 PM

I guess once you reach the point where you can do the things on guitar you want to do, you are there.
Playing with people who have more experience usually helps you to improve.

http://www.guitarsearcher.com

#7 05-07-2002, 02:22 PM

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the loaded question. I don't really think there is a "good" answer for the question. Being good at something- anything- is totally relative. Are you better than you were a month ago. I'll bet the answer is "Yes." If you stay with it, you can ask yourself the same question 10, 20, or 30 years from now you will, hopefully, get the same answer. You'll keep getting better, better than someone you know or heard, it doesn't really matter. The true gauge will be your own expectations.

To me, the joy is in the journey (maybe crossing the fifty year line gives me that perspective). I hope I never consider myself "good." If I only play for wife and she smiles, that's great. If I'm jamming with a buddy and he or she hears something I played that they enjoyed. I'll teach it to them. Enjoy the journey. Get better and better, but never (in your own mind) get good.