Is guitar/playing music still popular with?

[Mr. Jelly]

I think that there are so many other online things that keep them busy that AGF is not in the social connection area that they frequent as much.

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I work with two young guitarists (29 and 35) who are also recording engineers. Both love guitar and play passionately. One just inherited an expensive hand-built. I've pointed them to the AGF but that demographic simply isn't into forii.

Bob

I thought I had a pretty decent vocabulary, but I can’t find what this word means.

forii- what’s the definition?

frank d.

[zuzu]

Nearly went with "old farts" but chose "short attention span". The reason being my experiences with my 6 grandchildren, 3 boys, 3 girls, the eldest is 14, the youngest is nearly 3.

I can understand it in the 3 year old and maybe the six year olds, but, just like these younger ones, the older children have a serious aversion to doing anything hard, challenging, or time consuming. They will enthusiastically start things, but when it really gets down to brass tacks, they give up. Over and over. Between the three of them we are talking a fairly wide range of stuff.

I don't like the looks of that

[captain_jack]

look at the topics of most threads here. people arguing about humidity, do guitars "wake up", tone of 11's vs 12's, tone of $3000+ guitars, etc, should I let my expensive vintage guitar acclimate for 24 hours before I open the shippping box, etc. And the for sale forum is generally $3000+ guitars. If some teenager is in their bedroom right now trying to learn how to play some song based on some youtube videos, would you expect them to be interested in any of this?

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by zuzu

....have a serious aversion to doing anything hard, challenging, or time consuming. They will enthusiastically start things, but when it really gets down to brass tacks, they give up. Over and over. Between the three of them we are talking a fairly wide range of stuff.

I don't like the looks of that

Hate to break it to you but that describes many people all over the demographic map.

There are many in our old fart age group that meet this description. Just my opinion/guess based on my own anecdotal experience, but for every one of us that stuck with guitar, or college, calculus, exercise, proper diet, learning to read music, etc. there are quite a few who quit early on. Probably quite a few more who never tried (or never had the opportunity).

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by captain_jack

look at the topics of most threads here. people arguing about humidity, do guitars "wake up", tone of 11's vs 12's, tone of $3000+ guitars, etc, should I let my expensive vintage guitar acclimate for 24 hours before I open the shippping box, etc. And the for sale forum is generally $3000+ guitars. If some teenager is in their bedroom right now trying to learn how to play some song based on some youtube videos, would you expect them to be interested in any of this?

Correct. This forum is about guitars, not music. Which is fine, but as Paul McCartney once said when someone asked him what sort of strings he uses on his bass: “Long shiny ones.” For many younger players, guitars are just tools.

[ewalling]

I think most of us here cut out teeth on the guitar during a few select eras that are long gone. Some of the older members saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan; others got caught up in the folk revival of the early-to-mid 60s; some, like me, fell in love with the guitar during the classic rock era of the 70s; the younger members, probably now in their 50s, may have been originally inspired by the spandex-hair bands of the 80s.

I do not think there has been much to inspire young people to sit putting their hands through torturous routines alone in their bedrooms since. I have taught college-age kids, large numbers of them, constantly in the US from 2002 until today, and those that have been learning the guitar I could count on two hands, maybe even just one. And they would tell me if they did play - I introduce myself in the first class as a guitar player (as well as the teacher of my subject, of course!), and I invite them to tell everyone about themselves. Then I often use the experience of playing the guitar to teach certain concepts. It has long been apparent that, barring a few exceptions, playing the guitar is something the new generations are simply not doing except as a fringe activity.

For this reason, I think a golden age of guitar-buying and discussing is on its way out. Back when I joined the forum in 2007 was that age, I think. The people who had been inspired by guitar-playing eras were in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and maybe early 60s. They had good jobs in a buoyant economy, and people here were shopping for expensive gear like there was no tomorrow. It was gung-ho guitar consumerism with custom builds, pricy luthiers, and prestige names. Spin forward twenty years and most of these folks are retired and less affluent. 'Value-for-money' has become one of the dominant thread-types in latter years. When we all finally shed this mortal coil, it is unlikely that a new generation of pickers will assume the mantle. The age demographic would have been more varied already if such an outcome were probable.

[Bridgepin]

I think it's that they like to socialize with their own generation.

I enjoy getting together with my wife's nieces and nephews and hear how they approach life but, when it come's to music we are worlds apart.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by ewalling

For this reason, I think a golden age of guitar-buying and discussing is on its way out. Back when I joined the forum in 2007 was that age, I think. The people who had been inspired by guitar-playing eras were in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and maybe early 60s. They had good jobs in a buoyant economy, and people here were shopping for expensive gear like there was no tomorrow. It was gung-ho guitar consumerism with custom builds, pricy luthiers, and prestige names. Spin forward twenty years and most of these folks are retired and less affluent. 'Value-for-money' has become one of the dominant thread-types in latter years. When we all finally shed this mortal coil, it is unlikely that a new generation of pickers will assume the mantle. The age demographic would have been more varied already if such an outcome were probable.

I guess it depends on what defines a "golden age of guitar-buying and discussing" before we bemoan that it is on its way out, and whether that's such a golden pursuit? It seems like we boomers (known for sometimes being a little self-absorbed) are susceptible to a "if I'm not doing it, it's not happening (or not important)" mindset. And the corollary "if I'm doing it, it must be important." Do we need the validation of being part of a mega-trend? Isn't it ok to participate in something enjoyed by just a few?

This IS my golden age of guitar playing (guitar-buying and discussing is still new to me, and far below actual playing in terms of priorities). I attend multiple jams/song circles each week. One of these is attended by several folks (men and women) in their 30's. They'll often bring their young kids with them. We play songs - we don't talk much about strings, picks, GAS, humidity, nut widths, boutique instruments.....

Originally Posted by Chipotle

There are plenty of young folks playing acoustic music. I noted in another thread that there is a pretty robust "roots" music scene around here, played by musicians who would have formed punk bands in another era. They're playing acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin...

There are there. They're just not here.

Which is EXACTLY what I'm posting about!

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Chickee

I thought I had a pretty decent vocabulary, but I can’t find what this word means.

forii- what’s the definition?

frank d.

Plural of "forum". Also "forums" and "fora". It made me laugh way back in 2003.

Bob

[mike o]

Interesting comments. Keep them coming.

Being a bass player as well, I frequent the “talk bass” forum. I think I’m goin* to post a thread over there re-how old are you. I have seen quite a few younger players there.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by ewalling

fell in love with the guitar during the classic rock era of the 70s; the younger members, probably now in their 50s, may have been originally inspired by the spandex-hair bands of the 80s.

...playing the guitar is something the new generations are simply not doing except as a fringe activity.

Except even back in the day, I didn't know that many people--outside the bands and musicians I hung out with--who played guitar, or any other instrument either. Had you take a survey in one of my random college classes back in the mid-80s, I doubt you would have turned up more than a scant few guitar players either. Most people are music consumers, not producers. That's always been the case.

My town has a pretty vibrant music scene, and plenty of guitarists, both acoustic and electric. They just aren't spending time on internet forii (h/t to Bob) discussing acoustic minutiae.

[foxo]

I’m 34 so relatively young by AGF standards. I voted the “forums are for old farts” option. I’m maybe something of an outlier as I have been regularly using forums since I was 13 (I was quite a geeky teenager, started out on videogame forums). Most people my age who use online discussion boards of some kind probably gravitate to the likes of Reddit and the edgier 4chan instead. Younger people than me likely gravitate towards social media like TikTok and Instagram.

I don’t think I will ever stop using forums in some form, as long as they are about, but it’s an ingrained habit in me. I love being able to discuss niche subjects with knowledgable folks such as yourselves.

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Plural of "forum". Also "forums" and "fora". It made me laugh way back in 2003.

Bob

Im sorry Bob…I don't beliebe you.😂

fd

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by mike o

Being a bass player as well, I frequent the “talk bass” forum. I think I’m goin* to post a thread over there re-how old are you. I have seen quite a few younger players there.

Ah, so you're the one who just posted that age old thread topic, eh?