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  #16  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:07 AM
zmf zmf is offline
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Originally Posted by whvick View Post
Speak up. Confession is good for the soul.
Well -- if I substitute the term "noodler" for "player", I have no imposter complex at all.
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  #17  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:14 AM
reeve21 reeve21 is offline
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I don't spend a lot of money on guitars, just a lot of time-- which is a very valuable thing.

I have asked myself if it makes sense to spend so much time on what for me is almost always a solitary hobby. I've concluded that it does, and I'm going to keep on doing it as long as I enjoy it. I love to play the guitar!

Look at all the folks on golf courses who will never break 100. Do they compare themselves to the pros, and feel unworthy to play the game? No, they are in it for fun and love of the game. That is the attitude I try to bring to music, even as I struggle mightily to improve.

But I do feel anxious about playing for or with others, even though I've managed to do OK with it on several occasions. Performing is a whole 'nother thing, and I admire you folks who do it!
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  #18  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:22 AM
Deliberate1 Deliberate1 is offline
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The "imposter complex" is a corollary to performance anxiety. As an attorney who does trial work, and as a jazz sax and clarinet player in a big band, and other more intimate ensembles, I have always tried to use that frightful feeling to my advantage. I find that it helps me to be prepared, focused and creative. As if to prove, I am not an imposter after all. And, after many decades of successful work and music I have tamed, not killed, that beast - just in time for my retirement.

And then I bought a guitar this past February, just to have something new to feel insecure about. But, I have no "reason" to. I am a beginner. I am no imposter because I do not and cannot present myself as anything more than that. But tell that to my brain when I walk into a guitar shop and fondle all those wooden beauties just ripe for the picking. Were it a life boat, I clearly would be the first one ejected. Fortunately, I can now strum those cowboy chords with enough accuracy to dispel the notion that I really should have walked into the hardware store next door. That gut feeling comes, I think, from the desire for competence harbored by all people, but particularly those who aspire. What we do, we want to do well. Even when we do not. Or can and do, but do not accept it. That, I think, is the greatest tragedy and shackle of the "imposter complex."

As for fumbling players with guitars exceeding their pay grade, I think about this a lot, as I play my lovely Larrivee 000-40 custom, or Bourgeois Slope D. And I pity them both for having to endure my inexperience. Especially since they were owned by others who undoubtedly tickled them with far greater skill than I possess. But I regard them as instruments both aspirational and inspirational. I do not know the guitar well. But I know music very well. And what music I make, I want to sound as good as it can. That is what motivates me. And motivation is the fuel of success. And so, as I peruse the ads for yet another arrow in the quiver, I remind myself that, at this point in my life, I have more money than time....
Thanks for posting this very interesting prompt.
David
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  #19  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:22 AM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reeve21 View Post
I don't spend a lot of money on guitars, just a lot of time-- which is a very valuable thing.

I have asked myself if it makes sense to spend so much time on what for me is almost always a solitary hobby. I've concluded that it does, and I'm going to keep on doing it as long as I enjoy it. I love to play the guitar!
Well what else you gonna go with your time? Waste it watching TV?

I see any hobby as part fun, part self-improvement exercise and worthwhile. I see being entertained and having comparatively much less real value unless it then inspires you to go do something.

Consequently, I don't own a TV. And that's another bunch of money I can justify off the cost of my guitars
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  #20  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:29 AM
Ncbandit Ncbandit is offline
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The greatest song writers are usually not the best at any instrument. Just 3 chords with a beautiful vocal melody will sometimes trump a finger picking master composition.
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  #21  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:34 AM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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While I have played in bands for money since the mid-1960s, only once did I rely on music for my living which was in the mid-1970s. Played in a band, had a regualr gig when I wanted it with a a local coffee house backing others, and gave lessons during the week at a local artsy fartsy place.

The way I look at it is that while I never got be be as good a player as I wanted, I am not half as bad as I think I am.
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  #22  
Old 01-16-2020, 10:48 AM
Peepaw Peepaw is offline
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The only complex I have concerning guitars is that after all these years I'm still just mediocre.

Oh well.

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  #23  
Old 01-16-2020, 11:56 AM
Christian Reno Christian Reno is offline
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No need to be hard on yourself. The only imposters are those who talk a better game than they can play. No matter how experienced, or accomplished, or how GOOD (the most common term ) any guitar player is, or thinks he/she is, I guarantee there is someone who will humble those players. It is always best to understate one’s abilities. Not living up to the talk is what makes an imposter in my mind.

No one has to earn the right to own a nice guitar, or 40 nice guitars for that matter.
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  #24  
Old 01-16-2020, 11:58 AM
Steve-arino Steve-arino is offline
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What fantastic post!!! Thank you whvick.

First of all, I never miss an opportunity to brag about my kids. My son graduated from UC Berkeley 2 years ago and is now a Research Assistant at a well known Non Partisan Economic Think Tank in D.C. He will be applying for a PhD in Economics later this year and has the support and encouragement of his Fellow's (bosses). He wants to stay in Academia.

My daughter just received her LCSW and is starting a Psychotherapy practice (specialization in trauma therapy) in NYC. She is already very successful and is taking the next natural step.

Me? Pops? I want nothing more than to play beautiful music while sitting on my couch or chair. I have made so much progress since my first few fingerstyle notes about 4 years ago that it's a dream come true. As so many of you, I grew up on the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Hot Tuna, etc. I simply love being able to play that stuff.

My initial goal when I turned 60 was to be good enough to play in a dive bar for $25 a night by the time I was 65. Thanks to my in depth research on the AGF, I don't think I'll be good enough. There are so many gifted lifetime players on the AGF that are better than I'll ever be.

I buy and sell a few, mainly high end, guitars a year. To me, they are works of art that bring another aspect of joy to my life. And after 4 years of playing I'm beginning to "grok" some of the nuances of fine instruments. I'm not wealthy but I'm also not afraid; guitars are tangible and I feel it's ok to lose (or make?) a few hundred per guitar a year. I just buy the right ones in order to limit my downside exposure.

And now I'm going to try new strings on my Froggy.
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Last edited by Steve-arino; 01-16-2020 at 12:34 PM.
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  #25  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:02 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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We're all imposters in the right company.
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  #26  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:09 PM
zmf zmf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
We're all imposters in the right company.
+1
Big amen.

But, as compensation, we can all look like guitar gods in the right company.

Last edited by zmf; 01-16-2020 at 01:05 PM.
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  #27  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:10 PM
Lillis Lillis is offline
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I have a bit of a complex because I've been dabbling for a long time and am just now starting to make slow progress. I don't beat myself up over it. I figure if having nicer guitars than I deserve is a fault than so be it.
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  #28  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:38 PM
Lauren710 Lauren710 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zmf View Post
Well -- if I substitute the term "noodler" for "player", I have no imposter complex at all.
Yup, this is my perspective too!

My dad's been playing for... man, pushing 50 years now I guess. He tends to be pretty humble, but from my side of things, if I can build up even half of his skills in my lifetime I'll be happy!

He's always been of the opinion that playing the nicest instrument you can afford - not necessarily the most expensive, but the one that brings you joy when you hold it and look at it - will make you look forward to practicing and will help your skills along more than just picking up something shoddy and cheap because you think you don't deserve better. My little collection certainly outpaces my skills right now, but dang if I don't love just being lucky enough to hold them in my hands at all!
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  #29  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:47 PM
aknow aknow is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whvick View Post
My son has a PhD from MIT in mechanical engineering with emphasis on biomedical and a minor in business. Yes that is bragging, but it is necessary to get to my point.
He said when he first got there half the students were multi-lingual and the other half just plane ole geniuses. Like many others he thought “when will they discover I am not smart enough to be here?” They called that the “imposter complex”. Fortunately he was smart enough and now works for a biomedical company.
When it comes to guitars I have the imposter complex. I have fun as a bedroom balladeer, and playing and singing for my grandkids, but that is a soft audience. When I compare myself to the knowledge and skill of so many of the forum members I am humbled. I talk about guitars, but my skill set does not justify the ones I have.
I do claim privilege to be on the forum, cause my guitar pick stories are fun. Yet those come from the patients, not me.
So how about it? Are there other guitarist wannabes out there with imposter complex. Speak up. Confession is good for the soul.
Why so much guilt and lack of self esteem? No one cares, enjoy the music.
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  #30  
Old 01-16-2020, 12:52 PM
619TF 619TF is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphH View Post
Well what else you gonna go with your time? Waste it watching TV?

I see any hobby as part fun, part self-improvement exercise and worthwhile. I see being entertained and having comparatively much less real value unless it then inspires you to go do something.

Consequently, I don't own a TV. And that's another bunch of money I can justify off the cost of my guitars
False choice. There's plenty of ways to spend one's valuable time including education. Of course that might include educating oneself about the guitar.
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