J.R.M.30! Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Why do I chose to play the guitar? Well quite simply it is to gain knowledge. I've played numerous instruments; the piano, viola, trombone as well as guitar and learning something is what I strive to do. I'm not satisfied with my playing at all, as I'm more hungry to improve and to learn something new. My strengths are chords, licks and arpeggios while my weaknesses are long solos that build up to something and are unabbreviated, knowing my entire fretboard, complicated riffs, and melodic playing. Why do some of you play guitar/another instrument? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 What are your strengths and weaknesses? Strengths: Able to read music very well Weakness: Difficulty in working with other players that don't know how to read music.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Well, playing for the music was probably somewhere in the whole "scheme of things" when I first picked-up the guitar. I really did like a lot of the music. Cash, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Dylan---all were inspirations. But, along with any other reason for playing, I noticed how the ladies like guitar players. And after all of these years, I still believe it. Wish I could say I'd had a vision or some other crap like that..lol...but "hey," the ladies are cool. Some of the visions they've supplied beat hell out of the other stuff. Strengths? Don't know if I really have any. I've got a real strong voice when I choose to use it. Been told I do a real good Bobby McGee. Not afraid to get in front of a crowd and play. My guitar picking is okay. Don't believe I've ever been focused enough. Now that I'm retired, I am working on my technique, etc. Maybe it will get better. Weaknesses? Far too many to list, and far too depressing to think about...lol...I think I'm content with knowing that what I do do, I do it okay. I play numerous instruments. Not a pro on any of them, but I can play accompaniment on most songs. Can add a nice mandolin, uke, banjo to different things. I'm a "Jack of all trades, and master of none." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I started playing cos I wanted to immitate the guitarists I listened to.. What they did was so powerful I thought that "I want some of that" And indeed ive been in a few bands.. And I think for alot of us its all about playing live.. Once youve done your first gig thats when you know (imo). Strengths.. hmm, I am a by ear player, my rhythm playing is solid Weakness.... I am a by ear player lol.. I sometimes wish id studied it a bit more as my lead and technical skills are a bit limited (at the moment :)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Chicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Chicks Amen brother!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydra26 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 ... Strengths.. hmm, I am a by ear player, my rhythm playing is solid Weakness.... I am a by ear player lol.. I sometimes wish id studied it a bit more as my lead and technical skills are a bit limited (at the moment :)) Sounds like me. I got into it because... well I don't rightly know why. Music's in my genetics. Most of one side of my family performs or teaches music for a living. I'm kind of the ham-fisted hack of the family, playing by feel like I do without much formal teaching on theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Beach Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Why do I chose to play the guitar? Get the picture? <-- I made a pun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Nick, they say "a picture is worth a thousand words." You just spoke volumns...lol...Some perspectives are ageless. Thank God for the ladies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaysEpiphone Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I'm a loser and a tard so I have to make something of my dark and empty life/time, making music takes me away from all the trouble's of life and keep's me alive when girls say no and prospective employers say I'm not qualified. It's my life line in an ocean of a careless and shallow world we all live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 My main instrument is sax and the associated flute and wind synthesizer. My strength is melody, and during school, I sat first sax in the all-state band each year that I was eligible - and on tenor sax (first sax goes to an alto player by default, the tenor player needs to be very strong to overcome this). And I do improvisation very well, especially in the rock, blues, and light jazz genres (I used to do more jazz but haven't in so many years that my jazz chops are very rusty - I play middle-of-the-road music as it makes a better paycheck). Why did I choose sax? In junior high school band I just wanted to play something. All the instruments for rent were rented so all the new people got a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad. When the tenor sax player moved out of town and the sax became available for rent, the band director asked who wanted to give it a try, I guess my "I do! I do! I do!" was more enthusiastic than the others. Through the years I also picked up bass, keyboards, voice and guitar. Since you asked about guitar, what I like about it is that it is so different from saxophone. Things that are easy to do on sax are impossible or extremely different on guitar, and things that are easy on guitar are impossible or extremely different on saxophone. Playing the strong points of each allow me to express myself in an entirely different manner. I play 8 instruments now (including voice), and sax/wind synthesizer will always be my first instrument and most likely the instrument I will always be best at, after all I've put much more time on sax than all the others combined - and then some. But right now guitar is my second choice. On the gig I play sax/wind synth the most, guitar second, and flute third. I do vocals as well and percussion controller. There was a time when I brought a keyboard synth to the gig, but when I decided to get serious on the guitar I left the keyboard at home. The guitar suits me better than keyboard, it is a better show-biz instrument, and since I play mostly to baby-boomers it is a more important lead instrument. That's probably more than you wanted to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I just LOVE music, so I wantyed to learn to play an instrument...started at age 4 with a flute...my dad threw that away and gave me an ukelele :) Wise move (his only one), next move he did was...move :( Strength...creativity weakness...I cannot play with others if I cannot do the lead, I cannot remember where I am in a song was this 4...or only 3(so I end up changing at 3 or play one too many 5...most of the time I play alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I'm a loser and a tard so I have to make something of my dark and empty life/time, making music takes me away from all the trouble's of life and keep's me alive when girls say no and prospective employers say I'm not qualified. It's my life line in an ocean of a careless and shallow world we all live in. +1, that rings a lot of familiar bells for me. They all think "he's BS" but they CAN'T PLAY and never will. I lost count long ago of the number of times I got dissed/put down by someone - male or female - then they found out I can play, do play, have done for years and thus am deeply involved with something they couldn't knock as they had no understanding or experience of it....perhaps the U.K. is different to the U.S.A. in this respect. But really I started because I just wanted to PLAY, like Jimi Hendrix, like Paul Kossoff, Buddy Guy....and so many more. Never mind women - I started because I wanted to be a good guitarist in a GREAT band - huh, didn't happen.....yet. And because I wanted to be in a band so much, I played bass...there were too many guitarists. In the long-term, this was a very good thing as I learnt about diatonic harmony, bass movement, chord connections and construction and also ear training. You have to acquire good reference pitch if you aren't blessed with perfect pitch. I still want to play. I still want to realise my potential. I still want to be in a great band. It may never happen. But 'making it' to me now means simply playing well. Good discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I think my strength are my enthusiasm/optimism and also that I have good ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lespaulj45 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 When I was a young kid,most of the popular music was real strong with horns and piano.I was over at a friends house and his dad was getting rid of a bunch of old records-45 rpm stuff-one of these was a old Chess 45 featuring Elmore James-I think he only played 3 chords but it lit me on fire. been a fan ever since! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I started playing guitar because i love rock music and wanted to be able to create it. My strengths as a player I think are my ear (I know what sounds good to me), my songwriting and my rhythm. My best strength is that I tend not to get discouraged in my playing too often. I have a lot of "weaknesses" but I'm ok with that. Soloing, scales, picking technique etc are the main ones that I am trying to work on. But all in all, I play guitar for fun....mostly for myself, but who am I kidding? I like sharing my tunes and if people enjoy them, that's a great thing! Wish I could write lyrics...and a better singing voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markini Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Strengths are creativity, song writing, improv and arrangement. Pretty good strummer, fair picker, but lead guitar is what I do best, lord knows I have practiced enough at it. I play acosutic and electric 50/50. I played drums in elementary school and sang in the choir in highschool, I have a so-so voice but do sing in Key. I play congas and bongos (not just bang on them, I go for the tones and beat). I play blues harp too, l have been jamming with a real good harmonica player the last few years. Play bass guitar due to Mother of Invention, I needed bass licks in my recordings, so I play a bass in a lead guitarist style. I play enough piano to follow the chords in songs and do little fill in riffs. I am a good percussionist or so my friends tell me. Weaknesses: Slow learner, too anal at times and lack of focus. Overall I have been fascinated with guitars since age 6. Started late though at age 22. I am 60 now and have too many guitars. My GAS was bad, haven't purchased a new one for 6 months and I am loathe to sell even my cheapest instruments, but I have willed them all (32) to a local high school musical department when I pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 First... Duane, as a trumpet player too you may get a kick out of this. I'm a very, very poor sight reader. No potential for lessons my last two years of high school, so I did strictly off-the-map playing rock/jazz. That didn't help, either. When I first went to a small college, luckily I knew the orchestra audition material and came out first chair. The orchestra director also was pep band director. On a Dixieland thing there were all these squiggly little 128th notes or whatever <grin> in a trumpet solo so at the first practice I just took off. It didn't go over well when my poor sight reading skills were discovered. From that point, I concentrated on guitar playing. (EDIT: having my front teeth knocked out at 20 added to the demise of my trumpet playing.) ++ Now, why guitar? Probably because it was a lot easier to carry around than any keyboard available and it would do about any kind of music I felt like playing, either solo or in some sort of ensemble. And... I hate to confess that, again, it seemed easy to start simply and work my way up into fancier things via ear and vestigial reading skills. I s'pose I might find myself at some point needing to concentrate on sight reading but ... where and what I play and the time available to mess with stuff hasn't forced it. I managed to pick up enough to do the guitar stuff in the musical Man of La Mancha and fake my way through some Bach and stuff, so... I kinda let myself get a bit lazy instead of doing stuff the right way. OTOH, I do wonder sometimes if there isn't some truth in the old tale of a guitar player saying he could read music, but not enough to hurt his playing. So... As I said, it's an instrument that does almost everything I wanna do and it's easier to carry around than a keyboard, even the electric one in a case I haven't opened in 30 years. Yeah, I have played some bass and a bit of banjo and mandolin. But... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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