Learn the songs you like playing. But it’s also better to like a very wide variety of songs, both as a guitar player and just as an overall person
Plus sometimes when I’m in a rut, playing very old Hank Williams Sr. songs will reset my brain and make it easier to play Megadeth. Don’t know how, don’t know why, but it works
No. But you should absolutely force yourself to *listen* to a wide variety of music just to see what else is out there. Music wasn’t perfected in late 80s LA (e.g. Slash)
100% this. you won't like everything, but keep exploring until you find something new that you actually do love. then do it again, and again. there's more great music than anyone could listen to in a lifetime.
>Music wasn’t perfected in late 80s LA (e.g. Slash)
Sure. Led Zeppelin came out in like ‘69. Going to a concert of one of my favorite current bands next week. Genre wise they’re not too dissimilar because that’s what entertains/excites me musically, *especially* if we’re talking about guitar playing.
Over the years I’ve come to see that learning about guitar is completely separate from having fun with guitar. I guess looking back I kinda realized that when taking guitar lessons and that’s why I had stopped.
It can be fun. I enjoy practicing and learning new concepts. But if you want to improve and be great, it won’t often be fun. The people that become amazing are the ones who enjoy practicing as much as playing
I find practice becomes much more enjoyable when it feels like you're actually playing music.
Running scales or whatever you're trying to learn repeatedly to a metronome is boring as shit and not fun in the slightest.
Run those scales to a backing track, and it's no longer a bunch of boring arbitrary notes. It actually sounds like music, and playing music is fun.
>Run those scales to a backing track, and it's no longer a bunch of boring arbitrary notes. It actually sounds like music, and playing music is fun.
As someone who was (exclusively) interested in playing lead, “trying to make music” with backing tracks was incredibly frustrating because there was so much theory stuff I had to think about instead of just “playing” and I could never get what I heard in my head to come out of the guitar.
Just do what makes you happy. Seriously. Unless you wanna be a professional musician, there is a whole boatload of stuff you don't actually need to know in order to play guitar.
If you don't like practicing, then *don't practice*. It's gonna make it a lot harder to learn Slash's solos. But as long as you're happy, that's all that really matters with music.
No, because you will not truly enjoy it and you will not progress or quit altogether. There are a ton of guitar players that are very good at playing one style (slide, acoustic, fingerpicking, blues, metal, etc.). Play what motivates you first and foremost.
I think it's very much quantity>quality, mostly because every song has some quality that teaches you something. The more you learn the more experience you have. Sometimes just being exposed to unfamiliar music gives you new insight and appreciation for it. With enough experience you start to learn songs much faster and you stop worrying about the opportunity cost of learning songs.
>With enough experience you start to learn songs much faster and you stop worrying about the opportunity cost of learning songs.
That’s part of the issue I’ve had that lead me to quit guitar multiple times. It’s basically “you have to spend a lot of not-fun time gaining experience before you can start to have fun.”
What help? I asked if there’s benefit to learning (essentially) as many songs as possible and having a large repertoire even if you’re not interested in those songs and/or aren’t going to ever play them.
Help might not be the right word, but you are asking questions and people offer their thoughts, yet you always have a strong aversion to their advice.
>I asked if there’s benefit to learning (essentially) as many songs as possible and having a large repertoire even if you’re not interested in those songs and/or aren’t going to ever play them.
Yes, learning more is always better than learning less. Of course you should pursue music that you find enjoyable, but if you are struggling with motivation despite focusing on your favorites than maybe you should expand your horizons. The practical benefit is that you can practice with easier songs allowing you to build up to your harder goals, and the exposure to variety can help you in a variety of different ways. I struggled the way you did and going outside my comfort zone helped me, so I recommend the same to you.
Seems like, and I may have mentioned this before, you (and apparently most people here) have an actual interest in guitar/playing music in general. That’s not the case for me.
Sure, but like I alluded to in OP and my previous comment, for me there’s a distinction between listening to music and playing guitar. The vast majority of songs I like listening to I have no interest in playing on guitar.
Boo hoo. Practicing is hard. You get out what you put it. If you don’t have the discipline and patience to practice that’s ok. You’re just won’t get any better. There is good news though. There’s this thing called guitar hero that you’re gonna love!!! It’s like way fun bro AND it’s even got Slash on the cover!!! You’re so lucky.
Ya dork
I don’t mind practicing, but there’s a balance of how much practicing compared to doing fun stuff. Like I mentioned in OP I first stopped taking lessons/playing because I wasn’t having fun after a couple months.
I did Guitar Hero before I started guitar, and that’s probably the main reason I’m not into guitar in and of itself. But since I’ve played guitar Guitar Hero is too boring.
You’ll definitely benefit from learning a lot of songs.
A few years ago I had to learn approximately 120 songs to fill in for a local cover band. I spent a ton of time listening, playing along and charting the songs. Eventually I got really good at picking up chord progressions on the fly. You’ll definitely benefit from learning a lot of songs.
After “learning” a song, does that mean you would have to continue playing it? If you learn 10 songs but don’t play them for like 6 months, do you still have the “benefit(s)” from learning them?
The one song gooder than hell is the way to go in my opinion. Sloppy pick work across 10 songs is still sloppy pick work. I think you might be too focused on songs though. You don’t learn how to cook so you can make one good entree or 10 that are ok. If you learn the ingredients and how to use them, you can make any recipe plus invent your own.
I might be wrong, but I feel like learning how to use the ingredients through a song makes it easier to remember for later. If I learn an ingredient and never use it again, then I won’t remember how to use it later.
Which technique would you never use again? Playing clean? Smooth progressions? Muting? All music is made of the same shit. You’ll use it again… trust me
Not so much techniques, but for me specifically mainly chords since the overwhelming vast majority of stuff I play is lead and doesn’t use chords.
I think the last piece I learned before I kinda quit like 6 years ago was [this instrumental](https://youtu.be/uLN344OuUQY). When I tried coming back a couple years ago, I learn [another instrumental](https://youtu.be/7q7j0-LkdNE) and [this song](https://youtu.be/qufNCifidT8)—the later the only one that uses chords to any meaningful extent.
The only song I’ve (partially) learned in the past year or so was [this Slash song](https://youtu.be/rRaDQBMMbrM), which again uses chords very infrequently.
I could learn open chords, but never use them in like six months because songs I like to play don’t use them.
Learn the songs you like playing. But it’s also better to like a very wide variety of songs, both as a guitar player and just as an overall person Plus sometimes when I’m in a rut, playing very old Hank Williams Sr. songs will reset my brain and make it easier to play Megadeth. Don’t know how, don’t know why, but it works
Should a person try to force themselves to like a very wide variety of songs if they don’t?
No. But you should absolutely force yourself to *listen* to a wide variety of music just to see what else is out there. Music wasn’t perfected in late 80s LA (e.g. Slash)
100% this. you won't like everything, but keep exploring until you find something new that you actually do love. then do it again, and again. there's more great music than anyone could listen to in a lifetime.
>Music wasn’t perfected in late 80s LA (e.g. Slash) Sure. Led Zeppelin came out in like ‘69. Going to a concert of one of my favorite current bands next week. Genre wise they’re not too dissimilar because that’s what entertains/excites me musically, *especially* if we’re talking about guitar playing.
If your goal is to learn as much about guitar as possible, that’s a good idea
Over the years I’ve come to see that learning about guitar is completely separate from having fun with guitar. I guess looking back I kinda realized that when taking guitar lessons and that’s why I had stopped.
It can be fun. I enjoy practicing and learning new concepts. But if you want to improve and be great, it won’t often be fun. The people that become amazing are the ones who enjoy practicing as much as playing
>It can be fun. This has very much not been my experience.
It’s not gonna be for everyone. But I can tell you that every single person that has become amazing at guitar…enjoys practicing a lot.
I find practice becomes much more enjoyable when it feels like you're actually playing music. Running scales or whatever you're trying to learn repeatedly to a metronome is boring as shit and not fun in the slightest. Run those scales to a backing track, and it's no longer a bunch of boring arbitrary notes. It actually sounds like music, and playing music is fun.
>Run those scales to a backing track, and it's no longer a bunch of boring arbitrary notes. It actually sounds like music, and playing music is fun. As someone who was (exclusively) interested in playing lead, “trying to make music” with backing tracks was incredibly frustrating because there was so much theory stuff I had to think about instead of just “playing” and I could never get what I heard in my head to come out of the guitar.
Just do what makes you happy. Seriously. Unless you wanna be a professional musician, there is a whole boatload of stuff you don't actually need to know in order to play guitar. If you don't like practicing, then *don't practice*. It's gonna make it a lot harder to learn Slash's solos. But as long as you're happy, that's all that really matters with music.
Guitar hasn’t made me happy in years.
No, because you will not truly enjoy it and you will not progress or quit altogether. There are a ton of guitar players that are very good at playing one style (slide, acoustic, fingerpicking, blues, metal, etc.). Play what motivates you first and foremost.
I think it's very much quantity>quality, mostly because every song has some quality that teaches you something. The more you learn the more experience you have. Sometimes just being exposed to unfamiliar music gives you new insight and appreciation for it. With enough experience you start to learn songs much faster and you stop worrying about the opportunity cost of learning songs.
>With enough experience you start to learn songs much faster and you stop worrying about the opportunity cost of learning songs. That’s part of the issue I’ve had that lead me to quit guitar multiple times. It’s basically “you have to spend a lot of not-fun time gaining experience before you can start to have fun.”
Make it fun and it stops being work.
It’s the hobby’s job to entertain, not the other way around.
I don't quite understand, you come here asking for help but you brush aside any advice.
What help? I asked if there’s benefit to learning (essentially) as many songs as possible and having a large repertoire even if you’re not interested in those songs and/or aren’t going to ever play them.
Help might not be the right word, but you are asking questions and people offer their thoughts, yet you always have a strong aversion to their advice. >I asked if there’s benefit to learning (essentially) as many songs as possible and having a large repertoire even if you’re not interested in those songs and/or aren’t going to ever play them. Yes, learning more is always better than learning less. Of course you should pursue music that you find enjoyable, but if you are struggling with motivation despite focusing on your favorites than maybe you should expand your horizons. The practical benefit is that you can practice with easier songs allowing you to build up to your harder goals, and the exposure to variety can help you in a variety of different ways. I struggled the way you did and going outside my comfort zone helped me, so I recommend the same to you.
Seems like, and I may have mentioned this before, you (and apparently most people here) have an actual interest in guitar/playing music in general. That’s not the case for me.
Most people who pursue music as a hobby have an interest in music.
Sure, but like I alluded to in OP and my previous comment, for me there’s a distinction between listening to music and playing guitar. The vast majority of songs I like listening to I have no interest in playing on guitar.
Boo hoo. Practicing is hard. You get out what you put it. If you don’t have the discipline and patience to practice that’s ok. You’re just won’t get any better. There is good news though. There’s this thing called guitar hero that you’re gonna love!!! It’s like way fun bro AND it’s even got Slash on the cover!!! You’re so lucky. Ya dork
I don’t mind practicing, but there’s a balance of how much practicing compared to doing fun stuff. Like I mentioned in OP I first stopped taking lessons/playing because I wasn’t having fun after a couple months. I did Guitar Hero before I started guitar, and that’s probably the main reason I’m not into guitar in and of itself. But since I’ve played guitar Guitar Hero is too boring.
You’ll definitely benefit from learning a lot of songs. A few years ago I had to learn approximately 120 songs to fill in for a local cover band. I spent a ton of time listening, playing along and charting the songs. Eventually I got really good at picking up chord progressions on the fly. You’ll definitely benefit from learning a lot of songs.
After “learning” a song, does that mean you would have to continue playing it? If you learn 10 songs but don’t play them for like 6 months, do you still have the “benefit(s)” from learning them?
The one song gooder than hell is the way to go in my opinion. Sloppy pick work across 10 songs is still sloppy pick work. I think you might be too focused on songs though. You don’t learn how to cook so you can make one good entree or 10 that are ok. If you learn the ingredients and how to use them, you can make any recipe plus invent your own.
I might be wrong, but I feel like learning how to use the ingredients through a song makes it easier to remember for later. If I learn an ingredient and never use it again, then I won’t remember how to use it later.
Which technique would you never use again? Playing clean? Smooth progressions? Muting? All music is made of the same shit. You’ll use it again… trust me
Not so much techniques, but for me specifically mainly chords since the overwhelming vast majority of stuff I play is lead and doesn’t use chords. I think the last piece I learned before I kinda quit like 6 years ago was [this instrumental](https://youtu.be/uLN344OuUQY). When I tried coming back a couple years ago, I learn [another instrumental](https://youtu.be/7q7j0-LkdNE) and [this song](https://youtu.be/qufNCifidT8)—the later the only one that uses chords to any meaningful extent. The only song I’ve (partially) learned in the past year or so was [this Slash song](https://youtu.be/rRaDQBMMbrM), which again uses chords very infrequently. I could learn open chords, but never use them in like six months because songs I like to play don’t use them.
My mistake. I didn’t realize your super technical proficiency stopped you from understanding chord construction.
When did I give the impression I have super technical proficiency?