i do too much in life to get good :(

[RG503]

i like my video games. i like my beers. i like my movies. i work. i also do some things for what we will call "personal growth". i also play guitar. im 42. when i was 13, guitar was my life. id watch cartoons and try to play with the music and stuff.... i learned real quick. then i lost interest, and when i picked it up again, i was caught in ruts of jamming the same riffs and blues scale licks.

the good ones are these guys who do NOTHING but play guitar. true, a real virtuoso comes along every now and then who picks it up like water.... an EVH or a dimebag, if you will.

i just cant commit much time to guitar, and im not getting better. adulting sucks. this makes me sad.

 

[ThomasUV777]

Allow me to virtually take a chair and sit backwards on it like a cliché-90s-teacher.

Approximately 9 years ago, I was working as an ICT support technician at the age of 25 years. I have no higher education (started working when I was 19) but had a decent salary. I'm by no means dumb, even tho I often thought I was. My grades were abysmal in school, except for the IT and English classes. Teachers didn't know what to do with me and I assumed that I was dumb because of my grades. I have tried university approximately 6 times. I never finished any, but I was capable of getting close to 100% of the points in some cases. I learned that I am very capable of obsessing over topics / courses if given all the material properly in advance. What I can't do is learn bits'n'pieces of a subject every semester, of which some I don't care about, and then move on to the next thing.

Anyway, going back to when I was 25 years old, I was standing in the server room patching some outlets. I'm a pretty optimistic pessimist but I was suddenly hurdled in a depressed state after thinking "Is this what I'll be doing at the age of 60?!". Existential crisis! I said to myself: Get out of IT, it doesn't make you happy at all. So I started brainstorming for a week or so about what I wanted to do with the remainder of my life. Making music often popped up as an idea, but it didn't seem viable at all. People are really passionate about letting you know that music isn't a lucrative career choice. I was thinking: fuck it, I'm going for it anyway. I delved into everything related to videogame audio (as that was the area I wanted to work in) and am now working fulltime as a sound designer & composer for a videogame company. The end goal is to just do music, so I'm half way there ;-).

I'm blessed by the fact that I have no real interests outside of this, except for working out and lego. I've pretty much forsaken playing videogames. Can't commit to them anymore. I just try to get better at my craft. A friend of mine has a ton of hobbies, wants to leave IT as well, but can't commit to one thing when it comes to making it lucrative.

Ow and one more thing: don't feel bad about not knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life when you're 18. It's a rare thing. I've met people who regret the 3-4 years they spend in college, doing nothing of use with their diploma. It's never too late to change, no matter what age. You just need a strong focus.

 

[Bluescreenofdeath]

I'm 43 and work fulltime, mortgage etc.. For me it was games/movies in my free time or practice guitar. I cut out the games except for some odd casual arcade type stuff occationally. I've managed to spend at least 20mins-1hr a day for my whole guitar playing life since I was 14. But I really have improved massively in the last 3-4 years since I cut out some of my other hobbies. I also used to try to cover too many styles and made little progress at any of them. For the last few years I've really just focused on instrumental metal techniques and writing. I'm a big Tony Macalpine/planet X fan and I try to keep my practice in a more limited area.

 

[Dr. Caligari]

How badly do you want to play guitar? Enough to do it over video games, beer, movies etc.?

If yes then do it. If no then don't.

I quit video games and all of a sudden I had time. Funny how that works.

 

[Jonathan20022]

How badly do you want to play guitar? Enough to do it over video games, beer, movies etc.?

If yes then do it. If no then don't.

I quit video games and all of a sudden I had time. Funny how that works.

This, or balance it all like I do.

At one point guitar was my dominant hobby, now cooking is but it doesn't mean I don't at least play a few hours a week of guitar. But then I remember my camera gear has been neglected and I haven't been out for a shoot in awhile.

What is your goal? Do you want to outshred the best, or just play/write some songs that make you happy and enjoy yourself? If it's the latter, then just play when you feel like it and if you haven't in awhile cut out some time to appreciate your instruments. No one's going to do it for you, and it's totally normal to go extended periods of time not playing a single lick. Life happens man.

 

[narad]

You can definitely practice scales while watching a movie and drinking a beer.

 

[Dayn]

Yeah. It's a matter of needing to actively make time for hobbies.

I can make the time, but things in life have left me with little creativity, so I just go through the motions. Occasionally I get a burst of motivation and there goes half the day, but that's rare unfortunately.

 

[LostTheTone]

It is very normal that as you age you have different priorities and interests.

It is also important to note that being a good guitarist isn't a mechanistic process. It is also a creative process.

A huge part of being a good guitarist is writing good riffs, and that doesn't come from practise. How many crazy good guitarists on the intertubes can't write a good song to save their lives?

If you want my advice - Learn a bit about drums and bass, make yourself some unique backing tracks and actually jam a new song. Just pick a key and a time signature and jam to it. It'll help you flex your music theory, without just sitting down and playing scales. And it's something you can do any time. Whenever you have a minute or two you can think "Man, that riff isn't great let me have another go".

That's something that is fun, and interesting, and that doesn't ask for thousands of hours of work.

 

[Emperoff]

As a massive videogame fan, it's shocking how much time they take away from you. It's just insane. The periods in which I'm not playing any game feel like days are twice as long.

If you play on Steam, check out the "You've played X hours the last 2 weeks" section and you'll see how much time you're really sinking into games. Stay away from videogames from time to timet (or reduce your playtime), and soon you'll find yourself with more time to do other stuff.

Now, onto musical ruts. I really encourage you to try one of the JTC courses. I don't know at which skill level you are, but their Box Packs are great, no matter the subject. I remember getting the Major Scale Soloing a long time ago and was super impressed on how cool sounding the licks were, even the beginner ones. Not your typical blues-pentatonic licks at all.

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Not sure if OP's intent is to get advice or simply to vent but I've found that what suits me is taking about an hour or so a day for as many days consecutively as possible. Certain songs/ solos I can manage well while others are still out of reach but at least for myself, playing/ practicing for just a short time each day has helped me to build up some consistency as well as to avoid burning out altogether. It's not ideal but with other responsibilities and time constraints, this is how I'm beat able to continue maintaining my musical interests.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Anyway, going back to when I was 25 years old, I was standing in the server room patching some outlets. I'm a pretty optimistic pessimist but I was suddenly hurdled in a depressed state after thinking "Is this what I'll be doing at the age of 60?!". Existential crisis! I said to myself: Get out of IT, it doesn't make you happy at all. So I started brainstorming for a week or so about what I wanted to do with the remainder of my life. Making music often popped up as an idea, but it didn't seem viable at all. People are really passionate about letting you know that music isn't a lucrative career choice. I was thinking: fuck it, I'm going for it anyway. I delved into everything related to videogame audio (as that was the area I wanted to work in) and am now working fulltime as a sound designer & composer for a videogame company. The end goal is to just do music, so I'm half way there ;-).

Dream job right there. How do you even apply for a job like that if you don't know anyone? Email your resume and a sample of your work to videogame companies? If all the work experience you've had is stuff like hospitality, reception, construction, is it even worth mentioning if you're applying for something like this?

 

[AndiKravljaca]

I mean, it's like that for me as well, now that I'm in my forties. I have work, my family, other hobbies like video games and flying. When I was 19, I could practice six hours a day and fall asleep with my guitar making a hole in my ribcage, wake up and go right back to practicing, but these days I'm actually scheduling in practice time between other commitments. Getting an hour to sit by myself and figure out how to play a new song is something I have to schedule a month in advance.

But the thing is, that hump is a problem for the first month. Then, your scheduling catches up and you're back on track. I'm constantly finding and making time, prioritizing and making sure that this actually can exist on some sort of self-sustaining level. I may not be able to spend an entire night practicing, but I can tell you here and now looking at my calendar that I've averaged 1,16 hours of playing per day in the last 28 days - and that's with work, family, other commitments and so on.

With some self-discipline, focus while working and an ability to schedule and commit to scheduled time, you can do it.

 

[JSanta]

I think it is also a matter of accepting what's actually important to you. If you want to be a better guitarist/musician, it takes dedication and time. If you're not willing to cut out other extracurriculars, then what you're really saying is you don't want to get better. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think we get nervous calling ourselves out like that, but not everyone is going to be John Petrucci, and being able to play a few of your favorite tunes or mess around over a backing track is probably more than enough for a lot of players.

A couple of years ago, I was in a similar place. I work a full-time job and I adjunct at a local university. But I really wanted to get better at guitar. So I emailed my favorite guitarist and he accepted me as a student, just about two years ago. I was still too unfocused the first year or so, but now I've got my head into a good routine and I am making more progress than I have the other 20 years I messed around on guitar. But everyday it's a conscious effort. I'm up early before work to get an hour or two in, and then after work at least another hour of dedicated practice. In about 3 years when I turn 40, I am going to be competent enough to hang with anyone in my Django jazz world. But it's work, and it means that I don't even have an electric guitar anymore. I had to narrow myself a lot to get myself going down a musical path I wanted.

 

[Avedas]

I don't play as much as I used to, but multitasking has helped a lot. If I'm sitting in a meeting where I don't need to speak or turn on my camera, there's a 99% chance I'm shredding.

Still, that's not ideal and I know what it's like to have a lot of interests and time commitments going at the same time. I play video games, hit the gym, play with my dogs, go surfing/biking/whatever active things, and then social stuff on top of that. I work in tech as well and I enjoy my job quite a bit, so I spend lots of time studying and working on side things at the same time.

My main complaint about life is that there are only 24 hours in a day.

 

[sleewell]

only so many hours in the day. sucks but you gotta prioritize or just enjoy the choices you make. im not good by any means but i go down and play when i get the kids to bed after a long day of working.

 

[budda]

do what makes you happy in the moments you have available to do them.

I dont play every day. I have a lot of money tied up in gear. When I do play, I enjoy it. I will stare at my phone over playing if i know picking up the guitar wont be fun.

 

[gunshow86de]

"I do too much in life"
/doesn't even practice 540 wheel kicks

 

[TheBloodstained]

"Good" is a relative term. "Good" doesn't necessarily translate to super technically fluent playing. Perfection is a shitty pipedream! You don't have to be the best to write a great song.

Maybe you just need to adjust your expectations about your relationship with the guitar?
I realized long ago that I would never be the shredder that I wanted to be. It was a hard truth to face, but it made me go to the guitar with a different mindset, which have helped me with reconnecting with the instrument.
I have fun writing songs/demos for my band. Just wrote and recorded a complete piece yesterday, and found myself so immersed in the process that I forgot everything else around me and just went with the creative flow.

I'm much more happy with my playing these days, than when I dreamt of being the next *insert your shredder of choice here*.

Remember!
It's okay to fail. It's okay to not be inspired all the time. It's okay to not practice every day.
Just have fun with it.

 

[Crungy]

Another 40 year old here, also lover of video games. I've been gaming a bit less and playing and acquiring gear and I'm happy about that lol

My two pennies I'll throw in is finding inspiration in learning something new. The other day I was noodling on a guitar and played something that kind of sounded like Black Sabbath's Paranoid. I mostly got the jist of the song but thought "I've never actually sat down and learned it" so I proceeded to do that as well as record it as I went. That led me to learning the solo which I've never sat down to learn a guitar solo. Ever. (I've got it a good 75% of the way I'd say!)

I've played bass for over 20 years and some rhythm guitar but got more into guitar and writing the last few and it's been a blast. As much as I like video games I'm always pushing myself to spend more time playing guitar, because you know that means:

Play more, buy more guitars!

 

[jaxadam]

Another 40 something year old here, also lover of video games. I've been playing a lot of QuickBooks Pro 2017 for the past 5 years or so, and before that, it was QuickBooks Pro 2012. Looking forward to the upcoming DLC QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2022 but what sucks is they are now making it a yearly subscription service that is now more annually than the normal standalone price used to be.