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Post by sweyne1 on Feb 13, 2023 12:27:12 GMT
For a long time now i've been noodling away at home, by myself and, for the most part, enjoying it. But there are times when I ask myself this question. What is the point of learning yet another song which I then play to myself and nobody else hears it ? Many people learn to play guitar but are happy to be able to play three chords and not stretch themselves further. And there's nothing wrong with that. And they'll play their three chord songs at home and enjoy it. But if i'm in a pub in Ireland (Kytelers Inn, Kilkenny in the not too distant future I hope) and some bloke who can only play three chords gets up and plays Wild Rover he'll have the whole place rocking and shouting out the chorus with him and having a great time. And when those people go home they'll say I had a great time tonight, we sang and laughed and everyone was happy. And they'll have a memory they'll remember and share for years to come. And that's what music can do if it's shared. And you don't have to be a great musician. But if you don't share it what's the point ? John (i'm not being miserable honest, I just thought i'd start a thread on the subject )
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Post by newdave on Feb 13, 2023 12:50:02 GMT
This is a bit Marvin the Paranoid Android. Is everything okay? Do you need to go out to one of those pubs or folk clubs and have a few drinks and a good sing? Or just someone to have a chat with? On a lighter note... I play because in my head I'm all the greatest guitarists who ever picked one up. It's a bit like singing into a hairbrush and pretending I'm on the stage at the O2 or kicking a can down the road and scoring the winner in the World Cup Final or waving my arms about and being Thomas Beecham in front of a symphony orchestra. It's a bit of fun and a nice daydream, plus I like the noise they make. That's all the point there needs to be for me.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 13, 2023 13:09:17 GMT
Fully agree, John, that sharing music with others (listeners and/or players) can be sublime, and that holds true at almost any skill level. Glyn always used to say that our audiences would sing and shout and dance and clap like mad to a simple pot-boiler like "I'll tell me Ma", but our latest carefully worked out song, even if familiar, with it's meaningful words, dovetailing musical parts and sung harmonies would receive polite applause at best. It's a fact of life.
But solitary music making can also be a joy, as well as a relaxation, a stimulant, a refuge, a challenge (artistically, intellectually, mentally, physically), an education ... etc...etc...etc. I love playing and singing with and to other people, but without the solitary music making that would never be possible. I can't imagine my life without all the (mostly solitary) guitar playing - it's a major part of all Maslow's hierarchical needs for me!
Mind you, it can be dispiriting when Mrs O'C leaves the room as soon as i reach for an instrument...
Noodling and mostly enjoying sounds more than reason enough to carry on doing what you're doing John!
Keith
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Post by borborygmus on Feb 13, 2023 13:20:01 GMT
!) It's personal growth - learning/improving something is a life requirement. I agree with Keith, it's the top of Maslow's Hierarchy. 2) It's therapy, relaxation aid, helps with wellness. I don't meditate (yet), but guitar playing is like that. 3) If I didn't play I'd probably have to sell some guitars, and that would never do!
Peter
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Post by Derick on Feb 13, 2023 13:38:27 GMT
We all have our different reasons for playing the guitar. To become a multimillionaire. To be come popular. To enjoy your self in public. Just to relax and be happy. To test yourself to see what you can achieve. The main reason no matter what you do, enjoy it.
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Post by forestdweller on Feb 13, 2023 13:44:33 GMT
Music has always been a therapy for me- growing up as a young carer with a mother whose moods changed daily, music ended up being my solace, my escape, my sole means sometimes of expressing how I feel. Still does to some extent. I always play better though if I have an audience, but that shouldn’t stop one from playing. Robbie
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Post by newdave on Feb 13, 2023 13:49:01 GMT
I always play better though if I have an audience... Opposite for me, although it may well be that it's easier for me to lie to myself if there aren't any witnesses.
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Post by Matt Milton on Feb 13, 2023 14:13:21 GMT
I have a lot of "what's the point?" moments - and not just about music. But I have them more in music because - like many people on this board I suspect - I have spent a disproportionate amount of time in my life practicing and performing songs for no real purpose, for no recognition or acclaim, with no particular goal in mind. I often wonder what my life might have been like if I'd never had any interest in music at all - if I'd spent all those thousands of hours refining my CV and making job applications, or playing the stock market, or learning languages or baking cakes. I have similar feelings about the situation you touched on above - what's the point of spending time perfecting some nifty fingerstyle arrangement when the crowd down the open-mic night generally prefer you bashing out an ABBA or Beatles song with basic strumming? At times like that you have to remember there's a space for both, and there's nothing stopping you doing both.
But more importantly, I think it is worth sharing your work, your talents with the wider world. Even if you don't think it's all that great! Make a Soundcloud page. Record an album and make a Bandcamp page. Start a YouTube channel. Post stuff on it regularly. I think we'd probably all be happier if we did things like that. This is very much a 'do as I say, not as I do' post by the way. I do almost none of the above. I'm very much a home noodler, someone who goes to sessions and folk clubs but is very bad at chasing actual gigs. I also really hate recording, it's such a faff. I'm aware that I really ought to pull my socks up!
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Post by Phil Taylor on Feb 13, 2023 14:59:06 GMT
I understand completely what you are saying John. I have played at my local folk club only a handful of times and because I struggle playing in front of anyone I don't enjoy it despite always getting positive comments. Have you considered doing videos? It may answer your "what's the point" question and people will hear your stuff. It doesn't have to be in a pub live. I find it gives me a focus for my playing and it involves quite a few aspects to concentrate my mind. Learning something to play to a reasonable standard to record is the first thing and then there is all the technical side of doing it IE mics, interfaces, using a DAW, video recording apps and editing etc. etc. Since I started doing videos some 12 years ago I started writing my own pieces and if you haven't considered doing this yourself I can recommend it as a driver for your guitar playing. If I get a new piece starting that's it, everything else I was doing goes. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes very slowly and some never get finished but I guess what I'm trying to say is it's a focus for my playing and for me nothing is more rewarding than finishing something thinking where did that come from? It's all a focus, food for the mind and fingers and most importantly gives it all 'a point'. Having rambled on above I haven't actually done a video yet this year due to a rather nasty flu type thing that I had from before Christmas until a couple of weeks ago so I had no enthusiasm for it. Now I've got bloody Covid and feel rough again
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Post by PistolPete on Feb 13, 2023 16:14:52 GMT
If you feel like going out and sharing music is something you want to do, I'd say go ahead and do it. Equally, if you find the process of learning a song rewarding, don't feel like you have to perform in public for it to count. There are many different kinds and different levels of musicians & there's no good reason to say any one approach counts more than another. If you want to perform Tarrega pieces at Carnegie Hall that's an admirable goal, but if you want to play the first four bars of Smoke on the Water to no one but your indifferent cat that's still a perfectly reasonable and rewarding way to spend your time.
All art is pointless, that is very much its defining quality. It's a beautiful, brilliant, fundamental part of the human condition that we do things just because we can, regardless of whether they assist us in our day-to-day survival, and you shouldn't feel you have to be achieving something to enjoy a thing. It's ok to just enjoy it.
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Post by forestdweller on Feb 13, 2023 17:11:53 GMT
I work at a wonderful brand new school in Bournemouth and our American principal is very inspiring. She was keen at the start of term to know what our "whys" were, citing the example that Apple are so successful at what they do not just because they know WHAT they do but also WHY. She then showed us this video. It explains a lot for me- when we know why we play guitar our performance is somehow lifted to another level. As I said above, I sometimes find I play better when an audience is listening to me (and I mean listening- not when, for some gigs I've recently played for example when people have been too busy eating and chatting- soul destroying) Somehow my performance comes from another plain. Or it might just be playing in an inspiring venue (such as when I did a recording once in a church). Now, before I play a piece of music I ask myself the question: "why do I want to play this today?" I'm not saying my playing improves as a result, but certainly my motivation does So, just find your why, and then always remember your why when you pick up your guitar
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Post by borborygmus on Feb 13, 2023 18:42:13 GMT
I work at a wonderful brand new school in Bournemouth and our American principal is very inspiring. She was keen at the start of term to know what our "whys" were, citing the example that Apple are so successful at what they do not just because they know WHAT they do but also WHY. I have not seen that video before, but I'm pretty sure it was influenced by Simon Sinek, who wrote a book called Start With Why. This video became quite famous, and it used Apple as the example. Like Robbie suggests, Sinek states that "It doesn't matter what you do, it matters WHY you do it." ((In my real life, I have a part time gig as a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University School of Management, where I help small companies grow. I use this video and highly recommend the book, because figuring this piece out can be pretty inspiring for those guys.)) Peter
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Post by forestdweller on Feb 13, 2023 19:22:02 GMT
I work at a wonderful brand new school in Bournemouth and our American principal is very inspiring. She was keen at the start of term to know what our "whys" were, citing the example that Apple are so successful at what they do not just because they know WHAT they do but also WHY. I have not seen that video before, but I'm pretty sure it was influenced by Simon Sinek, who wrote a book called Start With Why. This video became quite famous, and it used Apple as the example. Like Robbie suggests, Sinek states that "It doesn't matter what you do, it matters WHY you do it." ((In my real life, I have a part time gig as a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University School of Management, where I help small companies grow. I use this video and highly recommend the book, because figuring this piece out can be pretty inspiring for those guys.)) Peter Yes, we watched that video too. Very powerful:)
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Post by dreadnought28 on Feb 14, 2023 2:38:39 GMT
Playing in front of an audience is always challenging, and I’m saying that 53 years after I first did it and 52 years after I started getting paid to perform. COVID hangover has stunted my enthusiasm for performing so I’ve been working recently with a lot with other instruments, banjo (mostly), mandolin, mountain dulcimer etc.
Having just returned from the American Old Time Music Festival in Gainsborough where my banjo playing was surprisingly well received (or they were being kind and sympathetic), I’m nearly ready to take the stage with it on a regular basis.
To me it’s like trying to ride a bike going round in circles getting nowhere until one day you really have to get somewhere and you can do it! Out in front of an audience you have to do it. The nerves are worth the adrenaline rush at the end and as a musician you grow.
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Post by curmudgeon on Feb 14, 2023 9:09:44 GMT
Hi,
Yes, of course there are many bedroom stars out there, and that's fine, if it fulfils them.
I am a ham. The stage is the most comfortable place for me.
I learnt to play guitar in order to sing. I love performing and I've been frustrated by my cancer years (2017/8) and ten Covid 2020/21 .
I'm starting to get too old to perform now but I do have an audience (or sorts) I've run my own club for a couple of decades and I put my stuff on YouTube (Silly Moustache - both songs and chatty stuff about guitars and technique) , and since Covid I've become an online teacher.
One or more of these might bring you out of your shell ?
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