Hey /mu/
I need your help. I didn't feel like posting in a guitar thread because it's not really about guitar but much about music in general, although I'm a guitar player.
I am 19 year old, I have been playing guitar for 12 years now.
12 years of lessons, classical and modern. I can read, I have a really good technical level even if I'm far from an excellent guitarist.
I listen and play mostly Blues/Rock shit but a bit of everything. I also know most of the pentatonics scales, and a bit of other musical scales.
I'm playing regularly with a few friends, all far better than me, and with an excellent musical sense.
And that is my point. I feel like I have no musical sense whatsoever. My impros are shit, my ear is far from a common musician even if I made huge progress since I'm playing with others.
I don't really feel the sound, I need time to adapt to the music, and I can't immediately come up with a good riff that would go well with what others are playing.
That's why I presented myself before, I'm a pretty experienced player, but still, can't compete with other musicians of my technical level on a "feeling" scale.
I know that I really need to learn theory. But I also know that this won't solve all of my problems.
Any advice, things to do or other Anons with the same problem ?
Let's talk about it.
>Inb4 cut your ears and leave music forever
>>60645057
you must be korean then
>>60645163
Eurofag, that's the worst part....
>>60645057
Everyone works at their own pace. Some people improvise better. Some people write better. As long as it's fun, that's what matters.
>>60645057
listen to more music, seriously
>>60645402
You are surely right... Practice makes perfect. But I always feel kinda bad when I see I'm far away from other musicians' level... I really think my ear needs to be trained more...
>>60645426
I probably should, but I already listen to music a lot. It's everyday, at least one hour a day... I'm not really an obscure and unknow groups kind of person, but I listen to various genres and styles...
how the fuck do you have 12 years of lessons, but no theory?
>>60646321
As I said, I can read music, now the basic musical scales but I didn't really pushed that aspect of music during lessons, it was more about knowing technical stuff and learning a lot of songs (I know a lot of songs yeah...)
>>60645057
Switch and practice on instruments, listen to genres of music you'd never listen to, and "buy" yourself something like FL Studio and Amplitube. Force yourself to write stuff.
And if you feel you aren't making anything interesting by soloing over youtube backing tracks, that's the problem. That shit isn't music. Making music is hard. Anyone can wank around all day.
Sure, you can learn theory. For me personally, I knew my style was more focused on aggression and frustration, so while I understand theory to an extent, I often let it fly out the window and play everything wrong just to spice things up. I tune my guitars to the same note, I play through Karaoke Machines and various Speaker Systems, I can play fingerstyle like a god, etc. etc. Just find what you wanna do and do it.
and here's my guitar, perfectly designed to make noise (look at the control plate)
>pic related
>>60645057
trying to compare yourself or constantly critiquing everything you think you do wrong is making you creatively constipated
you're not actually listening to the music you are making
instead of focusing on whats wrong, listen more closely to what you do right in your mind, or the stuff you think is interesting
if you constantly do that, eventually you will not only sound better, but you will sound more unique as well, which is the most important aspect.
>>60647299
also,
the most important thing in development, is actually to take breaks from playing guitar.
I put the guitar away for a day or two every 4-5 days. This helps tremendously. Taking extended breaks of weeks or months is sometimes even better.
>>60646958
>designed with the least possible versatility in mind.
alright faggots pack it up and move on back to /GG/ with this bullshit.
>>60645057
start listening to jazz guitar players and jam band guitarists and figure out what they're doing that allows them to improvise parts- they're often times running some variation on a pentatonic, or they're running a mode that works with the song, but with enough dissonance to make it sound interesting and pop out. Also, try improvising on a bass before attempting to do it on a guitar- there's a much larger emphasis on keeping in the pocket during jam sessions on bass, and improvising on another instrument you don't play as often allows you to see the jam from both ends.
>>60646958
>I couldn't learn theory so now I just make noise
>>60647427
>being this buttblasted
>>60647448
>who are noise musicians
It isn't that I couldn't, I know what I need to know. I just don't care to learn anymore. I'm not interested in conservative styles of music anyways, so trying to write boring chord progressions don't come up much. I know what sounds right and what doesn't.
>>60647448
>>60647459
There is no need to be mean with each other, you guys are saying that everyone can have his own interpretation of music and then criticate other's vision. There are other boards and other threads to do that.
>>60646958
Pretty cool !
I have a piano and drums at my house, that I use sometimes, but I don't master them. I should probably try more piano, it may help me...
I'll try what you said.
>>60647299
>>60647338
Thanks for your advice ! One of my friend already told me that I play for myself and that I shouldn't be that pessimistic about what I can do. This is probably true.
I always thought I should wait to have better skills before trying Fruity Loop or anything else. Maybe I should have done the other way around. Thanks again.
>>60647434
And thanks you too ! I must admit I don't listen to Jazz very often. I know it is a very interesting genre in terms of improvisation and harmony.
The idea of trying on a bass before is also very interesting. I don't have one but can borrow it maybe... Is it that close from a guitar ? Almost never played it...
>>60647850
Used to play bass, & i promise you it is easy to learn(especially with knowledge of scales), difficult to master because you need stronger hands. Standard tuning is same as your top 4 guitar strings. I learned on OPIV/Rancid, NOFX, shit like that. OPIV/Rancid is great for speed, NOFX for diversity & theory
>>60647581
>who are noise musicians
dumbasses who can't play instruments but want to be 2avant4u so they hook a bunch of distortion pedals up to each other and record it for an hour
Suggestions:
>stop playing music for a month
>pick up another instrument
>listen to things that are outside your comfort zone
>take a class or get a book on ideas you haven't explored yet
>just put records on and improvise. when you play something you like, think about why you liked it.
>record your own music and listen to it. critique it and then attempt to fix it. just experiment and don't always try to think before you do. it helps to just do without thinking. don't be afraid of it being shitty or weird, just try it and analyze it while taking the personal element out of it.
