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After endless hours of private lessons and online tutorials

brianrost

brianrost

Apr 26, 2000
18,680
28,503
Boston, Taxachusetts
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#1
From The Onion


ST. LOUIS—Voicing frustration as he discussed his lack of even the most rudimentary skills, local man Henry Right told reporters Monday that he had finally gotten good enough at his new hobby to understand just how bad he is at it. “I picked up the guitar last year, and after endless hours of private lessons and online tutorials, I’ve now learned enough to realize that I have no idea what I’m doing with this instrument,” said the 45-year-old content strategist, watching a video of a professional guitarist fluidly strum his way through a progression of a dozen or more chords that Right admitted he could barely stretch his fingers around. “I’ve struggled for months to develop finger dexterity and remember which note is where, but at last I’ve gotten to the point where I’m able to just pick up a guitar and immediately grasp how little talent I have for it. I’ve come a long way, and I can now see that I have absolutely no business trying to play music.” At press time, sources confirmed Right was once more making his way through a halting, half-assed version of “Crazy Train.”

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#7
The truth that many refuse to acknowledge is that not everyone was born with musical talent. That doesn't mean you can't have fun with an instrument but just don't plan on a career. Most non musical people are good at something else.
One of life's challenges is to discover what our "long suit" is. Hopefully your natural abilities and your passion line up. If so, you'll have a happy life.
But don't kid yourself. If you invested time and energy into something and it just doesn't work for you, it may be time to try something else.
As a teacher, I always told my students to try and identify what you're really good at by nature and do that.
 
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#11
SJan3 said:
As a teacher, I always told my students to try and identify what you're really good at by nature and do that.
Click to expand...
There are, of course, other approaches available. My example is I've been "singing" for 30+ years and have gone from absolutely terrible to sometimes listenable, but had fun the whole time.

But mebbe I'm just good at having fun even as the listeners don't ...

Still, I'd phrase it, "identify what you really love and learn to do that."
 
#12
vvvmmm said:
There are, of course, other approaches available. My example is I've been "singing" for 30+ years and have gone from absolutely terrible to sometimes listenable, but had fun the whole time.

But mebbe I'm just good at having fun even as the listeners don't ...

Still, I'd phrase it, "identify what you really love and learn to do that."
Click to expand...
Read my 1st paragraph again.
 
#13
SJan3 said:
Read my 1st paragraph again.
Click to expand...
Why do you advise I should? Do you assume I didn't, or didn't comprehend? Are you always condescending or just didn't realize that you were being so?

Everyone is so contentious today in this thread (me, too, of course) - I commented on the sentence from your post that I wished to comment on.

I will add that I found, "just don't plan on a career" beyond contentious and - perhaps unintentionally, but ... - approaching offensive.

But I argue for a living, am always willing to; I chose the point I wished to make advisedly, read your post and all of its paragraphs once, and that was enough to choose what I wished to comment on, and what I wanted to say.

Allow me to summarize my point as I feel (perhaps myself condescendingly) you may have missed it: have fun, and don't listen to what others - even "teachers" - say is how you should have fun.
 
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#15
Reminds me, my dad used to tell a story of how they chose civil servants for their roles. He said they threw all the applicants in a hole, and the ones who could climb out, they made firemen. The others who couldn't climb out, they made police. The ones who didn't understand the order to get in the hole, or who just refused to budge, were sent to work at the DMV.
 
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#16
“Endless hours of private lessons and online tutorials” Seriously? In one year? I’ve been playing for over 50 years and I’m still not great, compared to the pros. It’s just something that I keep doing because I love it, not because I’m great at it.
 
#17
Ostie said:
“Endless hours of private lessons and online tutorials” Seriously? In one year? I’ve been playing for over 50 years and I’m still not great, compared to the pros. It’s just something that I keep doing because I love it, not because I’m great at it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was my reaction too. I bought my wife an Ovation acoustic because she wanted to play, but after 2 weeks and discovering it "was hard" the guitar ended up as a decoration in her project room, sitting on a bookshelf.

People who think they are going to sound like Hendrix in a year, are in for disappointment.

It's the reason you see so many slightly used low-end fretless basses for sale. Yeah, it's hard, but not that hard. People want immediate gratification these days, don't want to do the work.

Or as Jim Stinnett used to say "Understanding something doesn't mean you know it, unless you can do it. Practice!"
 

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