[Kentl]

they told me "six years is long enough move on to the next part"

now 1st i have no idea what the next part is

2nd i really dont know if my skiils are that good


so im going to ask a qurestion and all of you are going to say "thats up to you"
but still i guess i should ask it will make me feel beter anyways


How do you know when your good?


next thing is what is the next step?
i know your porbely want to say what ever you want
well i cant pick so how about you tell me what you would learn next and i'll go form there



I can play bahre chords
i can play most open chords
minor pentoinc scale
m,ajoir scale
minor scale
eect

what do you learn after the basics?
dont say what ever you want, that wont help me

[Giga Hertz]

Depends what you're looking to do and your skills. I had only been playing bass a month before I joined the worship team. I've also played acoustic a few times at Church, and I've only been playing for about two years.

You say you know how to do all that stuff. What about rhythm? Can you do a variety of rhythms?

You never stop learning. There's always a new style you can try.

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by Giga Hertz

Depends what you're looking to do and your skills. I had only been playing bass a month before I joined the worship team. I've also played acoustic a few times at Church, and I've only been playing for about two years.

You say you know how to do all that stuff. What about rhythm? Can you do a variety of rhythms?

You never stop learning. There's always a new style you can try.

not sure what you count as variety of rhythms
but i'd say I know good enough


as for what I'm lookign to do?
be in a band? but thats a few years away

[roscoestring]

I played in a band with a guy one night when we were playing the song in the key of D and he was playing in the key of A. The entire song. He never caught it. And he was playing mandolin. It was amplified and loud. Really, how good do you have to be to play in a band?

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by roscoestring

I played in a band with a guy one night when we were playing the song in the key of D and he was playing in the key of A. The entire song. He never caught it. And he was playing mandolin. It was amplified and loud. Really, how good do you have to be to play in a band?

okay maybe i should say play in a GOOD band

[gtrdave]

Originally Posted by Kentl

How do you know when your good?


next thing is what is the next step?

You know when you're good when you can play a song on your own or with others without screwing it up (play in time, play the right notes, play without stopping) and so that other people might want to listen, too. That's the first step.

The next step is to repeat the first step and keep learning.

Knowing notes and chords and scales is important, but they're all somewhat incomplete pieces on their own, so that's where knowing how to play songs is the culmination of knowing those other things.
It'd be like knowing the alphabet and small words and basic punctuation, but not knowing how to form a proper sentence or paragraph or write a paper.

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by gtrdave

You know when you're good when you can play a song on your own or with others without screwing it up (play in time, play the right notes, play without stopping) and so that other people might want to listen, too. That's the first step.

The next step is to repeat the first step and keep learning.

Knowing notes and chords and scales is important, but they're all somewhat incomplete pieces on their own, so that's where knowing how to play songs is the culmination of knowing those other things.
It'd be like knowing the alphabet and small words and basic punctuation, but not knowing how to form a proper sentence or paragraph or write a paper.

you do know who your talking to?


maybe its me but its hard to tell when i play right\in time

[thesteve]

If you want to be in a band, stop waiting and do it. There's no point in sitting on your hands saying, "I hope one day I can be in a good band". Just be in a band and enjoy it. There's lots of people out there in bands that, IMO, aren't good bands, but someone likes them enough to keep them going.

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by thesteve

If you want to be in a band, stop waiting and do it. There's no point in sitting on your hands saying, "I hope one day I can be in a good band". Just be in a band and enjoy it. There's lots of people out there in bands that, IMO, aren't good bands, but someone likes them enough to keep them going.

1st only band i MIGHT join is the P&W band at church
and let me tell you
1st i would never join just to be in a band
2nd if i play so bad it destracts the worshpers then id do not belong

[thesteve]

That's a great attitude to take towards being in a worship band. I'm just talking about being in a band in general. There will always be bands that are better than the band you're in, and there will always be bands that are worse than the band you're in. There's no better time to join a band than whenever you say, "Hey, I'd like to be in a band"

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by thesteve

That's a great attitude to take towards being in a worship band. I'm just talking about being in a band in general. There will always be bands that are better than the band you're in, and there will always be bands that are worse than the band you're in. There's no better time to join a band than whenever you say, "Hey, I'd like to be in a band"

well i know four muscions

all of them are 40+

and none of them are instiead on the band thing (all come form church)

trust me the day i meet a drummer will be the happyist dya in my life
maybe singer
yeah defreintly singer

[martinedwards]

+1 on on the being in a band thing.

your attitude about not wanting to distract from other worshipping is commendable, but to improve, one of the best ways is to play along with other people. ask one of your oldies (and I'm over 40 so be careful here boy!!) to meet up for a jam. agree on maybe 10 worship songs and go wanting to LEARN from the old guy, not to show off the chops you have.

have you a music store nearby with a "go ahead and play" policy?

I learned more on Saturday mornings in Crymble's Music in Newtownards as a teenager than I learned anywhere else. Someone plays a riff and thre other spotty oiks demand to be shown what it was...........

Some people are destined to be superstar playters, some are destined to be reasonable strummers and some are destined to be people who listen to other people playing music.

I have reached the stage in my musical journey that I realise that there will never be a CD. I KNOW that I'm never going to play a blistering solo that will have people weeping over the conviction of thier sins that God has brought about through my playing. (but God can still do miracles, right?) About 5 years ago it finally dawned on me that I'd never justify buying a Lowden guitar. ($10,000 or so) I couldn't justify it financially, but more importantly I couldn't justify it ARTISTICLY. I am not, and will never be, a good enough player that anyone could hear the difference between me playing a Yamaha and a Lowden.

Most importantly, I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!

recently I've been trying to play a little fingerstyle. I'm awful. but it's fun to try. I can't get more than two fingers and a thumb on my right hand working, but I've made a little progress and that pleases ME.

I'm never going to be able to play a Tommy Emmanuel tune.

but thats OK.

what am I trying to say here? I reckon we all have thresholds in our playing. some folks can reach brilliance and some folks can't. like running. some can be Ussein Bolt(SP?) and some couldn't run for a bus. that doesn't make us bad people!

get it out of your head that it's a competition, and get back to it being FUN. I'm on about 10 forums around the internet and it amazes me how incredible some of the recordings produced by guys in thier bedrooms are. guys who will never play a live show or make a CD that sells. it also amazes me how piteously AWFUL some folks are but they think they're wonderful. the world is big enough for good players, bad players and all in between. I remember the Beatles quote where (I think John) was asked how he felt about Ringo not being the best drummer in the world. He replied that he wasn't the best drummer in the Beatles....... but he still WAS the drummer in the Bealtes and no one can take that from him.

We have a guy in church who plays a little guitar, a little bass, and has a heart for the Lord that is spectacular. his timing is......... weak.

and yet if I'm leading our evening service, which is a small intimate thing, usually just an acoustic guitar and vocal, but if He says, "can I play bass?" I say yes in a second. for rhythm, he follows me like a wee puppy dog and plays root notes, but the worship experience is SO good because his heart is right, he knows his weaknesses and doesn't try to showboat because he knows he can't. I LOVE him playing along with me, and playing along with me helps HIS playing so much.

so, assuming you're still reading...... a lot to assume after all this......

play with other folks, strive to be better, but accept that there might be a limit to your abilities!

[gtrdave]

Originally Posted by Kentl

you do know who your talking to?


maybe its me but its hard to tell when i play right\in time

Playing with a metronome or drum machine/loop will tell you. Or ask another musician whose opinion you trust.
Playing in time is, to me, CRITICAL for any musician. I've known so many keyboardists (especially) who seem like great players, but they can't lock to a rhythm to save their life. It makes playing with others a near impossibility, but they could correct the issue by practicing with a metronome and getting the rhythm count in their head and body.

You should start to play with other people as often as you can, but if you struggle with staying in time, really start focusing in on correcting that. It's easiest if you start with simple 1/4 note beats and then expand from there.

[jeepnstein]

First things first. In defense of Ringo Starr, the man kept rock solid time in the midst of a riot. When drummers talk about Ringo they often boil it down to his innate ability to be the solid timekeeper in what could have easily been a circus. Oh, and Ringo has chops but that's not what they wanted out of him. And he has a certain sense of style that just goes on for days.

Now about the band thing. I think your desire to play but not at the expense of your church is admirable. I also think you're misguided a wee bit. If you are being called to play then you should play. Be sure to give all the glory to the Lord. It's all about finding the proper venue for your music. It may mean you have to bend a bit and be willing to play lots of covers. If you want to play in a praise and worship setting then you should mention your interest to your preacher or youth minister. Shoot, mention it to everyone you know. Getting a band together is as much social networking as it is musicianship. Somewhere out there is a singer and a drummer who really wishes they knew someone who played guitar. God doesn't light a fire in you like this just to watch you suffer.

Your playing will never really develop until you learn the give and take of making music with others. You've been at it a while. You've taken more lessons than most. But the thing you lack most right now is the ability to actually "make" music and be heard. Even if it sounds bad at first it's an important part of your growth.

The last jam session I played was with a bunch of polished pros and let me tell you we sounded like a train wreck. Everyone was pushing and shoving for their place in the mix and getting used to all the different styles. Then all of a sudden we dropped into a groove and it was pure magic for about fifteen minutes. That particular lineup will never see the stage, we'll never release a CD, it'll remain a bunch of guys just getting together to share some fellowship and play for the sake of the playing. Don't underestimate the value of just getting together to jam and experiment.

I remember one of the first garage bands I messed with. We all sounded beyond horrible. There was this one guy, however, who just kept coming back and experimenting. He never had the best chops at first or the best gear but he just kept coming. And he kept growing. The day he graduated High School he bought a ticket to Nashville. He kept playing every chance he got. He's a well-respected journeyman guitarist now. Not a superstar, but the guy you call when it absolutely has to be done right and someone's spending buckets of money to get it recorded. He didn't get that way overnight. But he never, ever, lost the willingness to play any time anywhere.

Lastly. I can't remember if you have a cheapo acoustic. If you don't then you should start scraping up a few bucks somehow and get one. It's often easier for an acoustic player to find venues. When the times comes we can start a thread on acoustics for under a hundred bucks that don't draw blood. Don't give up on the electric guitar but you need to be well-rounded to roll smoothly.

[Kentl]

Originally Posted by gtrdave

Playing with a metronome or drum machine/loop will tell you. Or ask another musician whose opinion you trust.
Playing in time is, to me, CRITICAL for any musician. I've known so many keyboardists (especially) who seem like great players, but they can't lock to a rhythm to save their life. It makes playing with others a near impossibility, but they could correct the issue by practicing with a metronome and getting the rhythm count in their head and body.

You should start to play with other people as often as you can, but if you struggle with staying in time, really start focusing in on correcting that. It's easiest if you start with simple 1/4 note beats and then expand from there.

we remember Jesus loves me? how you always said i was off time i had a metronome i just cant tell
it beeps i strum i cant tell
I'll be strumming and someone will say "your off time"
no clue what so ever \, it bugs the heck out of me