Quitting My Job And Dedicating 8 Hours A Day For Practicing Guitar |
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Quitting My Job And Dedicating 8 Hours A Day For Practicing Guitar |
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Nov 15 2010, 07:44 PM |
Hi everybody,
This will be a long post so I put the idea in the title to get your attention because I really need your opinions and advice on this. On short: I want to save some money, give up my daily job and practice about 7-8 hours a day for one year. To me it's clear now, playing guitar is what I like to do the most and I never stopped dreaming that one day this is what I will do this for a living also. I know it is possible (even here in Eastern Europe) because I have lots of examples and I am willing to pay the price to get there, but for this, there is one essential condition: to be VERY GOOD at it. You don't need to be a guitar god but to be VERY GOOD at it. And here is the problem. I discovered this instrument (and all the related stuff) at 22 years old. Now I am 26. It's been almost 3 years now since I have taken practice seriously which means that I invested 90% of my free time to this. I tried to get to a an average of 4 hours a day for practice but, unfortunately these are after about 6-8 hours of programming which is what I do for a living for 6 years now. All this is starting to be really toxic because a have very little time to spend with my family and fiends, read a book, watch a movie and the list can go on and beside this, I kinda feel that most of the time was just wasted because you cannot really assimilate much after working a day in front of a computer. As a result: my skills are still pretty low. (you can check out my REC takes if you like: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...p?showuser=8284 or https://www.youtube.com/alexandrugeorgescu) So, my plan is to save some money until around March next year that should last me for about 6 months, quit my job and start practicing 7-8 hours a day after a efficient agenda which I am sure I can find on GMC. Of course, to take some private lessons from a teacher in my town and there are some local bands which I can jam with. (I don't plan to practice alone for the whole time). So this will be the main activity of the day, just as I would have gone to a music school , and this way I will progress a lot better. I know I said 1 year in the beginning but the 6 six months will be a milestone because my fear is that I still don't know if I have real talent at this. All I know I that I like it more than anything else and I want to do this for the rest of my life. I keep blaming it on the lack of time and on tiredness but I don't want to lie to myself and figure out some stuff about me. (I am not in high school anymore, not even college so I it is about time . Anyway, if after 6 month of practicing like this I still feel that I am not too far from the level I am now, then.. maybe this isn't my thing after all, or maybe 22 years old it is just to late to start playing guitar. But if is the other way around then I will do anything I can to get another 4-6 month of practice like this. And maybe after one year I will have the necessary skills to join a let's say.. semi-professional band an develop from there on. And on. And oooooon, it's Heaven and Heeeell \m/ !!!. Ok, got a little carried away here . Anyway, rock and blues are the styles that I want to study. Would like jazz also but I haven't tried it before and I know that one year is not enough for this. I will approach it however. So, please tell me, am I crazy ? is this a good idea ? do you think that one year is enough to get to a decent level ? (please check my REC takes also before answering to this one so you can have an idea of where I am now). I know there are still lots to talk about, planing, etc but his was just the spark so.. please enlighten me -------------------- |
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Nov 15 2010, 08:04 PM
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Hi everybody, This will be a long post so I put the idea in the title to get your attention because I really need your opinions and advice on this. On short: I want to save some money, give up my daily job and practice about 7-8 hours a day for one year. To me it's clear now, playing guitar is what I like to do the most and I never stopped dreaming that one day this is what I will do this for a living also. I know it is possible (even here in Eastern Europe) because I have lots of examples and I am willing to pay the price to get there, but for this, there is one essential condition: to be VERY GOOD at it. You don't need to be a guitar god but to be VERY GOOD at it. And here is the problem. I discovered this instrument (and all the related stuff) at 22 years old. Now I am 26. It's been almost 3 years now since I have taken practice seriously which means that I invested 90% of my free time to this. I tried to get to a an average of 4 hours a day for practice but, unfortunately these are after about 6-8 hours of programming which is what I do for a living for 6 years now. All this is starting to be really toxic because a have very little time to spend with my family and fiends, read a book, watch a movie and the list can go on and beside this, I kinda feel that most of the time was just wasted because you cannot really assimilate much after working a day in front of a computer. As a result: my skills are still pretty low. (you can check out my REC takes if you like: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...p?showuser=8284 or https://www.youtube.com/alexandrugeorgescu) So, my plan is to save some money until around March next year that should last me for about 6 months, quit my job and start practicing 7-8 hours a day after a efficient agenda which I am sure I can find on GMC. Of course, to take some private lessons from a teacher in my town and there are some local bands which I can jam with. (I don't plan to practice alone for the whole time). So this will be the main activity of the day, just as I would have gone to a music school , and this way I will progress a lot better. I know I said 1 year in the beginning but the 6 six months will be a milestone because my fear is that I still don't know if I have real talent at this. All I know I that I like it more than anything else and I want to do this for the rest of my life. I keep blaming it on the lack of time and on tiredness but I don't want to lie to myself and figure out some stuff about me. (I am not in high school anymore, not even college so I it is about time . Anyway, if after 6 month of practicing like this I still feel that I am not too far from the level I am now, then.. maybe this isn't my thing after all, or maybe 22 years old it is just to late to start playing guitar. But if is the other way around then I will do anything I can to get another 4-6 month of practice like this. And maybe after one year I will have the necessary skills to join a let's say.. semi-professional band an develop from there on. And on. And oooooon, it's Heaven and Heeeell \m/ !!!. Ok, got a little carried away here . Anyway, rock and blues are the styles that I want to study. Would like jazz also but I haven't tried it before and I know that one year is not enough for this. I will approach it however. So, please tell me, am I crazy ? is this a good idea ? do you think that one year is enough to get to a decent level ? (please check my REC takes also before answering to this one so you can have an idea of where I am now). I know there are still lots to talk about, planing, etc but his was just the spark so.. please enlighten me if you can afford this , and you don't hurt your family or give up who you are as a person , and if it does not work out will you be able to rejoin the work place i say -- don't do any thing to quickly if you want to go that route, proceed with caution |
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Nov 15 2010, 09:48 PM |
I think it accelerated my learning no end when I joined a band. I agree, playing in a band is very rewarding. I think your idea is good. If you don't dare to try something it will never happen. The economics makes easy mathetatics. Save half of your money for one year and you can manage without work for one year, give or take. I don't know what opportunities you've got but possibly you don't have to quit your job but rather take a 1 year leave. So incase things doesn't work out. I know a good example of a guy (20 years ago) - a guitarist, who gave up everything, set his mind to be the best guitarist and practiced for a full year - or was it two? He became a teriffic guitarist and was well known locally. I think he dropped the career and started a record company instead. So if I was your age and had my mind set to become a great guitarist I'd give it a shot. The only thing I think you need to concider is what you want to become. There are about 1 million youtube shredders to compete with if you plan on playing fast. Being a good musician is something else. I'd bring that into my plan aswell, how to stick out like a sore thumb. Good luck :-) -------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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Nov 15 2010, 10:59 PM |
I LOVE the way you think. I have news for you - You ARE crazy, and yes, it's a GREAT idea! I have lots of respect for you in deciding this, it's always a big decision.
I once read long time ago (and it turned out to be true), that all you need is around 5 years of dedicated work on the instrument in order to start playing professionally. If you spend those 5 years wisely, only practicing and practicing, you're on your way to become great player. However, you never know how it's going to turn out, because life is very strange. But if you have iron will (and you will need it if you decide to play rock, blues and jazz), you can live your life they way you like. I must say that playing guitar very good is only part of the puzzle. You should focus on developing your own unique style of playing, be famous at it, and compose lots of songs. Good songs are your ticket to go into a good band and eventually become famous. Also, working on your image and style as a guitar player is very important too. All these things will come in time, and you should definitely look and act as a guitar player. This way, people in the business will take you seriously. Acting as a professional, playing as one, and looking as one will get you there. So what are you waiting for, guitar in hands, and pursue yuor dreams! -------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :) |
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Nov 16 2010, 02:29 AM |
I admire your courage. Pursuing your dream is much easier if you have a safety net (like the spare money you want to get). So, at least, you are approaching it on the right way.
I may be overlooking something, but it seems your whole problem is stress. So, I´d guess you only need to slow down your rhythm. What about working part time? If you work 4 hours a day + play guitar 4 more hours you still have a lot of time to rest and assimilate all you need. Saving money for 1 year and then stopping for 1 year, should be equal in terms of money to work 2 years part time. And I guess you would be better at guitar if you do part time (4 hours for 2 years) than stress routine now + 8 hours next year , because a lot of things in guitar takes a loooong time to assimilate. On top of that, you keep acquiring experience on programming, which will help you in case you decide to come back to it full time. This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 16 2010, 02:31 AM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Nov 16 2010, 12:29 PM |
Interesting.
Pursuing your goals and what you love in life is important. Having said that, eating is important too. I'd make sure you can earn a living as a musician in your hometown/country, or if you will be willing to move somewhere else. I'd check with the people you know that are doing it, and think hard if what they do for a living is what you'd like for yourself. If you already have friends who earn a living as musicians maybe they can help you out in the future too, which would be a plus. I'd also think about the possibilities of finding a new job, or getting the same one you have now, if things go wrong. If it's easy for you to find a new job like the one you have now, then the risk is inexistent, because you can always end up the way you are now. If finding a job in the future is hard, then your risk is high, and that's something you should certainly think about. -------------------- Guitars:
Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Ibanez RG2570MZ, Epiphone SG G-400 Amp: Vox AC4TVH head + V112TV cab Effects: Vox Satchurator, Vox Time Machine, Dunlop CryBaby, Boss MT-2, Boss CE-5, Boss TU-2, Boss ME-70 Recording: Line-6 POD X3 + FBV-Express, Pandora PX5D GMC wants YOU to take part in our Guitar-Wikipedia! Have a good time reading great articles and writing your own with us in our GUITAR WIKI! Share your playing and get Pro-advice from our Instructors: Join REC |
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