Are You Motivated? Options

[Bear Rose]

This topic is mainly for the beginner's but anyone can chime in with their opinion.

In the guitar lessons that I give in person, there are really two groups: the ones who are steadily improving, and the ones who aren't. This could also be called: The ones who are practicing, and the one's who aren't. For a long time I wondered why is it that someone wants to pay for guitar lessons to learn to play, but isn't really interested in improving. I think one of the biggest factors in this is motivation.

I've found that the one's who are internally motivated (motivated by something inside themselves) are the ones who practice the most and improve the quickest. The others are externally motivated (usually by me) and to them, practicing guitar is a chore.

So my question to the beginner guitarists is: Are you motivated? If so, what is your motivation?

To all the non-beginners, feel free to share your opinions on motivation. How do you motivate yourselves?

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[Azzaboi]

"My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who i am.”
--Joan Jett

"Nothing can duplicate the sheer power and feeling you get from standing in front of your amp and bashing on your guitar."
--James Hetfield (Metallica)

"The feeling you get after rocking out on your guitar is anything from a very heavy, stunned 'Whoa, what just happened?' to a very high...I can't relate it exactly to an orgasm, but sometimes when you come out of it, you're exhausted. It's just emotions pouring out..."
--Eddie Van Halen

"Puberty was very vague. I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar.”
--Johnny Depp

"My vocation is more in composition really than anything else - building up harmonies using the guitar, orchestrating the guitar like an army, a guitar army.”
-- Jimmy Page

I guess everyone has their own personal motivation for learning, improving and playing the guitar.

Think the first day you got the guitar, amp or any new toy/material/book... you didn't need any motivation to learn!

The difference is doing something over and over - the 'mental image' of success slowly gets crushed and now you're frustrated from little mistakes.

There should be no fear of failure, your got nothing to lose and more to gain.

I get a motivation rush from setting reasonable small goals and checking my progress.
I enjoy playing and creating the music that I like listening to, sometimes practice/exercises, sometimes a known or new song, and sometimes just mucking around. If your've stop improving for ages, you've reached a plateau and should maybe reach in a different angle for a new peak. I go out of my way to learn more than one way of doing something from different people and sources - then picking my own style, what works best for me. Once you add emotional feeling into it, it becomes part of you.

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This post has been edited by Azzaboi: Oct 12 2010, 01:10 AM

[jeanv]

Hi, that's a good question actually!

well i'm quiet new to this website and in fact it's really cool for me to know that i found a place where to find good lessons, and lessons that you can choose among plenty of different styles. What i mean is that the fact that i'm managing my lessons is cool.

For the moment i'm working on just one instructor lessons because the styles he's proposing are huge and i want to play many different styles to find my own style.

I've been playing guitar for a long time, but i have never learned with a teacher or something like that, that means i don't know anything really about notes, chords, vocabulary, recording, software etc.... you know what i mean ? and i want to learn all that here!

So.... i'm really really motivated, BUT i'm a bit disappointed to see that sometimes my topics remain without the answer to my question !

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[superize]

I used to be very motivated and played several hour per day but now i have lost some of that but i still play enough to improve

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[Todd Simpson]

This is a great thread and question As an instructor, I could not agree more that I see the same thing when I'm doing individual lessons. Theres the Practice and Not So Much Practice divide that starts to widen as time goes on. I understand that life comes first and gets in the way, I miss practice myself sometimes (though I chide myself quite harshly if I do), but Kris Dahl is right, there is no magic to it, it just takes Practice.

I"m often asked how long it took to play fast (speed is pointless by itself of course), and the truth is, it has taken me years to develop my technique. Some players can do it in one year. Some need 5 years. It all comes down to repetition and familiarity which goes back to practice. Even if it's 15 minutes instead of an hour. Every day you practice, your brain is still working on it while you sleep. And the effect is cumulative. So regular practice, especially anywhere near sleep time, can be of enormous benefit.

MOTIVATION: My personal motivation stemmed from hearing great players play and seeing how easy it looked for them to play the most amazing stuff I could imagine. I wanted more than anything to be able to play quite well and do it with the ease that they did. There is the old saying "True Skill is Effortless".

I"m still working on my technique, writing, musicianship, etc. It's an unending quest but one worth taking

Practice!
Todd

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[Marek Rojewski]

It may sound strange but I used to be more motivated before I started taking live lessons. There were few "homeworks" that I didn't understand or were "new" for me, and I was frustrated by them and in conclusion lost quite much motivation.... I used to play few hours a day and now I rarely play more than 1-1.5...

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[maharzan]

right now I am really not.. after spending 1.5 months on the same lick over and over again.. I still can't seem to perfect it.. so kinda demotivated now. But, I m moving on to do some covers now so hopefully I will get motivated again.

To motivate myself, generally I am like browsing YouTube all the time trying to find new talents and their amazing playing skills. So, listening to them and learning some nice licks is what makes me motivated. Its mostly been if I could do this.... and I start getting into it..

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[Bear Rose]

Hi, that's a good question actually!

well i'm quiet new to this website and in fact it's really cool for me to know that i found a place where to find good lessons, and lessons that you can choose among plenty of different styles. What i mean is that the fact that i'm managing my lessons is cool.

For the moment i'm working on just one instructor lessons because the styles he's proposing are huge and i want to play many different styles to find my own style.

I've been playing guitar for a long time, but i have never learned with a teacher or something like that, that means i don't know anything really about notes, chords, vocabulary, recording, software etc.... you know what i mean ? and i want to learn all that here!

So.... i'm really really motivated, BUT i'm a bit disappointed to see that sometimes my topics remain without the answer to my question !

I'm sorry that sometimes your topics go unanswered. If I can make a suggestion to post any questions that you have here in this board, I would be more than happy to answer them to the best of my knowledge (and I'm sure a few others could help out on anything I might not know!)

GMC has been a very big motivator to me, especially when I first joined a few years ago. I improved a really great deal over the first few months because I was so motivated by all the awesome lessons!

Now, youtube is a big motivator for me as well. I am subscribed to lots and lots of guitar players. Watching them gives a great deal of variety to see how different people play, and brings a good amount of inspiration to me.

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[whiskey5]

Every day you practice, your brain is still working on it while you sleep. And the effect is cumulative. So regular practice, especially anywhere near sleep time, can be of enormous benefit.

.. It's an unending quest but one worth taking

Practice!
Todd

Interestingly enough, its statements like that that keep me motivated.

And, just to show it: here's a couple other statements that I've heard from other guitarists that keep me motivated:

1. Every moment of practice benefits your progression.
2. Learning guitar is not an easy thing to do.

The last one was something I told myself. I think when I was younger, I didn't have the patience to stick with it.

Now, that i'm older - i have the patience and desire, cause it really brings a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction. And it keeps me from going out to the bars and getting drunk like I used to.

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[Bear Rose]

Interestingly enough, its statements like that that keep me motivated.

And, just to show it: here's a couple other statements that I've heard from other guitarists that keep me motivated:

1. Every moment of practice benefits your progression.
2. Learning guitar is not an easy thing to do.

The last one was something I told myself. I think when I was younger, I didn't have the patience to stick with it.

Now, that i'm older - i have the patience and desire, cause it really brings a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction. And it keeps me from going out to the bars and getting drunk like I used to.

I've been noticing recently that there are certain benefits to a young learning guitarists and others to a more mature learning guitarists:

When you're young, its easier to learn something new and to improve more quickly, but at the same time its hard to stay motivated.

When you're older and more mature, its easier to stay motivated because you are more aware of your results, but it also usually takes longer to learn something new and improve.

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[MonkeyDAthos]

motivate no i am not motivate at all that's why i just stop progress on guitar from since 6 months ago : o but in other side i start to jam with some friends that are beginning their journy in the music world

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This post has been edited by MonkeyDAthos: Dec 17 2010, 08:19 PM

[Kael]

Well i have just started, so im feeling motivated enough. Going through the beginner lessons at my own slow pace, and enjoying it thoroughly actually. Just playing around with the different chords and making up stuff as i go along.
I am currently trying to get 1-2 hours practice each day, more if i have the time and willpower. It would be sweet to be able to bump it up a notch, to about 4-5 hours a day though. I have a tendency to overdo things though...ah well

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[Ben Higgins]

Another interesting post Bear, you've been asking some really good questions lately !

I must admit, I can't remember a lot about my early years of playing.. but I do know that I didn't have any learning aids, guidance or anything.. so I just naturally progressed through enjoyment, which is without doubt, the most beneficial and sure way to progress in any subject.

But the better I got, and the more technically impressive guitarists I discovered, I began to feel my own limitations and strive to achieve their level of speed and dazzling ability etc. Being younger, I did still progress quite well.. but from about the age of about 16 until very recently (I guess that's 8-9 years) I struggled and encountered much frustration. I experimented with routines, practiced harder than ever, changed my physical approach again and again etc. My main annoyance and frustration came from alternate picking. (But that's a story for another time)

To cut a long story short, my secret is letting go of all the pressure and preconceptions we have about how we 'should' be able to play the guitar. We all forget, that when learning and playing an instrument.. we should just trust our bodies to find their own way. When we learn to walk, talk, run or dance there's nobody there with a ruler, stopwatch or a metronome.. our minds and bodies work together to find the natural way. And every human can do that, nobody has an advantage or disadvantage. And it's the same with the guitar.

To help you with your motivation, I would identify with yourself, what kind of person you are. There are different approaches to practicing (none are wrong - just different.) Some people need order and routine to help them have purpose. It works well for them and helps them stay focused and on track. The other side of the coin is that some people prefer to have no order, rules or routine. There's no pressure on them and the freedom inspires them to persevere at their own pace, happy that they are on their own musical path.

So you have the John Petrucci's & the Michael Angelo Batio's who are advocates of routine and regiment... on the other side you have the Yngwie Malmsteen's and the Eddie Van Halen's who did exactly the opposite and found their style through trial and error, trust and exploration. Determine who you are and what works for you. Don't feel guilty if you don't cope well with routine. It may just be that the pressure you've been putting on yourself is the reason why you're not progressing.

Trust your fingers, trust your ears, trust your heart... it will lead you to the right place. There's no more to it than that.

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[Bear Rose]

Another interesting post Bear, you've been asking some really good questions lately !

I must admit, I can't remember a lot about my early years of playing.. but I do know that I didn't have any learning aids, guidance or anything.. so I just naturally progressed through enjoyment, which is without doubt, the most beneficial and sure way to progress in any subject.

But the better I got, and the more technically impressive guitarists I discovered, I began to feel my own limitations and strive to achieve their level of speed and dazzling ability etc. Being younger, I did still progress quite well.. but from about the age of about 16 until very recently (I guess that's 8-9 years) I struggled and encountered much frustration. I experimented with routines, practiced harder than ever, changed my physical approach again and again etc. My main annoyance and frustration came from alternate picking. (But that's a story for another time)

To cut a long story short, my secret is letting go of all the pressure and preconceptions we have about how we 'should' be able to play the guitar. We all forget, that when learning and playing an instrument.. we should just trust our bodies to find their own way. When we learn to walk, talk, run or dance there's nobody there with a ruler, stopwatch or a metronome.. our minds and bodies work together to find the natural way. And every human can do that, nobody has an advantage or disadvantage. And it's the same with the guitar.

To help you with your motivation, I would identify with yourself, what kind of person you are. There are different approaches to practicing (none are wrong - just different.) Some people need order and routine to help them have purpose. It works well for them and helps them stay focused and on track. The other side of the coin is that some people prefer to have no order, rules or routine. There's no pressure on them and the freedom inspires them to persevere at their own pace, happy that they are on their own musical path.

So you have the John Petrucci's & the Michael Angelo Batio's who are advocates of routine and regiment... on the other side you have the Yngwie Malmsteen's and the Eddie Van Halen's who did exactly the opposite and found their style through trial and error, trust and exploration. Determine who you are and what works for you. Don't feel guilty if you don't cope well with routine. It may just be that the pressure you've been putting on yourself is the reason why you're not progressing.

Trust your fingers, trust your ears, trust your heart... it will lead you to the right place. There's no more to it than that.

Wow! Really, REALLY well said, Ben! I especially like the part about us letting our bodies find their own way to play the instrument. If everyone regiments themselves to practice the exact same way, we'll lose a big part of our individuality.

Your advice is some of the best I've heard in quite awhile. Thanks so much for sharing that!

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[maharzan]

Its been 2 months I posted last... the motivation for me now is being able to play extreme neoclassic! This proved that constant working hard on something definitely can be achieved sooner or later. I tried a cover song yesterday and in 1 day I could do it (well it wasn't that hard but frankly I couldn't do it 2 years ago). I am really motivated to try new ones now.

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[Todd Simpson]

Another interesting post Bear, you've been asking some really good questions lately !
So ,..............

Great reply Ben. This is really a great point. Everyone learns a bit differently, what works for one may not for another. So you do have to sort of feel your way through it. All the instructors here will present you with material and try to help you progress, but it will really depend a lot on how you learn. As a "Self Taught" player I sort of made most of it up until I took some classical guitar lessons several years after I was already playing. The lessons were the hardest part and partly the reason I started teaching guitar. I wanted to try to teach the way I'd have liked to be taught, but that's the key. Everyone need to be taught a bit differently as they learn differently. So....

Let your instincts be your guide. Don't pressure yourself and make learning guitar a "job", keep it fun and make learning it just fun. Play what you want, skip what you don't. If you only play the stuff you want to play, you will end up playing more and progress. If your instincts say "That scale/song/drill/lick just isn't for me really" skip it. Your "style" of guitar playing will come from who you are as person. Embrace your own path.

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[whiskey5]

Another interesting post Bear, you've been asking some really good questions lately !

But the better I got, and the more technically impressive guitarists I discovered, I began to feel my own limitations and strive to achieve their level of speed and dazzling ability etc...

For sure. I've been playing about 5 months now. Started off learning early Metallica (die-hard fan here). Recently I've discovered the mathcore genre when I heard 43% Burnt by Dillingers Escape Plan. Amazing stuff, and very inspiring for me.

To cut a long story short, my secret is letting go of all the pressure and preconceptions we have about how we 'should' be able to play the guitar. We all forget, that when learning and playing an instrument.. we should just trust our bodies to find their own way. When we learn to walk, talk, run or dance there's nobody there with a ruler, stopwatch or a metronome.. our minds and bodies work together to find the natural way. And every human can do that, nobody has an advantage or disadvantage. And it's the same with the guitar.

Again, well said. I believe that I discovered this last night. I usually focus on playing tabs so much, that my concentration is split between reading/following along with the tab, and actually playing the tab. Well, I let a friend of mine play my guitar at work the other day. He's been playing for decades, so he's quite good. I asked him if he was just free-wheeling what he was playing, and he said yeah and that the key is knowing the pentatonic scale.

There's a lesson on this site on the pentatonic that I use for practice. So I know a bit about it. But didn't really know how to incorporate it until I saw what he did. So last night, I plugged in and gave it a shot. No tabs, just strumming and picking notes in the scale - picking here and there when it just felt right to pick it. And I surprised myself how well it sounded. I felt loose, not following any tabs, just noodling around, and things kind of came together - albeit in a simple way cause I'm still a noob. But it sure felt good. And I felt I was hitting notes more accurately and faster than if I had been reading tabs.

Then I tried some Chevelle that I've been struggling with in the past. And that even felt good. Seems I felt the rhythm for the first time. Can't remember the name of the song now, but I'm sure I could play it now.

These breakthroughs are great.

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[Bear Rose]

For sure. I've been playing about 5 months now. Started off learning early Metallica (die-hard fan here). Recently I've discovered the mathcore genre when I heard 43% Burnt by Dillingers Escape Plan. Amazing stuff, and very inspiring for me.

Again, well said. I believe that I discovered this last night. I usually focus on playing tabs so much, that my concentration is split between reading/following along with the tab, and actually playing the tab. Well, I let a friend of mine play my guitar at work the other day. He's been playing for decades, so he's quite good. I asked him if he was just free-wheeling what he was playing, and he said yeah and that the key is knowing the pentatonic scale.

There's a lesson on this site on the pentatonic that I use for practice. So I know a bit about it. But didn't really know how to incorporate it until I saw what he did. So last night, I plugged in and gave it a shot. No tabs, just strumming and picking notes in the scale - picking here and there when it just felt right to pick it. And I surprised myself how well it sounded. I felt loose, not following any tabs, just noodling around, and things kind of came together - albeit in a simple way cause I'm still a noob. But it sure felt good. And I felt I was hitting notes more accurately and faster than if I had been reading tabs.

Then I tried some Chevelle that I've been struggling with in the past. And that even felt good. Seems I felt the rhythm for the first time. Can't remember the name of the song now, but I'm sure I could play it now.

These breakthroughs are great.

That's awesome to hear! It is such a great feeling when you have that "breakthrough" moment where it seems like your playing and practicing all of a sudden just jumps to another level and you break through that glass ceiling you've been looking through. I'm very happy for your progress!

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

As a professional, money is one of the biggest motivators unfortunately. This means, money can direct my progress as a musician. More money in some music, more I will tend to learn that music. It's not that extreme, but it definitely has big influence, like it or not.

However, love for the blues was always my big motivator, and I love the blues, and could play it for free (not sure if you can play the blues for money and enjoy it ).

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[thefireball]

GMC keeps me motivated. And the music I listen to.

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