Do You Envy Other Players? Options

[Cosmin Lupu]

Did you ever found yourself envy other players or friends for what they can do on the guitar? What did you do about it? Did you employ the "sour grapes" concept where you would try to diminish the significance in your mind of the skill/thing you envy or you got inspired to practice more?

I for one, was totally devastated when I met a friend of mine in Geneva back in 2001 and he could shred and play amazing riffs at that time - excellent player and a big Pantera fan. I asked him - Damian, how do you do it? How can you play so fast?? He told me.. ummm, I just practice? I was bummed... totally bummed, because I thought he didn't want to share his secret with me. Well, years have passed and I slowly found out that he actually did share his secret - it was only that I was too blind and stubborn to accept it at the time

What's your story?

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[TeoWulf]

Did you ever found yourself envy other players or friends for what they can do on the guitar? What did you do about it? Did you employ the "sour grapes" concept where you would try to diminish the significance in your mind of the skill/thing you envy or you got inspired to practice more?

I for one, was totally devastated when I met a friend of mine in Geneva back in 2001 and he could shred and play amazing riffs at that time - excellent player and a big Pantera fan. I asked him - Damian, how do you do it? How can you play so fast?? He told me.. ummm, I just practice? I was bummed... totally bummed, because I thought he didn't want to share his secret with me. Well, years have passed and I slowly found out that he actually did share his secret - it was only that I was too blind and stubborn to accept it at the time

What's your story?

I envy everyone who plays better than me

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

I never envied a player. I'm just jealous but in a very, very good and positive way
I have a big respect and admiration for them because when I watch at their playing I realize how many hours of practice they have. This means that they sacrificed a lot of things to arrive at that high level
Actually their playing are a real BOOST for me, a window to see where I want to be What stops me to try to be like them? Nothing...but IMHO I guess for the human race it's more easy to envied someone and find excuses, than to do something.

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[Spock]

I guess I envy just about every guitarist that has their game together, at the same time I prefer melody over speed. For instance, one of the best local guitarists around here can seemingly do it all - except write a solo that is melodic. Sure, he can peel the meat off the fretboard - but it's always just fast notes - in scale, but void of melody.

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[Ben Higgins]

I've never envied another player. I've felt slightly inadequate because of some, but not envied them.. just wanted to practise more !

On a similar note, our new instructor Thiago has inspired me to try out some more tapping ideas

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Good topic! I never envied other guitarist, but more advanced guitarist had been important for me because they give me more motivation to become a better guitarist. I remember that I wasn't the best guitarist at school, there was a guy who was better, and who always knew the great songs sooner and better. I didn't feel envy, I felt amazed, happy, and once I got back home, I was totally motivated to practice for lots of hours to play the cool things that he could play...

And then this started to happen with popular guitarist... the first one I saw live, when I was 12 years old, was Joe Satriani. I was so amazed and motivated. I remember that I just could play chords and some pentatonic licks in those years.

Do you have a similar feeling when you find a great guitarist?

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[gregc1]

About 3-4 years after I started playing, one of my friends and I started playing together just for fun and I thought we were getting pretty good. He was more into singing (his mom was a music teacher, who also loaned an old acoustic to me when I started taking lessons since I didn't actually have my own guitar) but he could definitely strum his chords and I would try and piecemeal a sloppy solo on top of it, pretty much using the first position of the minor pentatonic, which is all I knew. At 14-15 years old I thought we were doing pretty damn good though.

A couple other friends used to hang out and just listen, then one of them who was a couple years older than us decided he wanted to learn to play too. So he started taking lessons and within 1 year, he showed up while we were playing with his new electric guitar and slayed the intro to Cliffs of Dover. I was floored. I had about 2-3 more years in than he did but I couldn't come close to playing that (still can't ). I guess I kind of envied his natural ability, which he obviously had.

I've never experienced sour grapes when hearing others play but it does make me want to be a better player. This has really intensified since I joined this site and heard what the instructors and students here can do. It's always been constructive for me and never a negative thing.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hehe - I am on the same side as Ben and Gabi - when I see someone with extraordinary talent doubled by hard work, I usually feel like I want to go grab my guitar and practice like crazy, because everything beautiful motivates me a lot!

Usually I see these experiences as eye and soul openers There are moments in each song which lift you up so high that you feel like you just sprouted a pair of wings

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

About 3-4 years after I started playing, one of my friends and I started playing together just for fun and I thought we were getting pretty good. He was more into singing (his mom was a music teacher, who also loaned an old acoustic to me when I started taking lessons since I didn't actually have my own guitar) but he could definitely strum his chords and I would try and piecemeal a sloppy solo on top of it, pretty much using the first position of the minor pentatonic, which is all I knew. At 14-15 years old I thought we were doing pretty damn good though.

A couple other friends used to hang out and just listen, then one of them who was a couple years older than us decided he wanted to learn to play too. So he started taking lessons and within 1 year, he showed up while we were playing with his new electric guitar and slayed the intro to Cliffs of Dover. I was floored. I had about 2-3 more years in than he did but I couldn't come close to playing that (still can't ). I guess I kind of envied his natural ability, which he obviously had.

I've never experienced sour grapes when hearing others play but it does make me want to be a better player. This has really intensified since I joined this site and heard what the instructors and students here can do. It's always been constructive for me and never a negative thing.

I also had experiences like this one, when another guy seem to have more facility to play guitar or any technique. Instead of being something negative as it can happen with some people, this just made me want to practice even more. I call this situations "boosters".

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[Marius Pop]

This is why I love playing pop music - I feel it reaches out to a wider audience, a more receptive audience, if you will, at times that's there to consume and enjoy music without any critical stand of view. Of course I envy other people's playing, but in a positive way - I appreciate them and it motivates me to keep developing my musical voice

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[PosterBoy]

I grudgingly accept that the other players with better technique etc have spent more time on their craft

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[Todd Simpson]

Same here Seeing something cool being played always made me want to practice more. There were wads of licks/techniques that I really wanted to get a handle on just cause I thought they sounded so cool But beyond that, the same applies for hearing something in context that's just brilliant like a well chosen, melodic solo that really works. The notes over give progression backing is what creates so much of the emotional connection to the listener so I always tried to steal as much of that as I could as well:)

Hehe - I am on the same side as Ben and Gabi - when I see someone with extraordinary talent doubled by hard work, I usually feel like I want to go grab my guitar and practice like crazy, because everything beautiful motivates me a lot!

Usually I see these experiences as eye and soul openers There are moments in each song which lift you up so high that you feel like you just sprouted a pair of wings

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Same here Seeing something cool being played always made me want to practice more. There were wads of licks/techniques that I really wanted to get a handle on just cause I thought they sounded so cool But beyond that, the same applies for hearing something in context that's just brilliant like a well chosen, melodic solo that really works. The notes over give progression backing is what creates so much of the emotional connection to the listener so I always tried to steal as much of that as I could as well:)

Stealing the craft! Exactly Well, there are times when you go see a concert knowing that you will have a 'scholastic' moment - the one in which you are telling yourself - A HA! I got that, I will do it too!! ... and the concerts which awe you so much that you simply leave the active mind in a drawer and just perceive with the senses

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[StaceyD]

I never envied a player. I'm just jealous but in a very, very good and positive way
I have a big respect and admiration for them because when I watch at their playing I realize how many hours of practice they have. This means that they sacrificed a lot of things to arrive at that high level

I agree, this is what goes on through my mind when I see unbelievable playing, all the time that they must have spent working on things, and what they must have sacrificed.
Whenever I get really impressed by someone it just reminds me of what I should be practicing.

Ofcourse, on a bad day, you'll see someone's jaw dropping playing and think very destructive things like ' I should be able to do that by now', but you just have to learn to go very easy on yourself. Anything really, really good, and long lasting, takes time to craft, and for everyone that amount of time is different, there are too many variables.

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This post has been edited by StaceyD: May 18 2014, 10:42 PM

[fkalich]

No. I look at it this way. I have been lucky. I have lived in a developed country where public services are taken for granted. My health has been good. Compared to what the mass of humanity faced even in Western countries 100-200 years ago, or what much of the world still faces, I have it pretty good. I recently read a book about the initial penal settlements by the British in Australia 200 years ago. People were driven into despair and poverty by the enclosure movements, and ended up having to try and survive being petty thiefs. Just stealing 40 Shillings got you the death penalty. You could get transported for stealing a handkerchief. So why should I envy anyone because they have something I don't, such as an ability, that exceeds mine? I do the best I can, and whatever, whatever. But at any rate, if I dropped dead 5 minutes from now with an aneurism, I still would have to say that I have had much much better than most humanity had it throughout history, and better than most in the world have it now. Maybe 6 months from now I undergo some metamorphosis and turn into a really fabulous guitarist due to some inexplicable reason. Or maybe not. In either case, I have nothing to kick about.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

I agree, this is what goes on through my mind when I see unbelievable playing, all the time that they must have spent working on things, and what they must have sacrificed.
Whenever I get really impressed by someone it just reminds me of what I should be practicing.

Ofcourse, on a bad day, you'll see someone's jaw dropping playing and think very destructive things like ' I should be able to do that by now', but you just have to learn to go very easy on yourself. Anything really, really good, and long lasting, takes time to craft, and for everyone that amount of time is different, there are too many variables.

Ah, that bad day sort of feeling passes quickly - I usually like to think that indeed, that person has practiced a ton but, if until now I haven't done that sort of stuff he does, it doesn't mean I should feel bad. That's him and I'm me I can learn if I want and feel great for the inspiration, but not beat myself down I think it's a healthy approach!

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

There are many interesting opinions on this threadand I can say that most of us find this situation as a booster to our motivation to practice and become a better musician. We had been talking a lot about things that keeps us motivated. We should add this to the list of motivating things... meeting great guitarists, connecting with musicians. We (the musicians) tend to be solitary people, but we don't have to forget how much inspiration brings connect with other persons.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

I always evolved during my lifespan, in everything I did, whenever I took the time to hang around people who were better than me at a particular something. I think that simply listening to them talk and just sitting face to face with a guitar in your hands can really open up a lot of possibilities. Did you guys ever try this? To me, it's like a sort of therapy

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[Todd Simpson]

Sure!! Some folks I've played with have trouble being around folks that are a bit better than they are. Personally, I've always tried to find folks that were better than me at something and just sort of pick their brain and trade my chops for their chops. It's a great way to learn

Once you have a basic ability to "Improv", you can pick up tons of thing during the middle of a jam session.

I always evolved during my lifespan, in everything I did, whenever I took the time to hang around people who were better than me at a particular something. I think that simply listening to them talk and just sitting face to face with a guitar in your hands can really open up a lot of possibilities. Did you guys ever try this? To me, it's like a sort of therapy

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[Ben Higgins]

Sure!! Some folks I've played with have trouble being around folks that are a bit better than they are. Personally, I've always tried to find folks that were better than me at something and just sort of pick their brain and trade my chops for their chops. It's a great way to learn

Yes it's how we learn most other things in life.. from those who can do things we cannot yet do. So music should be the same.. if we have the opportunity to play with those who are further ahead than we are then we can only benefit from it.

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