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Quitting My Job And Dedicating 8 Hours A Day For Practicing Guitar
rhoads
Nov 15 2010, 07:44 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 204
Joined: 3-December 09
From: Bucuresti, Romania
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 tongue.gif, 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 smile.gif. 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 smile.gif.

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 smile.gif

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jstcrsn
Nov 15 2010, 08:04 PM
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Posts: 3.622
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From: kansas, USA
QUOTE (rhoads @ 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 tongue.gif, 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 smile.gif. 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 smile.gif.

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 smile.gif

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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MonkeyDAthos
Nov 15 2010, 08:49 PM
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QUOTE (jstcrsn @ Nov 15 2010, 07:04 PM) *
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


i agreed with jstcrsn don't rush in, think first wink.gif

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Marek Rojewski
Nov 15 2010, 08:51 PM
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I don't think that aiming at being "very good" in one year is a good idea. There is a limit of information that You can "digest" in a day/week/month. Also I would fear all those "guitar illnesses" that can develop with to much to hard practicing. Sure thing improving "a lot" in one year is possible, don't know if it is enough to be "very good". With good habits and fundamentals, You could start earning some money giving guitar lessons to beginners I suppose...

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This post has been edited by Marek Rojewski: Nov 15 2010, 08:51 PM


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Chris Evans
Nov 15 2010, 08:52 PM
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hmmm, a lot to think about there, as jstcrsn said, dont do anything too hasty, although obviously you have already given this much thought.

One thing you dont want to do is leave yourself vunerable later on.

personally I think the amount you already practice is enough, but I think you need to put some more efforts into joining a band and get gigging etc (if you havnt already) its great experience and I think it accelerated my learning no end when I joined a band.

Playing guitar for a living is certainly not a walk in the park, it may seem very attractive but I think the reality can at times be very different.

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rhoads
Nov 15 2010, 09:17 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 204
Joined: 3-December 09
From: Bucuresti, Romania
QUOTE (Marek Rojewski @ Nov 15 2010, 07:51 PM) *
I don't think that aiming at being "very good" in one year is a good idea. There is a limit of information that You can "digest" in a day/week/month. Also I would fear all those "guitar illnesses" that can develop with to much to hard practicing. Sure thing improving "a lot" in one year is possible, don't know if it is enough to be "very good". With good habits and fundamentals, You could start earning some money giving guitar lessons to beginners I suppose...


Yes I know exactly what you mean and I think I did not express myself well here. I know I cannot become "very good" in one year. I am not Chuck Norris unfortunately smile.gif). What I am trying to do is to get to a decent level where I can really say that.. you know.. I can play guitar.
I can jam along in a semi-pro or pro band.

I have quite a few relations in the music business here and I can get some leads but I know (and feel) that with my current skill level (to use a programmer's expression), it is pointless to resort to their help because.. I cannot really say that "I play guitar" at this point. If you know what I mean.

QUOTE (Chris Evans @ Nov 15 2010, 07:52 PM) *
hmmm, a lot to think about there, as jstcrsn said, dont do anything too hasty, although obviously you have already given this much thought.

One thing you dont want to do is leave yourself vunerable later on.

personally I think the amount you already practice is enough, but I think you need to put some more efforts into joining a band and get gigging etc (if you havnt already) its great experience and I think it accelerated my learning no end when I joined a band.

Playing guitar for a living is certainly not a walk in the park, it may seem very attractive but I think the reality can at times be very different.

And of course, I will join a band. There are actually some guys that are waiting for me. I played with them a year ago (had some small gigs) but things did not work out. My problem was that I was realizing, again, that my my level is too low to sound good and to really play (and write) decent music. Anyway this wasn't the reason why it did not work out, long story here and off topic but the idea is that even when I will join a band I will still need lots of time for individual practicing.

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This post has been edited by rhoads: Nov 15 2010, 09:24 PM


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MickeM
Nov 15 2010, 09:48 PM
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QUOTE (Chris Evans @ Nov 15 2010, 08:52 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 :-)

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rhoads
Nov 15 2010, 10:05 PM
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From: Bucuresti, Romania
QUOTE (MickeM @ Nov 15 2010, 08:48 PM) *
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 :-)


Thank you !

I know what you mean. Honestly, I really don't care so much about shredding. It is cool indeed, but music is an art not a sport and unfortunately, I see that few tend to remember that. Anyway, one of my main objectives is to focus on the special ingredient called feeling which I know I am missing smile.gif

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Mudbone
Nov 15 2010, 10:11 PM
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If you're already practicing up to four hours a day right now and not seeing any progress, I don't think practicing even more hours is the solution. It seems like you're not fully utilizing those four hours and/or are not practicing efficiently.

Do you have a practice log? Do you practice with a metronome and keep track of your progress? Do you plan out your practice for the week? Do you practice with a stop watch?

I used to "practice" up to five hours a day and not make any progress. But it was aimless practice, and I wasted a lot of time in front of the computer. I also was not consistent on a day to day basis with my practice. I think out of those five hours of practice, I probably only netted about 20 minutes of actual progress. Consistency and efficiency is the key to progress. I firmly believe that three hours of efficient practice is superior to eight hours of inefficient and inconsistent practice.

After three hours of efficient practicing you will be tired, as it can be draining. Another thing you have to worry about when you practice long hours is developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome or tendinitis. That will put a real damper on your guitar playing, and you might have to put the guitar down for six months to a year even.

At the end of the day, guitar playing and song writing are two different things. Guitar playing is a motor skill, no different than being an athlete or a gymnast. Your fingers fretting the fingerboard is where the rubber meets the road so to speak, and this is a purely physical task. Of course there is a mental aspect to it, but if you don't master the physical aspect then you can forget about mastering the mental aspect.

So before you give up your job, try practicing efficiently for two hours a day, and I promise within six months you will definitely see tangible results.

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rhoads
Nov 15 2010, 10:38 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 204
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From: Bucuresti, Romania
QUOTE (Mudbone @ Nov 15 2010, 09:11 PM) *
If you're already practicing up to four hours a day right now and not seeing any progress, I don't think practicing even more hours is the solution. It seems like you're not fully utilizing those four hours and/or are not practicing efficiently.

Do you have a practice log? Do you practice with a metronome and keep track of your progress? Do you plan out your practice for the week? Do you practice with a stop watch?

I used to "practice" up to five hours a day and not make any progress. But it was aimless practice, and I wasted a lot of time in front of the computer. I also was not consistent on a day to day basis with my practice. I think out of those five hours of practice, I probably only netted about 20 minutes of actual progress. Consistency and efficiency is the key to progress. I firmly believe that three hours of efficient practice is superior to eight hours of inefficient and inconsistent practice.

After three hours of efficient practicing you will be tired, as it can be draining. Another thing you have to worry about when you practice long hours is developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome or tendinitis. That will put a real damper on your guitar playing, and you might have to put the guitar down for six months to a year even.

At the end of the day, guitar playing and song writing are two different things. Guitar playing is a motor skill, no different than being an athlete or a gymnast. Your fingers fretting the fingerboard is where the rubber meets the road so to speak, and this is a purely physical task. Of course there is a mental aspect to it, but if you don't master the physical aspect then you can forget about mastering the mental aspect.

So before you give up your job, try practicing efficiently for two hours a day, and I promise within six months you will definitely see tangible results.


Thanks for your input.

The truth is that I do not have a practice log but I do practice with a metronome.
Not with a stop watch but I plan my practice, half an hour for scales, half for a REC take, half for some licks and all that theory.

I gave up planning he week because I cannot really respect the plan because of the work.
In the initial post I said that I tried to get to a average of 4 hours a day but.. the truth is that it was probably 3. And it was something like 5 hours today, 1 tomorrow and so on. Not to mention all the times that I am stressed out from work and the the practice session is just a waste of time.

And again, by 8 hours of practice a day I do not mean that I will do technique stuff 8 hours in row. I know I won't last a month.
It will be probably up to 4 hours of planned (efficient) practicing and then focus on song writing, some music theory, studying different guitarists, jam session with the band, tone and recording related stuff and so on. Of and of course some vocals which I am in desperate need smile.gif). I was afraid that if I write all this down in the first post, then nobody will take the time to read it all smile.gif but that is the general idea. To become good enough in a wider area of guitar playing and music in general.

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Ivan Milenkovic
Nov 15 2010, 10:59 PM
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I LOVE the way you think. I have news for you - You ARE crazy, and yes, it's a GREAT idea! biggrin.gif 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! smile.gif





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rhoads
Nov 15 2010, 11:11 PM
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From: Bucuresti, Romania
QUOTE (Ivan Milenkovic @ Nov 15 2010, 09:59 PM) *
I LOVE the way you think. I have news for you - You ARE crazy, and yes, it's a GREAT idea! biggrin.gif 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! smile.gif


Thank you Ivan !

I was waiting your reply and was a bit afraid of it. But this really means a lot. Thanks smile.gif

Ok, now I can go to sleep tongue.gif.

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The Uncreator
Nov 15 2010, 11:12 PM
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Hard to say without knowing how the situation where you live is. If you were in America I would suggest not quitting your job, But if your current situation allows it to no damage to yourself or your family and their living conditions, I suppose it would be safe. It's a bold decision and (of course) don't take it lightly. I would personally suggest keep your job and gig on the sides, a lot of my family does it with their bands and whatnot with some pretty good success.

Being a musician can mean being very rich, or being very poor, or somewhere comfortably in between. But either way, It's tough, but it seems like you got the determination to do it.

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ztevie
Nov 15 2010, 11:54 PM
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Isn't there a possibility to take some time off from work and come back later?
Like here in Sweden, you have the possibility to be free from work up to one year(without pay of course) while the company hire a substitute, and then come back to work as normal... This is of course if you have a steady job now.
Many people use this opportunity to travel or try other jobs.

Anyway, you can look at guys like Yngwie who basically gave up school and everything to pursue his dream. Well, imagine how many others that did the same thing but we never heard of, because they never got famous... Maybe there are a thousand "nobodys" for one Yngwie?

But you seem to have a healthy approach to it all, when planning to save money and all that, so I'd also say you should do it. If you don't, you'll probably regret that later in life. Just remember, see this as time spent to get BETTER, not finished... You'll need a lot more time for that, even if you practice 20 hours a day.
Also practicing too hard might endanger your health, such as pain in hands and arms that can become a permanent condition...

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del-4fr53e3
Nov 16 2010, 01:26 AM
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Might be nice to start the project with a band to focus on. More motivation to write songs and get out to play live smile.gif Hopefully youre bandmates will be as serious as you.
A lot of people save up money and go travel, playing guitar is a good substitute smile.gif If you have a wife and family, its good to watch your steps though of course tongue.gif

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Todd Simpson
Nov 16 2010, 02:13 AM
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QUOTE (Marek Rojewski @ Nov 15 2010, 03:51 PM) *
I don't think that aiming at being "very good" in one year is a good idea. There is a limit of information that You can "digest" in a day/wee...


Marek has some GREAT points here. It is very admirable of you to want to focus so intently on your craft. However, as Marek points out, playing 8 hours a day can lead to problems like Repetitive Stress Injury (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome), loss of health insurance and income (from not working), and isolation from family/friends (depending on which 8 hours of the day you play).

Not to mention his other great point that you can only absorb so much at a time. Becoming a "good" player takes YEARS of steady work. In my experience, it's persistence that makes a good even great player, not binge practicing. So consider if it would be possible to play at least 2 or 3 hours a day and still keep working, keep paying your health insurance (if you don't have any get a minimal plan to cover costs if you get hit by a truck), keep moving forward in terms of career/income level, etc. For example, wake up early every day and put in an hour before work. Then after you come home and get a bite to eat, put in another hour or even two. Then on the weekends, put in up to 8 per day but space it out over the day. Not all at once. Your brain needs to process all this as you go. In short, it's the old "Slow and Steady Wins the Race" approach. If you adopted a practice schedule like this, I think you'd see HUGE progress in a year and not have to quite your job to do it.

We have 10 percent unemployment here in the states, so giving up a Job now seems iffy at best. If you have a job of any kind, your in a lot better shape than a lot of folks. I hear horror stories of people who've been out of work for almost a year.

In the end it is your call. But as the guys are saying, consider all the angles first.

Todd

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Gus
Nov 16 2010, 02:29 AM
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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.

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This post has been edited by Gus: Nov 16 2010, 02:31 AM


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Gary
Nov 16 2010, 07:26 AM
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QUOTE (Mudbone @ Nov 15 2010, 10:11 PM) *
If you're already practicing up to four hours a day right now and not seeing any progress, I don't think practicing even more hours is the solution. It seems like you're not fully utilizing those four hours and/or are not practicing efficiently.

Do you have a practice log? Do you practice with a metronome and keep track of your progress? Do you plan out your practice for the week? Do you practice with a stop watch?

I used to "practice" up to five hours a day and not make any progress. But it was aimless practice, and I wasted a lot of time in front of the computer. I also was not consistent on a day to day basis with my practice. I think out of those five hours of practice, I probably only netted about 20 minutes of actual progress. Consistency and efficiency is the key to progress. I firmly believe that three hours of efficient practice is superior to eight hours of inefficient and inconsistent practice.

After three hours of efficient practicing you will be tired, as it can be draining. Another thing you have to worry about when you practice long hours is developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome or tendinitis. That will put a real damper on your guitar playing, and you might have to put the guitar down for six months to a year even.

At the end of the day, guitar playing and song writing are two different things. Guitar playing is a motor skill, no different than being an athlete or a gymnast. Your fingers fretting the fingerboard is where the rubber meets the road so to speak, and this is a purely physical task. Of course there is a mental aspect to it, but if you don't master the physical aspect then you can forget about mastering the mental aspect.

So before you give up your job, try practicing efficiently for two hours a day, and I promise within six months you will definitely see tangible results.



+1 on this advice. Its a bit tough because you never want to disuade someone from following their dreams but you are at an age that is also critical for developing your career. I have found the better programmers most often have music in their background - practice efficiently and do both if you can. You may also want to consider cutting back your work hours as opposed to just bailing out. Good luck whatever you choose.

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maharzan
Nov 16 2010, 09:48 AM
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I love your spirit man. Go for it. At last the only thing that makes any difference you can make with the crowd out there is doing just what you love to best. If you try to balance and make everyone happy you will just end up like an average joe whom nobody remembers. I have learnt that lesson from my life and while I worked my ass off after college 24/7 as a designer, now I work less hours to do things I love to do and you probably have seen my progress too within the last year or so. I mean I have improved my technics quite a bit which I thought I could never achieve in my life but one year is definitely very very short time to learn all the theory and become 'very good' at it but I am sure if you have already done it for 3 years, things might come easy and the more you practice the more you will understand.

Do remember that 'frustration' and 'demotivation' kind of comes every now and then and you just have to get past the fears of these things. You will become good. I am sure starting your work at 27 isn't too late. I just restarted at 30 after 6 years of intense work. smile.gif

Also note that you will have to constantly practice and work on your guitar skills. THIS IS A MUST. If you think you cannot dedicate much time and you have more excuses for this period, don't go for it. You will have to forget everything and just do guitars for a year. smile.gif

And the other alternative is to join a guitar university or something for 2 years. I am sure you will learn all the theory in there plus you will get to know more professional people. smile.gif

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Fran
Nov 16 2010, 12:29 PM
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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.

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