I think that the majority of us that visit this site are fairly serious about guitar playing.

So, for all that practicing that you put in, what are you hoping to get out of it? Do you want to sit around the campfire and sing-along songs? Thrill thousands with your shredding? Or are you just content to sit in you room and play for yourself?

Me: Right now, I play with a large church band. There are 3 guitar players, 1 drummer, 1 percussion, 1 piano, 1 keyboard, 1 organ, 1 bass and sometimes a mixture of brass and strings plus a choir of 25+ people. I like it, but I think I'd be happier in a 3 or 4 piece group. I just don't have the desire yet to try to find those other 2 or 3 people to make that happen.

I'd also like to get proficient at piano, bass and banjo. But I find that I'm too busy to trying to get better at the guitar to dedicate the time to those instruments.

Now you go!

I used to want to try to get in a band but I think the older I get......I'm almost 40.....that I think I will forever just be a wannabe bedroom shredder. I'm perfectly OK with that too....... It's a great stress reliever and at least I am doing something productive with my free time........\m/\m/

Hmm.. This is a hard one.. I think very few have actually thought about this..
To be honest I am not sure either..
I guess I just love playing music. When I am playing everything else disappears. I think it can be compared to taking drugs. Everything else is unimportant when I am playing. Time, place and thoughts melt together into void.
We are living in a world of drama so thick it is unbelivable.
Music is to me like meditation. It is a way of taking a break from "our" plane of reality.
I think that is the main reason why I play music.

My first goal is to become a skilled cover player. This means that my playing will have improved enough to be covering songs similar in style to what I eventually want to be playing in a band. Bluesy metal stuff like Metallica, Pantera, and Hellyeah.

Aside from that, I currently jam with my room mate and we play stuff that we think is fun. We haven't written anything yet, but that is in the works too. Unfortunately it's my playing that's holding us back! Until a few weeks ago my guitar had been sitting and waiting patiently in it's case for almost two years.

Skill wise I'd like to improve my AP, bending and vibrato. I would like to start learning and become proficient at legato and solo oriented guitar. Sweeping may be in my future someday, but for the music I play now and the music I want to be playing, I don't really need it.

However, John Petrucci is by far my favourite guitarist and I would also like to learn to play some of his music. This may mean sweeps!

Time to play catch up!

Hey guys,

This is a very important topic imo. As I have said in other threads, for me it's very important to live the day, today is the most important moment, so if playing guitar today makes you happy that should be enough. Although I also believe that knowing where you're going is very important too. Having said that and being happy every day every time I play, no matter in what context, my goals are:

• Recording a solo album by December 2010, I already have 10 songs recorded at home. I want to have 15 , and choose 10 or 12 and record them in a professional studio with vocals
  
• Being able to improvise in any key in any mode, just like if it were a recorded solo.
  
• Shredding wise, my main goal at this moment is to play 16th triplets AP @120bpm, and of course the equivalent in all the other techniques(legatto, sweeping, tapping, hybrid picking). I was thinking this weekend to make a blog until I get there.

I guess that's it for now. Enjoy your playing.

Wise words Coffeeman. I spent the last year or so really trying to improve my fingerboard knowledge. It paid off but I can also say it burned me out and made me not so excited about guitar. Starting this month I am going to incorporate working on and actual song EVERY DAY!!! That will keep it fun and keep me motivated to keep improving my skills. This month I am working on Jack Thammarats "On the way". One thing I am doing to keep it fun is I am changing some of the faster runs to suit my style. It helps me be creative and utilizes my fingerboard knowledge so I am killing two birds with one stone. Live in the moment is definitely a must.....but don't lose sight of your bigger goals as well....

\m/\m/

I play rhythm guitar in a band, covering the Beatles, Stones etc... so it's not a big challenge. Personally, I like metal stuff (Blind Guardian, Arch Enemy, Hammerfall, Kamelot etc...) and want to be able to play along to their songs. That is my goal for this year.
I also want to record an album by myself at home, which will be a mixture of punk, indie and some easy metal stuff. I just have to learn to sing...

I Just Play because i Love to play,
No pressure to learn things just play whatever comes through my mind,
I play in A cover band, just for fun too,
I get better, but just because I play a lot,

To me its just relaxing.
Sitting with a beer and play,

Just playing because I really enjoy it. As it's already been said it's very relaxing and a stress killer. But I hope someday I will join or form a 3 - 4 people band and enjoy it as well.

Oh and obviously, I play guitar to pick up girls as well...

My goals are simple, being able to play all the songs I love some day, and maybe playing along with other people too

Cool topic. I play because of beeing on stage in a band really beats everything and makes me express my feelings, and hence both letting some things out and trying to make people feel happy. Music is a way for me to express myself, and I dont do it for the sake of beeing known or to gain any money, since I passed that period a long time ago.



This was the main reason from the beginning for me too, and still is, but nowadays I get only some drunk, fat, bestialic charicathyres of women without teeths, so I guess I have to do some serious plastic chirurgy or maybe write some Kenny Rogers stuff???

//Staffay

Man, you are a dream killer !

I about fell out of my chair......this is in the running for quote of the year so far.........


I thought Swedish chicks were supposed to be HOT!!!! You are a dreamkiller Staffy.......

For me...I am just in it for the fun and personal enjoyment. It is my hobby...nothing more. I have no aspirations (or abilities!) to get on stage in front of people.

They are, but the really hot ones was exported to the states or is married to some italians, the left-overs won't do unless your deeply intoxicated or half-blind. (or a combination of both)

//Staffay

I want to be the worlds greatest guitarist.....

Not aiming to high

lol I guess we'll have to move to the states, and that coulb be the next goal, a juicy contract back there!

This is a great question with some great replies. First and foremost, I would think the ultimate goal would be to become a well rounded and overall great player. After that, it may depend a great deal based on the individual. Some folks might want to play in bands, other may just want to record, some may just want to see what the limit of their ability is. It really depends on the player. It's something to keep in mind though as you practice since having a goal is a great way to stay motivated.

Practice!
Todd

I want to be able to pick up a guitar and play it. Without anxiety. Without embarrassment. Without apprehension. I'd like to pick up a guitar and not be self conscious of my playing. This goes for my home studio, my brother's house, my sisters studio, a guitar store or jammin online.

I think I'm closer to that goal than I was a year ago. I don't have any other goals. Those that know me, however, realize that I have a pathological inability to be satisfied with anything that I play on a guitar...even if one note sounds wailin' I'll find a way to realize it's flat.

Maybe my goal, in all of this, should be not being so self critical. *shrug*

I play in a church band, but I want to be at the forefront of bringing a new genre in: gothic and symphonic worship. I have never understood why churches are content with pop style music when there are other genres much richer and more spiritual. To that end, I am writing original music and my goal is probably less on being the best guitar player I can be, and more on being the best composer/arranger I can be. Once upon a time I wanted to be a great shredder and then I realised, it really doesn't matter. You can be the fastest player in the world but not have one ounce of expressiveness or musicality in your playing. What matters is communicating the emotion.

I am practicing so I could do some nice covers and create my own compositions, bring out an album and if luck / time permits do some shows with my dead band. My main goal is however to compose nice melodic instrumentals with some shredding as well. It just finds peace on my mind or heart. Music has always been with me and I don't think I can live without it.

I don't want to be campfire guitarist, really not that type. I just play for my own sake and am strumming random things. I hardly know much covers popular songs to play around in campfires or picnics so I refrain from doing that.

Hopefully, I can get there someday.. expecting in 1 year but this 1 year seems never to finish.

Before I started GMC, I was working on recording some of my original tunes. While there were some good ideas in there, I realized that my technique was too limited to get anything really pro sounding. So for the last couple of years, I've just been working on technique and picking up some musical ideas on the way. I'd like to get back to recording that album someday and finish it. I'm going to frame the first dollar I ever make from playing guitar though, and then spend the second one. After that, I'll be broke again, so I'll have to go back to my old job. I think, I just play cause I like to play.

It depends on what you want to reach as a musician