Guitar Gear Forum

I’m not a writer or composer. I don’t study or seek very much education. I do love the spiritual connection and zen like mindset playing has. I have no desire to make a collection of recordings. For me the creation at that moment is the fun and especially jamming with others as the sonic soup is the real moment magic really happens. Thats it for me. A sonic tinkerer if you will. It certainly has been an unusual approach and certainly limited my ability to fit into the traditional role of the instrument but it’s why I still do this. For me its like painting in air. It has nothing to do with blues or classical. Jazz maybe but im not a jazz musician either so… lol. So why are we here and for how long..

I don't have a real answer for this, it's just what I do. I'm a lifer. Stopping never even crossed my mind. I'll stop when it becomes physically impossible to play, at which point I might as well be dead.

I do it as my own brand of therapy. I need both the creative and physical release of playing. It's pretty much how I process things and converse with myself.

Once my hands quit altogether, I'll probably start drinking and smoking again to hasten the end.

GuitarBilly wrote:I don't have a real answer for this, it's just what I do. I'm a lifer. Stopping never even crossed my mind. I'll stop when it becomes physically impossible to play, at which point I might as well be dead.

This. Especially the last part. I may put it down for a bit but stopping isn’t even a thought in my mind.

One thing that gets harder with age is finding people to play with, especially since I'm not interested in jazz or blues or even doing any kind of covers or tributes.
Thankfully I have my wife who is like me as far that goes and together we're pretty much our whole band. We just need to hire someone to play the drums live. In the studio she can play the drums just fine. Or we can even do the electronic music we were doing before. So that makes things easier. It's great for me to have a partner who shares the same passion for music.

I just enjoy it. Do I need another reason?

Some people watch movies. Some people waste their time on TikTok. Some people work on cars. I like to play brutal chugs and make the walls shake.

GuitarBilly wrote:One thing that gets harder with age is finding people to play with, especially since I'm not interested in jazz or blues or even doing any kind of covers or tributes.
Thankfully I have my wife who is like me as far that goes and together we're pretty much our whole band. We just need to hire someone to play the drums live. In the studio she can play the drums just fine. Or we can even do the electronic music we were doing before. So that makes things easier. It's great for me to have a partner who shares the same passion for music.

This is cool and I bet makes for a good partnership

I've never bothered articulating why. But now that I think of it, off the top of my head, there is definitely some therapy when fretting notes and picking away. I love it especially when I break new personal grounds - understanding and applying new theory, hearing new things in old things, etc. I like how harmony, theory, emotions, and dexterity come together. I like how I can make it as cerebral or brainless as I choose. Being a novice, there's always something new to discover.

Then there's the GAS portion of it. Constantly perusing the classifieds and searching for deals is fun too. Kinda like a hunt in which patience pays off when I snag a deal.

I still do it because I have nothing else and it has been the one constant in my life.

I guess I never thought about it. I always liked music and fell in love with the guitar. Once I got to the point where I was pretty good I liked getting the feedback from playing live. Now that I'm old and fat and don't play out anymore I find (even though I don't have the same drive as I once did) playing and recording is therapeutic. I get a sense of satisfaction once a song is written, arranged, demoed, recorded and mixed. And I guess I still have the desire to be heard (whether or not it's for validation I don't know) even though I only sell a fraction of the CDs I once did. There's not exactly a demand for my services.

I'm hoping to start playing out again one day. I think I'll just want to join someone else's project and not have the headaches of trying to talk people into going to my shows.

Well like most of the others, I just do. I compelled to play everyday. Literally like the Exorcist and the Priest trying to use Christ to compel that Demon out!!! I’m just compelled to play and sometimes I really don’t know why. It comes from deep within. But I have some reasons i believe tick some boxes. For the psychedelic part of me, I can “see” the music. I can see what the noises create. Literally anything I use for a song creates some sort of visual with it. That’s how “I know” it’s sumthin I’ll use.
Other times, it’s really the release of just playing that has some sort of therapy effect for sure. Sometimes in my WORST time frames where my brain gets “stuck” and I suffer from actual OCD, of obsessive thoughts, sometimes it can last months and months, and for that hour, it would offer me 1 hour of relief. Then it would come right back when I was done, lol. But sometimes that one hour was the difference between life and death. And that’s being literal. Sometimes the strain and suffering was THAT much that without that relief….? Who knows….

I love the creative aspect. I wish I could write a million songs. Cause I seriously have a million ideas saved in my phone. Cause I just play/jam when I pick up the guitar. That’s what gives me all of this. I never “practice”. I just play. 99% of the time. Every day, new ideas and new sounds. Not all are worthy of writing songs that last forever! Most aren’t of course, but if I really had the time and energy and effort to DO both as much as possible, I would love to jam all day and then write the rest of the day. But I usually side on just jamming. I guess it feels a bit lazier but I can’t just sit and WRITE a song. It just happens. Maybe sometimes I can sit and go thru riffs and maybe start writing. But yeah, writing is spontaneous more than not.

And then playing live. From the first time I was on stage at 15 til now, I look and get crazy the same. I remember within the first 10 seconds of hitting the first chords of my first live show and I literally felt the adrenaline surge inside til it filled to the max and I just went off. I still get that… Which is why I did a cover band thing when I never thought I would. I had ZERO interest in doing this before now. But one, the band I’m doing is that ingrained and important for me that it wasn’t that hard. And 2 we’ve been getting on stages I likely never would have. Traveling to different states and even making solid money.. So it’s actually somewhat of a financial thing now.

Add it all together and as long as one of those is still doing the “job”, I’ll keep playing. If I sit and watch TV? I’ll say, pick up a guitar instead. Scrolling like a woman on my phone endlessly, grab the guitar or go Thru these myriad of ideas I haven’t relistened to.. etc etc… That’s the “compelling” that just happens. No reason or desire to fight it

EndTime wrote:
I love the creative aspect. I wish I could write a million songs. Cause I seriously have a million ideas saved in my phone. Cause I just play/jam when I pick up the guitar. That’s what gives me all of this. I never “practice”. I just play. 99% of the time. Every day, new ideas and new sounds. Not all are worthy of writing songs that last forever! Most aren’t of course, but if I really had the time and energy and effort to DO both as much as possible, I would love to jam all day and then write the rest of the day. But I usually side on just jamming. I guess it feels a bit lazier but I can’t just sit and WRITE a song. It just happens. Maybe sometimes I can sit and go thru riffs and maybe start writing. But yeah, writing is spontaneous more than not.

this pretty much sums up how it is for me as well. i rarely ever play the same guitar/boost/amp/speaker for more than a day, i like just picking whatever random combo and seeing what comes out, the noodling dialing in new tones is where most all my riffs come from. i cant just cant sit down and say ok time to write either

I have a lot of self doubt, but I’m a dopamine fiend.

So, i work hard to put stuff out to get compliments.

That said, in the end, i record for me. I listen to my music more than anyone else. It’s the only way for me to feasibly “say” certain things out loud. It’s therapeutic. Big time.

I like playing rock covers. I don't like writing original songs, because they tend to become cliche or weird. Squeezing out something original AND cool isn't my forte (but listening to new music, that seems to be a problem others have as well)
I've been in several original bands, and wrote a few riffs and a lot of lyrics.

I just like to play. Make noise. Maybe manage to play something I couldn't do until i practiced. Sing, sing harmonies etc.

I guess I'm more of a performer than a creator.

I do it to get laid.














jk

For an excuse to buy new gear?

A good way to kill time without feeling like I'm just sitting there like a lump?

Music for me is always present, but I'm not always actively in it. There is something about playing with a group though. As rare as it is for me anymore, when it happens and it's really cooking, it's almost like reaching some higher plain of existence for a brief moment or something. Nothing else quite like it. I suppose that's why I'll always have "a" guitar around. Just in case I get a shot at finding that feeling again.

for the nookie

Devin wrote:for the nookie

Maaannnn, dis cookie taste like azzz

I reward myself with a piece of cheese after a few boomer bends.

Getting on stage is addicting... even if it it only pays for drinks and gas money!

I havent been doing "it" for a few months now and I gotta say I think its bringing me down and just affecting my creative thinking overall. Work, and other life bs been sucking up all my time lately and just feel drained/tired etc when I do have time. It really feels like not playing = no joy in life... So keep at it, I'm gonna try to make more time in the new year to get back into it.

Delete - Double post...

I like playing music live because I've always been a performer and a team player. I enjoy the social aspect of it. I enjoy the challenge of developing and putting on a show. I enjoy seeing other players develop.

The music is almost secondary. I enjoy it, but if all I did was play music I'd get bored and go do something else instead.

Idk but even when I take breaks from it, I always come back. It's like crack.

Money, drugs, sex, inflating my ego.



In seriousness, its fun to be part of a moment in time, and through playing music, especially with other real humans, is one of the best ways I'm aware of. Plus the thrill of being on stage, vulnerable.

Playing live with others, even cover band stuff; is a ton of fun. Making up riffs here and there is in my blood. Regardless of their quality level or if I do anything with them beyond just working them up a bit and documenting them. I have no other hobbies so this is it