What do you wish you would’ve done differently?

[metropolis_4]

Are there things you wish you would have focused on more? Focused on less?

If you could go back to the day you first picked up the instrument what advice would you give yourself?

 

[the-trooper]

Jeez, there's not enough petabytes of storage on the internet for all my regrets. Thanks for the Sunday afternoon existential crisis.

 

[James Freeman]

Write more music.
I almost forgot how satisfying and rewarding it is, especially as a teenager.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Wow, great topic!

Taken lessons from the same level of player as my clarinet teacher, for starters.

 

[Jarick]

Enjoy the journey and don't let your ego get in the way. Many folks I played with along the years going back to being 12 years old in my first punk band passed away. And I burned some bridges by being too stubborn.

 

[duzie]

I started out at 12-13 taking classical guitar lessons which was the only local available option.
Like the proverbial Twisted Sister song…
I wanna rock was where I was at then.
I also must have been like SRV lol.
My father was watching me play and says to me, why are you making those stupid faces when you play…
At that point I put the guitar down for many years

 

[scole]

I should have actually practiced.

 

[fretworn]

More fingerpicking… but …

Didn’t work out like I thought; but grateful for the journey.

Jeez, there's not enough petabytes of storage on the internet for all my regrets. Thanks for the Sunday afternoon existential crisis.

The human condition… however I’ve been blessed to where it’s all gonna work out just fine. I’m not that unique, so there is still time/hope for all.

 

[Stone]

Learn more theory, but the actual thing is regretting that i did not start to play and learn guitar when i was young

 

[la szum]

Chill out. Have more fun. Don't put so much pressure on yourself.

 

[Warmart]

Learn more theory, but the actual thing is regretting that i did not start to play and learn guitar when i was young

Ditto. Tried several times but never got determined until 4.5 years ago.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I wish my left and right hands were in better sync with one another. There's always been a disconnect between the two. I am hyperaware to infinty on the discrepancies between the two. Legato as f left hand, tremolo pick grindcore riffs on the right after warmed up for hours but try to match the two to a level that my over aware ass is happy with? Nah. Just buy another high gain amp. That'll fix it

 

[JiveTurkey]

Chill out. Have more fun. Don't put so much pressure on yourself.

I blame the 80s

 

[la szum]

I blame the 80s

Yup. The birth of shred was brutal for so many reasons. Pretty sure it also conspired to shrink my penis, too.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Yup. The birth of shred was brutal for so many reasons.

As a listener; I LOVED it As a player who couldn't do it back when the practicing time and regimen was much more of a possibility; not so much

 

[la szum]

I can tolerate about 9.8 seconds of the incessant noodles at this point in my life.

I did DIY/self-release an album of instrumental guitar music in 1991. It had all the Modes.

 

[DrewJD82]

Spent half as much time with the metronome and dedicated that time to theory instead.

 

[woody]

Are there things you wish you would have focused on more? Focused on less?

If you could go back to the day you first picked up the instrument what advice would you give yourself?

I did not have any support for my guitar playing, writing or any creative endeavors.
Going back and giving me permission to write and express myself would have been a game changer.

I try to pass this forward. All there is to do.

 

[metropolis_4]

Spent half as much time with the metronome and dedicated that time to theory instead.

This is my biggest one.

As a kid I spent so much time focusing on speed. I hit a point where I could play fast, but I had nothing to say. I was really good at repeating what others had played, but I didn’t have anything of my own to play.

I thought I need to prepare for playing in prog bands, and then ironically my first band was a jam band that was all original improv and it completely kicked my ass!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Yup. The birth of shred was brutal for so many reasons. Pretty sure it also conspired to shrink my penis, too.

As a listener; I LOVED it As a player who couldn't do it back when the practicing time and regimen was much more of a possibility; not so much

I dunno. It really fueled my passion to get better. In '92 I started playing guitar right when Vai and Satch were huge. SRV had died a little over a year before, and guys like Nuno, Shawn Lane, Saraceno, etc. were cranking it out. I was inspired by all of them. One thing I feel good about is I never tried to sound just like them, I always searched for my own voice on guitar.
Maybe my biggest regret is not pursuing hard enough a lasting career in music -- and possibly smoking too much weed when I started seriously playing live.