Holden Afart
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I was drinking last night when Mike PM'd me so I didn't even want to look. I checked my folder today and DAAAAAMN , the before pic is gruesome! Glad I waited.
Why do you play? Nice article for readers .
- Thread starter KingsXJJ
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I don't enjoy seeing other people's pain. I've seen enough already! And I surely don't need to watch vids or see pics of shop accidents. Last thing I want to think about when I'm using a router is @Mikael Dez 's injury.
I want a clear head and no bad thoughts. 
KingsXJJ
Rock Star
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I’ll spare you my wicked 8 surgery ankle pics. Jesus.I don't enjoy seeing other people's pain. I've seen enough already! And I surely don't need to watch vids or see pics of shop accidents. Last thing I want to think about when I'm using a router is @Mikael Dez 's injury.
Jazz Padd
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- 150
Asides aside, this is an interesting thread and I'm hoping others will share their reasons for playing music. The article on finding hobbies was also interesting. Austin sounds like a fun place to reside!
My reasons for playing music have varied over the fifty years since I first got hooked on guitar. At first it was, like many of my peers, to play the rock songs of the day, e.g. "Smoke on the Water." My brother had the same reason for learning drums, and we played in several garage bands together. At that point, the motivation for playing was having fun with friends and feeling the thrill of the moment.
But then I got tired of the same old rock songs, and branched out into other genres. I also took an interest in working as a musician, so had a go at that for most of my 20s, playing in a wedding band and a big band. For the latter, I got a scholarship to study jazz guitar at a regional college, and went on tour with their big band. I also had some occasional pop/rock sideman gigs, did some recording in a home studio for independent media projects and taught guitar in a music studio and privately.
But by then the motivation had shifted from having fun to finding work. By age 30, I was burned out from the constant hustling for gigs, and became generally disillusioned with the life of an entertainer.
So, at that point, I quit guitar and sold all my gear to study and travel. I took a particular interest in world music, and studied several instruments, including the Turkish oud and the Gambian kora. It was something about fingers and strings making music that really tweaked my heart strings to play.
By age 40, I had moved abroad and started working full time in a non-music field, and ended up settling in Japan. In my 50s, the guitar beckoned me back, and I rekindled an interest in jazz, and found there was quite a vibrant amateur jazz scene and general interest in jazz in Japan. Motivation at that point had some of the joy that got me interested in guitar early on, and which carried over into world music instruments. I also met a sax player who invited me to sit in on some of his gigs, just enough to remind me why I quit gigging decades ago. I politely declined his offer to go on tour.
Now in my 60s, my motivation to play has become to participate in social activities related to music. Within a reasonable driving distance to where I live, there are several venues that hold open jazz jam sessions, and in any given month I can participate in several, sometimes twice a week. It's a social activity that's between gigging and shedding. It has the fun of playing for as well as with others but minus the hassles of hustling up gigs and all the trappings of being an entertainer. It also provides a meaning to the shedding, most of which these days is learning tunes that are called at jam sessions. I rarely practice exercises, scales, etc. I found most of what one needs to learn jazz is in the tunes.
So the phases of the journey and attending motivations went from fun, to work, to disillusionment, to another kind of fun, and then becoming part of a social scene centered around playing live jazz.
I still do an occasional gig. In October, I'll be joining some jazz peers to play a set at a regional street jazz festival, and I also do an occasional solo guitar gig. In my limited experience, there is something to be said for gigging, on occasion. I've come to see it as a kind of test. It's not like a school exam, with grades, nor is it a test for a certificate or a job. Rather, occasional gigging is something akin to a self test, a bit like a reality check, to see how one's skills are developing in real world situations.
My reasons for playing music have varied over the fifty years since I first got hooked on guitar. At first it was, like many of my peers, to play the rock songs of the day, e.g. "Smoke on the Water." My brother had the same reason for learning drums, and we played in several garage bands together. At that point, the motivation for playing was having fun with friends and feeling the thrill of the moment.
But then I got tired of the same old rock songs, and branched out into other genres. I also took an interest in working as a musician, so had a go at that for most of my 20s, playing in a wedding band and a big band. For the latter, I got a scholarship to study jazz guitar at a regional college, and went on tour with their big band. I also had some occasional pop/rock sideman gigs, did some recording in a home studio for independent media projects and taught guitar in a music studio and privately.
But by then the motivation had shifted from having fun to finding work. By age 30, I was burned out from the constant hustling for gigs, and became generally disillusioned with the life of an entertainer.
So, at that point, I quit guitar and sold all my gear to study and travel. I took a particular interest in world music, and studied several instruments, including the Turkish oud and the Gambian kora. It was something about fingers and strings making music that really tweaked my heart strings to play.
By age 40, I had moved abroad and started working full time in a non-music field, and ended up settling in Japan. In my 50s, the guitar beckoned me back, and I rekindled an interest in jazz, and found there was quite a vibrant amateur jazz scene and general interest in jazz in Japan. Motivation at that point had some of the joy that got me interested in guitar early on, and which carried over into world music instruments. I also met a sax player who invited me to sit in on some of his gigs, just enough to remind me why I quit gigging decades ago. I politely declined his offer to go on tour.
Now in my 60s, my motivation to play has become to participate in social activities related to music. Within a reasonable driving distance to where I live, there are several venues that hold open jazz jam sessions, and in any given month I can participate in several, sometimes twice a week. It's a social activity that's between gigging and shedding. It has the fun of playing for as well as with others but minus the hassles of hustling up gigs and all the trappings of being an entertainer. It also provides a meaning to the shedding, most of which these days is learning tunes that are called at jam sessions. I rarely practice exercises, scales, etc. I found most of what one needs to learn jazz is in the tunes.
So the phases of the journey and attending motivations went from fun, to work, to disillusionment, to another kind of fun, and then becoming part of a social scene centered around playing live jazz.
I still do an occasional gig. In October, I'll be joining some jazz peers to play a set at a regional street jazz festival, and I also do an occasional solo guitar gig. In my limited experience, there is something to be said for gigging, on occasion. I've come to see it as a kind of test. It's not like a school exam, with grades, nor is it a test for a certificate or a job. Rather, occasional gigging is something akin to a self test, a bit like a reality check, to see how one's skills are developing in real world situations.
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