How old is too old?

[mrcrowley]

Just out of curiousity, I'd like to get an idea of how old some of you people are. I'm 22, and I feel like that there's zillions of teenagers on this site that are light years better than I am. Granted, I don't practice all that much, but it's still quite depressing.

[Lordathestrings]

I turn 50 this October. I gotta admit, some of the stuff I hear makes me very glad I don't depend on my playing to pay my bills. Then again, I'm very glad I can play. I figure I've got another 20 years or so. :D

[educatedfilm]

JESUS!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN YOUR 30's at most lordoftherings (granted I've not actaully seen a photo of you)... I'm sure you got more than 20 years left in ya...
Well I'm 18, I started about 1 and a half years ago, but only actaully been playing for a year... um.. I know what your saying about little teenagers.. it's awful to hear some little kid has just figured out how play that solo from [fill in the blanks] song by steve via... it does get you down sometimes, and then you hear them in thier little bands..:D

The great thing is though, that your learning curve is far far far steeper than that of a 13 or 14 year old... I mean I over took alot of younger players who had been playing for years, not because I'm amazing or anything, it's just your learning curve differes at different ages... plus I think learing to play when your older gives a more mature side to your music (your not just another 12 year old wanna be constantly practicing scales or playing that Steve Via song over and over), the disadvatage is you (normally) wont have as much free time cos you've got commitments...

I'm pretty much self taught.. I lack any decipline what so ever, I just improvise alot... and I only do anything complicated or whatever when I'm struck with an idea... still I'm fairly happy with the way I'm I'm going, I'm learing some music theory, and starting to REALLY listen to music and try to play along (cos I had a problem with certain rythems like blues.. the books I've got explain blues rythem very very badly, and jazz in general isn't explained too well either)...

What does make me smile is listening to a 13/14 year old singin' something they wrote... 9 out 10 are rip offs, or just plain crap... then at 16 something magical happens to them, they become adventurous (so not every band at sounds like blink 182/ sum 41 etc having said that tough there is a band called thundermonkey in the year below us, when i used to go to school, that are just plain ripp off cack, so really the music is really is as individual as the person)... and it goes up from there..

sorry about the length of this thread...

[James]

I'm 18 and I've been playing for about 2-3 years.

I totally know what you're talking about, it hits you right in the heart when someone younger then you blows you away in technique. Not that I've experienced it personally, but I have heard early teenagers (13,14,15 etc.) with some nasty chops on guitarwar.

educated I think you hit it dead on when you said that learning curves grow at this age, and the added maturity gives you a huge advantage. By dedication and smart practicing, in about a year i overtook guys who had been playing for years. Some got pissed off when they learned I had only been playing for a year ;).

But not matter how good you are, there's always someone who started earlier and plays more. I've learned to try and develop myself musically as effectively as I can given the amount of time I can commit. I recognize that I simply can't play as much as Steve Vai did.

But this is music, just set goals for yourself and find your own niche, that's my philosophy.

[Incidents Happen]

i play alot, but im just getting into the whole improvising thing. i can go pretty fast, i guess, but i prefer to go slower, more emotion then.

people ask me why i play so much. answer is simple. i dont want to have to be one of them damn "yes sir" type people, so im trying my ass off to get to the point where i dont have to do that.

[Raskolnikov]

I'm twenty one and I've been playing bass for about eight years and guitar for a year less.

But I'm a much better bassist... my guitar skills are pretty limited.

[themr_man]

well i'm 28 and last year me and the wife played a place, and the people there could not of been over 16 years old, i felt so so old and over powered in the amp department! (does anyone else know drummers that are way to loud?) but we got away with it, but scary! maybe i can feel a mid life crisis coming on, a tantrum maybe? i dunno.

[frettycrouger]

i am 15.....been playing for about a year...i am certainly not one of those amazing young kids....i love guitar so much though and i would certainly play it all day if i could....
i am pretty busy though...so i dont have a lot of time...but i still get in about an hour a day..and 3-4 hours a day on the weekends..and somedays just so long i cant even keep the time...
i take lessons....
to whoever said that young kids are rip offs....i understand what your saying to an extent...but crap like Blink 182 and SUm 41 is hardly what i play at all..that music is a joke...
a lot of people think the music i listen too (old staind, Dredg, Alice in Chains,) and stuff like that is a joke though...but i am in a start up band with a drummer and a bass player...we mainly just practice together for fun...there is something about just jamming with someone else that makes guitar a lot more funner...but we practice for fun..and dont rip off anything like that teeny bopper mainstream crap...just pure new metal...good well written music...and solo's and things like that...
one thing though...to all you amazing guitar players who are really good...if you can talk to me online through instant messanger someday..that would be great....cause i got a lot of questions on how to solo better and stuff..and everyone around here just asks for money for advice...so i wold really like to get advice from some of you guys...cause its intudivly obvious that probalby 96% of this board are better guitar players then me...
have a nice day

[frettycrouger]

oh yeah...if you want to instant messge me to help me with advice...
my email is
machinehead_40@msn.com

and my screen name is frettycrouger..i have AIM and MSN instant messangers....and AOL...

[Benoit]

I'm 24 and been playing for ten years now.

When I was 16-17 I would impress a lot of people with my playing cause nobody really knew how to play. So I learn a couple of solos by Metallica and I was GOD. It never got to my head because I have an uncle who is really a great blues player.

So everytime I started to think I was great, he kindly reminded me to get down my high horse with some incredible solo. I can't thank him enough for that. Then, in college, I meet what I think is still the best guitar player I will have the chance to meet. That guy introduced me to Satriani Randy Roads and all the best out there. I learned and progressed so much with his teaching. I was 18 at the time.

I can't play what I used to now. All those Satriani solos are too hard, because I don't practice them enough but I am happier now than I was back then. I can improvise on songs and just jam away. That's what I like.

Like educatedfilm said, I got commitments and a lot of bills to pay. I can't spend three hours a day practicing, but I can spend 30 minutes - 1 hour of jamming along a tape and that is enough for me.

[Thomas Schellhous]

Hey Mr Crowley, I know exactly how you feel. I am eighteen and first started messing around on my Dad's old classical guitar (which was in the garage and hadn't been played in about 15 years) when I was 11. I am completely self-taught, and technically I have been playing for around 7 years. My senior year of high school I took a music class and met a guitarist a year younger than me who had been playing for five years and he completely kicked my ass. It is sort of humbling and depressing to hear about kids blazing away to Malmsteen and Vai when I am still struggling with arpeggios. I am a decent player, but nowhere near excellent or amazing. It is VERY frustrating sometimes. I feel like I can't improve at all!

[Lordathestrings]

When I was taking lessons last year, I introduced my teacher to the "Second Winter" album by Johnny Winter. It was kinda fun watching his eyes get all big! It was kinda discouraging to see him try to duplicate a couple of the riffs in "Memory Pain", and collapse in a heap. We kept at it though.

The point is, the players you look up to are not setting up roadblocks... they're setting up goalposts. If there's some song you wanna play, or some technique you wanna learn, you can get it, if you work at it.

Me, I take great comfort in the sure knowledge that on a good day, I'm almost as fast as David Gilmour.

[Incidents Happen]

yeah...i play aaaallllooot.

[frettycrouger]

what kinds of things should you do in order to get better?..i mean a lot of my stuff i try to teach myslef and venture off and learn something new....but i just find myself going back to the things i already know and just getting better at those....

when i want to learn something new though...and i work at it..i usually get good at it...and it just adds to my special list of things to "continue to get better at" when i am trying to learn a new thing...

so what kinds of things should i constantly practice to become amazing one day?...

arpeggios...scales...improv...other suggestions?

[Azrael]

Hi!

I´m 23.75 *L*

I´ve started to play at the age of 17.. i think.
For about 1.5 years i tried to learn it on my own, but soon i got frustrated abd gave up on it .. then, some day, for no special reason at all i grabbed the guit again and started to practice again. Day after day. Thas got me on kinda Guitar-Spree and soon my playing improoved. Then i decided to take lessons for at a certain point my developement stopped. I found a great Teacher and he pointed out my mistakes and helped me to master them. Then, about 2 years ago, he had the idea to show me a few classical compositions, for i sometimes did a bit of fingerpicking and he said that i was quite talented with it. So he gave me the worst notes (Classical music of the 20th century) and i tried it... and almost broke my fingers. I´m a metal musician, but i somehow liked the diffiulty of these pieces. And most of all - it improved my play a HELL OF ALOT! In 3 months or so i got better at aprox 100%.
Well.. he always told me:
"It does not depend on how many hours per day u practice - the cule is to practice smart and with a good plan. You can play 7 hours a day withoutknowing what u do and learn nothing. But if u are smart and practice with brains you will be able to learn 10 times as much in only 2 hours"

*L* and he was right! :D

Another important lesson i learned is about shredding:
I always wanted to be the mega-shredder. But with the time u discover that shredding is only a matter of practice and has very little to do with musicality. A song does not always require a mega-fast solo. If u wanna impress peeps then it´s ok, but not necessary if u wanna point out the compositoin of a song. I only play fast when i run out of ideas. ;)

Cheers
-=[Azrael]=-

[James8831]

too old.. as long as you can still do it :D

Two words

LES PAUL

- still doin' it at god knows what age.


Lots of blues guys didn't "get" famous till they were almost 3 time your age. I'm 35, feel 90 and act 12, most youngsters can leave me standing for speed but for tone and eccentricity of sound i'll whip 'em :) This isn't anything against youngsters, just my biased observations:D

[ScottyTooHotty]

I don't think there is an age that's too old. I'm 31 and have been playing since I was 13. I went through a period of 7 years where I didn't touch the guitar, mainly due to the bitching of my ex wife everytime I thought about picking one up. I'm not the greatest and I admit it is depressing to run across someone who's significantly younger and can really shred. I have noticed a big difference between younger guitar players and older ones though.

When I first started playing, all I wanted to do was play songs. I had no interest in chord progressions, modes, I,IV and V chords etc.. I just wanted to play Ozzy, Metallica etc.. As I got older I realized that I could play a song note for note but I didn't have a f#$king clue as to why songs were structured the way they were. I also realized that although I could play them note for note, if I had to improvise I was totally lost. So I went back and starting learning the theory of playing guitar. Instead of being Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, EVH etc.., I started developing my own style which combined all my influences. I'm not as fast as I used to be by far, but when I play now, I put more feeling and emotion into it. Now, for all of those of you that are younger, I mean no disrespect. This is a generalization. I'm sure there are younger players out there who have already developed their own style, but most guitarists I run across these days between the ages of 15 and 25, most are just copying other players note for note.

I guess the bottom line is, it doesn't matter how fast you can run up and down the fretboard, use a three fingered technique or thrash with the best. What matters is do you invoke emotion not only from those who are listening but in yourself? That's the true soul of a guitar player and his/her instrument. Steve Vai can run circles around Eric Clapton when it comes to speed, but who do you think more people will list as an influence now and twenty years down the road?

[Zeppelin]

im 17.5, playing for 3.5 years.
i cant say im the god of the guitar, but im doing quite ok..
anyway i dont think you can realy find a teenager who is a realy good guitar player... well maybe in rock and metall you can but not in blues and jazz..
it takes years to learn how to play those styles + it requires certain maturity to play jazz or blues.
another problem with people who dont play many years is that most of them know nothing about sound..

[chris mood]

This sounds like the ole farts thread! -lol-
After looking at the calander I've come to realize that I'm now 31, don't know how it happened, and still don't feel any different then when I was 18.
I guess I ended up taking the guitar way too seriously as a kid, ended up getting both my BA and Ma in music. I'm fortunate enough to make my living in music, by playing professionally and teaching music courses part time at a High School. It's nice to have a job you look forward to going to each morning, I spent enough years at the other end of the spectrum. I hope to have a cd out soon, plan to start recording in late spring or early summer, as soon as I get soom bills payed off.
I think the kids have better educational resources today thanx to the internet, dvd and video. When I was starting out I had to pull the stuff off of a record or converse with friends and other musicians for info. I see students progress in 6 months what it took me 4 or 5 yrs to learn.
Plus..music dept. at unv. have drastically raised there standards for incoming students, so kids who want to pursue music related degrees are forced to get more serious about it at an earlier age.
The down side w/the kids today is that many of them don't have the time to practice 2 or 3 hrs a day like I had when I was a kid (I was much like Incidents growing up as far as practicing went).

[i.s.marshall]

you are never too old to enjoy playing and listening to music. its one of the few things that keep the old and the young talking to each other. i am 51 this year and i still get a tingle down my spine every time i hear led zep. i still wet myself when i hear alright now. no not with incontinence. too old you are only too old when they close the lid and even then who knows. so keep on rockin old timer,

[friskynibbles]

i'm almost 19, i started right before my 18th bday.
and i play a lot.
-Daniel

[Incidents Happen]

very true, isral ( sp?) , but if that comment was directed at me, i must say that i learn something everytime i pick up the guitar. and my playing, well, practice makes perfect.
i think what you meant was about people who 'practice' but really they are mindlessy playing, which is not the case with myself. i have been working on combinations/patterns, dexterity, learned a few songs, MADE a song ( dont have lyrics yet though), and i believe my practice is very effective. its all on how you look at things.

[arc76]

I'm 25 years old i fell in love with guitar at the age of 12,i have settled down,but aside from my day job playing guitar and writing music is one hobby i am not willing to give up.I will probably be playing till i die.anyway, How old is too old? You are never too old.

[Incidents Happen]

what is your day job? i mean really i want to play guitar all day, maybe teach kids from like 3:00 til 6:30, then gig from 7 til midnight every night. something like that...would be nice.

[pstring]

I used to tell my younger friends that you know you are getting old when the music you listened to in high school, is now being played on the classic rock station, sad thing is, when I was driving down the road the other day, I heard the old high school tunes on the "OLDIES" station. Well I'm 43, but on this site my sense of humour reverts back to age 12 for some reason, wanted to play ever since the Beatles came out, all the old farts wouldn't show me a thing because they knew I wanted to play that rock&roll!,, finally met someguys my age that were more or less Folkies, learned open chords from them, and have been self taught ever since. I wish I'd had the resources of today back then, sure would have saved alot of head scratching. I have a friend that is about 70, plays all day, records, writes a ton of songs and gigs whenever he feels like it, so how old is too old?

[Raskolnikov]

No such thing as "too old."

There are lots of reasons to stop, but age isn't one of them. Though I doubt I'll be moving my 2x15 cab around a lot when I get advanced in years.

[Lordathestrings]

Originally posted by Raskolnikov
...Though I doubt I'll be moving my 2x15 cab around a lot when I get advanced in years. No worries. By then, we'll all have some kind of wireless setups that go direct to the house PA! :D

[Raskolnikov]

"and we'll ll have brain chips embedded in our skulls... shopping will be involuntary... science fiction will be obsolete"

http://www.bigego.com

If the flash site doesn't load up, click the link for it. If you have some kind of "fast" internet access start about seven downloads to slow it down as much as possible (and so you can get as much of the flash intro as possible).

Trust me, it rules.

[kingdavid]

I LOVE WHAT I'M READING.ABSOLUTELY!!!
I thought I was the only one!
I'm 22,turning 23 on 11th-that's a hint for anyone who posts b4 then to wish me a happy birthday!:)
I bought the guitar I own in march of 2000,and I feel like I haven't done much,though when I "play" The Eagles' Hotel california,people tend to say:"Hey,that sounds like this California song,uhm,..." at which point I help refresh their memory by saying "Hotel California",and they go "Uh uh!";)
I have ideas about taking this all the way,in terms of a music career.I'm saying 'have ideas' since i want to sound a bit humble.And I'm always thinking like I'm too old to learn the guitar in good time to do the career thing(I happen to believe that learning to play is not an end unto itself,it's ameans to an end).Now I'll stop doubting myself.Not over my age anyway.It looks like it's a normal thing to feel the way I feel.You can't imagine how depressed I felt when daniel told me while we chatted that he started to play last year and he can already play some Nickelback.
I'll go to bed tonight feeling good.Very good.
I love this forum!!!

[Incidents Happen]

lol

im convinced i will be something of a musician when im older, and am driving towards it. its the best way to go. and drive veery fast, the past two months out of the 10 i've been playing, have been very rewarding, and now i can improvise pretty good ( hear that guys? im gettin it down), and i overall am alot better. it is a rough road when you rush things and try to force things in, but afterwards you can be as relaxed as you want. ah, the greatness after you learn a toughass song...

[otis31]

IF ITS TOO LOUD YOUR TOO OLD ,
SO I RECKON TURN IT UP IM 32 AND IVE BEEN PLAYING SINCE I WAS 16 AND I TRY AND PRACTICE AS MUCH AS I CAN ITS HARD WHEN YOU HAVE A DAY JOB BUT THATS LIFE ISNT IT.IT DOSNT MATTER IF YOUR NOT THE BEST AS THERE IS ALLWAYS SOMEONE BETTER,IT ISNT A COMPETITION IS IT.AS LONG AS YOUR HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO IF NOT PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE,I PLAYED A GIG THE OTHER NIGHT AND IT DOSNT MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR ARE ONCE THEYRE FULL OF PISS(BEER)THEYLL THINK YOUR THE BEST BAND INTHE WORLD.
KEEP ON ROCKIN

[kingdavid]

Originally posted by otis31
IF ITS TOO LOUD YOUR TOO OLD ,
....THERE IS ALLWAYS SOMEONE BETTER...I PLAYED A GIG THE OTHER NIGHT AND IT DOSNT MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR ARE ONCE THEYRE FULL OF PISS(BEER)THEYLL THINK YOUR THE BEST BAND INTHE WORLD.
KEEP ON ROCKIN

Always.
And even in karaoke,even if you croak how,once people get drunk,you suddenly become_____(fill the blank)

[trebledamage]

Well, I am 31 years old. You know you are getting old when kids call you 'sir' or 'mister,' or when you are watching television and the music you used to listen to as a kid has just been released on one of those 'K-Tel' compilation CD's. Not getting carded at clubs anymore is also a telltale sign. I don't make my living making music but I really wish that I did and I have flirted with the idea of a music-related career change. However, like everyone else I have bills to pay and music will be my hobby for the time being.

[ikesws]

your only to old when you don't try to live!As we all know it takes a few years to grasp the dang thang.after that it is up to you as to how much you put into your own life baby..IKe

[otis31]

Originally posted by kingdavid
Originally posted by otis31
IF ITS TOO LOUD YOUR TOO OLD ,
....THERE IS ALLWAYS SOMEONE BETTER...I PLAYED A GIG THE OTHER NIGHT AND IT DOSNT MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR ARE ONCE THEYRE FULL OF PISS(BEER)THEYLL THINK YOUR THE BEST BAND INTHE WORLD.
KEEP ON ROCKIN

Always.
And even in karaoke,even if you croak how,once people get drunk,you suddenly become_____(fill the blank) i heard there was a secret chord that david (king)played and he pleased the lord but you dont really care for music do you.halilulah

[chris mood]

Cohen?

[kingdavid]

Otis 31
I dont know about playing for the lord,but at least he used to play the harp for King Saul to ease his nerves.Saul tried to kill him,tho' for a different reason.
D'you think there's an idea somewhere there for a song?Just wondering.

[abandonship]

50 last october.Workin' a little harder to reach the next level than I had to at fourteen,but that makes it all the more gratifying when it does happen.Never took the music that seriously-it was as automatic as breathing,seems like...hear it,play it..or a reasonable approximation thereof..saw Josh White live in '68 and it really knocked my socks off.Currently playing in a Kirk Franklin/Tower of Power gospel funk effort and listening to Greg Koch and Jennifer Batten for inspiration...never too old to learn a new trick.

[pstring]

An Old Dog is never to old to learn a new trick, unless the old dog is dead, but even being dead he has mastered the trick " Play Dead"

[chris mood]

King David/otis 31
It already is a song, I think the name of the guy who wrote it is (Leonard or Bruce) Cohen. Wainwright rerecorded it and you can hear it in the movie "Shrek"

[jack7]

Im 37 been playing 25 years with no lessons.
I hope I am buried with my guitar in hand.
because I love it so much. Sometimes its the
only thing that keeps me going!!!!!!:cool:

[skee1]

I guess i'm the oldest member of guitar-tricks!
I'm 62 going on 30.ha ha (Really 62 years old)
I feel great still look like i'm in my 30s.ha ha
Plus i keep up with all new music plus new guitarists.
I like all music plus learning new technique's.
Also i have played pro all my life done the road thing,
and all that good stuff.I still teach guitar give private,
lessons, work on computers plus sell them.
Really playing guitar is my main job computers are my,
hobby.I still practice sometimes 3 to 4 hours aday.
I have know health problems.(knock on wood)
I do wear gloves alot when outside to protect my hands.
Have played Pro since 1961 and i'm still playing Pro
2 to 3 nites aweek on the road plus at local clubs.
So far i don't have any grey hair that you can see,
unless you look real close.
Don't really get along with older bands thier living,
in the past.I seem to hit it off great playing with,
bands that are only in thier 20s&30s or mabee early 40s.
I still can't spell worth a sh## but i try .ha ha
I went thro the recording scene in 1962&1963 turned,
down a studio job in (Nashville) 1964 i really liked,
the road alot better plus i did'nt want to leave the,
band at the time.So i really seen them come and seen,
them go.My secret to staying young is think young!
I was lucky enough to meet alot of great guitarists,
on my travels around the states plus back a few artists,
plus did alot of gigs were my band was the warm up,
band for some great artists.
Anymore i mainly play in my own state not driving more ,
than a 100 miles from home.
Anyway i think your as young as you want to be!

Peace Mark
p:s I do drink diet-pepsi still smoke too much but,
trying to quit.
Used to drink the good stuff thro my early years but
quit in 1963.

[ignoble_yonoid]

i think that you shouldn't care too much about how good other people are and make a big deal about it...you should try your hardest to get better...practice makes perfect

[skee1]

Originally posted by ignoble_yonoid
i think that you shouldn't care too much about how good other people are and make a big deal about it...you should try your hardest to get better...practice makes perfect
Who are you talking too hell were all ready good,
who needs practice!
Besides that i thought this thread was about (How old is too old)

Mark
(Just keep getting better with age)

[nechako]

practice makes perfect and perfect makes us all

[skee1]

I don't no-body that is perfect !
We all practice but were not perfect.
Define perfect?

Mark

[Edited by skee1 on 02-22-2002 at 09:25 AM]

[Raskolnikov]

I'm pretty sure I've said this before...

But I see humanity in the imperfections.

[educatedfilm]

and i see imperfections in humanity...

[Incidents Happen]

...started 13- just turned 14 now......

[nechako]

there are no wrong notes "miles davis"

[educatedfilm]

hmmm... that would explain "bithches brew" lol

[Incidents Happen]

heh?

[jack7]

Originally posted by jack7
Im 37 been playing 25 years with no lessons.
I hope I am buried with my guitar in hand.
because I love it so much. Sometimes its the
only thing that keeps me going!!!!!!:cool: to
old never!

[nechako]

good ol bitches brew, isn't that a brilliant recording...silent way. Miles Davis is enlightened.

[Incidents Happen]

thats an artist i havent gotten into. miles davis. is he worth gettin into?

[educatedfilm]

sort of, he's one of these jazz guys (like another group that was around later in the 80s, i cant remember their name, the science technicain at my old school gave me a listen to them), where basically it's like normal jazz soloing, but with out the backing melody, and everyone's soloing at once, so it sounds good if you know that progression, but crap if you just started listening half way through a song... The way he trumpets on some songs scares the crap out of me, it's the exact same sound i hear when i have a nightmare and it's the end of the world/ judgment day... he plays this scary thing, where he would play like A,A,A,A,A,A,A,A,A,A,A,G... have a listen to it, but i haven't heard if for ages so i maybe confusing it with something else...(someone help me out)

[nechako]

listen to silent way first. its a beautifull recording that sets a heart into gentle ease like taking valium, very spiritual. Those scales he plays on bitches brew are usually the phrygian mode (for nightmare-think megadeaths sound), although he holds back a degree pouncing off the dorian mode,..making it sound like he's laying way back into it.

All is one.

[guster]

ur never too old to start...im only 15, but its so much fun it doesnt matter...