Originally Posted by: WillardJI've been playing guitar for well over thirty years and can't seem to get it.
I'll watch players, follow what they are doing, and can't seem to replicate
the tones, phrasing, feel that good players have. I'm not going to live for ever and at this rate I'll never get it. When I play out, people tell me I sound like Clapton but I know it's not my riffs, just my voice, so how can I FAST t :cool: rack to making my guitar produce the sounds in my head? I practice, practice, practice, but I'm still frustrated. Is this normal? Am I my own worst critic? Is it like golf? (Always learning and perfecting?) Any serious tips to fast track to a real command of tone, fret board visualization, mastering modes, scales, riffs, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. I'm not whinning, just love to play but I'm not rockin yet! Please help if ya can.

I started playing over 30 yrs. ago myself; getting back into it after a really long break. I've found replicating another's tone to be extremely difficult. Take into account the player's hardware for example, e.g. type of guitar, sound set-up, even the type of pick, or lack of one. Then the intangibles of how they attack the string(s). As to reproducing the sounds in your head- well, your own hardware has to be taken into account also; I doubt you can sound like Stevie Ray with a hollow-body fed through a Fender Champ. I say work with what ya got; after 30 yrs, I'd think you'd have some decent chops, close your eyes, DON'T THINK, and as someone said, go crazy! Play from the heart, and not your head. Find your own voice, instead of trying to sound like someone else. The biggest compliment I ever got about my playing, was I didn't sound like anyone else- it was meant in a good way ;)