Originally Posted by: hunter1801I have not ONCE played with anyone else (other than my guitar teachers the first 4 years of playing).

Unless you are playing a lot with your teachers, I just don't understand this statement. I grant you that your interest may not have diminished (everyone is different), but how can you play so long without wanting to play with others? I gather from your statement that after the first 4 years of playing you did start playing with others, but still, how could you go 4 years without wanting to play with anyone?

I have been playing guitar since I was 13 and now I am, well lets just say I'm a lot older than that now. I play guitar a lot, but I do not consider myself a musician, because, frankly, I don't think I am that good. I might play at family gatherings or in festival parking lots, etc. Others think I can sing and play, but I consider myself far from a professional musician. However, I do play with others and frankly, I didn't start learning to really play until I did. You learn a lot from playing with others. Things that instructors cannot teach you.

When you play by yourself, as I see it, you will never make a mistake. Of course this really isn't true, but the mistakes you do make go unchallanged. You don't have to play in a band or even a group of people, but everyone should play with at least one other person and they don't even have to play guitar. They could play almost any instrument as long as you play and sing along in the same key and in time.

Back tracking is fine to learn a piece, but you need human intervention to play well. Playing live with someone will heighten your sense of communication & skills, not only with techinical and slang terms, but more important in musicial communication. Knowing how, what, and where the human factor (errors & talents) enters, such as mentioned earlier, correcting your playing when missing a beat, etc.

I guess if it works for you, that is all that matters, but until do start playing with others, you are missing out on a lot of fun.