Playing guitar - the end in itself or just the means? Which one are you?

BlueStrat

i just play for the fun of playing

scrumhalf

I play because I enjoy it. It asks nothing of me, unlike other things in my life. I spend as much or as little time as I want doing it. If I want to spend hours just playing along to an imaginary rhythm track in my head then that's what I'll do.

I'm not good enough to make money out of my playing, and that's fine because I'm good enough at other things to take care of that. I play when those other things have pissed me off, it generally lessens the pissed-off-ness. 

Barquentine

I really enjoying playing alone at home and can get lost in it for hours but the real enjoyment for me is playing in bands. I love the gigs but it's being part of something bigger that I get the most out of. I love rehearsing, figuring out arrangements and getting the band really tight so that we can bounce off each other. 

merciful-evans

TheBigDipper said:

I play guitar because I love making music with it. I'd play guitar if I was on a desert island and no-one even knew it was happening. For me, it's the end in itself.

ditto
but playing in a band is a whole different thing. I love this too. Most of the time though I just play to myself. Thats not going to stop all the while I'm able to play.

AlbertC

The guitar was what I first learned on, so that's my main instrument but it's writing/recording music that I really enjoy the most. 
I do like to just play the guitar as well though
Guitars are just the geeky thing I love….if money were no object, I would buy/flip guitars all day long

skullfunkerry

I love everything about playing. I haven't gigged for about 5 years now, and I've only recently started writing music to record again. I love the actual act of playing, I enjoy the sound of my amp, and the notes I get from it; I love the feeling of creating a piece of music and hearing it all come together, and I still get a kick too out of finding a song that I like and working out (or reading) how to play it and recreating that myself.

I loved gigging, and I hope that there will be a few more at some point, but I don't miss all the stuff around it - loading and unloading gear, setting up & breaking down, waiting around, getting home super late and having work the next morning...

If I was told that I could never record another note or do another gig I'd be disappointed, but I'd still play every day, just for the joy of it.

skunkwerx

midlifecrisis said:

i play cos i get my money for nothing and my chicks for free

Is this a Nickelback reference lol? 

Funkfingers

My main instrument is the recording studio. I need sources of noise to point microphones at.

Greatape

An end in itself, primarily because of my initial obsession with The Meters and James Brown. Vistas have since widened, and bands introduced a whole new bunch of skills to learn..

midlifecrisis

i play just for fun. im in a covers band that until covid were gigging most weekends, technically that makes me semi-pro but the minute it becomes not fun, ill stop

Jeremiah

I primarily like writing songs and music, so in that respect, guitar is peripheral but useful because it is a convenient and versatile instrument to write and perform with and also sounds great.

If guitars did not exist, I could play keyboards, banjo, lute, or whatever just as badly - I went through a period of about 10 years where I made almost entirely electronic music and hardly touched a guitar, but now I'm more into surf rock for which guitar is a vital part of the sound, I'm playing more again.

Lestratcaster

First started off playing with aspirations to play in a band. I've done that (and still doing it). Have played all my adult life and its the only thing I'm half-decent at. I wrote songs and played on stage and really enjoyed the experience. It was my way to express myself as I'm not very good with words. Now I've done the whole band thing I'm kinda retiring more to home studio playing and possibly cover band stuff.

Found myself falling into teaching it about a decade ago and now its a source of income although due to current times its not a great period. Doing lessons helps me diversify own playing as not everyone does the same stuff and I kinda find out about new music and techniques at the same time. Keeps it lively and interesting for me.

TTBZ

I still love playing guitar and for me the main satisfaction is writing my own things/playing them with a band. The frustration lies in finding other like-minded players with the same interest, who are also good players. The biggest frustration is finding a drummer who can just play solid grooves without over complicating things, or sounding too stiff - the sort of music I'm into relies on a heavy and powrful rhythm section and drummers always let us down! Honestly if I could sing I'd do it all myself on the computer with programmed drums. 

As for covers, that's definitely work and not pleasure. I've been in gigging cover bands and I really hate it apart from the money. If I was playing material I enjoyed it would be ok, but playing shit Oasis songs in a rough pub to a few people isn't really my idea of fun. I don't mind learning covers of songs I like at home.

Cranky

It's both.  Mostly it's an end in itself, but it's also a barometer for me to gauge my mood and my progress as a person, because I honestly want to play more and play with/around others but have had some deep personal obstacles to get over.  

I actually practice a lot more now, as opposed to just playing, and yet the more I practice the more enjoyable the playing has become.  Playing is an end.  But the end gets better with practice.

usedtobe

I started because I wanted to turn the lyrics I wrote, into songs. Nowadays, I jam covers with a couple of old guys for fun.

skullfunkerry

skunkwerx said:

midlifecrisis said:

i play cos i get my money for nothing and my chicks for free

Is this a Nickelback reference lol? 

pintspiller

When I started I thought it would lead to rock stardom, chicks and money. It took six months to tune a guitar and string a couple of chords together. A year or more before everything sounded sort-of smooth. But EMI and CBS didn't come knocking on my door to release my songs.

I just wanted to play and join a band, gig, maybe release records.

These days I muck about in the house for my own amusement, and play bass in a cover band. The money I've gotten for gigs barely covers the cost of strings and fuel to rehearsals and gigs

Barney

I love playing guitar ..we have not  played in the band since pre covid but love to play anyways regardless of what the future holds ...I will stop when I die or unable to do it for some reason ...I think I am addicted to be honest

hollywoodrox

I love my music  and guitar is part of it  it has to be done 

Slash'N'burn

The end in itself. I enjoy playing other peoples songs or learning new riffs I’ve heard and getting somewhere near the sound. My mood is improved after a proper plugged in playing session, endorphins as mentioned earlier. Quite obsessed at the moment after 6 years of not having much time, I would never ever give it up though. Not that interested in other instruments, I bought a keyboard but I know I won’t spend much time on it. To me guitars are a thing of beauty, so I like the look of them being being around the house too. I like the craftsmanship, the tradition, that it’s very different than today’s obsession with phones, tech and media. Though if every man and his dog played guitar I probably wouldn’t find it so appealing.