Playing in Middle Age verus your Younger Days

Reverend

I'm in my 40s and most of my guitars are still tuned down to C. 

I have a couple in e flat to play thrash on. Still use 100w heads and humbuckers and still play very heavy. It wasn't until i hit my thirties that I worked out hot get a half decent sound. 

Philly_Q

 I started playing at 16 and for years I dreamed of being a super-shreddy guitar hero.

At 52 I couldn't really give a shit about guitar heroics and (although I still think no song is complete without a guitar solo) I'd be happy just to be able to clumsily bash out a few well known songs.

At no time in those 36 years have I ever practised hard enough to achieve either of those aspirations.  Nowadays I just don't have the time (yes I know I could free up at least an hour a day by not being on here, but trying to concentrate on guitar would require far too much effort at that time of day).

I often think about starting again from scratch but I still don't really have much idea of the "best" or most efficient way to cut to the chase and learn the stuff I actually want to learn.

Recently I've been thinking about abandoning the whole idea then starting up again when I retire and have some time on my hands... but that's effectively writing off the next 15 years of my life in the blink of an eye.

andyoz

Good point @Gassage about maybe concentrating on what you're good at.

I think I'll always have more affinity for rhythm than for lead - starting as an acoustic guitarist maybe tends to do that...

I've wanted to be able to do both but to get the lead thing going will involve a solid year of 2 hours a night.  It's either that or spend more time with the kids (and wife if she's nice to me).  So it's not going to happen soon. 

Maybe I should just enjoy getting the rhythm technique improved and stop beating myself up about lead.

Neil

thomasross20 said:

Younger days is better for amount of time you can put in due to lack of other commitment.

Actually my experience is the reverse.

When I was young I was doing too much to bother about fusty old guitar.

As I've got older and the kids have grown up I have plenty of spare time.

Unfortunately with age comes arthritis and stiff joints.

What a gyp!

octatonic

I play just as heavy now as I ever did, but I have more harmonic and musical knowledge behind the pyrotechnics.

Getting old is inevitable but you don't have too link up getting mellower as a person (which I did) with becoming complacent with your playing.

Sassafras

Although I only understood a fraction of what @Gassage was saying about cricket, he's spot on about guitar and playing to your strengths. That's how people develop their distinctive signature sounds. Guitars, amps and effects don't play that much of a part, generally.

Gassage

Blaendulais

Neil said:

thomasross20 said:

Younger days is better for amount of time you can put in due to lack of other commitment.

Actually my experience is the reverse.

When I was young I was doing too much to bother about fusty old guitar.

As I've got older and the kids have grown up I have plenty of spare time.

Unfortunately with age comes arthritis and stiff joints.

What a gyp!

Same here worked over 100 hours a week until I was 40. Since then I play a lot of guitar !

andyoz

Interesting tangent now and it's got me thinking differently really.

Don't dwell on what you can't play...think about what you can and aim to do it better...

I do find that a bit of teacher input has helped me break some bad habits but once over that hurdle I am concentrating on improving and enjoying playing (will get back to lessons once I hit a stone wall again I think).

Anyone here who's seen my man cave shots know I'm a gear head.  Fuck it. I worked long hours in my late 30's early 40's to get it.

DulcetJones

I put in a year playing bass in a rock trio in my late 40's, that was enough to convince me to stop.  I had way more fun playing guitar in bands in my 30's when the late nights and hauling gear didn't bother me.   I did go on to play a lot of solo guitar gigs but most were weddings and banquets and my time to play was over by late afternoon, 7pm at the latest.  Plus, I got all the money and had hardly any gear to haul.  Now I don't play live at all, I stay home and work on my own original projects.

Skipped

The difference between Mark Knopfler and someone on Youtube who is attempting to clone/recreate MK's playing is timing.
And without the feel and the timing......you might as well  let software play the lick. It will be no worse than your attempt.

And great timing stays with you, and probably improves as you get older. Timing is the difference between good and great.

p90fool

I can understand the idea of playing to your strengths and consolidating your signature sound, but I've always had to do the opposite.

I've always needed to improve the weaker aspects of my playing in order to get as much work as possible, which I guess is the fundamental difference between a sideman like me and someone who's a guitar star in their own right.

If everyone has come to see you specifically, then all you have to do is BE you, but most of us will never have that luxury.

Danny1969

I had my kids quite young and they are all grown up now .... in fact I'm a grandfather ... so I gig as much as I want which is just as well because it's my main source of income. 

Technique wise I've moved on a lot from the style I had in my twenties. Over the years I've been influenced a lot by players like Greg Koche and Brad Paisley, in my twenties I just wanted to be EVH

Experience come's with age, when you've done thousands of gigs and learnt hundreds of songs you begin to get very quick at it and the quicker you are to pick things up the more people want you to play with them and the more earning opportunity there is 

LordOxygen

I'm not middle aged just yet, (37) however I've had a 20 year gap in my playing career. I learnt between the age of 11 and 15, initially on an old nylon string spanish guitar with a brutal action. I picked it up quickly, by the age of 14/15 I was playing very well. With the benefit of hindsight, the main problem for me was finding house music and then nightclubs in the mid to late 90's. I also think having a crap amp guitar didn't exactly inspire me to play. My Gorilla amp and Encore strat sounded crap, no reverb or proper overdrive and the guitar would never stay in tune for more than a few minutes. 

For some unknown reason, almost 2 years ago to the day, I decided, out of the blue to play guitar again.  

This time around, I've been able to choose and buy my own (better quality) gear, that along with youtube lessons and backing tracks, justinguitar and several other websites have made it so much easier this time around. The information that's one click away is just incredible. It's certainly taking longer this time around but I'm more composed and controlled than I used to be.  

Teenages learning guitar today, don't know how lucky they are. 

The one thing I miss is having a few mates to play and jam with, I don't know anyone (in real life) who plays guitar. And even if I did, unpredictable work would get in the way. 

Jack_

When I was younger, I think the masturbation gave me wrist strength that helped with my fast down picking.

I'm guessing this is why kids wanna join metal bands, it's just an extension of an already acquired 'talent'.

thomasross20

Lol...


Brad Paisley? I'll have to check this player out.

crunchman

I've got a lot better over time.  I never had proper lessons when I was younger so maybe I could have picked things up more quickly with some good teaching.

I've got a lot better understanding of arrangements now, and knowing how to play a part that fits rather than just chug chug all the time.

The other thing I've found is that my ear has improved a lot.  That's apparent in other areas now as well.  I never used to be able to sing vocal harmonies but I'm finding that I can pick out a vocal harmony now and sing it (some of the time at least).  To be honest I really need to work more on my singing.

carlos

The worst thing about playing in the Middle Age was being locked up by the Inquisition for playing diminished chords.

daveyh

Gassage said:

<snip>

How does this relate to guitar?

Easy- the same logic applies. Once you remove the things you're shit at, you acknowledge those as a threat to your ability to perform, but you focus positively on the things you do really well, you become VERY effective. And that's what it's about- being effective.

In the guitar world my idol, Mr G, is the epitome of knowing his limitations. He plays what makes him brillaint, unique and effective. So does Buckingham, Moore, Clapton, Knopfler....all my heroes.

Once you learn those things, focus on them, they are now your game. Remove everything else- focus on what makes you good.

Your playing will be all the better for it.

Bloody good post that, sound advice. As an extension, you see similar things with people chasing allsorts of different sounds, 'versatility' etc when the great players have a few, sometimes only really one, defined sounds.

Voxman

Skipped said:

The difference between Mark Knopfler and someone on Youtube who is attempting to clone/recreate MK's playing is

a world of talent ...& £100m