Late Beginners/Early Intermediates - How do you stay motivated?

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Alright, now that I’ve slept, let’s dive in again^^

@Silvia80 I think I kinda know what you mean? There are moments when I forget about the playing parts of what I’m doing, because it’s all automated, and can just be in the music, listen to myself, feel what I’m doing. They’re few and far between, though, still, and I hope I’ll get more of them in the future. Sometimes, I am still surprised at how the resonance of the body feels on my belly when I struck a base note just so, and I just have to stop and strike it again because it just feels really great^^

@LievenDV Thanks, I’ll give it a try!

@Stuartw Everyone always says it depends on your goals at this point, and it was quite frustrating to me because I did not have any clear and actionable ones until I asked this question, and interacted with all of your answers^^

@BecA I would love to find a local teacher, actually. I’m afraid they wouldn’t let me try out things anymore, but it would be worth it to play with and for someone else regularly, and have them check over and correct and help me with what I already know. Alas, money is an issue, though maybe I can source a local group class for a few sessions. As for theory, I breezed through the free parts of it because I learned piano as a child/teen, and had good music teachers in school. I think I’ll get back to it someday, and expand what I already know, but it’s not something I want to focus on right now.

@blackLight That’s what I want to do, as well! It sounds really fun, and I would love to do find something like this as well in my neighbourhood!

@artax_2 Interesting perspective. I definitely want to keep learning because it is already very cool to just sit around with friends, and noodle away while everyone is talking. I already like that. How cool would it be if I could actually entertain everyone with songs they like to hear, even if it’s just in the background? I’d like a rock course, too, but until I get the funds for an electric guitar, I’ll stick to things that sound great on my old nylon string^^

@CD02 Yeah, it definitely is. And I’m glad I found it with the help of all the people who commented on this thread^^

@Jamolay Yeah, same. Now that I know the basics, I’d like to browse the lessons for new things to try, but the bulk of my playing is songs. If I want to learn a technique, I find songs I like that use it. If I want to learn a song I like, I find the lessons that teach the technique. It is good to hear that this kind of general looking for direction happens to others as well by this point; I kinda got the impression from various other topics around the forum, which is why I asked directly here.

@KimR There are standardised grade tests you can take for classical guitar? :astonished: That’s really cool, you know? I’m thinking about finding a teacher, but money is an issue. I might be able to swing a group teaching for a few sessions, we’ll see.

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@CATMAN62 Poor guy, he’s worked so hard, and now he’s probably in debt because he didn’t think it through all the way sigh I have to be careful with thinking deeply about goals. It is definitely good to have some, as I’ve been re-learning with this thread, and on other occasions in my life. But if I think too deeply about it, doubt creeps in, and I get into the ‘is this really worthwile/all there is/etc.’ spiral, and end up frustrated and with nothing to show for it. It is, as always, a certain balance that works best for me, I think.

@mfeeney0110 20.000 on guitar gear? :astonished: That’s… a lot :sweat_smile:

@SteveL_G99 Thank you so much for all the ressources, and for your experience with Grade 4 and 5! When it’s time for me to go there, I will come back to this. :sparkles:

@alexisduprey Thanks for the ressource, will check it out!

@J.W.C Will do, thanks.

@Muzzaretti I’m also thinking about buying an electric, and the gear coming with it. Also, it would be awesome to find a steel string acoustic that works for me, and generally just find professional help with choosing a guitar that fits me and my body. I love having quality items around me that are just right for me, but it does take time, and a budget I don’t have atm.

@jkahn and @brianlarsen I hope you don’t mind me saying, I enjoyed your back and forth quite a bit^^ As for the songs, I only counted the ones I can both play and sing through by memory at the same time. I’ve spent a lot of time on this one song that was really very difficult for me as a beginner (a unique fingerstyle pattern in 16th-note tempo, and figuring out how to leasurely sing over it), because I wanted to perform it for my mum at her retirement party. It helped me so much with every aspect of my playing, but it also took focus over learning other songs. And as I’ve found out with this threat, playing songs is not my focus, playing with others is. I expect I will be learning a lot more songs while doing it, though^^

@Boris1565 Oh, I played around with a lot of songs, trying them out for a while, learning their unique challenges, etc. But I didn’t learn them by heart, so you’re right, they don’t count^^ I have also played two times with friends now, and it was exactly as awesome as you make it sound. Here’s to hopefully do it again a lot this year! clinks glasses with you

Thank you so much for this really lively discussion, everyone! :sparkles: :hibiscus: Reading all your perspectives is very cool and also very helpful in figuring out my own. I really don’t know what I’ll do without y’all! hugs everyone

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I found my jam group through meetup.com. If you can host people, you could start your own group and use that site or something similar, though it might cost $ to do so. You can also use neighborhood social apps to see if you can find people to play with.

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As one who feels the same, it helps if you play with someone else at the same time. Don’t think about going solo. If you have someone else on stage supporting you, it really does make it possible. I would try to find a local guitar group, unles of course, you have a friend that also plays guitar :wink:

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@blackLight I got my code for the neighbouring app in my city yesterday, on a postcard. Kinda charming, if you ask me^^ I had a look at the music groups on there, but they’re not very active. No matter, I’m gonna make a post and see if something happens.

@TonyHS Quite honestly, I love your Learning Log, and I’m always happy to see a new entry. It’s really inspirng seeing you and your friend doing gigs together, and if I find a group or even just someone in my neighbourhood who also plays, I know I’m at least gonna try and persuade them to perform somewhere. I’m already planning to get some voice training if I can swing it, and it would be so awesome to get back on stage with yet another new thing^^

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