Members mccoyson Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 My biggest fear about learnig how to play well is that about the time I get realy good I will get corpal tunnel or some other age related thing that will prevent me from playing. I am 51 years old and have been making a good effort at learning guitar and music for about 5 years now. I went to a guitar auction today and there was a guy there who must have been at least 65 checking out some of the guitars and playing fingerstyle. He was realy good and he didn't seem to having any problems moving his fingers around. I guess if I can get good by the time I am 55 and retired.( my target age), I'll have at least 10 more years of playing ahead.Sometimes I wish I had got serious sooner. I had a guitar back in high school in 71. It looked like a Gibson 335. Might have been a Epaphone. My friend had a amp and a old ferder bass and we would drop acid and make noise. Didn't even know how to tune it. Anyway,, better late than never. Any one else a late bloomer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members red|dragon Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 I think the limitations people have really shape their style of playing. You might not to be able to play fast as hell. Nobody really cares except other teenager guitar players. It's not how many notes you play or how fast you can play. Meet Jim Hall, one of my favorite jazz guitarist:Likewise.... Meet Pat Martino Meet David Grier, my favorite flat pickerIt's never too late to have fun. Playing guitar should be able just having fun, not impressing people. Yngwie Malmsteen can play fast. You know what, who cares. You what he can't do? Play slow. Play a melody rather than a scale. I donno, what I'm basically saying is... do what you can. If you can't play fast play slow. Find some way you can make your instrument speak to others. Choose your notes wisely...Also it's never too old to take lessons. Guitar never ends though. You can't learn it all. It's kinda like doing a martial art. People do Tai Chi for years and years and years, you are always constantly improving and changing. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by red|dragon I think the limitations people have really shape their style of playing. You might not to be able to play fast as hell. Nobody really cares except other teenager guitar players. It's not how many notes you play or how fast you can play. Meet Jim Hall, one of my favorite jazz guitarist: Likewise.... Meet Pat Martino Meet David Grier, my favorite flat picker It's never too late to have fun. Playing guitar should be able just having fun, not impressing people. Yngwie Malmsteen can play fast. You know what, who cares. You what he can't do? Play slow. Play a melody rather than a scale. I donno, what I'm basically saying is... do what you can. If you can't play fast play slow. Find some way you can make your instrument speak to others. Choose your notes wisely... Also it's never too old to take lessons. Guitar never ends though. You can't learn it all. It's kinda like doing a martial art. People do Tai Chi for years and years and years, you are always constantly improving and changing. Good Luck. I think that's possibly the best post that i've ever read on this forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tesha Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Very nice opinion indeed, and so true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kinetic Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by red|dragon ving fun, not impressing people. Yngwie Malmsteen can play fast. You know what, who cares. You what he can't do? Play slow. Play a melody rather than a scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Kinetic come on - he's got a point, i'm not hugely familiar with all his work, but that's cos i don't like it much, alot of YM's playing to me sounds like 'sweep arp, sweep arp, harmonic minor scale, diminished scale, sweep arp, sweep arp'... it's very technically impressive and quite excitng for the first 30 seconds of playing, but after that i personally find i just either switch off or start trying to tear my ears off my head Still 'horses for courses' and all that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kinetic Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Knottyhed come on - he's got a point, i'm not hugely familiar with all his work, but that's cos i don't like it much, alot of YM's playing to me sounds like 'sweep arp, sweep arp, harmonic minor scale, diminished scale, sweep arp, sweep arp'... it's very technically impressive and quite excitng for the first 30 seconds of playing, but after that i personally find i just either switch off or start trying to tear my ears off my head Still 'horses for courses' and all that... Malmsteen does widdle excessively but when he chooses to play slow he does it with great effect. See Crystal Ball, Black Star, Eclipse, his Concerto Suite.So no, he doesn't have a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Kinetic Malmsteen does widdle excessively but when he chooses to play slow he does it with great effect. See Crystal Ball, Black Star, Eclipse, his Concerto Suite.So no, he doesn't have a point. I'll go visit itunes and take a listen. When it comes down to it, no generalisation about a great player works accross their entire catalogue of material - because when you have a virtuoso level of skill you can turn your hand to pretty much anything, and there's no doubting he's a great player whether you like his style or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kinetic Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Knottyhed I'll go visit itunes and take a listen. When it comes down to it, no generalisation about a great player works accross their entire catalogue of material - because when you have a virtuoso level of skill you can turn your hand to pretty much anything, and there's no doubting he's a great player whether you like his style or not. The intro to Crystal Ball is brilliant, it show's Malmsteen's sensitive side and also demonstrates his rather good vibratio. I wish he did more stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Kinetic The intro to Crystal Ball is brilliant, it show's Malmsteen's sensitive side and also demonstrates his rather good vibratio. I wish he did more stuff like that. Yep - just listened to it... got to agree, although it is the complete opposite of the sort of playing he is famous for. The Riot in the Dungeons intro off the same album is more what i'd expect... hell i might go mad and download an album, so next time i slag him off i can have a more balenced view point - any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kinetic Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Originally posted by Knottyhed Yep - just listened to it... got to agree, although it is the complete opposite of the sort of playing he is famous for. The Riot in the Dungeons intro off the same album is more what i'd expect... hell i might go mad and download an album, so next time i slag him off i can have a more balenced view point - any recommendations? errrrrr.... his first album is best, but generally his music is full of the cliche's he's famous for. His instrumental stuff is better than his vocal stuff and the early vocal stuff is better than anything done since the mid to late 90's IMO. Recent albums, since Facing the Animal (1998?), have tended towards heavy riffs with Bruce Dickinson style vocals. I hate them. Earlier albums have vocalists like Joe Lynn Turner and have a much rockier feel, imagine Rainbow taken to the next level The Concerto album is very good and something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members typedeaF Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 You are definately not too old to start, but I cant tell you this from experience. I think retirement might be the the second best time to devote to your hobby other than the teenage years. For me, from 18-retirement is full of climbing the corporate ladder, working on relationships, and all that stuff. Its very hard for me to put forward anywhere near the same dedication I had when I was a teenager. In fact, all the life experience you have gained by 50 would probably only add to how you as a musician express yourself. 5 years already is a great start. Congrats for sticking with it. Dont worry about "what if", and just keep working with what you have today. Cheers Oh... I am sorry R|D, but such a comment about Yngwie could only come from someone not intimately familiar with his works. Yngwie has many beautiful slow melodies and pieces. Yngwie is a very mastered musician. His classical playing is great. Most albums he composes/arranges all instrument parts and vocals. He doesnt rely on speed any more than does Al DiMeola or Shawn Lane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members red|dragon Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 I'm familiar with his work. There's a bit torrent file out that you can download ALL of his albums in one download! shhh... His first cd is the only one I really liked. Black Star and Blitzkreig are also fine songs. After that they seem to get worse and worse and there really isn't anything that is new. It's just the same old harmonic minor scale and minor arpeggios over and over and over again. Honestly, I went through Yngwie in a matter of months when I was about 16. I thought he was god. Then I was like wtf. I can play that fast! Now what? I move on to someone else. Same thing happened with Steve Vai. Got all his cd's, even bought a Steve Vai JEM guitar - then lost interest. I talk about Al Di Meola NOT for his speed, but for his percussive and rhythm playing I talk about Shawn Lane, lol BECAUSE HE HAS A 55 MINUTE VIDEO ON GOOGLE. lol, Honestly I don't even like his music. I don't own a single one of his cds. He does have some interesting combination of notes and some refreshing ideas such as playing 5 notes on a quarter note, which I talked about in some other thread. So I don't listen to Meola or Lane for speed. You can only take so much Pat Martino also. Take what you can from each, then move along... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members typedeaF Posted March 12, 2006 Members Share Posted March 12, 2006 Humm. Well I havent bought a single Yngwie album since Fire and Ice. His stuff does get repetitive, but so do most people after 5 or 6 albums unless they change their genere. Regardless, I still think he is a great guitar player and musician. I know many non-guitarists who actually enjoy Yngwie because they say 'his entire song is a melody". *shrug* Vai also was my favorite and I havent bought anything since Fire Garden Suite. And I own many Jems, not becuase of him, but because I think they play great and look flashy. Still, one of my biggest influences. DiMeola, he is Yngwie unplugged imho. I dont find him any more versatile or accomplished. I just bought a Taylor 812 so I can do some DiMeola acoustic crap. Shawn Lane, he is a Jazz player with heavy distortion and a tremolo bar. I thought he had tons of potential, but his playing never moved me. I dont legally own anything from him. So who do I really get into? God I wish I knew. I could listen to Disturbed, Alterbridge and Type O Negative all day long now versus a single solo guitarist. I am not defending Yngwie because I am a huge fan or because I just love to shred, but simply because your statement was incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members red|dragon Posted March 13, 2006 Members Share Posted March 13, 2006 It's my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flatfacerincone Posted March 13, 2006 Members Share Posted March 13, 2006 Originally posted by typedeaF So who do I really get into? God I wish I knew. I could listen to Disturbed, Alterbridge and Type O Negative all day long now versus a single solo guitarist. I am not defending Yngwie because I am a huge fan or because I just love to shred, but simply because your statement was incorrect. Most of the time I listen to actual bands that interest me rather than people who are just accomplished musicians. A great guitarist shines the most in a great band. Take Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 13, 2006 Members Share Posted March 13, 2006 Getting back to the original point though - R/D was saying that your limitations can work for you and shape your style. It's not so much how fast you play as what you play and how you communicate with an audience. If you find you can't play fast for whatever reason - play slow. If you play slow with rythmn, melody and expression it'll sound alot better than somebody playing fast without those qualities: in fact if you play fast too much it becomes hard to discern the rythmn, melody and expression in a guitarists playing. To non-guitarists who make up the bulk of any audience, rythmn, expression and melody are far more important than displays of pyrotechnic skill. There's so much to the guitar it is impossible to master everything, so find what you're good at and focus on it. That might be rythmn playing, lead playing, finger-picking, slow blues, fast shred - whatever, so long as it's musical and expresses emotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mccoyson Posted March 14, 2006 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2006 Back to my question. How many of you came to study music and guitar later on in life,like me? Not that it matters as long as you are having fun and getting what you want from it. Good discussion by all. Got a little off track with the Malmsteen thing but whatever. I'll keep on playing until I can't move my fingers any more. I hear Les Paul is still at it and he is 90? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hhsuey Posted March 14, 2006 Members Share Posted March 14, 2006 Encouragementcmon man.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 14, 2006 Members Share Posted March 14, 2006 Originally posted by hhsuey Encouragement cmon man.... I've been biting my tongue about that for ages - thank God somebody said it! Now I can move on with my life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mccoyson Posted March 14, 2006 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2006 Can't spell, sorry. Does this thing have spell check? Not nice to make fun of old folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Knottyhed Posted March 15, 2006 Members Share Posted March 15, 2006 Originally posted by mccoyson Can't spell, sorry. Does this thing have spell check? Not nice to make fun of old folks. No offense meant by me or anyone else I'm sure. There's alot of banter and general 'tongue in cheek' posts/posters on this forum; best not to take anything personally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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