How much of a pro are you?

[GUitarNoyes6]

I was just curious about how long everyone has been playin there guitar, or bass

I have been playing for 2 1/2 years sounds short but you have to take into consideration that between school, sleeping, GuitarGeek.com, and going off every now and then, all i do is play guitar. I LOVE IT and i dont know what i would do with out it, lets get some feedback on this one!!

[guitargeek]

nice topic!

i've been playing and/or writing on guitar for close to 18 years. started on a borrowed peavey falcon 3/4 scale and a 60's greco 12-string with 6 strings on it!

bass? whenever i need to record something (talk about bloody fingertips!).

guitargeek

[TaySte_2000]

Been playing bass for 6 years its my main instrument I can play guitar a bit just a couple of chords to write songs to.

I think of my self as semi-pro, i'm currently in the studio playing bass, writing songs for a band I recently joined and we're all semi pro or pro musicians, were not looking for a record deal we have are own studio and have found ways for distribution.

All I do all day is play bass, write songs and expand my musical knowledge (Student with distance learning course)

[berndhep]

i`m playing for over 12 years now and produced 7 cd`s. still i think that there is so much to learn for me. i think that`s the cool thing about guitar: no matter how long you are playing or what style, you can`t be perfect and there is still room to envolve!

[LennyNero]

Hi,

playing since 14 years, no CD yet (well, no official release at last... we made a rehearsal recording with the band for a demo and I recorded some stuff for my family).

My experience was (and is) that there are times my playing is getting better very fast, but on the other hand there seemed to be times when my playing will not improve fo month (until suddenly I can play something I wasn't able to do before).

And yes, there is always something new to learn (I am concentrating on my abilities with the acoustic right now), there are so many styles to learn...

[romanodog]

i've been playing guitar for about 7 years now. i recently bought a bass (1-2 years ago) just so i could write basslines to songs i write, or record bass to them. though i find myself playing bass in bands now instead of guitar because there is a extreme lack of bass players around here. i really dont like playing bass though, guitar is my love. but now i have super tough fingertips ;)

[Slickriffs]

I've been playing 40 years...Not sure length of time and being a pro are the same thing...lol...but I hope so

My MP3 Site (http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/295/keith_lebo.html)

PS. I'm enjoying the site...

Keith

[demonpunk]

I've been playing about four years. I'm still in my first band and we've only played out once. We have over a dozen original songs, though.

I used to practice an hour a day, but my habits have gotten lax. My soloing has improved a lot since I got in a band, although its mostly pentatonic stuff. I'm actually in a little bit of a rut--I need to practice more and learn new stuff.

[GUitarNoyes6]

I do to, same ol stuff all the time (BIG RUTT) but im goin to the beach sat. and when i get back im gonna start going back a relearning everything i have notes on im still takin my acoustic down there though!!!!

[myles]

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years now. I've been in many bands (mostly all original projects), interested in a variety of styles (rock, funk, experimental, jazz). I write and am reasonably skilled at studio engineering and production. I love playing live. I took a fairly long break from regular live gigs (about 8 years) because I couldn't find the right band. I did a lot of jams, pickup bands, and solo things in that stretch.

For the last year and a half I've been with a five piece band, Dr. Pie ( http://www.drpie.com ). Most of the material has a funk feel to it. I'd call it groove rock. We're currently putting together our first full length CD. The drummer and I will be doing all the recording and production work. We have a Roland VS2480 studio we'll be using for this project. In the past I've always recorded analog, so this will be a fun and new experience.

I've never been full time pro at music, except for about a year right after college when I was playing and teaching, and making no money. That sucked! I work in high tech these days, which pays well and gives me the freedom to buy good equipment and play the music I want. It's great!

[Greyskull]

I have been playing for 13 years, but the last 5yrs have been "serious".

Used to play to learn cool songs and impress chicks.

Now it is an all consumming beast that takes my time and money.

I have no money to go out on, nor gas to drive my car.
But put me in my little rehearsal room (12x 15) with my marshall and I won't complain unless I break a string !!!

[fox]

I have been playing for 22 years now. I stopped for a while in high school because I was doing a jock thing but got interested again my senior year. I actually went on and majored in music and earned a degree in classical guitar performance but I don't use it because I am in an alternative type band.

[Nathaniel Manx]

newbie alert! :D

just recently discovered guitar geek. i've been playing for 12 years now. turned semi-pro (meaning i count on this and my programming job to feed myself and my dog) 4 years ago.

i agree the amount of time spent playing isnt a guage for how professional a player is. i've seen a lot of old timers go to gigs without backups, arrive for practice late and unprepared.

[Charleton]

Howdy,
Ive been playing guitar for 11 years, Ive done countless live performances (bars, clubs, and some slightly bigger stuff).
I first started playing alto sax in high school, then discovered drums,
after mastering those I was sitting in school and i heard a dood playing the guitar before one of our Jazz band concerts (bout age 12), I sat by him and he showed me how to play a power chord, once i hit it and heard what came out of that fender twin, i was in love, and ive been playing guitar ever since.
I play for 2 hours a day and more if i have the day off from work, its pretty much all i do.
my playing skill really increased when i decided to delve into blues, SRV, Kenny Sheperd, and Jonny Lang really inspired me to walk this path, Hearing the soul they put into their music defines what i want in my guitar playing, I strive everyday to play with feeling and emotion, rather than just running through the scales and hitting hammer ons and pull offs when it might sound cool.
I think that is what seperates the ametuers from the professionals, the ability to play with your soul, rather than your head, and making a true emotional connection to the music you are playing.
I am not quite there myself, in my opinion. everyone that hears my play say good things about me, but my ears never hear me the way i am, they hear me the way i want to be 5 years down the road, so i never think i sound as good as other people tell me i do.

Just my 2 cents, thanks for reading my rant

>-Chuck-<

PS Hard picks and heavy strings have done wonders for my playing, if you think you are in a rut and use flexible picks, go buy a hard pick, it may take some getting used to, but it will double your skill.

[KashmiR]

Well, ive been playing for about 1 and 1/2 years now. Its been an expierience, I started out at the end of my 8th grade year of school jus messin with it and using a really small 8 in. crate amp and now I have a 2x12 120 watt Crate combo, 100 watt Peavy PA system with 2 Peavy pillar speakers. I played 1 gig, not really stuff I wanted to play (pop punk). Im more into grunge and heavier punk, but with more room for solos. Guitar is a wonderful thing. Itz just awesome to go play guitar when u're down or even in a good mood and it just seems to bring out the best in you... Its a chilling expierience :cool:

[shakey]

I been playing for 7 years, still loads to learn!!!

[Teryaki]

5 years, two guitars, no band!

Total hobbyist, but I'd like to at least get a band together... But everyone around here's a guitarist, almost no bass players, and almost no drummers! :confused:

[stanley]

i'm been playing over an year, started last summer, during my 15th summer... (16 years old now) :D
learning classical guitar for a year...
have a crappy fender squire lol
and a crappy fender amp.... (someone gave it to me, since he quited)
also and have a acoustic Jamine by Takmine.. a year old.. and well-loved....

just wondering.. how many people read music notation more than tabs?.. caz i do..... since i'm doing all classical , have to read music notation...

oh one more thing.. who likes keyboard more than guitar?....( i think the answers will be kinda bias)

[RBmagnificent]

Originally posted by GUitarNoyes6
I was just curious about how long everyone has been playin there guitar, or bass

I have been playing for 2 1/2 years sounds short but you have to take into consideration that between school, sleeping, GuitarGeek.com, and going off every now and then, all i do is play guitar. I LOVE IT and i dont know what i would do with out it, lets get some feedback on this one!!

All about the 24/7 guitar playing! I've only been playing for alittle over 2 years too, but there ain't **** I can't play! I taught myself, and by learning everything through trial and error, really developed alot of personal touches that I think I wouldn't have otherwise. Heavy guitar riffs for life!

[fox]

I remember back in high school, I was doing the jock thing and then I got mono... (I think from a water fountain ;) ) I couldn't do anything for about 3 weeks and I got reaquainted with my guitar and fell in love with it again. This was back in 1987 and all I did for that 3 weeks was learn how to play every song on u2's Joshua Tree album. Note for note. I think that my bout with mono was a blessing in disguise and from that moment on I went on to get a degree in music.. (classical guitar focus) and composing score for various commercials and indie films. As well as being in a band that does originals...

Thanks for the reminder of where it all starts....

[sancho]

I've been playing for sixteen years.
I'm in two bands, we gig and record.
I have a dayjob because there's no way in Hell you can make a living playing metal in Belgium.
Crusader : http://www.crusader.be
Monster Joe : http://monster.lasseel.be

[crazyderek]

7 years

[Chromatic_Death]

Wazzz Up!!
I've been playing guitar for about twenty years or so. I've played everywhere between Miliwaukee and Chicago, cut about seven demo's and been in numerous bands....am I A pro???...Naaaa, I still have a lot of stuff to learn:

Everyone keep jammin!

[nobody]

I've been playing for 12 years, always in bands. I was in a very good spacerock/shoegaze band for 6 years. We played 3-4 shows a month, we toured a little and put out a 7" and CD.

These days I play the reclusive artsy music guy part and just play around at home. Every once in awhile I'll get asked to perform and I usually end up doing an improv soundscape set.

[joeinthebox1980]

Originally posted by nobody
I've been playing for 12 years, always in bands. I was in a very good spacerock/shoegaze band for 6 years. We played 3-4 shows a month, we toured a little and put out a 7" and CD.

These days I play the reclusive artsy music guy part and just play around at home. Every once in awhile I'll get asked to perform and I usually end up doing an improv soundscape set.

that sounds cool! play any shows in southern california? plan to?

[nobody]

Originally posted by joeinthebox1980
that sounds cool! play any shows in southern california? plan to?

I would love to! But I live right-smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. However, there is a chance I will be moving further west later this year, this will put me in a place where Arizona/Southern California gigs are possible.

What are you doing musically?

[joeinthebox1980]

Originally posted by nobody
I would love to! But I live right-smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. However, there is a chance I will be moving further west later this year, this will put me in a place where Arizona/Southern California gigs are possible.

What are you doing musically?

i've been saving up for an electric guitar... that way i don't have to keep using my friends electrics all the time. ;)

i've been playing acoustic for quite some time as well.

musically?
i have just been writing some songs and this summer i plan to move to LA and get a band going. i have friend who drums who will hopefully relocate to LA, i have another friend who i can probably convince to play bass, and i play the guitar, sing, and i can do some keyboard work.

i'm still trying to find a good sound... i'm a huge new order fan, so i've been trying to get some of those elements together. but i also want to get more of a raw/minimalist sort of sound as well... joy division, interpol, my bloody valentine and various experimental artists from the '60s (i've been learning them in my music class)... add in my brit-pop roots, my love of jazz, the beatles, etc.... mix with my classical training in piano and clarinet, sprinkle in my love for dance music... and there ya go... haha!

[Nathan_Adams]

I've been playing for around-ish 10-11 years at a guess.
I'm pretty good - but definately not 10yrs good.... I really should pull my finger out.
Hell - I'm still using a crappy Peavey Rage 158 amp.... (I feel sorry for my tele that it has to go through something that chokes it's sound)

The only band I ever played in was 'chapel band' at high school (why - if you played in the chapel band, you got out of religious studies. guitar vs religion. easy choice). I was pretty proud of the fact that I had alot of sway over the music we played (picture playing Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Bush and Radiohead during a chapel service - somehow I pulled it off [Pumpkins twice!])

My friends (people in that band don't count as friends ;) ) don't really play any instruments. So never really had the opportunity to get a band together. One mate though has picked up guitar since highschool, and has gotten very good very quickly (all self-taught too!). So maybe in the near future we can get something together, he's actually very good at writing (something I lack).

[jason2]

i've been playing for about the same amount of time. i'm really lazy in that all i do all day is play guitar. i never go outside or anything. I just stay up in my room and play guitar. I am always reading guitar magazines and books and am always trying out new techniques and am always getting better. I am what you would definitely call a guitar geek. Everyone of the magazines i am subscribed to and every one of my school projects has to do with guitar.Because of this dedication, i am about 500 times better than some people i know who have been playing for 5 years.

[Nathan_Adams]

I very rarely read guitar magazines, in fact the ones I do own I only bought because of interviews (I have a couple of guitar worlds with billy corgan)
It probably would be a good thing for me, but a lot seem to still have that feeling and image of 80s metal, leather... i think you know where I'm going. It's the advertisements to blame, not so much the magazines themself... but it still makes me hesitent. :D

What I do like though is getting a proper band score and getting down ALL the guitar parts. They are a tad more expensive than gutar magazines though :( heh

[jjjjjj!!!!!!]

playing for 6 years have been in a band for about a year and my approach is usually highly experimental. i just started playing synth too about 6 months ago
lots of ambient drone, noise experiments, grindcore, as well as electroclash dance and post punk sorta stuff. i am totally getting that total sonic annihilation as soon as i get enough money. totally.

[Echoes]

Been playing ever since I was little - Guitar & Drums. Unfortunately, there are too many guitar players and not enough drummers, so I have always played drums in bands, but I like guitar at least as much. I'd like to do some recording this summer...did some last year, but never ended up trying to distribute the material.

[rjaques]

Hey All!
I am origionally a drummer of 38 years, quite good in fact!
My draw to the guitar came when I heard Eddie Van bend that
E string down so as to count the clips of distortion, I was hooked! I am still looking for that sound! The guitar is a kewl
hobby for me, some day I will be okay at it, then great! As with
all my percussion, many years of swearing, pain, and success
make a person whole! Music IS GOOD for you!

GO FOR IT!

RJ:cool:

[stratocaster83]

10 years. started at 9

pro? dunno. I play in a cover band, we do 2/3 dates per mounth, we're paid enough and we're happy, but since is not a real job I would definitely love to play more!!! but I'm a guitarist, there're too many of us out there, especially where I live (north of italy, near milan)...

I've been studying very little in this period, but just recently I got up again with the old love for studying everything...

I must admit that I spent some years with the wrong teacher: he was into shred, but I'm not!!! and I was doing all of that malmsteen stuff, playing at 300 km/h and getting nowhere.
terrible.

you never stop to learn though, so I keep on going to music classes and listen to every record I could put my hands on!!!

[Crash]

How's talentless hack sound?

Honestly though, I've been playing guitar almost 2 years, and have been playing bass 8 months or so now. I could play rhythm guitar in a punk band or something of that sort with simple chords but since I started with bass, I pretty much put the guitar away until a little while ago. I'm getting alot better at guitar and if I keep at it I might be a passable Rhythm guitarist by this summer. Bass is a different story though, defineatly a little better there, it's all I played for 6 months straight after I got it. Already in a band, or atleast what is attempting to be a band, as a bassist.

[jacobhimself]

ive been playing since i was 6, im 17 now but i still wish i was better.