What inspires/motivates you to practice in general?

[Lindsey]

I still haven't found my answer to this question, if there is one. Most of the time I learn and practice through playing songs. It works but I'm lacking theory and free play because of that.

What is your answer?

 

[idssdi]

People being better me, wanting to be better and hearing something I like but can't play(yet)

 

[Ethan Keeling]

I play when im in the mood. but lately ive been more motivated so ive been learning the 7 positions of the major scale. ive also had fun in uploading stuff on insta and here, whioc I never really done before!

 

[Lindsey]

I play when im in the mood. but lately ive been more motivated so ive been learning the 7 positions of the major scale. ive also had fun in uploading stuff on insta and here, whioc I never really done before!

I remember when I first joined the challenges, I never uploaded much before either (and still don't enough) but I thought that was very motivating.

 

[Mihai_17]

I still haven't found my answer to this question, if there is one. Most of the time I learn and practice through playing songs. It works but I'm lacking theory and free play because of that.

What is your answer?

Avenged Sevenfold - Live in The LBC 2008

 

[Ben newton]

- Listening to other musicians play (Not just guitarists)
- Listening to all sorts of music
- Having a few small and a few large goals to work towards
- Teaching
- Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses

 

[AGA]

The biggest motivations for me are writing music and performing music.
This two tie everything together, wanting to write better songs always kept me hungry to learn more theory. Then being able to play and perform what I write keeps me excited about practicing.

 

[Christian Schulze]

People being better me, wanting to be better and hearing something I like but can't play(yet)

Yup me too

 

[Mike Herbison]

It's addicting when you notice yourself improving. Sometimes you plateau forever and then something clicks and you're better the next day.
What gets me out of a rut is just changing what I'm working on if I've practiced it to death.

 

[Andrew Milner]

When I was in high school, my main motivation was basically "there can be no other guitarist in this damn building that is better than I". I was angsty back then .

Nowadays, writing my own music is what keeps me going. And no matter how crazy the song I've written is, I make it so that I can play it.

 

[Firsty Lasty]

I've reached the point where I've stopped trying to be awesome and instead focus only on enjoying where I'm at. Ironically I feel like I started learning way faster when I stopped having giant ambitions. I certainly have more fun.

However, for some of you here the destiny which awaits you is greatness. Not everyone is me. Some of you have the potential to go very far (or are there now, Hi Syn!)

 

[Daniel Verde]

First I'll give my advice and then explain by talking about my experience learning the guitar. My advice for the absolute beginner is to above all else HAVE FUN PLAYING GUITAR! Nothing motivates a person more than passion. And as you improve you can increase your dedication/discipline with the instrument. My advice for the intermediate and advanced players who want to stay motivated is to practice a little bit every day, even if it's just 10-15 minutes. Remind yourself before you say no to practicing that you can take a lesson on this website in five minutes. Just give yourself five minutes a day to listen to Papa. And then after you practice for another 10 minutes either take a break or keep playing for fun. Whether that means playing songs you already know, making up stuff to a backing track, writing original material... Whatever your definition of fun is really, whatever you play the guitar for, make that the majority of what you are doing with the instrument.

I remember in my formative years that I would feel very frustrated and angry when I couldn't play the guitar at the level I wanted to. However I was essentially addicted to playing guitar. I couldn't help but play even when it was upsetting in some ways. I really enjoyed it too much to quit out of frustration. And eventually it just started sounding better. The key word there is "started." Because eventually you realize you need to refine your techniques. Because of course you are never done learning the guitar(or anything worth while). You will never know it all. The best guitar players, hockey players, or any other kind of professional will have the mindset that they can learn something new any given day(whether it happens or not).

Early on, I just decided to have fun with guitar. It was always there for me. And I never really pushed myself to work hard at it. Of course I can play for hours at a time. But it is hours spent having fun. It doesn't feel like practice to me. This was great for me early on because I might have quit if I didn't enjoy it enough. But this approach does have a downside. It doesn't teach the formally educational part of the instrument. However I am now more than ever making a push to get better at sight reading and music theory. And a big part of that is actually because of this website which I am very grateful for. Honestly it is such a great resource. But I do have some theory books I picked up recently, which also help. It's a challenge, but it is a challenge I look forward to each day.