synchro wrote:
I’ve played guitar for twenty-one years. When I was a teen, I played both electric and acoustic, but electric guitar didn’t suit me well. I prefer to play acoustic guitars. The style I play would probably be called finger style, though I do use picks as well.
I also can play pennywhistles, recorders and various flutes. I used to have a Lakota Indian flute which sounded beautiful. There are other instruments I would like to play, such as hammered dulcimer, bouzouki, and Highland bagpipes.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to say I am a talented guitar player. I’ve played a long time but haven’t advanced my skills much. I still play at the same level as when I was twenty-four. Guitar playing has been a disappointment at times. Everything I create seems accidental, as there is never a thinking process involved. I do not think of the way I want something to sound, then attempt to play it. I just let my fingers do whatever they want. Sometimes I play well, other times I don’t. It has always been difficult for me to play in front of others, so music has mostly been a private thing. Another negative is that I have never learned how to read & write music. This results in my creating something nice, and then losing it forever.
In all this time, I have only created a handful of songs. My guitar playing is typically just fragments that I am rarely able to string together. There is a trap I fall into, where I invent something I like and then play it over and over again, for weeks, even months. (Perseveration, I guess.) Eventually I have to put the guitar away for an extended time, to get away from the repetitive playing. My guitar has been shelved for a couple of years now.
Recently I’ve attempted to create electronic music, but I didn’t have the patience to learn. There are too many other things going on in my life for me to resume my music hobby at this time.
Although ive only been playing 6 years i have the same problems. Get a recorder (portable voice, laptop or PDA with mic etc) to get your songs down, that way you can never forget them. As for music, i cant read or write either, but remmeber you can use tabs ! that way listen to your recordings, develop the song and get it all down in tab form at least.