Quit playing guitar

[BoddAH]

Computer music hasn't been around for that long and while I'm sure some of you picked up Live as their first creative outlet (or in the continuity of another DAW, hardware samples/synths or whatever if you've always been into electronic music), I'm sure many of you either started with "normal" instruments a long time ago or simply were late to the party with Live.

Before Live, I've been playing guitar. In fact, I still do and I still enjoy it to some degree but I also enjoy messing around with Live, maybe even more so and I have the realistic feel my guitar playing is going nowhere other than the kick I'm getting out of it when I pick up my guitar.

I'm 25 years old. I don't have a band, I don't even know people to jam with and while I messed around with recording myself I mostly just find it easier and more effective to use software instruments in my productions. The sound palette is obviously also much larger and the whole thing is simply a much more powerful way of creating music compared to tediously learning the guitar just to get a five note lick down.

I know I'll never be a rockstar or a guitar legend. I'm not even after that. But I feel that the only reason I keep playing the guitar is to maintain my level and the callosity on my fingers. ANd of course the dreaded feeling of having "wasted my time" learning and improving my guitar skills all these years.

Have some of you been in the same situation? Should I just sell my guitar gear and quit?

[heavensdaw]

Hi, tbh I definitely would keep on with you guitar skillz... even if today you only get a small kick out of playing it.. there are 1,000's of bedroom producers who'd love to be able to play a 'real' instrument but can't, and they have to rely on software for there sounds. Try getting more experimental with the effects chains that you play through. Maybe have a look at setting your guitar up as a midi controller?
In my experience and opinion, it's always best to have a variety of skillz and sounds at your disposal, rather than be more limited in your creativity..
I think you may wish that you hadn't stopped with your guitar playing in the future. (if you choose to)..
Live can do sooo much, but so can a guitar.. it's great to have options!

my 2cents.

Hd

[Angstrom]

you are crazy.
Making music is about having the most possible colours and techniques available to you, so that when you need that one particular texture you can just reach for it.
I'm a quite terrible player, and always have been limited in my ability, but I really glad I have a guitar and a bass around to add a few levels to my music which are unavailable to the 8 billion people with a copy of Garageband + Apple loops.

Today you might thing that bleeps and bloops are amazing, but why limit yourself to live along with the mass of averaged people.

I'll just leave this here.

"Living for the City" – 7:26
Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocals, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, handclaps

there is nobody else on the track

[BLuE_Lu]

Same situation, but similar awareness of said situation. I have definately developed a good pair of ears for harmony, jazzy sounds and the style I want to achieve. While I am very far from being technicaly skilled on keys, I know what type of sounds I want to get. Approaching a different instrument with that kind of background knowledge is quite refreshing.
I couldn't do it on the guitar, not only because of limitations soundwise, but mainly because my fingers run along certain tracks by now, its hard to change that...

A piano gives me new and never felt before freedom. Just embrace what you have man, you will get there. also you might be quicker to pick up bass guitar too

[beats me]

If you know how to play an accoustic instrument sooner or later you will miss playing it or will get sick of doing everything within the computer. And while there are some decent guitar emulations out there, there's no substitute for the feeling of playing the real thing. In fact it’s a lot more work trying to emulate the subtleties of playing a real guitar.

[JuanSOLO]

...The sound palette is obviously also much larger and the whole thing is simply a much more powerful way of creating music compared to tediously learning the guitar just to get a five note lick down...

Thats just a single perspective. I could look at that statement and say, Guitar must show more powerful musicianship because it takes a lot of practice to produce a 5 note lick, but that does not make it true either.

I have a guitar AND an expensive amp, I play it less for all of the reasons you have stated. I have tried to go down the road you are speculating and I get the nagging feeling to play guitar or drums or in a band with other people. I can easily make music on my own with Live, but it feels much more gratifying to me to play with others, and strum a guitar and participate in the analogue mystery of feedback and band telepathy. Just sayin.

[JuanSOLO]

maybe you should sell it, then a few years later you will understand what many of us have just commented about.

I'm no Nostradamus, but,
if you do sell it, I give you 4 years, you'll get another one, and it will probably sit on it's guitar stand second in line to your laptop.

[i3igTripplets]

My thoughts, guitar is something that will ALWAYS be there, Live is gonna change and adapt or become completely irrelevant. But when I'm old and lonely, that guitar is gonna be there for me.

[crumhorn]

No way would I part with my guitar. How can you have a singsong round the camp fire with a computer?

It works without electricity, it's always on, and it's portable enough to take anywhere. Plus almost everyone I know has one or more guitars just sitting there waiting to be played, so when I go round there is always something to do besides smoke and drink and moan about the economy, etc.

And, like with anything, the more effort you put into mastering it the more it will reward you. I'm constantly amazed by the things I can do on guitar that I was struggling with only a few weeks before and could only have dreamt of 6 months ago.

In short: I love my guitar!

[Guff Tong]

+1 chicks dig guitar players not apc40 tweakers...

[anybody human]

People just love the expressiveness of seeing/hearing someone playing an instrument. It's a human nature thing I guess.

Try this: Play along on guitar to a song your working on. Record it, maybe just an improvisation or whatever. Then use this as a soundsource to do some sound design mangling or cut & paste editing. Highlight a note or notes and hit command E to separate that region, the Command D to duplicate, Option & drag it to move a copy of it to somewhere else, reverse it, change it's pitch (it's a new clip), whatever. Also for sound design try putting effects on the guitar part, create another audio track and the input be from the original guitar track + effects, and record the result on your 2nd audio track. Then do your editing on the bounced effects track.

By using guitar as a soundsource, you'll get lots of timbre changes, which is great for sound design. Raspy, smooth, buzzy, bassi... happy accidents happen. I like to pitch notes around to make new melodies while fooling with the different warp modes & settings. It can be a lot of fun.

[milfhuntr]

Lol. I am a high level electronica musician and I want to expand so I added a guitar recently and am loving it. I can't get a good guitar sound without the real thing.

[dna598]

NO, basically.

Guitars are cool, computers really are not. I know thats not really an argument, but....

Also, just put more guitar into your music, if only to make it more "you".

[Hermanus]

Keep your guitar!

Pitch up/speed up mendolina textures for good sounds

Pitch Down/ slowed down Brilliant bass sound

And so many more

[AceLuby]

I could never live w/out playing guitar. Can't even think about it at this point. Every time I pick it up I'm teaching myself something new, whether it be a little diddy I heard on the radio or some variation of a new chord. I love that I can just create music any time I want w/ it and usually make it 100% original w/out much effort. I also love that I can play the same chord in different positions and have it sound like a progression. I just can't imagine not having that any more.