Delta Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 We all have regrets in our lives. It's part of being human. My great regret in guitar playing is that I didn't play for 15 of my prime years. I started playing at 12 years old. I had an old beat up Harmony acoustic that my Dad got from a friend for free. I then graduated to one of those cheap Japanese Harmony guitar/amp kits. I took lessons and played on a regular basis for 5 years. I even fronted a high school rock band. When I was 17 our family made a major move to a much larger town and high school. I had a tough time adapting and I stopped playing guitar for various reasons for 15 years. At 32 years old, after the birth of my son, I started playing again, and have been ever since. I'm now composing and recording my own material and collaborating with other artists. Anybody else out there that have gone through a similar experience? Quote "Let me stand next to your fire!", Jimi Hendrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Kind of the same kind of experience...I mentioned on another thread that I had taken about 3 months of guitar lessons back in '79. I moved to another city and had to give up my friend and teacher due to the distance involved. He was a pro and played mostly old jazz/pop standards. He managed to teach me the word improvisation. I've been on a journey teaching myself ever since and have always appreciated what I was introduced to. I too started playing around the age of 13 on an old Stella acoustic. So I had been playing over 10 years before meeting this teacher and taking lessons for $5 bucks an hour and a six pack of Bud. He would always book me for my lessons at the last hour of the day, so that we could continue jamming and have a beer or two. He liked the way I played my rhythm guitar (Les Paul through my Fender Twin) behind his leadwork and invited me to play in his band and on future record recordings. We did manage to play a couple of gigs together. I have always regretted moving away and what coulda, shoulda, woulda have been, had I stayed with him all these years since then. But, I will always remember our time together... Quote Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuardiansGuitar Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Without trying to sound too much like Oprah, I'm all about no regrets. Every day is a new opportunity to be awesome, and, as long as you're breathing and healthy and still playing guitar, you can improve, absorb knowledge, and rock like a demon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I know what you mean, Delta, and I often think that it would have been good if I'd begun learning to play the guitar even earlier, at an even younger age than I did- and there's a story about that in itself! However... Without trying to sound too much like Oprah, I'm all about no regrets. Every day is a new opportunity to be awesome, and, as long as you're breathing and healthy and still playing guitar, you can improve, absorb knowledge, and rock like a demon! Here, here! Hear, hear! "Hey, hey, my, my... " I've mentioned elsewhere about how a band I was in decades ago was very nearly taken under the wing of a famous singer/front-man for a very famous and hugely successful group- very nearly. Over the years I've reflected that since then, I've become a much better player and musician, and developed an even more distinct personal style, sound, and bag of techniques, and really enjoy that aspect of playing- not to mention having had some wonderful things come along in my life that might not have had I taken such a vastly different fork in the road back then. It might have led to more success than I could have been able to stand at that time, as well- the history of Rock and Jazz, among other musical genres, is veritably lined along the way with the tragic stories of people who rose- and fell- very meteorically. 42? 27... Quote Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfergirl Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I thought I had a regret 2 years ago, but turned out to be a blessing. Quote Jenny S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertbluesman Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I left New Jersey in 1989 for Florida, I kinda quit playing until I bought my Arizona property in 1997, I started practicing again around then. In 1999 I started recording again when some one sent me a copy of Cakewalks Pro Audio 9. I installed that and with it came a free composition program called Jammer. I installed that and re-birthed my audio recording production skills, switching from an all analog tape system which I sold in about 1990, to computer based digital recording. Once I learned how to create my own backing tracks using Jammer and Band In A Box, I started practicing guitar again in earnest. And I play every day while the wife is working. or out shopping. Quote dbm If it sounds good, it is good !! http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=143231&content=music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I thought I had a regret 2 years ago, but turned out to be a blessing. I kinda know whatcha mean and can relate, surfergirl... Quote Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Psmith Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 There was a point where my life was . . . well, let's say that not having a roof over my head, I went without a Guitar or a dog for quite a while. A Guitar was a luxury I couldn't afford, and I prefer my dogs to have a stable home environment, which I couldn't provide, living out of a backpack. It was an interesting time, much like the old Chinese curse has it: "May you live in interesting times." Regrets, though: to what end? I can't go back and change whatever it is I think I might change, and who knows what would happen if I did. Believe me, there are people, and places and even times that I miss, and would gladly see again if I could, but wasting the time that I have left regretting time gone by? I may as well dig a hole, sit in it and wait to die . . . More to the point, the life I led, even with all my mistakes & misdeeds, somehow led me here, to where I have a home, a great wife, a couple of good dogs, a Music room, and a great Music partner. Like in the Talking Heads tune, I ask myself "How did I get here?" all the time. Closest thing I get to an answer amounts to, "Just be grateful, and don't ask stupid questions." I guess this is one among the many things the Buddha does not know. Having lost more than a handful of old friends since this time last year, one just within the past couple of weeks, most days I'm grateful just to be alive, everything else is icing on the cake. The highlight of my day, yesterday, was tossing a ball in the backyard for my 10-year-old foundling mutt, and seeing that he can still run and jump. Simple joys, my friends . . . Quote "Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King http://www.novparolo.com https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertbluesman Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 There was a point where my life was . . . well, let's say that not having a roof over my head, I went without a Guitar or a dog for quite a while. I lived for about 9 years in my van (several of them). It had a double bed, a dresser, and under the platform I slept on I had my tools, both mechanics tools, and my masonry tools. I had a cooler and bought ice every few days, and a propane cooker that I used to cook with. I lived in that van and several others in Florida, California, and New Jersey as well as wherever I found work as a bricklayer. I traveled every state but Alaska (and Hawaii) in those vans. I stayed in campgrounds and in friends back yards, and wherever I could park it without upsetting the police. But I always had an acoustic guitar in those days. So I played almost every day sometimes for many hours. Finally I bought an RV one day. Once I got the RV I still traveled all over the place until I bought a deeded RV lot here in Arizona. But once I had the RV I could use an amp. Later on I bought a small mobile home to park on my RV lot, and have been dead in the water ever since I sold my Ford Diesel Pickup truck Quote dbm If it sounds good, it is good !! http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=143231&content=music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delta Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 Great responses from everyone. Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy with where I am now. I'm playing again, and that's all that matters. Maybe if I had played for those lost 15 years I would have lost something else. Quote "Let me stand next to your fire!", Jimi Hendrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbqbob Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 The regret I have is giving up guitar for 32 years! I took it up back in high school at about 16-17 years old.with a purchase of a Sears Silvertone acoustic with strings about 1/4" off the frets. I struggled with that for several months before buying a 60s Japanese made semi-hollow electric (for some reason I can't remember the brand name) and an Ampeg tube amp. In awhile, I purchased a used 1961 Gibson Melody Maker in cherry finish for $100. An entry level guitar but pretty nice for a teenager at the time. I a few years I was in college and got hard up for money so I did a stupid thing and sold the Melody Maker for $100. At the time that was probably 2 weeks pay for me. I also sold the Ampeg amp for $100. Damn! I wish I still had that Melody Maker! Long story short, I did not take up guitar again until I was in my 50s. I wonder where I would be now as a guitar player if I had not quit. Let's face it, I was not much of a guitar player back in the 70s but I would have to be better than I am now after nearly about 15 years of play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 My regret about music is not being disciplined enough as a kid to practice rigorously. It took me a really long time to realize that practice is its own reward, not just a tedious homework assignment. Quote Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p90jr Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 My stepdad's advice to me when I graduated high school: "Move to wherever there's a happening scene with people your age doing stuff you like and give music full-time a shot." What I did: Went to college here. No real regrets... people would point out that I can't complain about support here... just funny, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skypuppy123 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 My career took me overseas for many years so I never really got the chance to do as much as what the OP accomplished. Many times I carried my axe to many countries to keep me from going insane. Especially one country - Kuwait - just about a month after the Gulf war was over. The guitar was my friend. No regrets though - my career led me meet many people from many walks of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxzUmvzoVak Kinda like SG, I sometimes wonder if what seems regretful may be lookin' down (up?)...through the wrong end of the telescope of time. I will say that I too had a Harmony Monterrey archtop as a learning instrument as a learning instrument Actually a very nice tone. Then...., well... [video:youtube] Quote d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, to few to mention... Quote Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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