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Playing guitar is like surfing.


The Thrashole

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I read an interview with a surfer that really clicked with me. the surf dude was talking about the evoloution of a surfer. You start out and are just happy to stand up most of the time. them after a while and a lot of practice you realize that you can tilt the board and begin to steer the thing. over the years you pick up other tricks and techniques almost without realizing it until you are ready to tackle bigger waves.

 

It reminds me of the progression of a guitarist. You start just being happy to push doun the strings and make simple chords. By the time you are done you have a bag of tricks like different picking styles and applying different pressure to achieve different tones etc.

 

Or maybe I just need to go to the beach :P .

Reach out and grab a clue.

 

Something Vicious

My solo crap

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Man, I was like a surfer who got it all wrong and tried to hang ten in the woods!

 

It's funny that you should post this, as I was just ruminating over my absurdly long and slow progression of figuring out how to play. There were so many things that I was utterly clueless on! If I had gone the "right" route, and taken some good lessons, and gotten into a regimen of habitual practice, I'd be at least ten times better on the instrument as I am now. But, I think that the trade off is my quirky differences in approach, and I get compliments from players and nonplayers.

 

Players often ask me, "How in the Hell are you playing that? What are you doing there?" Usually I think it's pretty simple, and not as impressive as the lead-stuff that I often hear others doing, but people seem to think that I'm a good player!

 

I just know that I've got a lot of surfin' left to do- it's between me and them waves, never mind impressing others- to milk your analogy...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard:

Yeah but how many "soul" surfers actually own ten or fifteen boards?????? :)

GEEEEEEEnard, you seek leetle munky! The thing is, they often hit as many different beaches as they can.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Caevan, i was a lot like you are describing. I have been playing for around 23 years or so and a lot of that time was spent wondering if I was ever going to get the hang of the damn thing. It took a lot of perseverance but it is paying off slowly. I basically quit trying to be the best in the world and decided to just be a good solid me.

Reach out and grab a clue.

 

Something Vicious

My solo crap

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Originally posted by thrashole369:

I read an interview with a surfer that really clicked with me. the surf dude was talking about the evoloution of a surfer. You start out and are just happy to stand up most of the time. them after a while and a lot of practice you realize that you can tilt the board and begin to steer the thing. over the years you pick up other tricks and techniques almost without realizing it until you are ready to tackle bigger waves.

 

It reminds me of the progression of a guitarist. You start just being happy to push doun the strings and make simple chords. By the time you are done you have a bag of tricks like different picking styles and applying different pressure to achieve different tones etc.

 

Or maybe I just need to go to the beach :P .

Wait a minute... this somewhat applies to me, but for the bass. :D Must be the Rob Trujillo influence. Apparently, he was pulled into the Metallica fold after a surfing session with guitarist Kirk Hammett. I heard that on one of the audio interviews from metallica.com
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Originally posted by thrashole369:

"I basically quit trying to be the best in the world and decided to just be a good solid me."

Well, there you have it; the wave rises up within you, just as you observe and meet the wave head-on.

 

I think that becomeing a good solid "me" is the best way to possibly become "the best in the world".

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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