Musical Instruments

Didn't read your whole post, but this guy sings a bit I heard

you need to condition your fingers to play too, so yes if you're a bitch with weak fingers it might

but it feels good to finally make a recognizable sound out of guitar when you actually start playing

I make autistic shoegaze and ambient as a one-man project but my friends don't know about it.
I've tried to write more conventional songs on acoustic guitar but I just can't seem to get anything good. It either sounds totally generic, or when it sounds good I realize I'm ripping off another popular song. I don't know how guys like Elliott Smith and Nick Drake and Mark Kozelek can write such intricate stuff and have it sound so good.

I wish I could find people to play with, I'd love to play metal or hardcore at underground shows but everyone in this "indie" scene just hounds Mac Demarco or makes terrible vaporwave

Feel you, bro. Been playing an acoustic guitar for 5 or 6 years, but really been wanting to get an electric and some pedals and do something with heavy shoegaze/ambient influences in terms of the tone, and then Japanese/weird chord progressions/some blues for the general songwriting/melody stuff. I only seem to come up with riffs and hooks 'n shit, can't ever sit down and write a complete song.

Dream scenario would be to buy a Fender Jazz bass, a Jag and some pedals, and move out to a small suburban town with a friend (who plays drums of course) in the midwest and make some kind of lounge-y stuff that sounds like subdued ambient shoegaze with bossa composition.

o shit this turned into a blog post

yo guys ive been playing classical guitar for more than a year now, im gonna get an electric guitar soon
should i learn how to sing?
also what do you think about sax?

That sounds super cool, it's always cool to make the music you want to hear even if it's a weird style
I have the same problem with song structure, I'll find a progression of riff I like then just play it into the ground without being able to change it up in interesting ways.

A lot of people think they sound bad because they're too afraid to sing as hard as they can

Seconding this. You have to just have confidence (bro) in your voice. As long as you're not wavering all over the place, even a "bad" voice can sound good if it's forcefully projected.
I used to sound like shit no matter how much i practiced because I was holding back due to self-consciousness. Then I recorded myself drunkenly singing along to something and realized I had it, I just wasn't using it. That's what most people miss out on. A lot of amateurs are better vocalists than they think.

Lol this is so true. When I'm drunk I don't give a fuck and sound way better than I do sober

Got out of playing music for two years, but am building my chops back up. Got burned out from playing in two bands and was focusing on my career.

Feels great to play consistently again

The musical worls is rough
>Have played guitar for years but still don't know anything about music because sitting down and studying theory is absolutely hellish
>Tried to teach myself piano but my retard brain couldn't into sight reading and I just ended up memorizing everything
>Want to learn a new instrument but worry that I would suck at it like piano and would waste money since instruments are stupid expensive
>Not even that good at guitar because whenever I sit down to actually practice I just end up cranking it and playing sludge metal

Where is your scene?

its ok bro just lift more weights

Athens GA

I've been playing sax for 15 years. Started when I was in fifth grade. It's a lot of fun. Only thing that sucks is, as you get better, it takes more practice to maintain your musical gains and to make more musical gains. Wouldn't trade it for the world though. It's very rewarding to make progress and to be able to make beautiful music.

yea ik, i play guitar

Keyboard and piano are nice to learn, but can't play at most places. Bitches love Top 40 too.

I drum every minute that my roommates are gone. It's the worst instrument to work in practice for, but I love playing.

I play professional-level classical piano.
Kind of sucks when you pull out some Rachmaninoff and nobody is impressed and then some jerk off like comes along and plays a simple pop song which takes zero talent or effort and women practically tear their clothes off for them.
I wish I could make myself play pop music at parties but it feels trashy and unorthodox for me.
Good thing I can play to amuse myself..right?

that's p cool desu. is that your fulltime job?

i've played for a long time, but nowhere near that level

I've played bass for 6 years and gig regularly.

In this era, women don't give a shit about musicians, we're just not cool anymore. I've gotten zero pussy and women just don't care when I say I'm in a band.

Obviously I don't do it for pussy, music is my passion. This is just for the misguided folks ITT.

I play and compose on the piano, I make money off of it

Here's a pic with my trusty old keyboard

Hell no. I sometimes participate in competitions or I'll play at a bar in a blues band but it's more of a getaway I use to distract myself from school than anything. I've been playing violin and piano since I was about 6 years old and I'm 19 now. Honestly wish I felt more passionate about them than I did but I'm okay with it just being a little hobby of mine. It's a great feeling when you play for a friend you've known for a while but never heard you play out of nowhere and surprise them with what you can do.

oh shit

Damn what's your project called?
I live in Athens too and also record on my own

Step your game up

desu I wish I recorded my stuff, I don't have the technology or money

Can't you just download programs and try to make good music like Deadmau5

this. I play classical alto and baritone for about 7 years and I always get linked to that careless whisper, hobos playing on street corners, top 40 stuff and always say
>why can't you play like this, user? haha

reeeeee. I don't want to be mediocre REEEE

I also play snare drum, at a dci level. very cool.

Breh no fucking way me too. What corps?

Recording and especially mixing music is a pain in the ass even in programs that try to make it easy like fl studio. Best thing to do is just find a friend who is into that sort of thing and work out some arrangements to work with them. 10/10 experiences my friends

IKTF, I play Rusty Cooley, Joe Stump, Yngwie Malmsteen, Andy James, Tony MacAlpine, etc and only get attention from guys.

I play jazz guitar (I dabble in shoegaze and some rock stuff like joy division but just playing along to albums, nothing big)

I played upright bass in my HS jazz band and trombone in the pep/orchestra. Played drums too but sold my set, really regret it, drumming is probably the most fun I've had playing alone to tracks

I never matched just learned from techs that have. my private instructor marched Oregon Crusaders, and Phantom. Drumline tech marched Crossmen. My director marched Glassmen. I never auditioned for a Corp but I went to experience camps for indoor. had a good shot but couldn't do it because it was a 4 hour trip every week. what do you march?

marched*

Lel you're probably miles better than me. I did snare in hs and quickly became the best player, considering we only had a 6 man drumline, but went to a colts camp once and got my ass handed to me. I've gotten a lot better since then but I'm losing interest since I don't really have a use for it anymore, whereas with piano and violin I can still perform to some degree.

Started playing guitar again recently after years off of it actually. Just fixed up my old Jackson. I'm trying to be more humble about it now that I'm older and slightly more mature, so I'm actually taking the time to learn a bit about theory and properly training my songwriting abilities rather than learning riffs and shredding licks. I have one of the Japanese made Dinky DK2Ms. Just got it set up and cleaned and it's buttery smooth again. I'm planning to get a tremol-no because floating bridges are literally a meme. I've only used mine like twice kek.

Yeah, fucking somgwriting dude. I keep trying to come up with "interesting" progressions and realize I'm just shitting minor sevenths or major sevens everywhere with those chromatic descending bass lines or whatever that the Beatles love so dearly thrown in. Shit just ends up going nowhere. imo Dido knows how to pull off interesting progressions so I've started listening to her stuff

>>Have played guitar for years but still don't know anything about music because sitting down and studying theory is absolutely hellish

>>Not even that good at guitar because whenever I sit down to actually practice I just end up cranking it and playing sludge metal

holy fuck are you me?
>try to learn to use a fucking metronome properly
>give up and just play more Children of Bodom solos by feel

My biggest problem is trying to choose which books and videos to learn from out of dozens.

Man I've spent so many years learning off tabs and playing metal that I can write a pretty good metal lick just because I'm familiar with what frets make what notes, but I have no clue on the theory behind any of it or even what scale I'm using.

ha dude same. I taught myself snare before joining my schools drumline. only joined drumline for my last two years of hs and made center snare for both those years for summer and indoor. I'm planning on audition for troopers next year and then move to scv since that's their "secret sister corp". how was that colts camp like?

is piano a hard instrument to get into? I played trumpet for 7 years before i got bored of it and nowi want to start something else

desu I never found it too difficult (apart from learning harder technique), but it depends on the person. I teach piano as well and people definitely learn at different paces

The instructors and techs were all kind of douchebags and the consensus seemed to be that if you didn't march colt cadets and know everyone personally you didn't really stand a chance. I had a really bad time but I was also inexperienced and too shy to talk to anyone so it's understandable that I didn't make it. I just wish they didn't treat us like children and actually acted like they wanted to be there, because the camp turned me away from ever wanting to do anything dci related again.

Definitely the most versatile instrument but refrain from playing in public.

meh fuck em man. I've always heard horror stories from colts and colt cadets and its crazy that it's true. then again not like they're any good. colt cadets and colts is just a glorified highschool line. I say keep practicing and go audition somewhere else. where you from mane?

I've got a Jackson KE3 Kelly with a Floyd Rose and I'd agree that tremolo bridges aren't worth the hassle.

I'm from st louis so it's definitely the closest corp to me. And you know what I just might follow your advice and do that. Thanks for the motivation, brah.

tha bellybutton

first learned music theory on piano age 5 but played trumpet all through undergrad. principal chair in orchestra/wind symphony/jazz band/mariachi. had to stop because too busy with med school. also self-taught myself guitar

good luck breh. stay up and stay practicing.

I tried so many times to get into music in my teens, i bought a guitar, a keyboard, a western concert flute, a set of drums, and even a banjo once, never really became decent with any of them.

What other mental gains do you guys like? for me it has been drawing, finally got a cintiq this Christmas and while it's not as efficient to get pussy it's still better than playing videogames 16 hours a day and it's my current favorite way to unleash my autism

I'm learning to play guitar. I don't actually do theory I just try to learn songs and hope I get better. I'm going to start getting guitar and singing lessons when I get the money.
Hopefully I can actually learn to sing.

Ima handlet so can I?

I'd check out Rocksmith, even if it's just videos of others playing. You could probably break down songs and see how they're structured. Most really are just repeating chord progressions.

Outkast's Hey Ya is an easy catchy song

youtube.com/watch?v=DO4qMx8Ochk

Wrong video

youtube.com/watch?v=E_EvEuxZHvc

I'm a guitarist at heart but play bass in a slacker rock type band. Shits pretty tight, the community is awesome where I live and I have grills all over me.

I feel like drumming and being Veeky Forums somewhat go hand in hand, it's definitely the most active instrument at the very least

This will sound trite, but find your voice. If Deron Miller and Michael Gira can "sing," so can you.

>I wish I could find people to play with, I'd love to play metal or hardcore at underground shows but everyone in this "indie" scene just hounds Mac Demarco or makes terrible vaporwave
I identify. I just want to play Type O/Black Sabbath style goth metal, but everybody in Minneapolis is into indie. I'm a stranger in a strange land.

have played the guitar (electric and accoustic) for just over 4 years now, I enjoye it immensely but it's never gotten me any pussy, much like lifting, people will think you're drowning in it when in reality I'm still a virgin at 19 and have yet to have had a girlfriend
with that said, I recently matched with a qt on tinder who's down to hook up, thought it was cause I have a great body (2+ years of lifting) but appearently it's because she finds guitarist irresistible
wish me luck brahs, I've got a good feeling about this one

yeah man,you use your thumb to play most chords, so even the bigger chords aren't that hard (aside from initial MUSCLE CONFUSION from the positions probably being unnatural at first)

>tfw someone breaks out the guitar at a party
>want to jam some buckethead
>settle on only playing "all in the waiting" because binge and grab would scare of qt's

Violin for 15 years. Best memories and pussy in life have come from playing in orchestras. Don't regret a second of practice.

I play guitar and bass. I've never gotten really good at them considering the time I've had them, but I'm decent.
I just can't deal with the slowing segments down and autistically practicing technique. I just play shit at full speed until I get it.

I've also been wanting to get into piano. Are keyboards good and affordable? With guitars there's a whole bunch of stuff to consider before you buy one, but with a keyboard is there so much to think about?

I can play guitar competently I guess, my interests keep wildly varying so one day I play some chords on an acoustic and five minutes later I've plugged in my electric to squeal out some gnarly string bends and scales. When I'm at college I play at least 10mins every day, sometimes up to an hour or two if I got my hands on some drugs.
>also lift
>can cook well enough
>reasonably intelligent
>educated
>avg looks
Absolutely none of it has helped me get girls (didn't expect it to, of course). I got closer to getting laid in highschool when I was first coming out of my cocoon, surrounded by the same people I had known every day for years in the public schools. Now I just walk around college to and from class/gym, usually go straight home after and chill with my roomates. Its a quiet but dull life.

I'm learning to play ocarina, cause ain't nothin' drop a bitches panties faster than a motherfuckin' ocarina!

But seriously, I am learning to play ocarina for no other reason than fuck it, why not.

No offense but the younger generation are to braindead to know what an instrument is. Computers and vocals are the only thing relevant anymore it's depressing but true. So why would you learn to do something only other musicians appreciate.

To all the guitar players in this thread, how did you go about learning to play it? I'm a sucker for great riffs and chords, but I'm not sure how to get started. Any tips?

That's a stupid way of looking at it. If something is rare, people will be more intrigued by it. Normies definitely appreciate and marvel at musicians.

Are you LITERALLY me? Just started playing again after a 7 year hiatus.

> I'm a sucker for great riffs and chords, but I'm not sure how to get started. Any tips?
Pick it up, go to ultimate-guitar.com and start learning songs you like.

I might give the ocarina a shot too, I heard time travel is pretty dope!

Man you should collaborate with someone. If you can come up with decent hooks and riffs and have a mate that can arrange them and bridge gaps between them then you all of a sudden have a super creative outlet. There's nothing better than the sense of achievement you get from actually turning riffs into full fledged songs. Beats shattering your bench record any day.

Started playing guitar in school, bought an electric guitar but I was kind of bad at it. Then I bought a drum set and it changed my world. I have it gathering dust in a corner because its way too noisy. This thread gave me the guts to play again.

That website is a treasure trove. Thanks a lot, user!

Anyone here play violin?
Would my experience with guitar help with starting to learn it or is it a completely different game?

You can also buy or pirate Guitar Pro 5 for many of the tabs and it's easily the best way to learn songs.
It's also great for writing songs when you get into that.

I'd love to play drums but it's such an impractical instrument. Price, noise, space, and transport to name a few. I've been looking at electric sets though, they're probably good now compared to years ago.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look it up.

It's all about practice, you might not be gifted musically, but you'll be able to play if you try. If you can reach an octave comfortably, that's all you really need for most music.

Unless you're going to play Rachmaninoff, don't even worry about small hands

Yeah honestly, I got the guitar when I was 16 so I was like "woah a fucking floyd rose!!" and proceeded to make some noises on it and never use it again. I suppose if you play lead live and want that kind of thing, sure go for it. But if you're just some garage jammer there's literally no reason to get one. It's a pain to set up, a pain to intonate, a pain to tune and I have to adjust it I want to change string gauges or drastically change tunings. Right now I put a wooden shank in the back so it can't pull up anymore though so that's working out not badly

>bands
>real music
kek

>pic related it's me

Violin is extremely easy to learn. Its kind of like guitar except there are no frets and your hand pretty much stays in one position the whole time.

Glad I could help pal. This thread has been way livelier than I thought it would be.

>hand stays in one position the whole time
>t. never got past elementary school level
fucking plebs REEEEEEEEEEE

Bass, drums and piano

Kek you're right. I stopped taking lessons in the 6th grade but still continue to play to this day. I learned Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring then plateaud.