What are your goals as a guitar player?

[Br1ck]

Be better today than I was yesterday, consistently.

[rstaight]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Be better today than I was yesterday, consistently.

Yep, this right here.

Was going to say, Better than I was yesterday but not quit as good as tomorrow.

[DBW]

When I first started my goal was to be able to strum an entire song. I accomplished that and it was wonderful. Now I can strum and sing. My next goal is to do an open mic night. I also want to master playing up the neck. I know the basics but want to master it.

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by menhir

Been there.

In my early teens when I got my first guitar, I attempted to learn Classical Gas...Mostly by playing along with the record and trying to figure it out from there. For the next five decades, I would just noodle around with the first part but never really pursued it past that...just noodling...until I found a decent transcription on the November 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Having the hard work, transcribing, done for me, I finally finished learning and memorizing it.

https://acousticguitar.com/watch-mas...classical-gas/

What's lacking in the transcription can be deduced by watching the video above.

If you can find a back issue, there it is.

Hey Thanks Menhir but I have already what I think is a excellent transcription that I found on Steve McWilliams FREE site.
https://www.stevemcwilliam.co.uk/guitar/tab.htm

Also the best recorded version of CG, IMO, is on Utube here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gkLzLxVtoM&list=PPSV

[HOF dad]

There's a lot of responses here that I would echo.
My most "out there" goal is to play well enough to
play out - whether open mic or some other venue.
My ability is much closer than my courage but as I continue to play, both improve.

[Dotneck]

I just like to have fun playing with friends…

[reeve21]

My last (most recent) goal was to fingerpick. That was over 5 years ago. Looks like it might also be my last (final) goal!

[biotechmgr]

Keep improving, fill the holes in my heart, er, techniques, and get the band back together.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

I've met (and surpassed) all my goals. When I started at 50 I just wanted to be able to play chords well enough to move smoothly from chord to chord and actually play songs from start to finish. That's it. That's all. Then it was to learn 4 songs for an open mic. Then 10 songs. Then enough for a set. The 2 sets. Then 3 sets. Then be able to play a paying gig! Then to be good enough to book steady gigs. At 60, that's where I am now and I couldn't be happier.

If I had to list some dream goals, I'd say to have the discipline to write enough original material and have it be good enough (both in content and presentation) to be able to book all-original gigs and get paid to do them. And then from there, record and build a following. But I seriously doubt that will happen because we (wife and I, duo) are just having so much fun doing the 'another old fart playing and singing acoustic songs' thing.

Scott, I've just watched your duo Facebook concert from a couple of days ago. Looks like the pair of you have a great thing going on there! That's a lovely project to have done together and you have certainly surpassed your first set of goals. I expect you will soon be on the way to your fulfilling your new ones.

[00045]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Be better today than I was yesterday, consistently.

Yep, that's me. Sometimes it takes more than a day to be better than today

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Be better today than I was yesterday, consistently.

This, I find, is an interesting concept. I'm not sure others would get so geeky.

Playing guitar is a physical act. I cant play my guitar when it is on its stand across the other side of the room. I have to pick it up and hold it - I have to strike or pluck the strings - I have to hold down chords and single notes.

So, to get better I have to do things that are physically different to the way I do them now. Therefore, all my practice has to be geared towards playing differently (sometimes that's physical practice and sometimes mental re-framing - but both lead to doing something that's physically different in terms of the way I'm playing now).

But the physical act of playing guitar is too quick and complex to be consciously processed. The movements, to be effective, must come from a place of non-conscious cognition. My conscious mind does not play my guitar (in fact, it can get in the way - stage fright, anxiety, mood etc). So, somehow I have to train my non-conscious part of my mind to make new physical movements.

I think that you could replace the word "better" with "different" and really change the focus of this goal from:

Be better today than I was yesterday, consistently.

To:

Play differently today than I was yesterday, consistently.

For me, having that concept that I'm practicing to play and sing physically differently by the end of my practice than I do at the start - and that getting better involves making physical changes to what I'm doing at a non-conscious level - has really helped me practice with purpose.

See I told you it was geeky