General Music Chat

When you're young:

* you don't have much money so you make do with whatever you can
* you have lots of energy and play everyday
* you have lots of friends who support you and will come out when you gig
* you probably have young kids who compete for your time

When you're older:
* you have more money and can afford better gear
* you don't have as much energy and must force yourself to practice
* you don't have many friends that will come out and support you
* you don't have kids in the house anymore so you have more "me" time

As I've said, it's never the right time. It's always a struggle. But the times when everything comes together make it worth it.

When you're young:

* you don't have much money so you make do with whatever you can
* you have lots of energy and play everyday
* you have lots of friends who support you and will come out when you gig
* you probably have young kids who compete for your time

When you're older:
* you have more money and can afford better gear
* you don't have as much energy and must force yourself to practice
* you don't have many friends that will come out and support you
* you don't have kids in the house anymore so you have more "me" time

As I've said, it's never the right time. It's always a struggle. But the times when everything comes together make it worth it.

Most of these things are true for me. with these exceptions;
*I have plenty of energy to practice and rarely have to force myself.
*I have plenty of friends that come out and support the bands I play in. I also have lots of grown kids that want to come watch the old fart wail and party with me!

Jimmy you are very smart and wise but I disagree about forcing it. You have listed the things in order of YOUR life. I believe that we all have the same problems for the most part as musicians. We have different lives so these things you have listed can vary from person to person. Just my opinion.

I may be 52 . . . but I'm 18 and I love it when it comes to my music.

Mostly true for me. I used to just jam by myself for hours but rarely make time for that now.

I have always needed to set aside blocks of time to learn new songs. Some guys can hear a song once and just play it. Not me cause I'm a little slow. I have to map out the tune on paper and work through it one part at a time. This is my least favorite part of playing but necessary to get good results. I wouldn't use the term "forced" but just making time to do the homework that has always been required as a musician.

i find the age thing ironic from another point of view.



i'm thinking about playing w musicians out of your age group. and maybe that's fodder for it's own thread....

when i was in my teens, twenties, and beyond i'd play w anyone that could play, had something to offer, and wasn't a tool.

yeah, i totally get a bunch of 19 yr olds not wanting to play w someone in their 50's....but still the off hand dismal of anyone deemed as "too old" bothers me on some level. just the same now as when i was younger.

i have a cpl of ads on c-list and they both include this at the end:

Relevant: that you can play and you're not a jerk

Irrelevant: your age... as long as you're old enough to drive to the gig and you're not too old to carry your own equipment. (-:

i've also said...

if your main focus and first question is "how old are you" we're likely coming at things very differently

i actually saw an ad not long ago that said "BAND LOOKING FOR GTRST BETWEEN 19 and 23". and that's it! nothing about the kind of music they played, instrumentation, etc....nada. zip. zilch. cos' let's face it, if i a qualified gtrst who was 24 or 25 came along, how could THAT ever possibly work?????

LOL, if I was 21 I couldnt imagine playing with me at the age I am now!

Good way to weed out what you dont want.

I answered an ad a few years ago and it said no druggies or drunks, and damn these guys were the worse junkies Ive ever met.

I just dont pay any attention to the age thing anymore, it is kinda fun blowing away some young buck!

i find the age thing ironic from another point of view.



i'm thinking about playing w musicians out of your age group. and maybe that's fodder for it's own thread....

when i was in my teens, twenties, and beyond i'd play w anyone that could play, had something to offer, and wasn't a tool.

yeah, i totally get a bunch of 19 yr olds not wanting to play w someone in their 50's....but still the off hand dismal of anyone deemed as "too old" bothers me on some level. just the same now as when i was younger.

i have a cpl of ads on c-list and they both include this at the end:

Relevant: that you can play and you're not a jerk

Irrelevant: your age... as long as you're old enough to drive to the gig and you're not too old to carry your own equipment. (-:

i've also said...

if your main focus and first question is "how old are you" we're likely coming at things very differently

i actually saw an ad not long ago that said "BAND LOOKING FOR GTRST BETWEEN 19 and 23". and that's it! nothing about the kind of music they played, instrumentation, etc....nada. zip. zilch. cos' let's face it, if i a qualified gtrst who was 24 or 25 came along, how could THAT ever possibly work?????

the demands some people put in the craigslist ads are hilarious at times!

when i was 18 i was played my first catskill's resort summer gig and had the opportunity to play w some older (better and more knowledgeable) musicians.

i think some younger musicians might be a little insecure about playing w someone who might be a little more schooled. and so they might be missing out on not only a good player but on a learning and growth op as well.

When I was 18 I knew everything there was to know about music, I didnt need no old fart showing or telling me how to play. LOL!

I still dont need no old farts telling me what i already know! LOL!

Somethings never change

When I was 18 I knew everything there was to know about music, I didnt need no old fart showing or telling me how to play. LOL!

I still dont need no old farts telling me what i already know! LOL!

Somethings never change

oh yeah?, YEAH????, well, jw...i knew everything there was to know when i was SIXTEEN, SO THERE!

yeah, i was pretty confident in my musical skills (and knowledge of EVERYTHING) when i was 18 but i also understood there were mountains of music stuff i didn't know....and i wanted it! badly!!!!

When I was 18 I had three jobs and did not even own a guitar.

Life is good, live it well.

When I was 18 I had three jobs and did not even own a guitar.

Life is good, live it well.

Ouch, I wish I had 3 jobs now..

A few years ago I started playing in a circle of musicians that ranged from 16-75. The oldest cats are mostly horn players and jazzbos with a ton of experience. The young are mostly college age with future music stardom in their eyes.

At one rehearsal a young guitarist with some cheesy gear showed up for a fairly complicated jazz piece. My first thought was... what can this kid possibly bring to the table. I'm very glad I kept those thoughts to myself. (cough) He brought plenty!

I enjoy playing with musicians of all ages as long as we can find some common ground and have a musical conversation. If they want to play Korn and Tool I'm probably out.

Planet Im just kidding around.

I was something of a sponge, I learned stuff from all ages of people when I was younger, not so much these days.

Its funny I can remember people who would turn away from me when they did thier big trick lick. "How did you do that?", "Huh, what?".

Heck these days, all you need is the internet, you can look up tabs for almost any song out there. These youngsters have got it made!

Youth is wasted on the young.

I answered an ad a few years ago and it said no druggies or drunks, and damn these guys were the worse junkies Ive ever met.

They didn't want anyone stealing their drugs!