Adult Students, Original Riffs, Intellectual Improvisation

[salomon9595]

One person I thought of when you said that you would find it difficult if you not found any decent teacher was the great young guitarist Joe Robinson that learn from a few youtube videos and DVDs - he in 2010 was the youngest and first instrumentalist to win the World Championships of Performing Arts in Hollywood! If you not have heard him: Check him out. I mean he's a successful guitarist without any real teacher... It isn't impossible at all, right?

[arcainjust]

@salomon9595 while i would say i agree being self taught is *not the best option* . there are MANY great self taught players..but if this young man taught us anything..it is."if there is will there is a way" no question about that...and its not impossible at all..just..*not the most effective way* would be more accurate :) peace and regards.

[actionsauce5]

Dang. I'm 26 and started playing at 25. If I took all the teenage years I spent playing vid'ya games and had played guitar instead, I would make Yngwie Malmsteen look like a noob. Today's guitar lesson is an existential truth: you only have so much life, so make the most of it!

[mcagnin]

Imagine the mastery you'll acnowledge if you apply the 10 hour workout of Steve Vai. You cut the 10 years down to 3... and imagine continuing working out that way for the 10 years period, you're getting the mastery of those great players. It's not only talent, but you need to have a special talent to practice and practice that way.

[sharr9966]

Slightly depressing reality check Andrew but something I suspect most of us older guitar wannabes privately suspect. I recall the 8+ hours a day I played as a 14 year old during the school holidays. Hope your advice encourages other to lower their ambitions and allow themselves to enjoy their playing more.

[sharr9966]

Slightly depressing reality check Andrew but something I suspect most of us older guitar wannabes privately suspect. I recall the 8+ hours a day I played as a 14 year old during the school holidays - never repeated. Hope your advice encourages other to lower their ambitions and allow themselves to enjoy their playing more.

[SuperRoastbeast]

Andrew, loved your answer to the first question. I've noticed in a lot of people that have asked me about lessons are looking for a magic bullet, especially the older crowd. They want to get to a level of mastery and think that one scale or technique will get them there...then once they find out the amount of practice involved they decide that it's too much work and end up never progressing.

[HalleranTube]

Andrew, thank you for the quick response! I like the 1000 hour incremental development idea. It is something I can put a "mental grip" on. I look forward to my next 1000 hour level. Tim

[tamirke74]

Hi Andrew,Im 37 and started at around 30.The nice thing about guitar is how much fun it is to play after a very short period of time.There is no question that you need to put a lot of time into it but if you keep your expectations real(your not going to be Vai or Hendrix)then the reward is amazing.Basically what I;m saying to everyone is grab a guitar and start playing.

[HalleranTube]

Andrew I have great respect for you, your playing and your prolific lessons.

I find it necessary to comment about this lesson, specifically adult students. Your honesty is appreciated. I believe you about 10,000 hours to mastery and a high percentage of adult failures. What you did not mention is that many adults are successful and that we can be pretty good at 1000 hours.

10000 hours is needed for virtuosity. What you stated will more than likely discourage many adult guitarist.

[creativeguitarstudio]

@HalleranTube.

Yes, it's good to put it in perspective like that. But, it obviously goes without saying that with every (say) 1,000 hours there's a plateau reached. With my own students, (if they put in the work), every 2.5 to 3 years they reach new levels of ability. And, I can recall when I first started as a kid, my second teacher told me it takes at least 6 years of solid study before you have decent chops... It's all subjective, but time /hours is the key factor.

- Andrew Wasson

[dkistheshizam]

You're the man Andrew Wasson. Thanks again buddy.

[shmaltz]

Excellent!

[stsgabe]

not to mention if you are older and you do achieve mastery there is that much less time you have to express it

[Kashmir2112]

I think your musical influences are just as important as the stuff you actually learn to play when it comes to creating original riffs. If all you listen to is Nirvana, everything you write will sound like Nirvana. The more you expand your musical horizons, the more influences you have to draw upon when you're writing.

[Charlesdance]

Thanks for answering my question Andrew, I super-duper appreciate the time you took out of your day to answer it. You didn’t answer how I’d expected but something clicked for me and I feel I’m on a new level of understanding that I couldn’t quite grasp before. You’re awesome, and I shall continue to spread the word of your awesomeness.

[br1an419]

Thanks , Andrew.