Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Tiruin]

Quick question Sphess: Do you talk to people and talk openly with them?
Asking in part due to saying that thing about friends :O

[scrdest]

I'm wasting my life. College is a waste of time. I can't play guitar or do jack shit musically. I'm a failure who has a bunch of guitar equipment and no real skill to use it. Don't have the time or dedication to get good at it. I'm not accomplishing anything with my time in college, still no friends, no idea what I'll major in, making absolutely no progress on music, even less than when I was in high school. No progress on any of my other hobbies. I want to do everything and can't dedicate myself to anything. Getting nothing done. Total failure.

I'm just bleh today, man.

Nobody is born good. In fact, I believe that whoever came up with the idea of 'talent' should be tried for crimes against humanity. And if you're making no progress on music, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, I recommend taking a break. I've found I would, inexplicably, level up my skills after breaks. I have no idea what causes that, but it's a thing for me. Or explore it from another angle; those might have been the explanation for those jumps - I'd get mu-sick (don't shoot) and read up on music theory, messed with electronic composition (SunVox, it's free and I can't recommend it enough for its relative simplicity) and keyboard instruments, just to fulfill the urge to mess with music.

And even still, judging from your posts, you're better, technically, than me; I mean, I can't sweep my room, much less a D minor arpeggio, ferex, and unless I'm confusing you with someone else, you're learning how to notation.

[i2amroy]

I've found I would, inexplicably, level up my skills after breaks. I have no idea what causes that, but it's a thing for me.

They've actually done several psychological studies that found that the most common time for an "ah-ha" moment where your brain successfully completes something or comes up with a new solution to a problem is if you get frustrated, relax with a break, and then come back to it in a more positive state of mind.

[scrdest]

I've found I would, inexplicably, level up my skills after breaks. I have no idea what causes that, but it's a thing for me.

They've actually done several psychological studies that found that the most common time for an "ah-ha" moment where your brain successfully completes something or comes up with a new solution to a problem is if you get frustrated, relax with a break, and then come back to it in a more positive state of mind.

Oh, no, I mean 'break' as in 'go somewhere for, say, two weeks or month without access to my guitar at all', not 'go watch an episode of Archer and come back'.

[Spehss _]

I regret posting in this thread now. Don't know what I was thinking. It just feels like my life is going nowhere and it's frustrating. Probably could've just said that instead of sticking my foot in my mouth (again) with that wonderful post of emotional venting. Again.

Quick question Sphess: Do you talk to people and talk openly with them?
Asking in part due to saying that thing about friends :O

No I don't talk to people or make any effort to stay in communication with them. I'm bad at that.

Spoiler: for less wall of text (click to show/hide)

Nobody is born good. In fact, I believe that whoever came up with the idea of 'talent' should be tried for crimes against humanity. And if you're making no progress on music, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, I recommend taking a break. I've found I would, inexplicably, level up my skills after breaks. I have no idea what causes that, but it's a thing for me. Or explore it from another angle; those might have been the explanation for those jumps - I'd get mu-sick (don't shoot) and read up on music theory, messed with electronic composition (SunVox, it's free and I can't recommend it enough for its relative simplicity) and keyboard instruments, just to fulfill the urge to mess with music.

And even still, judging from your posts, you're better, technically, than me; I mean, I can't sweep my room, much less a D minor arpeggio, ferex, and unless I'm confusing you with someone else, you're learning how to notation.

Spoiler: spoilered wall of text response (click to show/hide)

Obviously no one is born good but that doesn't mean I can't be an uptight anal perfectionist about everything I do. taking a break would make sense except I'm basically always taking a break. I have this mindset where if I'm not dedicating 100% of my time to something then I'm not trying hard enough and not making progress. Also I haven't seriously sat down and played for...a while. A week? A month? Feels like forever since I felt I accomplished anything on guitar. And I haven't learned any songs or anything really. Don't read the books I got on the subject. Don't watch all the countless free videos on the internet that could help. Don't do hand exercises, don't do this, don't do that. Haven't done any recording, haven't even tried learning the DAW, blah blah blah.

Haven't heard of SunVox. I would say "that sounds cool I'll look at it" but I probably won't do anything with it anyway just like all the other stuff I have but don't do anything with.

And I'm not technically good either. Like, I can't sweep either. I can practice sweeping exercises and dabble at making neat sounds by doing sweeping arpeggios with chord formations but that's it as far as my technical proficiency at sweeping goes.

I could go on I think but at this point I don't know what I'm trying to say. Aside form all the ways I can think of that I'm not good and not trying hard enough. I can think of those easily.

[scrdest]

Still better than me, if I had catgut strings my sweeping would technically be animal cruelty. Or wouldn't, because it's non-existing.

From the sounds of it, you are a perfectionist sensu stricto, not just what people refer to commonly refer to; none of the things you mentions are things you *have* to do, or even *should* do. People will listen to a guy just bashing away at three chords on a badly tuned guitar for all of his career quite contentedly if you sell it right; call it cynical, but it's also reassuring in a weird way.

If you're doing any - literally any of the things above, and don't want to... don't. Determination is a fine thing, but it's kinda like a burning match; you can use the power to get things started, but if you try to cook an entire dinner using just a single match, you're just gonna get yourself burned.

[i2amroy]

I've found I would, inexplicably, level up my skills after breaks. I have no idea what causes that, but it's a thing for me.

They've actually done several psychological studies that found that the most common time for an "ah-ha" moment where your brain successfully completes something or comes up with a new solution to a problem is if you get frustrated, relax with a break, and then come back to it in a more positive state of mind.

Oh, no, I mean 'break' as in 'go somewhere for, say, two weeks or month without access to my guitar at all', not 'go watch an episode of Archer and come back'.

No, what I was getting at is the same pathways apply on larger scales as well. If you've been spending weeks working on a project and keep getting stuck, taking a week off and then coming back has exactly the same effect as a shorter break from a shorter problem. The key is the fact that you were away long enough to relax your mind and come back with a fresh viewpoint, not the actual duration of the break (though obviously if you put something down for months or years you probably won't understand it as well when you come back).

[Graknorke]

The opportunity cost of being in further education.
I know that it's overall going to be a beneficial thing, but for whatever reason the school bulletin for my 6th form keeps advertising apprenticeships, and a lot of them pay at the same level or above minimum wage proper. That's enough to be productive to society and not be leeching off parents and probably other good things also. Like right now Sky has apprenticeship positions open with rock-bottom application requirements and that pays £16k a year.
Instead I have to be useless to pretty much everybody for years because that's probably the most useful thing to me ultimately.

EDIT: For clarification, I know that what I'm doing is the best use of my time. But it's like the 15 minute marshmallow thing. Just because I know that ultimately the outcome will be better doesn't mean I don't want what I could take now.

[Tiruin]

I regret posting in this thread now. Don't know what I was thinking.

Hey, you did what you thought was best--and personally? I really like that.
Unlike me, you and many people have the courage to announce what's plaguing you; unlike me, I don't think this will result in a long time of worry that leads you to personally face your fears alone--because I was pretty much like that a long time ago, and I did not or am not (until now...) open to posting my sads at all (though incidentally, I let it slip in between the lines in my posts, usually in subscript). x3 Because I seem to have dealt with them a ton.
...Until I learned that seeking and letting others know, in good company, would REALLY help a lot.

[Dutchling]

Forgot some bills.

Guess who will be a month late on rent and very low on food for the next two months or so.

God-damnit I am an idiot.

edit: Not as bad as I thought. Still have to learn how to cook rice though I guess

[Orange Wizard]

How can you not know how to cook rice?

Rice in pan. Water in pan. Boil rice-water until rice is soft.

[Darvi]

I usually boil until the water's gone completely.

[Orange Wizard]

That works too. Depends on how much water you use. Just boiling the rice in a lot of water is most reliable.

[ggamer]

spaghetti's easy as well, and relatively cheap. boil water, put noodles in, boil the water again, put ragu in a saucepan, thrown meaty/vegetably shit in the sauce pan, heat, then serve.

[Rose]

That works too. Depends on how much water you use. Just boiling the rice in a lot of water is most reliable.

It's also how HERETICS do it.