How good at you on your instrument & how long?

[crofty1984]

2 questions really.
How good (honestly) are you on your instrument and how does that compare to how long you've been playing?

I play guitar. I'd say I'm a good rhythm guitarist, I can wang out a blues solo if needs be (and a few metal riffs) but I'd not call myself lead. I do the odd open mic with decent sucess and local gig (very rarely) but for the last few years I've mainly just been strumming along on my acoustic doing covers. Been dusting off the old electric recently too.

Trouble is, I'm no better than I was 10 years ago. I started playing at about 15 and I'm 35 now. If I'd practiced really hard for 20 years I'd be amazing! Now I think if a 15 year old picked up a guitar and had proper lessons and practiced they'd probably be at my level in 3-4 years max. Though maybe the basics come more naturally to me through years of use.

What about you? Continuous improvement over many years, or have you plateau'd?

[crofty1984]

deckster said:

My point, such as there is one, is that if you just do the same thing for 20 years you will absolutely reach a plateau. If you're practising three hours a day then the level of that plateau will be quite high; if it's a couple of times a month, less so. But you can't expect to continuously improve a single skill forever. Mixing it up, learning new stuff, and taking yourself out of your comfort zone is the way to get better.

Absolutely agree!