For me it was when my SO overheard me soloing over a backing track, and when I emerged from my man den, she asked who I was listening to.
When I told her that was me she said "holy fuck you've gotten good".
That is the opinion of a non-player, but still felt pretty good.
Posted Mar 29, 2020, 4:05 PM UTC
I got a scholarship for my playing. Felt really good. Then I got there and realized I couldn’t touch the best players in the school lol.
That reminds me of this customer of mine, incredibly smart guy went to MIT, but said he was a "SPAMIT" which stands for "Stupid People at MIT".
I used to play a lot of open mics and small jam festivals. When other people started asking me to sit in with them, and I could. Also the first time a crowd roared after one of my breaks. That is an awesome experience. Frankly I'm an intermediate player, but letting yourself loose and playing with passion goes a long way. And it's only taken 29 years.
I realized I'm pretty good when I stopped comparing and instead focused on doing it. Not paying too much attention to technical flawlessness, but making it feel like something. By no means I'm above many, probably not as good as the majority who put themselves out there, but still pretty good, I get the job done for what I want to do. A couple of times a girl said "I could listen to that all night" was very meaningful compliment. Because that's the goal, to share the enjoyment from music with others, to give other people something to enjoy with your own ability. Or when my ex-bandmate from more than ten years back, who I respect a lot as a guitarist, composer and person, told me I play well when we were just hanging out, talking about music and life and trying out pedal sounds. It was such a barebones honest compliment that I wasn't expecting at all in the moment that I was speechless.
My most satisfactory moments haven't been when I nailed a hard solo or riff, it was when I sat with some pedals in the midnight finding some moody tones and just playing whatever nonsense that felt like something. Or when on stage in front of people giving it all, forgetting self-doubts and thinking and just enjoying, giving to others.
After spending an evening jamming at an open session, I was watching a guitar player and drummer duo with awe - timing was tight, the feel was incredible and you could feel the sheer musicality in the atmosphere.
Later when having a beer, they approached me. The guitar player said I was depressingly good and would never be able to play like me in a million years.
I don't see why on earth he'd ever want to.
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There's something about finding your own voice on the instrument, and it takes a long ass time to do so.
Most guitar players feel they became great when they abandoned trying to be someone else.
Taking all your influences over the years and how they meld into your hands is amazing.
I'm just a bedroom player these days, but I would say it hit me that I was a decent player that I can now pick up stuff a lot quicker than I could when I was younger. I used to give up quickly on really hard riffs and solos because I didn't have the patience or the technique to really learn it.
Case in point: I could never imagine playing any Guns'n'Roses solos when I was younger because I thought Slash was just way too talented and I'd never get to that point. Fast-forward to now, and with enough practice I can play a decent version of most of his stuff. I don't know when it clicked, but it somehow did.
I'm 33. I began learning guitar at 21. Earlier in my playing I could finger pick and sing "Don't think twice, it's alright". My uncle, a life long musician heard me and the look on his face made me feel like I had figured something out. It really kept me hungry to keep learning. As the other reply stated: there's a million things I can't do, but I can entertain myself, and I can play music to relax and unwind, and sometimes I can strum and holler a few covers and originals at the campfire.
First time I felt that I was in 5th grade and I was the only one in the jazz band who could solo
I'll let you know when I get there.
I learned Little Wing at 16 and played it at an open mic along with a basic blues jam. Alot of older players praised me on how well I did. I think that was the moment I was like "ohh this is my thing". I leveled out later in life though. I'd say I was "really good" for my age between 15 and 21. I'm 30 now and I'd say I'm "a good player". I could be soooooo much better though if I kept at it as much as I did in my teens.
Never did. The songs I like...I am unable to play, as they are pretty fast shred solos mostly, and I am a talentless perfectionist, so I don't settle for sloppy.
I won't say I am frustrated (I have far too much fun for that) but I never stopped and said to myself "Wow, damn I good".
I am 40, have thousands in Euros in guitars and a Kemper stage so you could say I am a dedicated bedroom player, but I won'g overcome my plateau as I don't practice nearly enough.
For instance, if you know Sylosis, I can nail Leech WITH the solo (no small feat for me, those triplets are FAST and clean) and I nail Shield up until the solo, but unless I stick to metronome and sheer force of will for a month, I won't play the fast solo part at 100% speed. The rest of the song is pretty trivial, but as I cannot play the whole song...well, it's not good enough.
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On electric, I'm a solidly workmanlike rhythm guitarist. I can stay on the beat and play in the right key with good intonation, and I can vary the voicings and passing notes enough to keep it interesting.
On acoustic, I'm a more-than-decent fingerpicker and can also play decent accompaniment with a pick.
My electric lead playing, on the other hand, is somwhere between mediocre and crap.
When did I realize these things? In my early 20s when I was playing gigs all the time. The audience liked our music, and other musicians commented on how much they liked my playing. That part meant the most to me. I've improved slowly since then, but don't play in public much anymore. I'm in my mid-60s now.
I'm into shred so it's relatively easy to gauge progress - speed/accuracy, being able to play increasingly difficult solos or classical pieces - and by that standard I'm "pretty good". when I play with other ppl - I'm kinda sorta in the second or maybe even getting close to top tier of amateur shredders from what I can tell.
but then the level of musicians whose music/vids I learn from - Chris Brooks, Yngwie, Bradley Hall, Bernth, Michael Angelo, Archspire, Necrofagist, Chuck Schuldiner (RIP), McRocklin, Ross The Boss etc etc etc - are so far ahead of what I can ever imagine myself being able to do I would never call myself anything but "intermediate" because that's where I stand in the grand schema of things.
Ive found my main niches. Weird chords, weird tunings, a couple of scales i like to write in, and some technical proficiency. Learning what you like and what you’re good at can take a far ways. Id say thats why im quite good. From a more technical standpoint, ive learned some Jasom Becker, some Paganini, and a couple of fast string skipping Scarlatti pieces ive arranged.
Haha, I’ve had similar things happen several times with keys. My wife has pulled up a video of our daughter or something with me jamming away in the background and I’ll comment something to the effect of “dang! Wish I could play like that!” To which she’ll look at me and and say something to the effect of “that you, dumbass” haha It’s a great feeling.
For guitar, it was when I realized I could jam with my brother and not be completely outclassed.
I've only ever thought that after I played with someone less skilled than I am. I have felt the reverse many many more times than that. Typically if that doesn halleny, I'm confused because when the music stops, people are looking at me asking what I was playing and I don't have an answer other than "I dunno, my favorite inversions and voicings of the chords you wrote on the chart?"
When I could play the Afterlife solo by Synyster Gates
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzKVDEdAsOr/?igshid=1tkd915o5os2m
I've been playing 40 years and it's how I make my living, so yeah, I'm "good". But there's a million things I can't do on guitar! I can't shred, I can't jazz, I can't do that whole cool Mateus Asato thing. But I can hold an audience for a few hours with rock and blues, or an acoustic set.
As an acoustic player I can impress most people well enough, but I would give up half of what I know on a guitar for a better voice and stage presence.