What do you get from playing guitar?

[Plank_Spanker]

Why do you play? What does playing do for you?

I play because it soothes my soul. It relaxes me and takes me completely away from life's little issues. I like the challenge that the guitar will always present to me - there's always more to learn. I enjoy the focus it takes to tackle those challenges. I really enjoy the sense of accomplishment I feel when I master those challenges.

Playing keeps me young in spirit. When I'm on a stage, I'm not 47 years old - I'm 16 with a fire in my belly and, yeah, it's fun to show off and strut a bit.

I couldn't imagine life without playing guitar. It's as much a part of my life as breathing.

Forgive my soapbox philosophy. I guess I'm feeling a little introspective this morning....

Next!

[LowEndWonder]

Satisfaction, calm, excitement, better dexterity, callouses, and sometimes an inflated ego.

[sunvalleylaw]

Like you said Plank, takes me into the present and out of the day's problems or worrries. The tones also just touch things inside me. I have always loved music, and making my own just tops it.

[warren0728]

mostly to piss off the neighbors!

actually i too love music and since i work at home....it's nice to get up from the computer and play with something other than my mouse!

i really haven't devoted enough time to really learning how to play but this year that is gonna change...might even take some lessons...

ww

[R_of_G]

I get a fix for my tone addiction.

[Childbride]

it helps me to relax... it challenges me daily, and i know i will never 'master' it, but the thrill of progress is a wonderful thing... i love music, and how trying things different ways or on different guitars brings out subtle nuances in the songs... and most importantly, i sincerely enjoy sharing my love of this instrument with my husband on a daily basis!

[tot_Ou_tard]

...it's nice to get up from the computer and play with something other than my mouse!

I'll say! But why do you call it your mouse .

There is soooo much to learning to play guitar for me.

1) As Sun sez: making noise. The tones just slay me sometimes.

2) Becoming a music maker & not just a music listener.

3) The infinite challenge, combined with slow & steady progress.

4) Using my left hand for something (other than playing with your mouse? sez Warren) does something good to my brain.

5) Soul; the whole process stirs my soul.

6) Discovering than I can do something that I have always wanted to do & that everyone claims is difficult & needs to be started when you are young.

7) Trying to find the right gear for my needs at a good price is fun. Of course, it'd be a *whole* lot more fun if I had more money to devote to it.

8) Great comeraderie here at the Fret.

9) The whole thing is just fun, even though it is difficult.

[Ro3b]

The babes, of course. Also the money and prestige.

[Spudman***]

Calluses. That's what I get...oh, and of course like Ro3b says babes, money and fame.

I really don't know what I get from it though. It's more like I'm just addicted to it. I just want to do it. I don't really care what I get or why I do it. I just have to do it.

[warren0728]

I'll say! But why do you call it your mouse .

: :

[hubberjub***]

In this country, you gotta play guitar first. Then when you play the guitar, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.

[aeolian]

Playing guitar is a bit like therapy for me. It calms me down and centers my focus. In very few areas of life can I create something from nothing like I sometimes do when I play. And occasionally when I'm at my jam and we are in the groove it is a high that's hard to describe. And I feel a sense of accomplishment when I figure out how to play something new.

[Justaguyin_nc]

I never found anything as relaxing as just strumming a guitar..
frustrating learning.. but a total relief of any problem... "any"
A place to get lost, forget.. or remember..

[LowEndWonder]

I really don't know what I get from it though. It's more like I'm just addicted to it. I just want to do it. I don't really care what I get or why I do it. I just have to do it.

BINGO! +1:

[Plank_Spanker]

Almost forgot........................

Chicks dig guitar players.

At least that's why I started 35 years ago..................

[just strum]

For the


oopps, I mean




Actually it's because it's something I always loved since I first saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (3 weeks in a row). Unfortunately I never really pursued it until now.

Now the addiction is so strong that I think about it often at work, wake up mornings and think it would be nice to stay home a play. I really suck at playing, but there is such a strong drive that I am sure a lot of you can understand (some people around me don't understand the attraction).

If I could figure out a way that I could somehow incorporate music/guitar so that I could support my family, I would do it in a heartbeat, but look who I'm telling - I'm sure most of you would do the same.

So until that happens, it's an escape and one of the most pleasurable escapes I have experienced.

[duhvoodooman***]

Damn, that picture of my wife keeps popping up on the internet! : Ah, well....

To get back to the question at hand, I derive several things from playing:

Relaxation.
Immersion.
Mental cleansing.
Satisfaction (when something actually sounds good).
Exhilaration (when something actually sounds REALLY good, or when I master something I find difficult).
And when the tone is right, I just love the way these things sound!!

[oldguy]

Peace and Love.
Yeah, I'm an old hippie, I just don't look the part. I'm an old west cowboy, a big tough construction worker, a concerned environmentalist, son, husband, father, grandpa, teacher, student, and all around pain in the a$$.
And I'm just as happy with what I know now as I was when I first learned what a Cmaj7th and Fmaj7th were, in relation to Cmaj and Fmaj, and learned to strum "On The Way Home" by Neil Young, about 35 yrs ago.
I chose guitar, but kalimba would sound just as sweet....if only it were possible.

[Spudman***]

Dang! I had to google kalimba. So that's what they are called. I wouldn't be as happy with one of those...unless...how many watts are they?