What's the point of playing an instrument?

[AndyDT]

I really miss playing guitar but I spent so long playing it and it seems like all for nothing (apart from reaching a competent level).
If you're just playing to yourself and it's taking hours of time you could be spending around other people I wonder what the point is?

[Zydar]

For personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

[sonatafanica]

well I've played guitar for like 7 years now and I'm not great at it i really just play songs i like which are usually just simple chords and i don't thing there's a point to me playing, i just like to do it i like to play and sing

that is the point i guess to enjoy it and stuff


just do it who gives a fuck

[BlobVanDam]

Because creating music is a wonderful experience that transcends many other lesser pastimes? Because it's fun? Because it's a talent? Because it's a creative outlet for ideas?

How can you not see the point of doing something enjoyable?

[AndyDT]

I can see it being an outlet if you're a student or something and you can jam but otherwise it's just hours of time alone. great music and experience but alone.

[Xanthul]

You don't need to have someone around you 24/7 to enjoy things

[jonny108]

For fun?

[Summers]

Because playing music and creating it is in my opinion one of the greatest experiences you can have!  It's an expression of humanity that can only be shown in that way.     

[black_biff_stadler]

I can see it being an outlet if you're a student or something and you can jam but otherwise it's just hours of time alone. great music and experience but alone.

Why is playing music any less of a valid way to spend your leisure time than any other common hobby like cooking, painting, fucking round with a Rubik's cube, playing video games, playing with yourself, etc?

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

And if you have any gumption whatsoever, you can take all that time you spent alone getting good at it, join a band and go out and play for people.  So you get the best of both worlds.  Enjoyment from the guitar and social interaction.

Also, I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me that says "the point is to be able to get onstage and flaunt your ability to do something awesome that most of the people there can't do, thereby receiving some sort of adulation from them".

[rumborak]

Leave it up to Andy to dissect and clinically destroy even the most benign activity.

If you don't like playing alone, join a band. You've heard of those, right?

rumborak

[rumborak]

Also, I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me that says "the point is to be able to get onstage and flaunt your ability to do something awesome that most of the people there can't do, thereby receiving some sort of adulation from them".

Of course. A healthy amount of narcissism is part of performing.

rumborak

[Lynxo]

The only one stopping your ability to play an instrument from being a social thing is you. Instead of playing alone in your bedroom for hours on end, you can:

- Join a band
- Get a teacher
- Practice with a friend
- Play live in front of people

And even aside from the social interaction to be gained, it's about personal interaction as well. I'd say that the learning experience is not just about your skills on the instrument - it's about developing yourself. You learn how to practice with good results but you also learn how to express yourself.

For me, it's also a form of meditation. To go completely into an area of your mind you don't always visit, to give yourself up to one thing, and one thing only. Those moments are inredibly stress relieving and those moments alone makes it all worthwhile.

And as Cozmo said - it feels good to impress people, can't deny that.

[AndyDT]

And if you have any gumption whatsoever, you can take all that time you spent alone getting good at it, join a band and go out and play for people.  So you get the best of both worlds.  Enjoyment from the guitar and social interaction.

Also, I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me that says "the point is to be able to get onstage and flaunt your ability to do something awesome that most of the people there can't do, thereby receiving some sort of adulation from them".

Exactly. Playing guitar alone has that feeling of tragedy - like "I want to be a star but nobody will discover me".

[Lynxo]

And if you have any gumption whatsoever, you can take all that time you spent alone getting good at it, join a band and go out and play for people.  So you get the best of both worlds.  Enjoyment from the guitar and social interaction.

Also, I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me that says "the point is to be able to get onstage and flaunt your ability to do something awesome that most of the people there can't do, thereby receiving some sort of adulation from them".

Exactly. Playing guitar alone has that feeling of tragedy - like "I want to be a star but nobody will discover me".

I'd say you've got other types of problems if that's what you're thinking.

[AndyDT]

Leave it up to Andy to dissect and clinically destroy even the most benign activity.

If you don't like playing alone, join a band. You've heard of those, right?

rumborak

I couldn't get that to work outside of college.

[kirksnosehair]

Leave it up to Andy to dissect and clinically destroy even the most benign activity.

If you don't like playing alone, join a band. You've heard of those, right?

rumborak

I couldn't get that to work outside of college.

Well, sometimes you have to find a way to MAKE IT work.  Look, I'm a nearly 50 year old guy, been playing guitar (and several other instruments) about 35 years now.  I have a career and a family to take care of.  Mortgage payments to make, not to mention that I pay my mother's rent and most of her medical expenses that aren't covered by Medicare.  Bottom line is, I work an average of 65 to 75 hours a week.  I arrive at this office every day at 6:00am (after spending an hour in the gym) and I rarely get home at night before 6:00pm.  Plus I'm on every third weekend.

And somehow, even with a schedule like that, I managed to put together a "band" (we're strictly a studio project), record an album and get us signed with a record label.  Now I'm working on the second album and it's FUN!  I'm not trying to become a rock star, hell, I'm just happy to be able to make the music I love with some great musicians, and I've even been lucky enough to become good friends with one of my all-time favorite keyboard players, Ryo Okumoto, who is actually in my band.     That still blows my mind to this day.

For me, THAT ^ has been "the point" of playing my instrument.

[AndyDT]

I see what you're saying. You somehow have to do everything at the same time almost. Personally I'd just like to jam, I've aways liked doing that, always. My two questions are - how did you find a band and when do you get time to practise and rehearse? The first I've found impossible outside of college and even then I only really got it to work because I had a car then.

[BlobVanDam]

And if you have any gumption whatsoever, you can take all that time you spent alone getting good at it, join a band and go out and play for people.  So you get the best of both worlds.  Enjoyment from the guitar and social interaction.

Also, I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me that says "the point is to be able to get onstage and flaunt your ability to do something awesome that most of the people there can't do, thereby receiving some sort of adulation from them".

Exactly. Playing guitar alone has that feeling of tragedy - like "I want to be a star but nobody will discover me".

I don't know how someone can so thoroughly miss the mark.
I play some keyboard. I suck at it. I have no intention of playing in a band. I don't play in front of anyone. And yet it is still a great feeling like no other to be able to just make sound and create music, even just playing along to a song I like. Recreation needs no justification beyond enjoyment. If you can't grasp the idea of just enjoying it, I don't think music is for you at all.

[PuffyPat]

Jam with your friends. It's as simple as that. I don't play guitar for concerts or anything, but I practice all the time, so when there is a time when a group of friends wants to get together, we can break out the guitars and have some fun. I've had some of the best times of my life just jamming with friends.

[ReaperKK]

For personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

This pretty much. To me it doesn't get better when I can write a piece of music that is exactly what I'm feeling or the feeling that I'm trying to convey.

[AndyDT]

Jam with your friends. It's as simple as that. I don't play guitar for concerts or anything, but I practice all the time, so when there is a time when a group of friends wants to get together, we can break out the guitars and have some fun. I've had some of the best times of my life just jamming with friends.

Me too although probably not as much as you.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

For personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

This pretty much. To me it doesn't get better when I can write a piece of music that is exactly what I'm feeling or the feeling that I'm trying to convey get laid because I'm in a band.

There is this also.

[Zydar]

For personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

This pretty much. To me it doesn't get better when I can write a piece of music that is exactly what I'm feeling or the feeling that I'm trying to convey get laid because I'm in a band.

There is this also.

I haven't experienced this phenomenon, but we haven't had that many gigs yet.

[Dublagent66]

Well, playing an instrument can be fun and musically satisfying, but in my case, playing guitar just got old.  Got tired of hearing myself play the same stupid shit all the time.  I could never focus my attention on practicing for more than 45 mins at a time.  I got bored and put it down.  It was a lot more fun when I was in a band and contributing to something bigger than myself.  My playing has been on and off like that for nearly 40 years.  A friend of mine that I used to jam with, lives and breathes guitar.  He can't go a single day without playing.  I wish I had that kind of determination.  Every time I talk to him he asks if I'm still playing or not.  NOT!  He just can't believe it.   

[hefdaddy42]

I really miss playing guitar but I spent so long playing it and it seems like all for nothing (apart from reaching a competent level).
If you're just playing to yourself and it's taking hours of time you could be spending around other people I wonder what the point is?

FFS What's the point of anything, Andy?

[AndyDT]

I'd say as Dublagent66 said - to do something bigger than yourself.

[lonestar]

Aside from the above points, it has some great psychological benefits, which probably explains why my head is fucked.

[Sigz]

[kirksnosehair]

I see what you're saying. You somehow have to do everything at the same time almost. Personally I'd just like to jam, I've aways liked doing that, always. My two questions are - how did you find a band and when do you get time to practise and rehearse? The first I've found impossible outside of college and even then I only really got it to work because I had a car then.

I found people on the web, mostly.  People who wanted to collaborate and make music.  It takes time, and effort.  But the main thing is you have to stick with it.  Even if you can only dedicate a few hours a week to playing, don't stop.  Keep going with it.  If you're in college then I'm guessing you're young.  You have a lot of time ahead of you for this kind of stuff.  Just be patient.  Over time, you will encounter people who have similar tastes and ambition, who would like to collaborate.

Look, I have an album - professionally mixed, produced, and mastered by a Grammy winning audio engineer.  And we're on a small independent label.  But with that said, it cost me a TON of money to produce that album, so it was a combination of factors that allowed it to happen.  I have a career that pays for my hobby and a passion that makes the time in my life for it to happen.

It's all about balance.  And it takes a while to find it.  But the main thing is don't give up on it.  I'm living proof of that. 

[MykeHavoc]

Not to be a dick, but the OP is a fairly asinine question. Everyone has already given a hundred good reasons.

[lonestar]

Saw that one coming.

[ZBomber]

Re: What's the point of playing an instrument?

To get pussy.

[jasc15]

I really miss playing guitar but I spent so long playing it and it seems like all for nothing (apart from reaching a competent level).
If you're just playing to yourself and it's taking hours of time you could be spending around other people I wonder what the point is?

FFS What's the point of anything, Andy?

This.  Recognize that we are animals driven by the things that bring us joy.  Searching everything for meaning beyond simple happiness and bringing happiness to others is futile.

[Jamesman42]

Hey AndyDT is taking things to extremes.