Any more introvert/non-creative guitarists?

You do realize you are asking introverts to pop their head up here… I almost decided to skip by this one. We’ll see if I delete it or hit reply, I suppose.

I agree with the folks saying to do what gives you joy. Think about what made you pick up a guitar rather than something else, or even using your voice. For me, listening to music was not enough. I wanted to have a deeper connection. I considered harmonica, recorder, hurdy-gurdy (yes, truly), and guitar since these are frequently in the music I enjoy and something I can play solo. I spent a lot of time listening to either 60’s and 70’s radio or classical vinyl records as a boy. When I started, I knew that I could get a good deal of enjoyment from playing guitar, and I am not afraid to try some music on that instrument that was never intended for it. I still don’t what I am doing, but that is not required for me to have fun.

I too am not doing as well with Grade3 practice as I did before. In my case, there are so many things I have not perfected to my satisfaction that I cannot get to them all in one session. Yes, I really do prefer perfection before moving on and it fights with my desire to see new material. I have accepted that I am not going to be very fast at gaining some skills. I make sure to come back to those skills in practice. Sometimes ignoring something for a couple weeks and coming back to it really helps (ahem, Barre chords…)

What I have tried to do for practice now is to list all the things I am in need of improving greatly before I can attempt something I want to do. Some examples:

1. I cannot make the stretch for a song I want to learn – this is a long-term practice item that will pay benefits after my hand adapts. i just stick with it. I plan for this to be a long-term practice item.
2. I want to play something at tempo but I am too slow – I will practice 1-min changes, then the song just beyond comfort level a couple times a week. This is probably a short-term practice item for me.
3. My technique is pretty poor in some place – I do this with brute-force practice. Start slow, gain the speed, and just do it very frequently. This is typically a medium-term item. Either I skipped by it too fast during lessons, or it is ‘good enough, but not great’ and just needs some dedication to see results.
   and more…

Most of these items are really obvious to me related to my own needs. I’ll bet yours are too for you. Tailor your practice around stuff you want to do, be it near term or long term.

Let’s circle back to introversion and creativity. Do those things really not occur together? I think you can find evidence that they are not necessarily connected. Someone I would consider highly introverted is Neal Peart, drummer for the band Rush. He was particularly adept at his craft and writing lyrics for the band, but he did his best to stay out of the public view. Introverted? I’d say so. Did it reduce his ability to play music, certainly not!

Do not consider being introverted a burden. Use the benefits of not partying every night to do what you enjoy with your guitar.