What is your goal?

Some are just hobbyist musicians. Some want to be songwriters or artists. Others want to be sidemen or session players.

My whole point is that based on what you want to do, you only have to have a certain set of skills to be the musician you want to be.

What to do based on your goals:

The hobbyist musician has a wide range of interest but often doesn't know what to do to achieve the end result.

If this is you, then understand that your ultimate goal should just be enjoyment! Enjoying the musical journey is the shortest path to achieving the goals you want to achieve.

I remember when I was at this stage, I was so caught up in living the dream of being a musician that I couldn't form a proper learning path for myself. Instead of focusing on playing any one thing well, I got into the frame of mind of how cool it would be to play like my musical heros. Nothing wrong with that on the surface, but if you put them on too high of a pedestal, you set yourself up for failure by having unrealistic expectations. When you have unrealistic expectations by comparing yourself to them, it causes you to miss the key elements of their playing that attract you to them in the first place. When that happens, you are wasting your learning opportunity.

Enjoyment is the main point of playing music in the first place, but for the hobbyist musician, it is their bread and butter! It allows them to go in any direction they want without worry or comparison. They can spend as much time as they want with their favorite songs, play in a band with friends on the weekends, and pick and choose anything they want.

The hobbyist musician should always be the one having the most fun!

The songwriter or artist has the least to learn as an instrumentalist!

They only have two main goals as an instrumentalist: basic chords and rhythm. Lyrics and melody are their main output when it comes to creativity so they never have to worry about reaching an advanced level of ability as an instrumentalist. Good percussive rhythm and single note melodies are the best tools to meet their musical needs. Their artistry mainly comes through the written word so musical skill with an instrument is really just a supplement to what they already do. A songwriters job gives listeners an experience and other musicians a song to play!

Songwriters and artists generally use instruments as a creative supplement rather than their primary focus.

The sideman or session man has the most to learn!

They are the best at what they do because they explore as many aspects of music as they possibly can. Their creativity with an instrument as well as their musical instincts are so well tuned that they can adapt in any musical circumstance. They are the people who bring a production to life! Their focus should be to take every bit of knowledge they gain and turn it into a creative tool to utilize at any time! They have the most to learn because their job requires them to know all they can!

You won't find any players more versatile than this group!

• The hobbyist has the most fun, the songwriter or artist has the least to learn, but the sideman or session man becomes the greatest musician of them all!

All three of these groups intersect in different ways but the whole point is for you to understand that you don't need to learn everything or master everything in music to be a great musician. Even the greatest musicians have weaknesses in their playing. All musicians at some point specialize in an area of music. The most productive thing you can do is to see what you are most interested in and start there and above all enjoy it!