how good do you have to be?

[kelnet]

"Good" is relative. I don't think I'm a good guitarist, but some of my colleagues think I'm very good. Our frames of reference are different.
I used to think I was good, back when I was making a living at it. However, now that I'm playing with better musicians, and I see the quality of hobbyists on this site, I know that I'm not good. My persective changed, and so did my evaluation.

[BobbyZ]

I've been told I was good and even great.

But that was from hookers and thay charge extra for complements.

Were you guys talking about guitar playing?

[fuzzbender]

Originally Posted by octatonic

This.

plus marketing

[fuzzbender]

Originally Posted by BobbyZ

I've been told I was good and even great.

But that was from hookers and thay charge extra for complements.

Were you guys talking about guitar playing?

No, groupies

[fuzzbender]

Originally Posted by kelnet

"Good" is relative. I don't think I'm a good guitarist, but some of my colleagues think I'm very good. Our frames of reference are different.
I used to think I was good, back when I was making a living at it. However, now that I'm playing with better musicians, and I see the quality of hobbyists on this site, I know that I'm not good. My persective changed, and so did my evaluation.

That's it, you can be good, even if you aren't

[Telarkaster]

No matter how good you are, somewhere out there on this planet of +7 billion people someone is better. So just try to be the best you can.

[Barbeque John]

I'm a pretty good entertainer, but not much of a musician, but I play with two GREAT musicians who do all the heavy lifting on fiddle and guitar/mandolin/saxophone. I consider myself very fortunate.

[Larry F]

I love solving problems and overcoming limitations. I care what others think when they are ones that impress me.

When I was younger, I felt like no how matter how good I was as a musician, I was on the low end of the respect scale of society in general. Now that I am older and in a career that affords me greater respect, I cannot express how much better I feel about my choices and paths in life. It sounds shallow, I know, but when you have been a poor, poor, poor as I was until my 40s, only then can you appreciate things like a decent car, home, etc. Before then, I felt like I was wearing a flashing red sign saying "loser, loser, loser." My family and friends believed in me, though, so it wasn't that bad.

[emu!]

I think the answer is: Very good.

But then, I've never been good at giving correct answers.

[Jupiter]

You have to be good enough to be able to do the thing you want to do. "Good" is useless as a goal or measure of success. You need a goal or a benchmark that is ambitious but achievable, and most importantly, measurable. Once you achieve it, you're "good enough" to do that. Now go set another one.

Do you want to be good at guitar, or good enough to make a decent living only playing guitar? Or good enough for your friends to enjoy listening? Or good enough to please people who don't already know you? Or good enough to get through Pipeline without having a trainwreck? Good is only meaningful in relation to a particular thing that you want to do.

So whaddaya wanna DO?

[ifallalot]

I am not good at anything. There is always room for improvement

[hemingway]

Good will be the day I go to Denmark St to try a guitar and the guy who works in the shop isn't at least 3 times better than I am. I hate those guys. They clearly hate me.

[Arbiter]

Originally Posted by blowtorch

you only gotta be good enough to impress the chicks

This is so much more true than most people realize.

[Good Iron]

Originally Posted by fuzzbender

how do you know when you're any good at anything?

and does it make you happy?

I answer what I think, if it matters and it really don't unless it does...
question 1:
how do you know when you're any good at anything?

Only you will know if you are good at anything, people say I am good at stuff that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I am no good at; so to me I am not good at it even though "the world" says I am good at it, or am I?

To me I am not good at it and I am fooling the whole world - common phenomenon pretty much. It is important to realize that the opposite of this is very true too. Just watch a couple of reality show singing auditions to see this in action.

question 2 and does it make you happy?

Not very much makes me happy these days and this is up to the individual to be happy. It is my opinion that happiness is not a state you attain, but rather something you go in and out of. But to your question that when you are good at something it makes you happy, generally yes... for me --- Getting good is where the music is though - it is in the journey.

An old guy said something to me that I will never forget. I was really struggling at work and he said something that was ridiculous, but I tried it anyway and it actually worked! He said, "have fun with it".

It was really hard to do at first but I just kept doing it (having fun) and then I just was having fun.

Life is hard. Have fun with it

[homesick345]

If you are asking it means: you ARE good, & that you can be even better

[KCKC]

Good for me is being better than I was.

KC

[Rokatt88]

When Stuart Smalley comes up to me and says "You're good enough and smart enough and doggone it, people like you!"

I know I will then have reached Nirvana.

[Mjark]

People will pay for it.

[Cobrav]

The questions asks, How do I know I'm good at something. For me, "good" is just a point on a continuous spectrum of ability. Or maybe it's the knee of the learning curve. For me it's when Im comfortable enough to share it or show it to others. It could be a painting, a design, my garden, a woodworking project or anything similar. I've reached "good" when I'm not embarassed to have someone see it.

[J-man]

Being good shouldn't make you happy, getting better should.