*Sigh* a tragic end

[Arc]

I first got my guitar, a black Squier Strat pack, from a wholesale dealer nearby. All my friends had one, so I thought it'd be cool to get one too. My mum ended getting it for me as a surprise birthday present, and i was damn pleased with it. In fact I used to play it all the time.

My next birthday i received a Cruiser by Crafter electro acoustic which was brilliant. The tone was fantastic and the price was really cheap. I didn't play it as much as my Squier though because of my massive influence in alternate metal, e.g. Spineshank.

Ages later, I decided to get a new electric, a Jackson Kelly, to explore the different tones and styles that was more suitable to certain guitars. I played riffs from Trivium to Killswitch Engage to Slipknot to Metallica. I was a metalhead. :D

AND THEN......

DUN DUN DUN!!!!

came my school parents evening!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
I got terrible results, leaving me with a very angry father, and an incredibly stressed out mum. They argued with me a lot. I was spending far too much time on my guitar. To describe it with more detail, I was playing guitar so much that I hardly had a social life. I didn't have that many friends, I stayed indoors all the time etc.

Eventually it got to the point where my parents couldn't take it any longer. They TOOK my guitars away and since then I haven't seen them. I think they've probably been sold on to someone else (knowing my dad!). But then again, my mum told me at one point she was going to give them back to me.

I haven't had my guitar(s) since October and to be honest, I miss them. I admit, I have been a bit of a wally and messed up one too many times. But I breathe music, sleep music, eat music (not literally). It's my inspiration and the moment I got my strat, it made one of the biggest changes my life. But i guess I had to pay the price, and if they hadn't taken them away, I'd be ruining my life further.

Guitarless, I strive to hang on to my old guitar habits, by occasionally playing on a friend's guitar for the memories that I hold inside, of my past encounters with my guitars.

[Kitarii]

Do not fear you shall see them again!! All one billion guitars shall return to their master...
Just tell all your teachers you plan to do their A Level course then they'll say great things about you!!

[Arc]

Quite a dastardly plan indeed! Quite a plot I should say! I shall think about it.

[gruzzy]

Wow, that sucks. I totatlly disagree with parents taking away kid's guitars. Especially when it's something that the kid loves AND it's something productive. If my parents took my guitars away (when I lived at home) I'd probably have ended up going out and partying and getting totatlly wrecked all the time. Not that I'm suggesting that, I'm just saying that's where it probably would have led.

I suppose you could just hang out it music stores and play guitars there. If the get sick of you playing them all the time and never buying anything, just offer to keep them all in tune in return for being able to play them. It could even lead to a job.

[metalmachine]

I've been there you gotta keep perspective in your life guitar playing can be #1 in your life but you gotta do the necessary stuff first before you can do the fun stuff. That's one of those things you'll learn as you grow up. Just remember 2 things don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff.

[GuitarownzU]

Holy crap this is liket he same situation i am in...except they havent taken them yet. I too havent been doing ANYTHING unless it has to do with guitars....sad....Now i feel i must go visit an old friend...

[Peeb]

Sorry to hear about the day the music all died.

As an old guy with scars to prove it, I gotta say, Arc:
"Balance, Grasshopper, balance!"

Unless you're one of the incredibly small percentage of players who can make a living EXCLUSIVELY on his axe, the traditional wisdom is: Hey, that sounds great, but don't quit your day job. So, what kinda day job you gonna have after getting shut out of college cuz you racked up all those C, D, and F marks playing those guitars?

Don't want college? Fine, what life skills did you accumulate while bombing out of HS? What level of commitment, diligence, organization, etc. will a potential employer expect from a guy who blew off the only commitment placed in front of him, to date?

Bottom line: Biz before pleasure, my man, business BEFORE pleasure. You got that all out of whack, then the hammer fell.

Time for some negotiation with the folks. Get those grades UP so you have a position of strength to bargain with.

Good luck with school and getting your lost loved ones back in your hands.

Peeb

[Sixstring]

^^ That's a smart old guy.

[PhantomLord]

buy your own guitars.

[Slipstream]

Sad story man. Peebs got it right though. With good grades you'd have a good bargaining position for gettin' yer gear back, or new gear.

I remember when I was in high school, I lived with my grandparents. Grampa would come in my room so early it'd still be dark out, and I'd be sittin' there pluckin' away at my acoustic. He'd say, "Put that damn thing down, we got work to do". I had good grades though, and I took special care of my Gradma's rose bushes. That went a long way toward her stickin' up for me. Never got my guitar taken away.

[Kitarii]

Sorry to hear about the day the music all died.

As an old guy with scars to prove it, I gotta say, Arc:
"Balance, Grasshopper, balance!"

Unless you're one of the incredibly small percentage of players who can make a living EXCLUSIVELY on his axe, the traditional wisdom is: Hey, that sounds great, but don't quit your day job. So, what kinda day job you gonna have after getting shut out of college cuz you racked up all those C, D, and F marks playing those guitars?

Don't want college? Fine, what life skills did you accumulate while bombing out of HS? What level of commitment, diligence, organization, etc. will a potential employer expect from a guy who blew off the only commitment placed in front of him, to date?

Bottom line: Biz before pleasure, my man, business BEFORE pleasure. You got that all out of whack, then the hammer fell.

Time for some negotiation with the folks. Get those grades UP so you have a position of strength to bargain with.

Good luck with school and getting your lost loved ones back in your hands.

Peeb

I think I will follow you forever and ask you for life advice!! :eek:

[Reign in Blood]

This sounds distugstingly simular to my situation. The only difference is i do well in school(like 77% average,decent),have a very good social life,and i STILL MANAGE to be a guitar freak - about 2 hours a night and weekly lessons.

But what we do have in common is parents,they nag,whine and try to control me all the time. Just ignore then and find a way to do things you way.

The good thing is my parents don't take away my 2 favourite things(guitar,BMX riding), because they are both productive and promising.

Just improve you school marks and make some friends,things will then improve alot i bet.

Good luck.

[AMusicalViking]

My parents once threatened that. I told 'em that they could take my guitars and put them behind a locked door and I'd saw down the door with a multitool to get 'em back. I meant it. They shut up and haven't said anything like that ever since.

Just thinking about it did make me do better, though.

[Arc]

Ah crap. I don't think I'll be getting my guitars back for ages. In fact, I might not even get them back at all. I had my school parents' evening where they discuss progress and stuff. And although I had actually sat down and worked. They said incredibly critical stuff. Each and every one of them said "I'm disappointed, very disappointed, with your exam result.

I mean ***?

I worked my buttcheeks off to try and kick my grades up. And even worse. ( I can't blame them exactly) But after the 1st appointment, it was so bad that my mum actually swore at me. You know...the F word. She didn't go to the rest of the appointments, so my dad had to instead. It kinda felt that I have no future. My exam technique is absolutely horrible, and I don't know how to improve it.

My parents said they were ashamed of me and that they gave up on me. I don't have that great a social life either. I feel kinda like kicked out what used to be my 'group of friends'. People have taken over, what I thought was supposed to be shared. They kick out the 'uninteresting' people and start hanging out with the people who blatantly have no future. Soon enough, the girl that I liked started going out with one of them. Everything in me tore apart. And i now wonder, is there any point in living anymore? I have no future, I have no life, I can't see myself 10 years down the line.

[L-reaction]

Practice test papers from past years, you should be able to find it online or request them from your teachers. Try to aim higher and higher everytime (raise the bar) until you end up always aiming for 100%. (and getting 80-100) If you don't understand anything, ask people, surf the web, don't ignore it. Help weaker students (making friends in the process), and make your own understanding stronger. In the end you will be pleased with the results.

[Slipstream]

Things will get better some day. Can't say when, but someday. I've been down. Many a time. One thing is certain though, things change.

When I'm feelin' down, I play the Blues. Here's a few words to one of my favorites:

I'm troubled in mind, I'm feelin' blue
But I won't be blue always
'Cause you know the sun gonna shine
On my back door some day

[Kitarii]

Things will get better some day. Can't say when, but someday. I've been down. Many a time. One thing is certain though, things change.

When I'm feelin' down, I play the Blues. Here's a few words to one of my favorites:

I'm troubled in mind, I'm feelin' blue
But I won't be blue always
'Cause you know the sun gonna shine
On my back door some day

Lol. :p

Jimmy Choo don't be so down on yourself, you gotta brighten up!! You do have friends, though you may not realise it, that do care about you, but being depressed won't help, so even if you're not feeling on top of the world, just try to talk to people, be friendly, have a laugh, just be yourself.

Trust. ;) I know all.

[AminorPain]

As I tell my kids (ages 9, 11, 12 and 16)...

"Do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do."

Simple to make parental decisions and easy to explain why he/she is not allowed to do something they want when they failed to do what was asked of them. I understand taking away a prized possession, be it a guitar or X-Box. Hit them where it hurts, if you will. However, why it happened, what can be done to correct the situation, and when it is possible to gain the item back is very important information to relate to the kid.

[Arc]

I honestly am trying my hardest. But it's my parents. They always 100% side with the teacher. One of my teachers said that I should be doing minimum 8 hours of revision a day. I'm like *makes a rather rude gesture*. I get home at 4.30 from school. If i do 8 hours of revision a day I'll be sleeping at 1am!!!

Where's the sense in that?! My school gave a kinda checklist to help parents help their children during revision and stuff. And they hadn;t done a single one of them. The sheet said to encourage me. Instead they've only criticised. It said for them to 'wish him/her well'. They haven't done that either. They should 'look forward to seeing him/her at the ned of the day'. They defenitely didn't do that!

So how is this all helping me? It also says that they shouldn't 'tell me to do too many chores or look after younger siblings'. I'm still stuck with that. I do the washing up, emptying the bin, wipe the table etc. And then i still have to help my sis. They're supposed to 'Praise hard work' They have done no such thing. 'Remind them that it will soon be over'. To them, they only care about what is coming up and how scarily important it is.

I honestly don't mind doing the revision. It's just that apparantly if you study for too long, your mind shuts off. So, sometimes i do 4 hours of revision straight. And i learn bits and pieces. But i don;t learn everything. And my parents expect me to.

I'm chinese, (proud of it!:P), and my parents have to much pride. They get embarrased easily, and the thing is they have a very successful family business set up in Malaysia. Due to this, and them knowing many people who have aced through the exams, they expect me to replicate them and get A*s and As. I mean, yeah, it would be nice. But I am not a genius. I go to chinese school on weekends, (again. No social life), and so everytime my dad sees anything in chinese, he would ask me what the damn word says. Now... There are over a million possibilities of what that sodding word could be.

WHAT IS IT???

My parents, i find are so frustrating. It's not just my fault that i've come to this.

[GuitarDesperado]

Ah crap. I don't think I'll be getting my guitars back for ages. In fact, I might not even get them back at all. I had my school parents' evening where they discuss progress and stuff. And although I had actually sat down and worked. They said incredibly critical stuff. Each and every one of them said "I'm disappointed, very disappointed, with your exam result.

I mean ***?

I worked my buttcheeks off to try and kick my grades up. And even worse. ( I can't blame them exactly) But after the 1st appointment, it was so bad that my mum actually swore at me. You know...the F word. She didn't go to the rest of the appointments, so my dad had to instead. It kinda felt that I have no future. My exam technique is absolutely horrible, and I don't know how to improve it.

My parents said they were ashamed of me and that they gave up on me. I don't have that great a social life either. I feel kinda like kicked out what used to be my 'group of friends'. People have taken over, what I thought was supposed to be shared. They kick out the 'uninteresting' people and start hanging out with the people who blatantly have no future. Soon enough, the girl that I liked started going out with one of them. Everything in me tore apart. And i now wonder, is there any point in living anymore? I have no future, I have no life, I can't see myself 10 years down the line.

Quite a perdicament. Many of us have been in something similar I'm sure. Lets disect it a bit (and basing all of this off the info given). Can't get your guitars back? Get a job and save up and buy your own. If you want something bad enough, you will go to almost any means necessary to get them. Afraid your parents would even take them away after purchasing your own? Tough it out, use that money from that job to save up for when it is time you can move out on your own, then buy one.

They are ashamed of you and gave up on you? Well, make them think otherwise. True, you may not be able to make those grades they ask, but as long as you try your best, and you can agree within yourself you have done so, then there is nothing else you can do. Also, playing guitar just isn't very appealing to a parent I suppose.. as a career if you don't go to school for it (it pertaining to music) and take up a job. And, if you are just playing guitar and doing nothing else, since you are not benefitting finacially from it or anything of that matter.

You may not be able to play your instrument now, but indulge yourself into some theory! No use in playing an instrument if you can't create the music you wish to or for the people you wish to. True, you may not be able to practice scales and such, but you can get the generalization of how they are formed, related, etc. Also as someone stated, go to shops and try out guitars. No harm in that. :p

On a side note... Don't get so down. Live life for the music, for the love of it for that burning passion, because if you give up, you wont know about that "what if" statement everyone often says in their musical journey. You could become the next virtuoso guitarist for all we know. But hey, we wouldn't know if you gave up, right? What if you didn't give up, what if you toughed it out. What if you got out of there and bought you a guitar. Just... what if? ;)

[Cassidy]

Keep doing the work, and you'll be rewarded. I agree it's tough, especially living with old world values like you are... but I've got a lot of faith in you. Why? Because you're a smart kid. Okay, you're only 15, but you've written several posts with better spelling and better grammar than a lot of people here that are older than you. You put your thoughts together well and communicate your ideas excellently. Sooooo... I know you're smart, and maybe even have a penchant for writing. What if you were to develop those writing and communication skills? Possibly even to do some songwriting eventually? What I'm saying is that maybe a literary passion like writing would take some of the heat off you from Dad and help your career down the road after school. Just an idea... good luck.

Cassidy :cool:

[WingDing]

Guitarless, I strive to hang on to my old guitar habits, by occasionally playing on a friend's guitar for the memories that I hold inside, of my past encounters with my guitars.

I know it may sound ridiculous, but academics are just as important to your musicianship as practicing scales. Your general knowledge infuses your music because what you learn outside of music goes toward rounding out your taste and adds to your playing style (consciously and unconsciously). Your academics are not in opposition to your music; they are part of it. If you let that side of your musical development go unheeded, then you lose musical dimensions. Just my two cents.

[Jay..]

Im sorry to hear that, id hate to lose my guitars. Cause i could never afford new ones. Good luck with getting higher grades and your guitars back.

[The_Strokes123]

my parents would never take my guitar away because i make it a fact that its so important to me, yet i keep up on my grades...kinda...ive been slippin lately but that is for dif. reasons. not guitar...
just keep your grades up..prove that you are worthy of your gear

[Les_Is_More]

Sorry to hear about the day the music all died.

As an old guy with scars to prove it, I gotta say, Arc:
"Balance, Grasshopper, balance!"

Unless you're one of the incredibly small percentage of players who can make a living EXCLUSIVELY on his axe, the traditional wisdom is: Hey, that sounds great, but don't quit your day job. So, what kinda day job you gonna have after getting shut out of college cuz you racked up all those C, D, and F marks playing those guitars?

Don't want college? Fine, what life skills did you accumulate while bombing out of HS? What level of commitment, diligence, organization, etc. will a potential employer expect from a guy who blew off the only commitment placed in front of him, to date?

Bottom line: Biz before pleasure, my man, business BEFORE pleasure. You got that all out of whack, then the hammer fell.

Time for some negotiation with the folks. Get those grades UP so you have a position of strength to bargain with.

Good luck with school and getting your lost loved ones back in your hands.

Peeb

Zen master is right. i had the same situation and i had both parents yell at me for days straight.
and dude, dont get down on yourself. everything will work out im telling you. just think of the good stuff from now on. when you think always negative everything IS negative. be happy, your not broke, a crack or coke or meth addict, you have a loving family. youve HAF friends while there are some who never have. and about that, just act happy in school and more and more people will be nicer and nicer to you. and if you want a cheer up song, "listen to the music"=doobie brothers



CHEER UP YOUR ALIVE!

[Sexymonkey]

I have a deal with my dad; I get straight A's, I keep my Mexi Strat. I got a 4 B's once(and 2 A's) and got my Strat taken away =(.. I had to play acoustic for 4 weeks. I found it kinda malignant, but I've succesfully got straight A's for the last 6 months. I still thought of it kinda absurd, that's a really, really high asking price. Doing decently(a C here and there, but mostly B's) is something very simple to get. I take it you just need to get a new approach at it. Make something boring into something fun!!

[Arc]

Straight As?!?!?! How the hell do you manage that?!?!?

[Leo Fender]

I've kind of an agreement with my dad: he can take away my pocket money, he can confiscate my playstation and even the PC, but taking away my guitars is just not human :p

[Arc]

errr...lol. My dad has taken away my guitars. He's taken away the video cable connecting the ps2 to the tv, so i can't play. And he's killed all the games off my PC. So... errr.. yeah. I'm practically bored sh**.

[Leo Fender]

mmyea that's pretty unreasenable.. just because your grades weren't good enough.. I'm sorry man..

[Arc]

My dad is like "I don't think i'm unreasonable. Do you think i'm unreasonable." and it's the pure intimidation of him kicking me out the house that scares me if i stand up to him.

[Jay..]

Thats unfair.... more than teaching you a lesson its cruel to do all that stuff.

[elvisdudette]

ok james i'm your age, and i can tell ya right now that if my parents took away my guitars i'de probably raise hell.(i'm not suggesting this, its just what i'de do) they were close to it too, my grades werent even suffering (nothing lower than a 3.6 gpa since i started playing guitar) they just said i didnt do enough around the house blah blah blah

don't be afraid to stand up to your parents, i'm sure you know them better than i do but if your dad asks you if you think he's unreasonable tell him how you feel, maybe he'll get mad but it'll give you something to think about.

i've been lucky with parents, sure we dont always get along and they werent always 100% supportive when it came to my love of preforming arts (mainly theatre arts, because thats a commitment thats a huge commitment that they're not wanting me to make because, well i dont drive yet, lol) but they understand that not all kids like school, and enjoy doing homework and all that. when i was younger if i wanted to skip a day to paint or something they'de let me, same with my sister, now they know that i can do well and my full potential and they expect me to reach it when it comes to grades, and that can be alot of pressure but if i had always gotten D's and C's i think they would be fine with it if i was still getting them.

if you do the best you can you're parents should respect that and you should let them know. tell them that you try your hardest to do well, and they shouldnt expect soemething out of you that cant be reached, let them now that as hard as you try, everybody needs their vent (in your case it would be your guitar) and without it they're just askin for a kid with problems. i'm not implying you have problems, though if i didnt have my vent, if my guitar was taken away, if i wasnt allowed to preform i know i would probably go insane. now if you arent trying your hardest you need to start now, but you can still do your best and play guitar, and remember doing your best doesnt always mean straight A's.

My friends father once told me, life isnt about school or getting good grades or doing any of that geometry homework, life in itself is about the arts. you're parents are taking your artform and freedom of expression away from you and you need to calmly explain this to them. telling them this may seem intimidating at first but tell them how you feel about what they're doing, dont just give accusations without saying how u feel about because that will **** them off.

ex: do: "mom, dad, i dont feel that its fair that you are denying me the chance to express myself through art and music, and i would appreciate it if i could please get my guitars back, because i try my best in school even if i'm not getting straight A's, i feel i'm pushing myself to my full potential and that its not just for you to take the thing that makes me happy away from me.

dont: "mom, dad, you're denying me the chance to express myself through art and music. I want my gutiars back. Its not just for you to take my guitars away"

the difference is you're telling them how you feel, they cant get mad at you for telling them how you feel, they cant argue the way you feel, if you tell them you feel a certain way they'll take what your saying more into concideration than if you just point a finger and say you you you. i'm not saying this is the problem i'm just giving you some tips i took a health class that delt with communication with other humans, how to avoid arguments, how to have a better relationship with your parents and all that which helped me a bit.

as far as that not having a good social life thing, guitar can be a very sociable hoby, my goodness, set up jams with other guitarists or musicians (drummers, bassists, keyboardists...) in the area, get into some blues and join the local blues club, learn some oldies to be able to strum and sing along to at the local farmers market its not that hard to make your social life guitar.

i appologize for that really long post, but i get where you're coming from and i empathize, best of wishes james

[SKEETER]

Sounds like you are a TRUE musician. When I was a kid, which I have a vague cloudy memory of, I didn't date, I played guitar. I didn't have much of a social life either, I had something more important to deal with. Thank God,

[Arc]

Sounds like you are a TRUE musician. When I was a kid, which I have a vague cloudy memory of, I didn't date, I played guitar. I didn't have much of a social life either, I had something more important to deal with. Thank God,

I was literally like that. I would be able to spend hours on end playing guitar and not get bored. My parents would ask if i wanted to go out to eat, and i would say "nah, i'm playing guitar". I would be able to do a 'Steve Vai' 12 hour practise session if i could be bothered, as long as i can just improvise and explore my guitar hardware and tone to more depth.

[PhantomLord]

errr...lol. My dad has taken away my guitars. He's taken away the video cable connecting the ps2 to the tv, so i can't play. And he's killed all the games off my PC. So... errr.. yeah. I'm practically bored sh**.
your parents are **** heads. sorry man. my parents threaten the same thing, but i don't think they'd actually do it...besides, i wouldn't let them if they tried.

[Arc]

your parents are **** heads. sorry man. my parents threaten the same thing, but i don't think they'd actually do it...besides, i wouldn't let them if they tried.

Lol, don't worry. I couldn't care less. Loads of (what's left of) my friends say the same thing.

[PhantomLord]

Lol, don't worry. I couldn't care less. Loads of (what's left of) my friends say the same thing.
i wasn't apologising for calling your parents that, i'm sorry coz your parents ARE that :p

[Arc]

i wasn't apologising for calling your parents that, i'm sorry coz your parents ARE that :p

Lol. I concur! But my mind is slightly distracted about guitars at the moment...because...I'M GOING TO SEE MAIDEN!!! Woooo!

[PhantomLord]

damn you! :mad: i'd rather have no guitars, and go see maiden, than have my guitars, and not seeing maiden!

trade :p

[Arc]

nah! :D I'm fine at the moment. The gig is in december! Light years away!!! After that, i might just save up about £100-£200 and see what axe i can get.

[PhantomLord]

steal one of daves.

[Arc]

I'll have security running after me like the circus is in town. But hey! I am the circus! And if i do get to talk to him, i'd get him to sign my forehead! Wooo!

[AMusicalViking]

damn! you're seeing maiden, and I'm not. :mad: :( have fun man. :D

[Arc]

Muahaha! Envy me!

[K_O_L_345]

I think if my parents ever took away my guitars i would probably end up punching them in the faces or something like that. I can't even imagine what that must be like man. One day my friend, you're babies will return to you.

[Santah]

My parents took my PC once so I took theres. They also took all the cables for the network/internet so I bought my own and disconnected them.

This was all years ago though. You have to realise they are just trying to do whats best for you. You might disagree about whats best for you, but dont hate them for caring. Better to have parents that care about you and get angry when your grades suck, than parents that dont give a ****.

[Arc]

My parents took my PC once so I took theres. They also took all the cables for the network/internet so I bought my own and disconnected them.

This was all years ago though. You have to realise they are just trying to do whats best for you. You might disagree about whats best for you, but dont hate them for caring. Better to have parents that care about you and get angry when your grades suck, than parents that dont give a ****.

True. It's not that I hate my parents, it's just that i can't believe the way that they're treating me.