I play music pretty much on the same level as I speak foreign languages. It's not very well, and what I do know is more from rote learning than natural ability. Instead of following along with a song and understanding how the music flows, I have to break it down- "OK, this is a 'C' chord. So I have to put my fingers here, here and... here." It's time-consuming, and awkward. I play music with a bad accent, in other words.
I don't know if it's a case of lack of effort, or that I started too late, or just that I lack the ability to do it well. Probably a combination of all three. I didn't try to learn until I was 18, when I bought a guitar and attempted to teach myself. And moving from one chord to another is an adventure- a slow, slow adventure. How the heck people fly up and down the frets on guitar solos amazes me. I've gone through spurts of practices- weeks where I'll be playing almost daily, then months where I won't pick up the guitar.
My thought is that after 'X' amount of time, something will click, and I'll be able to understand music on an automatic level- but there's also a good possibility that, no matter how much I practice, I've already reached my plateau.
It's even this way on games like 'Guitar Hero'- I can finish any song on medium level, but on the hard songs (which require using all five notes) I'm toast.
Here's my question (for anyone who plays an instrument)- about how many hours of practice did it take for you to become proficient? Is there a point that things just clicked, and when was it?
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