Short YouTube video (shorts) by Lauren Bateman encouraging people to play guitar for personal enjoyment rather than professional ambitions. Lauren says she ran a music school where about 95% of students did not intend to pursue conservatory-level study; her teaching emphasizes fun, low pressure, and that playing should be the student’s personal journey.
95%
There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing the guitar for fun. Listen, I had a music school, and I knew that 95% of the people who walked through the door were not planning to go to Berkeley. They were not planning to become rock stars. They just wanted to have fun playing their instrument. And there is nothing wrong with that. I teach from a perspective of if you can enjoy the instrument, you're going to want to pick it up, you're going to want to play it, and eventually, maybe you will want to share that with others, maybe you will want to join a band, but there's no pressure to do that. The guitar, this is your journey. Get out of it what you want, but make sure, above all, that you're having fun.
