# Bad habits you've developed from being a musician



## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 6, 2012)

So, let's hear 'em - any bad habits you may have that have come from being a musician.

I know I only type using 6 fingers - the ones on my fretting hand, and my index and middle finger on my right hand - aka the only ones that get used while playing guitar, as I use my index and middle fingers for tapping stuff.

What do you guys have going on?


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## jam3v (Nov 6, 2012)

I feel justified playing air guitar. Everywhere. It really is a bad habit.


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## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 6, 2012)

I tell people that I can move the fingers of my left hand much faster than they can. I gladly demonstrate this "ability" for them.

I guess that's why I have no friends.


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## JosephAOI (Nov 6, 2012)

I hold my pick weird as shit. Like with the tip of my index finger.


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## poopyalligator (Nov 6, 2012)

Sometimes when I am sitting down I tend to tap my fingers a lot on the table (in a solo playing motion), and it looks like I am a nervous meth addict lol.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 6, 2012)

I do that on my girlfriend's arm sometimes hahahahaha


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## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 6, 2012)

^same here. It creeps her out. I guess it must feel like many insects on your skin.


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## avenger (Nov 6, 2012)

Oh yes the classic girlfriend as a guitar happens far to often along with air guitaring mid conversation due to some solo or riff in background.

Basiclly I am an air/girlfriend guitar master. They all say I have magical hands...


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## RustInPeace (Nov 6, 2012)

jam3v said:


> I feel justified playing air guitar. Everywhere. It really is a bad habit.



I do this while holding random items, using them as air guitar picks. I was kinda drunk one night and I was holding a very saucy chicken wing... Hilarity ensued.


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## Metal_Webb (Nov 6, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> I hold my pick weird as shit. Like with the tip of my index finger.



That's how I hold mine hahaha. The "normal" way just feels strange to me.


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## mniel8195 (Nov 6, 2012)

My brother sometimes plays with his pinkie finger under the guitar neck!


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## BucketheadRules (Nov 6, 2012)

Zeno said:


> I do that on my girlfriend's arm sometimes hahahahaha



A bad habit I've developed from playing guitar is practising so much that I don't have the time or energy to go out and find a girlfriend in the first place. 

Apart from that, I do a little bit of relatively subtle air guitar - just left hand, like when I'm walking around school or something, and I like to think it's not that noticeable but I have been picked up on it before. 

The more I write, the more I feel like I really am very, very weird.


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## piggins411 (Nov 6, 2012)

I have a habit of just moving my left fingers in a playing sort of way, especially when I listen to something


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## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 6, 2012)

Sometimes Ill stop paying attention to what someone saying and start riffing with my mouth beatbox style


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## SpaceDock (Nov 6, 2012)

I play epic slap air bass all the time at work and have a tendency to speed pic my pants.


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## Fiction (Nov 6, 2012)

When I do anything, women just always try to have sex with me.


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## tacotiklah (Nov 6, 2012)

I table-top drum everywhere. I like coming up with weird rhythms and beats, and then trying to riff on the guitar later using the beats I come up with. It's fun actually.

I have a weird playing style where I hold the guitar at almost a 60 degree angle since I have messed up wrists. I admit it looks cool too, but it makes my picking go to hell due to the pick ending up not entirely perpendicular to the strings. I try to find a happy medium where my wrists are comfy and where my picking doesn't suffer too much.

I also never actually sit down and practice a set regiment. I will riff and noodle a bit, and if I'm having trouble writing that day, I'll instead work on a few techniques that I'm having trouble with (like sweeping). Not always the most productive in terms of improving technique, but every so often I end up writing or playing something new that I couldn't play before. Those are the "practices" that are completely worth it.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 6, 2012)

I buy gear I don't need.


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## jeleopard (Nov 6, 2012)

Fiction said:


> When I do anything, women just always try to have sex with me.



All of this.

There's only so much of me, ladies ;P


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## Webmaestro (Nov 6, 2012)

I sing guitar solos and melodies all the time--the ones that are singable anyway. I do it the same way most people sing lyrics that they like. I tend to sing solos I like.

Drives my GF a little crazy.


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## Spaceman_Spiff (Nov 6, 2012)

I sing guitar parts out loud. Like "shunt tuhn tuhn sicka skadoo da doo".

It annoys everyone around me except for my buddy Dan who does the exact same thing.

EDIT: ^ I guess I'm not alone.


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## mr_rainmaker (Nov 6, 2012)

FUNNY FACES NUFF SAID.


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## MrPepperoniNipples (Nov 6, 2012)

I have a really big ego


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## metal_sam14 (Nov 6, 2012)

I make the guitar face at everything mildly exciting. 

I also suffer from said finger tapping mentioned above


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 6, 2012)

Another weird one of mine - I'm a wannabe drummer, so I'll constantly be tapping out drum beats from different songs on whatever I have in my hands at the moment (Table, desk, computer, guitar, and yes, even girlfriend.)

I do it so much that my girlfriend just kinda laughs it off whenever I start doing it again.

Maybe we should change this thread to "Bad habits you've developed from being a musician" because I know some of mine aren't guitar related. Most people sing in the shower. I do death growls and screams, too. It's where I've worked on my different techniques probably the most. That, and mowing the lawn 

And of course, I've done the whole "picking your pants and air-guitaring" thing. Sometimes I'll actually have a pick and use my belt buckle as a pseudo-string to play.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Nov 6, 2012)

Using my pinky.

lol jokes


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## Furtive Glance (Nov 6, 2012)

I get annoyed when people air guitar "incorrectly"... like, not doing a tapping motion when the solo is OBVS TAPPED OMG or strumming when it's totes alternate picking. Stupid shit like that.


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## ras1988 (Nov 7, 2012)

Mouthing off counts to songs I know well (especially odd time signatures). Indian counting cycles when listening to new music. Using my right hand to feel out the tempo and overall feel of music. Due to some frequency specific hearing loss I eq stereos a little different. Foot tapping, and the finger tapping. General preference for doing more dexterous activities with my fretting hand. Pant leg picking. Melodic humming to particular songs.


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## theo (Nov 7, 2012)

I sing riffs, tap beats everywhere, air guitar, buy too much gear, neglect my woman for guitar... and I show off way too often. It's probably what inspired me to play guitar in the first place.


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## Don Vito (Nov 7, 2012)

I pretend I'm using double kick pedals in public when I'm bored. People probably think I have some nerve disorder.

I also do the air guitar thing occasionally.


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## poopyalligator (Nov 7, 2012)

kennedyblake said:


> I pretend I'm using double kick pedals in public when I'm bored. People probably think I have some nerve disorder.



Nice! Apparently I am not the only person who does that lol.


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## iliketofish (Nov 7, 2012)

I started strumming the side of my desk randomly like an idiot when I'm in class.


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## Winspear (Nov 7, 2012)

Furtive Glance said:


> I get annoyed when people air guitar "incorrectly"... like, not doing a tapping motion when the solo is OBVS TAPPED OMG or strumming when it's totes alternate picking. Stupid shit like that.



So much this 

I am almost constantly tapping a 5/4 kick rhythm with my thumb.


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## Fiction (Nov 7, 2012)

poopyalligator said:


> Nice! Apparently I am not the only person who does that lol.



I get in trouble for double kicking along with a song all the time, as my bedroom is above the relaxing room downstairs.


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## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 7, 2012)

I triple-pick with my mouth as in, I "sing" fear Factory or Sybreed riffs.

"brr brr brrrrrrrrrr brr brr chug chug brr brr brr 00000000000000000000"


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## AliceLG (Nov 7, 2012)

I air guitar/bass/drums anything I might be listening to while I'm on the train to work  Maybe some people have looked me funny but everyone seems to tired/sleepy/busy reading to notice, or care.

I'm also a table-top drummer, and from what I've heard, it's quite annoying


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## wrongnote85 (Nov 7, 2012)

i sometimes pay TOO much attention to my guitar, and not enough to my family. 

there, i said it.


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## vstealth (Nov 7, 2012)

iliketofish said:


> I started strumming the side of my desk randomly like an idiot when I'm in class.


I used to do that at school too, used to bring guitar picks to play with or just pick the side of the desk when i wasnt writing.


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## incinerated_guitar (Nov 7, 2012)

My social life has been totally ruined. I cant hang out with anyone who isnt a musician, because we can never seem to just get along. I have this habit where I HAVE to talk about gear all the time. I can talk about other stuff, too, but gear is always on my mind. And of course, me and my other guitarist are almost always growling when were hanging out together....or singing some of the stupidest songs together in a very satirical voice...especially when we break out the acoustics "you got a friend in me...you got a friend in me!"


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## MrPepperoniNipples (Nov 7, 2012)

iliketofish said:


> I started strumming the side of my desk randomly like an idiot when I'm in class.



everyday 

always the painkiller intro


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## Malkav (Nov 7, 2012)

If I'm in the middle of a conversation and a guitar solo I like is played I blank out and stop listening to them, I also become slightly aggitated that they would continue to speak through it.

I also dislike people who air guitar using the incorrect techniques.

One of my legs is almost always counting against a time in quarter notes, which can range from being the music I'm listening to, to the sound of my heart beating depending on whether or not there's something else to lay a tempo.

Any music I'm listening to anywhere will always have an effect on me, whether it be clenching my jaw for big bends, closing my eyes for the faster runs (not good in public) doing vowel shapes along to wahs, or skipping around and jumping in circles to super happy things that have a bouncy groove, I can't not reflect it...

Also I'm constantly stretching my hands or bending my fingers or opening and closing my hands, basically when I'm not around a guitar I'm constantly warming up...


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## LivingTimmy (Nov 7, 2012)

I tend to do slap bass on my leg, drum on the desks at school (Probably why the teachers don't like me  ), and recently, when I'm alone and bored I tend to start beatboxing


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## BucketheadRules (Nov 7, 2012)

kennedyblake said:


> I pretend I'm using double kick pedals in public when I'm bored. People probably think I have some nerve disorder.



I totally do this. 

It's fun!


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## Kiwimetal101 (Nov 7, 2012)

I zone out when a song starts playing...

Could be chatting up jessica alba, Id still be annoyed if she dared to speak through the comfortably numb solo


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## ShadowFactoryX (Nov 7, 2012)

i have a tendencey to blast beat in about every song


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## DTSH (Nov 7, 2012)

Constant finger drumming on my desk at work or the steering wheel of my car. Drives people around me crazy and I literally don't know I'm doing it.


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## Murmel (Nov 7, 2012)

I don't really have any bad guitar habits, a lot of other music related ones though.

I always play imaginary kick drums when I sit down.
I usually drum rhythms over the already existing one when listening to pop music, people who don't know music probably think I can't hold a beat for shit because I like to synchopate


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## Stealthtastic (Nov 7, 2012)

I get on here.


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## wilch (Nov 7, 2012)

I sound funky, wah-wah, porn guitar with my mouth when I'm cooking dinner. Drives everyone around me nuts. (they use to laugh)


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## Bekanor (Nov 7, 2012)

People in this thread:


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## glpg80 (Nov 7, 2012)

I cant listen to a CD without raping the repeat button on a drum, bass, or guitar part that just kicks all kinds of ass, i have to hear it again


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## GuitaristOfHell (Nov 7, 2012)

I must make everything metal.


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## devolutionary (Nov 7, 2012)

* snorting in derision at musicians on TV and in movies
* air guitar, air drums, and insane humming like a boss
* talking during any video with a guitar in it about the equipment in use
* any house with a guitar, I immediately acquire said guitar and play to the exclusion of conversation
* telling people to "wait for this sweet part" just so they can hear 2-3 seconds of a song that i think is fucking superb. I then look at them confused when they don't get it.


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## Danukenator (Nov 7, 2012)

Heroin was probably the worst habit.

I also hold my pick a little bit funny.


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## ASoC (Nov 7, 2012)

devolutionary said:


> * telling people to "wait for this sweet part" just so they can hear 2-3 seconds of a song that i think is fucking superb. I then look at them confused when they don't get it.



So much this ^ 

Also, I tend to jam out in my car: screaming at the windshield, grooving real hard, air drumming, etc. Most people probably think I'm crazy 

EDIT: I also tend to make really ugly faces when listening to/playing the br00tz


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## Hollowway (Nov 8, 2012)

devolutionary said:


> * telling people to "wait for this sweet part" just so they can hear 2-3 seconds of a song that i think is fucking superb. I then look at them confused when they don't get it.



 Totally! 
I also do all sorts of table top drumming. But the worst thing is that I cannot, for the life of me, adopt a normal sleep schedule, and go to sleep early to get up early. My body was just not programmed to go to bed before 1 am.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Nov 8, 2012)

lol...i almost started a thread like this a few months ago.

the idea came to me when i noticed how after years of playing guitar that i could not seem to play a bass. id get bored and just end up trying to play leads or guitar riffs with a pick. i cant for the life of me get that 2 finger action going.


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## Edika (Nov 8, 2012)

I also do the double bass drum with my feet which annoys the crap out of my wife. We might be sitting in the couch and watch something when I'll do this. The combination of tapping and creating vibrations is not something she likes!

I also used to do everything metal with some buddies when I was in the University. People were not amused.

I tend to analyze songs with my best friend, break down the parts, listen to specific instruments and the changes, some sweet parts and of course discussing the production of the song. We end up usually destroying the enjoyment other people get out of the song, especially my wife's and his girlfriend.


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## rythmic_pulses (Nov 8, 2012)

My bad habits are that I double pedal with my feet, hum riffs and change my picking technique way too often, it's beginning to become very uncomfortable haha, I'm gonna die alone, I know I am


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## Fiction (Nov 8, 2012)

devolutionary said:


> * telling people to "wait for this sweet part" just so they can hear 2-3 seconds of a song that i think is fucking superb. I then look at them confused when they don't get it.



Yeah its coming up... wait, no... now! its now!... wait, this is the other part, just after this part, oh yeah ha, its right.... now!.. noope, oh right, its coming up soon..........ah about time, its just here, right after this part.. Oh wait, wrong song.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 8, 2012)

Ignoring people when they talk and listening to the music in my head instead...


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## Blake1970 (Nov 8, 2012)

It's not necessarily a bad habit but I live in seclusion, maybe I'm just in denial. I just shut everything out and pick up the guitar.


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 8, 2012)

lots of finger tapping on just about anything, i act like i have a double kick infront of me whenever i sit down and i like to finger drum over any generic song i hear to try and make it more metal


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## Asrial (Nov 8, 2012)

Double bass drum to songs, use my courier bag strap as a guitar while cycling home, "whisper-growling" along to tracks on said cycling trips...
Oh yeah, any time there's some sort of rythmic collective game (introductory games where people clap a custom pattern or something), I tend to go all meshuggah and just clap in in-human patterns.


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## Mexi (Nov 8, 2012)

Edika said:


> I also do the double bass drum with my feet which annoys the crap out of my wife. We might be sitting in the couch and watch something when I'll do this. The combination of tapping and creating vibrations is not something she likes!



this, I've been told that it looks like my legs are spazzing out lol


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## cwhitey2 (Nov 8, 2012)

If I hear a sweet part of a song, everything around at the moment is ignored. Its a really bad habbit to have with a girl friend...

Im not ignoring people...i just think the riff is more important even if I have heard it 1,000,000 time


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## Murmel (Nov 8, 2012)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> the idea came to me when i noticed how after years of playing guitar that i could not seem to play a bass. id get bored and just end up trying to play leads or guitar riffs with a pick. i cant for the life of me get that 2 finger action going.



The trick is in not playing boring stuff.


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## isispelican (Nov 8, 2012)

i always pretend that i have a pick in my hand and do some chug chug d***t d***t


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## Alpenglow (Nov 8, 2012)

double bass breakdown rhythms in class. On tile floors, it gets annoying. Also doing fingerings of solos or riffs on any surface.


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## Trespass (Nov 8, 2012)

I have this notion that other people actually care about advanced harmony, voicings, structure, polyphony, polychords, instrumentation etc.

They don't.


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## The Reverend (Nov 8, 2012)

I can't listen to something around other people without commenting on things I find interesting or dumb about songs. I can hear a pop song and say, "Damn, that was actually really cool when they harmonized that part, I didn't expect a pop song to do that." More often, it's lame music on the radio. I love being pleasantly surprised by pop music, though. If I'm in a talkative mood, I'll start explaining to people various tidbits about music theory, in an effort to get them to feel excited as well. 

Since the age of sixteen, I have been double kick pedalling everywhere, incessantly. I mean, every-fucking-where. I do it to any music, without noticing it. The weird thing is, I either do triplets or straight eighth notes. Never anything else. I don't need music to do it, either. I do it when I'm nervous or bored, or pretty much any time I'm not laying down or walking. 

I don't do air guitar stuff, because I feel like it makes me look less competent than I am.


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## groovemasta (Nov 9, 2012)

Tapping as well, I always count poly-rhythms. (not syncopated 'djent' patterns )


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## ittoa666 (Nov 9, 2012)

I never practice things slowly like I should.


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## MitchellJBurgess (Nov 9, 2012)

I go 'bmp pe bmp pe, bmp bmp pe pe bmp pe bmp' way too much at any time of the day!


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## Brill (Nov 9, 2012)

When people talk about Djent i just start repeating the word djent in weird beats.


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## Robrecht (Nov 9, 2012)

I have a couple of guitar-related ones like the tabletop tapping, but my worst and weirdest is this.

I taught myself Tuvan throat singing a while ago, both the sharp nasal overtone humming variety (khoomei) and the ultra-deep, one octave below bass style (kargyraa) that many people associate with Tibetan monks. Kargyraa especially is just so much fun to do; I once heard someone describe it as "a mouthful of sound" and that's really what it feels like, like standing in front of a guitar amp that's so loud it makes your trouser legs flap, but inside your own face. So I do it all the time, almost involuntarily. I especially like to do it on my bicycle for some reason -- I guess I imagine myself riding a small but tough horse through the vast Mongolian steppes or something. It gets surprisingly loud as well. Must be so weird to see me pass and hear "mmhhroOOOOOOOOOOOOOoomOOOOOwwhhrm"... But I just can't help myself.


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## Jontain (Nov 9, 2012)

Playing guitar leads me to achieving very little...

i.e. my average day starts with going to work, listening to music while working, getting home from work and pick up guitar... FUCK, suddenly its way past my bedtime...

Repeat.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 9, 2012)

You too, eh?


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## liberascientia (Nov 10, 2012)

Everything  Finger tapping, double bass pedalling when I'm sat down, air drumming along to songs that I love. I also do this thing where I rhythmically tap my teeth together. Sometimes I'll have a riff in my head and just start doing it really loudly, tends to weird people out. Also have a tendency to always point out something negative in a song that someone shows me. I also have the fucking annoying habit of coming up with sweet riffs in my head during conversations, and then totally phasing out.


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## otisct20 (Nov 10, 2012)

Twistedrock said:


> Everything  Finger tapping, double bass pedalling when I'm sat down, air drumming along to songs that I love. I also do this thing where I rhythmically tap my teeth together. Sometimes I'll have a riff in my head and just start doing it really loudly, tends to weird people out. Also have a tendency to always point out something negative in a song that someone shows me. I also have the fucking annoying habit of coming up with sweet riffs in my head during conversations, and then totally phasing out.



ALL of this. Every single bit of it haha


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## caskettheclown (Nov 10, 2012)

Wherever I go I think "I won't need my guitar today, i'm just hanging out with my nonmusician friends." when I get there, after I while i'm like "BRB Guys going to get my guitar".

Air guitar. ALSO Can you play air guitar in space?


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## kunalbatra (Nov 10, 2012)

If i'm listening to music in bed and an epic riff comes on, i can't sleep until i get up and learn it. happens way too often


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Nov 10, 2012)

Being too awesome.


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## bhakan (Nov 10, 2012)

Twistedrock said:


> Everything  Finger tapping, double bass pedalling when I'm sat down, air drumming along to songs that I love. I also do this thing where I rhythmically tap my teeth together. Sometimes I'll have a riff in my head and just start doing it really loudly, tends to weird people out. *Also have a tendency to always point out something negative in a song that someone shows me.* I also have the fucking annoying habit of coming up with sweet riffs in my head during conversations, and then totally phasing out.


This. Since I started playing guitar, and more since I've started learning more theory, I have gotten increasingly picky about what music I like. I have to constantly fight the urge to tell people everything that is bad about their music (mostly with other people my age, as they tend to listen to terrible pop music).


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## Cyanide Assassin (Nov 10, 2012)

Robrecht said:


> I have a couple of guitar-related ones like the tabletop tapping, but my worst and weirdest is this.
> 
> I taught myself Tuvan throat singing a while ago, both the sharp nasal overtone humming variety (khoomei) and the ultra-deep, one octave below bass style (kargyraa) that many people associate with Tibetan monks. Kargyraa especially is just so much fun to do; I once heard someone describe it as "a mouthful of sound" and that's really what it feels like, like standing in front of a guitar amp that's so loud it makes your trouser legs flap, but inside your own face. So I do it all the time, almost involuntarily. I especially like to do it on my bicycle for some reason -- I guess I imagine myself riding a small but tough horse through the vast Mongolian steppes or something. It gets surprisingly loud as well. Must be so weird to see me pass and hear "mmhhroOOOOOOOOOOOOOoomOOOOOwwhhrm"... But I just can't help myself.



i bet you've got some killer dubstep beatbox skills.


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## Sam MJ (Nov 10, 2012)

All the usual stuff but, recently i've started clapping in rooms to find out what the acoustics are like.

*geek*


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 10, 2012)

I cut my nails pretty damn short, leaving just enough where it doesn't hurt like hell everytime I touch something though sometimes I'm not careful enough and cut them too short. I can't stand having any nails when playing guitar, at least not on my fretting hand. I also do the table-top drumming which annoys some people or the double bassing, though I manage to make that one quiet at least. I have also written riffs, and on occasion about 2 minutes worth of good material, when I am NOWHERE near a guitar and have no way of remembering it later. Lots of wasted potential because of that.


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## pink freud (Nov 10, 2012)

I play bass-drum on the legs of my chair at work.


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## Cynic (Nov 11, 2012)

I play drum parts with my teeth, and pig squeal frequently for no reason.


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## ittoa666 (Nov 11, 2012)

Twistedrock said:


> Everything  Finger tapping, double bass pedalling when I'm sat down, air drumming along to songs that I love. I also do this thing where I rhythmically tap my teeth together. Sometimes I'll have a riff in my head and just start doing it really loudly, tends to weird people out. Also have a tendency to always point out something negative in a song that someone shows me. I also have the fucking annoying habit of coming up with sweet riffs in my head during conversations, and then totally phasing out.





otisct20 said:


> ALL of this. Every single bit of it haha


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## tacotiklah (Nov 11, 2012)

Yeah another thing music has done to me:

It's really hard to look pretty and be lady-like when you sit around trying to do gutteral vocals while sitting bored in public. I'm convinced that more than a few people were certain that I was possessed or something.


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## Moolaka (Nov 11, 2012)

I double bass drum a lot, searching for alternate rhythms over music or just being bored. 

I literally am almost unable to dance or even headbang- it just turns into air guitar.

I am extremely critical of the music my non-musician friends enjoy, it's usually terrible dance music...the resulting conversation usually ends with them thinking I liked it because I over-supressed the urge it gave me to smash my head with a rock. I consider myself a very open-minded person, especially to my friends, but sometimes...sometimes they have music like a friggen dickhead.

Random death metal vocalizing, I actually can help this but I don't because it scares strangers as I pass them on my longboard.

I don't listen to conversations when my favorite parts of songs come in, it gets me into all kinds of trouble.

I stay up way too late/don't go to bed because I'm playing guitar or doing band stuff. That one sucks.
I make jokes non-metal heads don't get, I don't mind because they're usually terrible jokes.


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## ilyti (Nov 12, 2012)

I did most of these things just reading through the thread. It's been an eye-opener, people.


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## Robrecht (Nov 12, 2012)

Cyanide Assassin said:


> i bet you've got some killer dubstep beatbox skills.



Sadly, no. Let me put it this way: I can do the vowels ok but it's the consonants (like thf-d-kh-hmpfh etc.) that throw me. 

I'd like to though. The fact that these millennia old vocal techniques have found a new use in simulating and thus re-humanizing the products of an ultra-sophisticated, completely digitized tradition in modern music just shows you how fucking cool and thoroughly weird this world we live in really is. 



Moolaka said:


> Random death metal vocalizing, I actually can help this but I don't because it scares strangers as I pass them on my longboard.



Yep, I do the death metal grunts thing on my bike as well. And patting double bass drum patterns on my belly or chest. And whenever there's any singing going on (like Happy Birthday or children's songs) I try -- and usually fail -- to harmonize, which just confuses the others. And when I'm at my parents', I spend most of the time playing their piano and my dad's acoustic guitar (they sound beter than mine) and ogling his 24-string lute, so my girlfriend has to watch the kids and engage in conversation with my parents by herself all night.  And if I get to pick the music on the car stereo or at a party, I get quietly upset if the others ignore the part I was really waiting for them to notice -- in fact I remember that feeling of indignation from when I was a kid and I managed to get my parents to put on a mix tape in the car that I made specifically for this purpose (with things like metal-ish tracks with nice symphonic sections that I secretly hoped would make them appreciate my style of music), and they turned down the volume at a traffic light, and then failed to turn it up again. 

Us musicians, we're dicks, really.


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## piggins411 (Nov 12, 2012)

I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who does the teeth thing


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 12, 2012)

Twistedrock said:


> I also do this thing where I rhythmically tap my teeth together.


 holy shit i forgot i do this too, like all day. it usually goes hand in hand with the double bass tapping


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## ilyti (Nov 12, 2012)

Robrecht said:


> And if I get to pick the music on the car stereo or at a party, I get quietly upset if the others ignore the part I was really waiting for them to notice -- in fact I remember that feeling of indignation from when I was a kid and I managed to get my parents to put on a mix tape in the car that I made specifically for this purpose (with things like metal-ish tracks with nice symphonic sections that I secretly hoped would make them appreciate my style of music), and they turned down the volume at a traffic light, and then failed to turn it up again.



This is so me. _Totally_. It's so frustrating, but eventually I learned that making mix tapes and CDs for friends and family is pointless, because it is never appreciated. OK, rarely.


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## JosephAOI (Nov 13, 2012)

I drum on desks all the goddamn time and it pisses me off so SO SO FUCKING BAD when people can't keep time or a beat. Especially when drumming on desks and shit.


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## Randy (Nov 13, 2012)

Brought my guitar to work.

No longer get work done.


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## goldsteinat0r (Nov 13, 2012)

I have a bad habit of wearing t-shirts that are much too tight and have stupid bands on them.


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## Luke Acacia (Nov 13, 2012)

My girlfriend will tell me that dinner is ready and I will keep playing guitar until its cold every night!


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## The Reverend (Nov 13, 2012)

I also do the pig-squealing thing. I also add metal vocals to songs. I use the "errrrrrr-OH!" a lot, the "ewwwwaaaahhhhhhhhhh" sometimes, and the epic "BANG YOUR FUCKING HEAD" constantly during the last few bits of the bridge leading to the last chorus.


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## Spaceman_Spiff (Nov 13, 2012)

Anytime some awesome part in a particularly br00tal song is coming, I say in a Kermit the frog voice "Let's open this pit up!". I then flail my arms in front of me and yell "MYAAAAAAAAH"


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## tacotiklah (Nov 13, 2012)

One thing I love to do when everyone is looking quiet and serious is just randomly start flailing my arms, moshing and headbanging like I'm at a Cannibal Corpse concert, even though no music is playing at all. It's good exercise and the horrified looks are priceless.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 13, 2012)

This thread borderlines most of you between attention seeking divas and ADHD, congratulations 

Bad habits from guitar, none. I don't do any of this weird ass shit


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## Onegunsolution (Nov 13, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> This thread borderlines most of you between attention seeking divas and ADHD, congratulations
> 
> Bad habits from guitar, none. I don't do any of this weird ass shit



You sir are lying out of your lying lie hole full of fuckin lies.

Genetics make me shake my legs, add a good amount of years of metal to it and Im tappin my feet at 7000bpm  I make the guitar faces while air guitaring to juicy solos (Some vai or govan its over man) I can be a dick about friends liking cheesy or "sheep food" music. And the worst of all, I'm attached to forums that have instilled me with GAS of ungodly belief haha.


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## chickenxnuggetz91 (Nov 13, 2012)

Constant analyzation, earphones always in, practicing instead of exercising, being a bigot.


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## goldsteinat0r (Nov 14, 2012)

glpg80 said:


> I cant listen to a CD without raping the repeat button on a drum, bass, or guitar part that just kicks all kinds of ass, i have to hear it again



My drummer does this sometimes in the car and I get madbro.


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## Sephiroth952 (Nov 14, 2012)

My turn signal clicker is a metronome, and it makes me annoy everyone else in the car when my steering wheel becomes a drum.


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## Stealthtastic (Nov 16, 2012)

I tell all the kids how the music they listen to is generic, 4/4, allegro tempo, basic, dumbassery with the simplest overused song structure of: Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro, variation utilizing basic kick snare drum patterns that have been used by hundreds of bands. While the guitar work (if any) also has the most simplistic chord progressions that have also been used 458976289734 times by tons of other bands, because these front leading "musicians" are generic molestors of the arts.


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## Heroin (Nov 17, 2012)

making guitar riffs with my mouth, random death metal growls/high pitch screams, and double bass pedal-ing  I'm pretty sure there's a few people that think I'm autistic at this point


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## Tommy (Nov 18, 2012)

I overanalyze any music and critic it. I hum, whistle, and do growls all the damn time. I also "tap" out riffs with my fretting hand, drives people nuts.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 18, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> This thread borderlines most of you between attention seeking divas and ADHD, congratulations


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## Grand Moff Tim (Nov 18, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> This thread borderlines most of you between attention seeking divas and ADHD, congratulations



To be fair, this _is_ a metal-centric site, so we could've just assumed as much without even reading this thread .


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 19, 2012)

honestly before this thread i thought i had ADHD because of how much i do all of this

i also noticed that i now do double bass in conjunction with my right hand playing the bass lines and using my rhythmic teeth chattering to do the rolls for the drums.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 19, 2012)

I also walk around bobbing my head to music that isn't actually playing... Or start air drumming for no reason and I'm not a drummer...


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## iRaiseTheDead (Nov 20, 2012)

I cringe when I hear something I don't like.


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## IRequirezANewHOST (Nov 20, 2012)

iRaiseTheDead said:


> I cringe when I hear something I don't like.



Used to. But now I'll try to find something to like about the stuff that makes me cringe because I try to keep an open mind out for other people's musical taste. 


No hope for Nicki Minaj <_<


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## Beat Poet (Nov 20, 2012)

Mine is not washing regularly. Well obviously I do, but if I'm doing a particularly heavy recording during the day or a gig that night, I'll wait until afterwards to wash!


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## Maniacal (Nov 20, 2012)

Main issue for me is becoming incredibly reclusive. I put this down to too much practice, writing books and getting my teaching business up and running. 

Now I simply sit in my cave......shredding


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## whilstmyguitardjentlyweep (Nov 20, 2012)

I freak out if i realise that I have left my headphones at home and can't listen to music all day. 
I think I am a better person than people who listen to pop music. 
I criticise guitarists who are better than me. (The other day I was watching Queen live at Wembley with my family and decided to ruin it for everyone by pointing out whenever Brian missed a note... because you know hitting a dead note in front of 100,000 people means they must be an over-rated player)


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 20, 2012)

Beat Poet said:


> Mine is not washing regularly. Well obviously I do, but if I'm doing a particularly heavy recording during the day or a gig that night, I'll wait until afterwards to wash!



Well... To be fair... I really only shower daily because I have to go to work and see people... I spend weekends sitting in a chair tweaking audio effects smelling like a fucking farm.

I completely understand why women hate me. Besides the fact that my personality sucks...


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## Winspear (Nov 20, 2012)

Konfyouzd said:


> Well... To be fair... I really only shower daily because I have to go to work and see people... I spend weekends sitting in a chair tweaking audio effects smelling like a fucking farm.



Yeah I only shower when I have to go out or when I start to annoy myself with my stench  That weekend description is very accurate.


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 20, 2012)

Konfyouzd said:


> Well... To be fair... I really only shower daily because I have to go to work and see people... I spend weekends sitting in a chair tweaking audio effects smelling like a fucking farm.
> 
> I completely understand why women hate me. Besides the fact that my personality sucks...



Amen to that haha


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## SirMyghin (Nov 20, 2012)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> To be fair, this _is_ a metal-centric site, so we could've just assumed as much without even reading this thread .




We may as well lump the lack of showering that is apparently going on in with this demographic too


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 20, 2012)

^Speak for yourselves, you smelly bastards. I shower e'ry day.


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## renzoip (Nov 21, 2012)

For me it has got to be tapping and playing metal air drum beats with my hands. Sometimes people take it the wrong way, thinking that I am being impatient when waiting for any kind of service. But I always tell them not to mind me.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 21, 2012)

I don't understand how you people can go without a shower. I have to, every damn day, otherwise I feel disgusting.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 21, 2012)

Buying too many instruments...


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## lobee (Nov 21, 2012)

Quickly changing the subject to music-related topics when silly things like your lack of hygiene is brought into question.

Incidentally, I asked for a bunch of guitar strings and CDs for xmas. Does anybody else do this every year?


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 21, 2012)

^I do. Probably will again this year. A few sets of the custom set I use, and some CDs, perhaps a game or two. I always ask for guitar related stuff.


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## wowspare (Nov 22, 2012)

I tend to waste money.....


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## Winspear (Nov 22, 2012)

lobee said:


> Incidentally, I asked for a bunch of guitar strings and CDs for xmas. Does anybody else do this every year?



Always. My girlfriend is very sentimental and likes to buy nice things. I have a real hard time convincing her a CD is _actually_ what I want and that it does actually mean something to me  She's getting me some new fx plugins this year


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## Winspear (Nov 22, 2012)

wowspare said:


> I tend to waste money.....



Funny - I tend to be stingy as fuck now  Every beer, meal out, or snack at lunchtime - they could've been guitar strings or more gear!


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 22, 2012)

lobee said:


> Quickly changing the subject to music-related topics when silly things like your lack of hygiene is brought into question.
> 
> Incidentally, I asked for a bunch of guitar strings and CDs for xmas. Does anybody else do this every year?



I asked for saxophone reeds.  

I'm too particular ab my strings.


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## JosephAOI (Nov 22, 2012)

Thinking of funny musician related jokes that anyone outside of SSO or the Progressive Metal scene wouldn't get.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 22, 2012)

EtherealEntity said:


> Always. My girlfriend is very sentimental and likes to buy nice things. I have a real hard time convincing her a CD is _actually_ what I want and that it does actually mean something to me  She's getting me some new fx plugins this year



This, she has trouble that I always want buckets of CDs  or guitar stuff. She asked about strings this year, so it turned into a conversation. Yeah, I'm buying my own strings 

Always need stuff to rock the AC-15s with on planes, when I travel ~ 40 hours a month on planes and busses.


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## groovemasta (Nov 24, 2012)

I mostly shower after prewarm- up to loosen up my hands more before the real warm up


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## Choop (Nov 24, 2012)

I'm constantly showing people examples of guitar solos I find are way interesting, though I'm sure most people just hear "widdlywiddlywiddlywiddlywoooo!"

Also I do the taps and double kicking like most of the people in the thread..and one thing i tend to do is pick at the side of my leg when I'm walking if a song is in my head or if I'm jamming out with my headphones on. blahhh...

I'm also currently looking at maybe trading in my car for something else, and a factor in my decision-making process is always how practical it is for hauling gear. :| I'm not even in a band or anything right now. I technically don't even have a gigable rig right now. Sighh..


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## welsh_7stinger (Nov 25, 2012)

*talking about music or gear with everyone i know. (it drives my parents nuts)
*unable to listen to music that is extremely simple instrumentation wise, almost in a musicianship elitist manner XD
*buying too much gear
*no social life
*double kick drum thing when siting down or standing up
*nocturnal
*air guitar/bass/keyboard/piano
*air guitar in public
*getting pissed off at gigs when people start a pit during the solo and not air guitaring
*basically almost everything already been listed 
but I didn't put my music before my ex when i was with her, very very weird that.


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## Cynic (Nov 26, 2012)

I constantly ghost note on my imaginary snare with my finger.


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## kevdes93 (Dec 2, 2012)

i look at wood-made things in public and cry inside when i see a nice piece of flamed maple as a part of a door.


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## Winspear (Dec 2, 2012)

kevdes93 said:


> i look at wood-made things in public and cry inside when i see a nice piece of flamed maple as a part of a door.



So much this. I saw a cabinet in an antique shop that could easily have made at least 20 amazing walnut tops. Fuck.


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## DarkWolfXV (Dec 4, 2012)

I try to double bass when im sitting.
Always.


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## Lirtle (Dec 4, 2012)

Applying myself more to guitar than school/work


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## Winspear (Dec 4, 2012)

Lirtle said:


> Applying myself more to guitar than school/work



 And worst of I'll I seem to have chosen the _final year_ of my degree to be the one where guitar>studies


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 4, 2012)

Lirtle said:


> Applying myself more to guitar than school/work


I'm the opposite and it makes me a sad panda. At least I only have about 1 more year of school left. Gonna be one mother fucker of a year, though.


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## SkullCrusher (Dec 4, 2012)

Masturbating at work...


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## baptizedinblood (Dec 6, 2012)

kevdes93 said:


> i look at wood-made things in public and cry inside when i see a nice piece of flamed maple as a part of a door.



THIS. My family's dinner table is made of Koa. Every time I sit down to eat, I feel like I'm eating on what should have been a guitar.


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## Cynic (Dec 6, 2012)

bobbing my head hard when the music grooves.


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## poopyalligator (Dec 6, 2012)

Cynic said:


> bobbing my head hard when the music grooves.




Hahaha, I do that sometimes. 

Another thing I do that is kind of weird is I sing a lot in my car, even if the windows are down, and I groove hard. I am sure that nobody appreciates me singing Earth wind and fire songs in my car. My voice is nowhere near as high as Phillip Bailey's voice, but I don't care for some reason, even though i probably should lol.


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## Takemyevil (Dec 7, 2012)

Using musical words in conversations then getting ostracized because the timbre of my.... oh shit im doing it again, i'll just be off now guys


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## Atomshipped (Dec 7, 2012)

> i look at wood-made things in public and cry inside when i see a nice piece of flamed maple as a part of a door.


Hahahaha I hate that! The floor of the gym at my school has some of the craziest maple ever; a lot of it sucks, but some of the "planks" / strips / whatever they're called have the most amazing quilted birdseye figuring ever (yeah, both).


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## Basti (Dec 8, 2012)

- Refusing social interaction in favour of practising towards godliness (not that I'm complaining).
- Frustration at lack of godliness
- Also, am I the only one who turns into jelly and overexcited in any guitar-related conversation?


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## Thep (Dec 8, 2012)

When I do air blast beats, it looks like I'm jerking myself and someone else with my other hand (the ride cymbal).


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## wlfers (Dec 8, 2012)

i stop the conversation in the car when a really sick riff happens. or even worse, demand silence when a really emotional movement is going on 

i'll be having a hot date then interrupt our convo and expect her to fully appreciate and love a part of the song that may have no relevance to her musical tastes at all haha


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## Jazzamatazz (Dec 9, 2012)

I tap my feet all the fucking time, also I trem pick on my pants


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## ASoC (Dec 14, 2012)

athawulf said:


> i'll be having a hot date then interrupt our convo and expect her to fully appreciate and love a part of the song that may have no relevance to her musical tastes at all haha



One of the hottest girls I ever dated sat through Earth Departure and Isolated Incidents with me before she had enough

I made the mistake of thinking she was being honest when indulging my tastes, totally forgot that people say stuff just to be polite all the time 

We got down to some Pink Floyd later on though 


I don't know if this is because I'm a musician or not, but all my musician friends do it too. I tell it like it is, I don't sugarcoat anything. Most of the musicians I know are the same way, anybody else like this?


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## Alex6534 (Dec 14, 2012)

Spend my day drooling over gear on gumtree/cragslist/ebay......


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## SenorDingDong (Dec 14, 2012)

Pooping with the door open.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 14, 2012)

SenorDingDong said:


> Pooping with the door open.


Wat. 
How is this a byproduct of being a musician?


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## SenorDingDong (Dec 14, 2012)

BlackMastodon said:


> Wat.
> How is this a byproduct of being a musician?



Better tone.


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## kochmirizliv (Dec 14, 2012)

Well I always do some beats and air guitar...in the same time...in public...


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## xFallen (Dec 16, 2012)

When I practice scales I have to do it right no matter what. I will put a time sensitive thing to the side until the full thing is done with the right fingers,bps and no buzz what so ever xD


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## Robrecht (Mar 11, 2014)

Robrecht said:


> I have a couple of guitar-related ones like the tabletop tapping, but my worst and weirdest is this.
> 
> I taught myself Tuvan throat singing a while ago, both the sharp nasal overtone humming variety (khoomei) and the ultra-deep, one octave below bass style (kargyraa) that many people associate with Tibetan monks. Kargyraa especially is just so much fun to do; I once heard someone describe it as "a mouthful of sound" and that's really what it feels like, like standing in front of a guitar amp that's so loud it makes your trouser legs flap, but inside your own face. So I do it all the time, almost involuntarily. I especially like to do it on my bicycle for some reason -- I guess I imagine myself riding a small but tough horse through the vast Mongolian steppes or something. It gets surprisingly loud as well. Must be so weird to see me pass and hear "mmhhroOOOOOOOOOOOOOoomOOOOOwwhhrm"... But I just can't help myself.



Some of you lovely folks expressed some interest in my weird habit, so I thought I'd bump this thread to post this: I finally tried to incorporate throat singing in a recording for the first time. It's meant to be part of a soundtrack I'm working on for a documentary shot by a friend of mine (that's why it's a tad minimalistic and repetitive).

[SC]https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/139126661?secret_token%3Ds-svIu9[/SC]

The deep, growly voice (kargyraa) is double tracked and panned hard left and right. A single-tracked khoomei-style vocal -- the kind of nasal singing with an overtone melody -- comes in around the 1 minute mark. Aside from a bucketload of reverb, no effects were added.

Oh, and I hope this won't disappoint anyone but I wasn't actually on my bike while recording this.


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## Choop (Mar 11, 2014)

Dunno if I got this from being a musician really, but I make beats all the time by grinding/mashing my teeth without really thinking about it. :<


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## BlackMastodon (Mar 11, 2014)

Robrecht said:


> Some of you lovely folks expressed some interest in my weird habit, so I thought I'd bump this thread to post this: I finally tried to incorporate throat singing in a recording for the first time. It's meant to be part of a soundtrack I'm working on for a documentary shot by a friend of mine (that's why it's a tad minimalistic and repetitive).
> 
> [SC]https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/139126661?secret_token%3Ds-svIu9[/SC]
> 
> ...


Dudeholyshit let's start a droney stoner-metal band.


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## Robrecht (Mar 11, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> Dudeholyshit let's start a droney stoner-metal band.



No guitars. Just people standing around going "hoooooooommmmmmmm".  Or maybe riding bikes.


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## Insightibanez (Mar 11, 2014)

Back in high school, music came before women.


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## Noxon (Mar 11, 2014)

I keep stalling on a paper I am writing for college and coming here. That count?


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## Svava (Mar 12, 2014)

I ruin women for other men.

Oh, you used to fingerbang chicks for hours in highschool during crappy movies?

Son I can fret a 5th string root C MAJ 7 Chord in 1st Inversion. Get on the level.





I ruin public venues for everybody.

Scene:
(Enter Svava)
Svava: .... Dafuq is this sound? Seriously? There's only like 2 chords going on here? AND THEY'RE POWER CHORDS! HEY! HEY!!! WAITRESS!
Waitress (walks over in confusion): Is something wrong sir?
Svava: Do you understand how bad this music is? You do realize that my left hand warmup is more musical than this drivel yes? This is horrendous
Waitress: Would you like me to ask the manager to change it?
Svava (exasperated chuckle): no... no no no I was just venting is all. I play guitar you know.
Waitress (Loses virginity)





I ruin guitar center for teenagers.


Teenagers: *Improperly played smoke on the water followed by failed Metallica solo with none of the right notes
Svava: *Harmonically complex tapping riff in 7/8
Teenagers: *Go outside to do drugs



I also do that thing with the tapping on things. All of the time. I think the steering wheel of my last car got dents in it because of all of the tapping.





Side note: the contents of the above post may have been overly douchified for comedic value. I am not, infact, that much of a chauvinist douche.





Edit: I complain about the dog's squeak toys being out of tune.


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## Svava (Mar 12, 2014)

Insightibanez said:


> Back in high school, music came before women.



Yes... women do sometimes do that after we finish making music.


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## Kaickul (Mar 12, 2014)

I complain about hearing songs without real instruments.


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## BlackMastodon (Mar 12, 2014)

Insightibanez said:


> Back in high school, music came before women.


For me it was woman came before music in high school.


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## teamSKDM (Mar 13, 2014)

I have this habit of trying to explain to non musicians how epic and soulful that tasty solo was and being shocked when theyre unphased.


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## sniperfreak223 (Mar 13, 2014)

I'm apparently constantly doing fingering exercises with a pencil subconsciously every time I sit down at work.

I flick picks at random people in the store/mall/workplace/while walking down the street.

I ask really stupid tuning questions out of nowhere, today's was "How low can I tune and still be audible?"


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## Fiction (Mar 13, 2014)

over the past two years I've slowly developed a lack of shame about singing in public, and I don't mean on stage in front of people, I just skate around or walk to work singing along to Gojira and whatnot, with my headphones in. I can also mouth along to the fastest of guitar solos especially just glissando-ing entire arpeggio sections to dream theater., also in public with headphones in. People probably think i'm ridiculously cool.


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## Konfyouzd (Mar 13, 2014)

Blowing off chicks to stay home and practice... That's a bad habit...


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## Mike (Mar 13, 2014)

buying gear


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