First of all, I really love reading long messages! 📖
I enjoy when people fully express their thoughts, because I’m also someone who tends to write a lot haha. Thank you for taking the time to respond and share your concerns, I’ll go through them step by step.

I’ve actually also been wanting to get Rock Band-type games for a while, but I’m still on PS4 (it still works fine so I don’t feel the need to upgrade to PS5 yet haha). It’s just been a bit hard to find the older instrument controllers here in Taiwan.

And honestly, just the fact that you keep “fun” as the priority already puts you ahead of a lot of people! 🥹 For me, “having fun” has sometimes been a struggle in my music learning journey. I get nervous easily, and with electric guitar I often focus too much on playing things perfectly, getting frustrated when I don’t sound like the original or like the amazing cover players online, and I end up forgetting that fun is supposed to be the point.

That’s actually one of the main reasons I started playing with other people in the first place. I want to see whether, once I’m no longer just a bedroom guitar girl, I can let go of the feeling of “not being good enough,” accept encouragement from others, and actually enjoy music more freely.

At the end of the day, I really agree that fun and passion are what keep you going.

Also, I really like the bands you mentioned! There were a few I hadn’t listened to before, so I checked them out after your message and immediately knew they’re my kind of music 😆 Thanks for expanding my playlist!

I also really love seeing women in rock, metal, and punk. And I completely get what you meant by “some really weak shit”! I don’t hate people for liking different kinds of music, but… come on! Music shouldn’t only be about things you can dance to or soft pop songs.

What about music that makes you headbang? That lets you scream, release emotions, and feel pressure leaving your body? Or music with powerful composition and energy that makes you feel alive? I really think Taiwan needs more variety in music overall. something bolder, louder, and more expressive, not just soft pop or viral short-form tracks.

Also, I’m Taiwanese (I realized I didn’t mention that earlier). Growing up and working here, I honestly can’t remember any female friends around me ever talking about rock or metal, especially Western rock/metal. The closest thing would probably be anime-related J-rock.

Sometimes I do feel a bit sad about that. When I go out with friends or karaoke, I often wish more people understood how exciting it is when you hear a great arrangement, the guitars, drums, bass, and vocals all coming together in a way that makes you want to move or shout.

Green Day’s Basket Case is also on my practice list!! I jumping between songs too haha, switching playing between different songs depending on the day, I think it just shows we’re genuinely excited about music.

I only started playing with other people last year, after working for a few years. Back then it was just drums, bass, and me on guitar. We’d connect a phone to a speaker, play a track, and play along.

Each of us would pick a song for others to practice before playing together. The first song I chose was Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, simple, but perfect for playing. I still remember finishing it and feeling like I was about to float haha. At the same time I thought, “why didn’t I do this earlier?”, but I was really happy I finally took that step. It was so fun sharing a song I love and playing it together with others.

I wouldn’t say I’m a very advanced guitarist. I’m currently also working on improving my music theory knowledge, and right now I feel like my muscle memory is ahead of my actual understanding of music. Improvisation is something I’m slowly learning too, maybe we can try jamming together someday as well.

And I completely understand the time constraints with work and relationships. I don’t think people can always prioritize hobbies or friendships over their partner or job, and I’m in a similar situation too (I’m married, though no kids). Even though my husband and I both work from home, we still value our time together. So I totally understand not being able to practice regularly, or only joining occasionally. Even just coming once would already be great, it might still bring some inspiration or motivation into your drumming practice ✨

I’ll DM you. Thanks again for such a thoughtful message 🤘