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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | If only I dedicated more time and was more disciplined.
If only my fingers were longer and could do what my brain hears.
If IFs and ANDs were pots and pans the world would be a kitchen.
Playing guitar is like a business. If you're not growing, your failing.
It's like walking into a room you have never seen before with shelves filled with hundreds of new exciting things to explore. Only to find that at some point there is nothing left to discover. And the room down the hall, tho you have never been in it before, seems uncomfortable and scary.
With a current set list of maybe 40 songs I'm finding it increasing difficult to un-earth the next song to cover. There are hundreds of songs but when you whittle them down to what can be done with acoustics, in a duo or solo, that is within my range of talent, and most of all something I like enough to spend time on, the pickins' eventually start to get thin.
Water seeks it's own level.
Electricity will always take the shortest path to ground.
And the lower hanging fruit always gets picked before there is a need to climb the ladder.
Maybe the good news is that I might be getting to a point where I'm tired with being lazy.
For the past 2 weeks I've been working on "Here Comes The Sun". I've known the parts for a long time but never got it beyond the noodling phase.
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The process continues. |
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Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | yup |
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Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | +1
My problem is I play more than practice. I never seem to set goals and just noodle. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Slipkid sez - "There are hundreds of songs but when you whittle them down to what can be done with acoustics, in a duo or solo, that is within my range of talent, and most of all something I like enough to spend time on, the pickins' eventually start to get thin."
I can definitely relate that! :cool: |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Brad - yeah that next room is dark and kinda scary. But you know what? When you turn on the light and go in, the shadows fall away, and the treasures on the shelves are so much more brilliant and wonderful and exciting than in the old familiar (boring) room.
I got stuck for a long time (decades) on just simple cowboy chord strums and got bored. Finally, I decided I was gonna learn a song I thought was impossible for someone with my skill to play. It was (what I thought) a complex fingerstyle - and I never had played fingerstyle. So I broke it down into tiny little pieces, and learned each tiny piece before moving on to the next, until I could finally play the whole thing. Took me 3 months before I could play it.
Well, that taught me that I could learn something I'd thought too advanced for me. And the next one I tried came much easier, and the next one after that even easier. Then I hooked up with this crew, sat in on a couple of clinics with Matt, started taking lessons again, and am doing things on guitar I never would have thought to even try, including performing in public after a 30 year hiatus.
Try finding some new music - use a service like Pandora that suggests music based on your preferences. There's a ton of stuff out there I'd never heard of, lots of indie guitarists that are doing great work. Try a whole new style. Take lessons. Write your own - doesn't matter if you think it's no good, or even never play it for anybody else, it'll give you a focus.
Don't accept that you're in a rut and just stay there. I can accept that I'll never play like Pat Martino or Michael Hedges or shred like Yngve Malmstein or play slide like Paul Temp. But I'll be damned if I don't try... |
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August 2009
Posts: 381
Location: Miami | I've heard you play. You've got TONS of acoustifiable tunes within your reach!
Sometimes practice is fun. Other times, it's just practice. But from this pair of ears, all I can say is - you do serious justice to the covers I've heard you play. Keep it up, even if it's hard to get past the noodling phase! |
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Posts: 747
| I only play songs that I like and these days that's mostly based on the lyrics - as for instrumental parts, I make up my own when something needs to be done rather than slave at learning other people's material - makes the whole process more enjoyable and less laborious.
Good friend of mine spends months figuring out complex lead solos and gets them note for note - my wife can only play when she has a sheet of paper in front of her with stacks of black dots everywhere which she tells me are chords - both of them work too hard at it and neither can come up with anything on the spot..lol |
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October 2005
Posts: 4067
Location: Utah | Yet. Learn the word "YET". I am not a good lead guitar player - YET. I am not a fingerstylist - yet. I am not a fast lick player - yet. I am not a chick magnet - yet ;) .
You do lots of things really well today, but there was a day when they seemed nearly impossible. Yet now you do them well. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by G8r:
...use a service like Pandora... Wow, Serge. That looks interesting. I can't access it from work, but I'll investigate it when I get home.
Thanks for the heads up.
Brad, guitar playing is so full of ups and downs. Remember that the downs make the ups so much higher. |
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March 2009
Posts: 715
| Well, I must be failing as I don't feel like I'm growing. Actually, I feel like I've taken a few steps backward this week.
Michelle |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Two steps forward, one step back.
I've be here before. We probably all have.
G8r is a good example of a guy making some quantum leaps forward. |
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February 2008
Posts: 747
| Originally posted by Guitarzannie:
Well, I must be failing as I don't feel like I'm growing. It's not a contest. It's about what the music brings to you - no one else.
My wife squaks about how much effort it requires for her to maintain the ability to play classical and that she can't play anymore because it's too much work.
I hit an open G on a well tuned resonant guitar and tell her "that's what it's all about right there." lol |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Joe Rotax:
"that's what it's all about right there." lol "Over Rover!"
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Every time I get something down, I think of another song that I started on, but never finished. I shouldn't have a problem filling up my time when I retire. I prefer fingerstyle, so I drift toward those, but there's a whole world out there with electrics I would like to explore. A guy I work with just started guitar at 67. We've got a huge jump on him. |
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Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Slip ,
" Happy Jack " .. yup ,that`s right .. |
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Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Mark,
I have the same issues as you, except I am retired and have more time to make the same mistakes! |
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April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by 2ifbyC:
Mark,
I have the same issues as you, except I am retired and have more time to make the same mistakes! ..and them RADAR noses were Never the Same .. |
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March 2009
Posts: 715
| Originally posted by Joe Rotax:
Originally posted by Guitarzannie:
Well, I must be failing as I don't feel like I'm growing. It's not a contest. It's about what the music brings to you - no one else.
My wife squaks about how much effort it requires for her to maintain the ability to play classical and that she can't play anymore because it's too much work.
I hit an open G on a well tuned resonant guitar and tell her "that's what it's all about right there." lol
Well, I gotta admit that I haven't been practicing much because I feel so tired. And I feel so tired because I haven't been able to get to sleep for more than 4 hours a night.
So no energy = not practicing very much. And not practicing very much = not being able to play as well as I want.
Michelle |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Matt has said that our playing problems are nothing that 100 gigs won't fix.
I've worked hard the last few years and guess what? That f@#kin light at the end of the tunnel is still 100 gigs away. I am getting better at playing the wrong chords at the worst possible time and forgetting the lyrics, even off the word sheets.
Maybe it's a sign that it's time to go get a job pumping gas or something. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Bringing this back to one of Brad's analogies, when you get to the end of the tunnel, it just branches off into a couple more. I was surprised to learn recently that the guitar as we know it is a relatively new instrument, but the variety of music for it keeps going off in different directions. There is just too much for one person, so we can only do a little part.
Unlike Brad, I keep finding more songs that I'm interested in learning. Most of them are from my college years and I keep thinking I'll soon learn all the songs I want to learn from the performers I liked back then, who are gone now, but then I see something like that Nashville thread and see John Goodman and think I need to learn a version of Gentle On My Mind that I can sing. Then there's things like the intro to "The Boxer" that I've always thought is one of the coolest intros to a song. Last night I finally got that down and I'll spend many more hours attaching it to the chords and memorizing those and the words.
Beal, if you want to do something mindless, I have a big granite boulder behind the cabin that either needs to be moved or broken up. I drill and hammer on it and dig around it, sometimes chipping off a piece, sometimes accomplishing nothing. Sometimes I give up, but it's still there the next time and I go at it again. I don't know if I'll ever conquer it, but it will bug me until I succeed. Sort of like playing guitar. |
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Posts: 381
Location: Miami | I have a similar "problem" (and it's a great problem to have). The more covers I learn, the more I want to learn. And it even forces me to learn new fingerings that I never tried before, and I can use them in my own existing originals.
Also, I'm currently going through a nice "up" phase right now where what I hear in my mind is finally coming out of my fingers and my voice. It wasn't like that before. And it's not because I've gigged 100 times (though that certainly didn't hurt). My "secret" was to find my limits, stay within them for the most part, and push the envelope just enough not to get sloppy.
For example, I couldn't play a fast lead to save my life, but I can nail just about any rhythm. Just as an off example: Anyone can play D - C - G, but play them with the right rhythm and people will recognize that it's "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Magic Carpet Ride" without needing to hear a word.
Vocally, I'm a baritone who can hit a few high notes, but forget Rush or Yes! But transpose down a half step or two (sometimes three) and suddenly I can do the Police, some Beatles tunes, even get my falsetto to reach those Bee Gee notes!
So my 2 tricks of the trade: guitarwise - emphasize my strength (rhythm and simple leads), de-emphasize my weakness (fast leads), and vocalwise - transpose IF necessary so that it's comfortable to sing.
Combining these, people have NO idea that it's transposed, and they don't miss a fast lead if I capture enough of the song's rhythm (and the more prominent lead riffs). One of the greatest things to hear as a soloist is "You sound like a whole band!"
This topic is near and dear to my heart, so for what it's worth, if it applies to anyone else, 2 basic rules (for solo singer/guitarists):
1 - know your limits and stay for the most part within those limits
2 - transpose the song to your voice, not to whatever's easier to play |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Just play with people better than you and be patient (and thank them for their patience). They will lead you to improvement. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | OK. Thanks for your patience, Brad and everyone else I've ever jammed with. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | I play more than practice. I never seem to set goals and just noodle. Yes indeed, Capo; BUT, as wise man (Schroeder) once say: an hour on the bandstand is worth ten in the practice room! I'll attest to that. |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by Slipkid:
If only I dedicated more time and was more disciplined.
If only my fingers were longer and could do what my brain hears.
If IFs and ANDs were pots and pans the world would be a kitchen.
Playing guitar is like a business. If you're not growing, your failing.
It's like walking into a room you have never seen before with shelves filled with hundreds of new exciting things to explore. Only to find that at some point there is nothing left to discover. And the room down the hall, tho you have never been in it before, seems uncomfortable and scary.
With a current set list of maybe 40 songs I'm finding it increasing difficult to un-earth the next song to cover. There are hundreds of songs but when you whittle them down to what can be done with acoustics, in a duo or solo, that is within my range of talent, and most of all something I like enough to spend time on, the pickins' eventually start to get thin.
Water seeks it's own level.
Electricity will always take the shortest path to ground.
And the lower hanging fruit always gets picked before there is a need to climb the ladder.
Maybe the good news is that I might be getting to a point where I'm tired with being lazy.
For the past 2 weeks I've been working on "Here Comes The Sun". I've known the parts for a long time but never got it beyond the noodling phase.
.
The process continues. What's the tune to this song? |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Kinda bluesey, but there's nothing in it about a dog. |
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October 2007
Posts: 283
Location: Portland, OR | We do it for fun. If it's a job you want, there are those around. But for me, if it isn't fun, I'm gone. |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by sligoman:
We do it for fun. If it's a job you want, there are those around. But for me, if it isn't fun, I'm gone. I hear you. It's like anything...ya wants ta be good at it, ya gots ta work at it. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | if it isn't fun, I'm gone! +1 |
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October 2005
Posts: 4067
Location: Utah | For me it isn't fun if there isn't improvement. There isn't improvement without work, and there's no motivation to work unless there is some performance to prepare for. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by FlySig:
For me it isn't fun if there isn't improvement. There isn't improvement without work, and there's no motivation to work unless there is some performance to prepare for. YIKES....I think I have to give up playing guitar! |
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November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | I have no place to go except up as far as my playing goes. I do find that my practice is at its best when I am working on a new song or two. I have the desire to keep picking up the guit. My only "performance" is in church and as our director so wisely puts it "priority one is to lead the congregation and praise". "performance" is way down the line for me. I don't know how you all do it. I get nervous playing in front of my family and even my teacher much less a paying crowd. I tip my hat to all of you who do this in front of an audience/for money.
I have to agree it is a process and that process seems to have its highs and lows. |
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April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | For me, I feel like I'm going along, getting nowhere, and then all of a sudden, something will just "click" and I find myself up a step or two.
Just recently I started to find myself playing lead things (not complicated, not difficult, definitely not showy)--build around that convenient little "D triangle," the highest three strings of the F chord, and then the highest three strings of a barred Bb chord. Shifting them around up and down the neck finds you all kinds of interesting stuff.
I know that for you folks who play lead all the time we're talking kindergarten stuff here, but it's just added a whole new way for me to do things--and they work in any key. (A real plus when the pianist likes flat keys.)
So, maybe my progress is slower now than it would have been if I had started 40 years or so ago, but I know that I surely appreciate it more now than I ever would have then.
--Karen |
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February 2009
Posts: 335
Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by Jewel's Mom a/k/a Joisey Goil #1:
For me, I feel like I'm going along, getting nowhere, and then all of a sudden, something will just "click" and I find myself up a step or two.
Just recently I started to find myself playing lead things (not complicated, not difficult, definitely not showy)--build around that convenient little "D triangle," the highest three strings of the F chord, and then the highest three strings of a barred Bb chord. Shifting them around up and down the neck finds you all kinds of interesting stuff.
I know that for you folks who play lead all the time we're talking kindergarten stuff here, but it's just added a whole new way for me to do things--and they work in any key. (A real plus when the pianist likes flat keys.)
So, maybe my progress is slower now than it would have been if I had started 40 years or so ago, but I know that I surely appreciate it more now than I ever would have then.
--Karen I wish my process was clicking in like yours Karen. Guys, this woman can play guitar! She was following us on guitar and bass with having the music in front of her.
Your secret is out now, Joisey Girl.
Anita |
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April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | :eek: ... :o ( :D )
--Karen |
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Playing guitar... it's a process.