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Location: PDX | So:
Horizontal growth is learning more pieces but playing them just as badly. Mistakes, hesitations, off rhythm, etc.
Vertical growth is the ever increasing ability to play cleanly with ease and undertake ever more advanced pieces.
So, what's you recipe for achieving vertical growth.
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gh1 |
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Location: East Tennessee | Practice. |
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Location: Central Massachusetts |  |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Study the Art of ZEN...reading Slipkid`s posts..and Practice..
..I so hate to agree with GGG.. :D
Vic |
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Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Practice -- yeah right. That's not the answer. I practice, lots, and i only achieve horizontal growth.
I study theory, read standard notation, i am arranging songs, i am getting better by playing by ear, but i am not progressing in skill level. I put in about 2 to 3 hours a day on music and guitar and i am just not playing more cleanly or with more ease.
Geesh, am i the only one with this problem?
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gh1 |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Set out a program of progressivily more difficult songs, start with a one chord groove like I'm a man, and work up to Girl from Ipanema. Perform for an audience (someone not your wife, kid or mother) |
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Location: NJ | Find somebody to play with (and do it regularly).
(btw: from the "title" of this, I thought it was a plug for Cialis . .) |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Actually gh1,I am too much of a joker at times,but then again,I hear ya,when performing ,interacting with the audience is a matter of course for me,but it does diminish guitar/instrument skill,so I find that playing with others boost those skills,even been thinking of taking some lessons of a real good trainer,U know,...taking a stance back,see what happens,...(I allso feel that I should improve,wish me luck) :)
Vic |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Ah, Cliff, I don't think that's considered "vertical growth"...at least I hope not.
Greg, do you have the opportunity to play with other players who are better than you or challenge you at all? I've found that putting myself up in front of a group that I have to lead, or having to keep up with a great guitarist naturally pushes me to the next level.
My lead guitarist Nick is incredible...the guy just turned 21, and outplays me six ways from Sunday on electric (obviously) or even acoustic. The up side is that we've gotten to where we play together really well, and watching him and trying to keep up has given me several realizations about techniques and tricks that add way more depth and dynamics to the songs I play.
I hate to say it, but Cliff's (at least partly ;) ) right. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Give up. Give away all your guitars. I'll come get them. I'm fine with horizontal growth. That's the only way I've been growing the last few years. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by gh1:
Practice -- yeah right. That's not the answer. I practice, lots, and i only achieve horizontal growth.
Geesh, am i the only one with this problem?
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gh1 I am also waiting for "The Answer!"
I play the same songs... Maybe alittle better.
For more upward movement I think that you must try to play the songs that you cannot play.
Anyone with the Answer? I'm waiting... |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | +1 on Cliff and Rick's posts. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Joining a band really helped me. The leader plays some rhythm guitar, but he's a professional musician on the trumpet and anything else brass, as are the keyboardist, bass player and drummer. They sight read everything. It is all I can do to keep up, and if the keyboardist is absent, it falls on me to essentially play the piano part on the guitar. I am proud to say they haven't booted me out (yet). Every time the door opens in rehearsal, I'm thinking it may be my replacement finally showing up. On the other hand, I have a better job than the whole bunch of them, so I am winning the most gear race. |
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Location: Tampa, FL | Now for the unpleasant reality.
What you describe sounds to me like you are missing some of the fundemental skills. If you go to guitarnoise.com, they have recently published a few articles on practicing efficiently. I would also recommend recommend selecting a course of study that includes some scale drills (for finger strength). I don't know if any one particular guitar course is head and shoulders above the others.
You also cannot discount the value of a good teacher. He will be able to evaluate your currrent skill level and develop a program to take you from this level to your desired goal.
Othe than that, jam with a friend. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Do you think you're making it into a job, instead of having fun with it? 2 to 3 hours a day is a lot. Maybe you're not improving because you're not enjoying it and you're not enjoying it because you're not improving.
It's tough to improve if you're not having fun. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Take a piece that you can't play but want to. Learn it.
I've found that the finger skills, while hard, can be achieved fairly reasonably. The real problem I have is training the brain to think up new shit and then go play it. I find playing it is the easier part. Even if it's somebody else's song, getting it through my head is the hard part. My take is that's where you'll find vertical growth.
Of course I've always had this brain problem. That's what made me want to play guitar in the first place, and then go sell gas. |
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Location: Whitecourt, Ab | My problem is I'm happy with complacency. Years ago I used to strive to reach a new "plateau", vertical growth as we're calling it, then I realized I would never be all that and a bag of chips, and I'm okay with that. Now I realize I'm just happy to strum along with the big dogs, and every once in a while I realize I've accidently achieved some vertical growth |
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Location: Orlando, FL | I agree with Beal. The finger part is easier to train and improve than the brain part. It's that damn thinking that gets me! |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Well said, rededdie. After 48 years of playing, I, too, am as good (or, more accurately, mediocre) as I'll ever be, and I'm o.k. with it. The band experience just lets me apply it to a lot more new material, and more often than not, a little too quickly for my comfort level. |
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Location: GA USA | No, Gh1, you are not alone. Although I don't practice nearly as much as you do. That's a ton.
I recently, in the past week, advertised on Craigslist for a jam partner. I was fairly picky in my criteria. If I don't get any takers, I think I'll soften the requirements and try again.
Here's my ad.
Looking to find an acoustic jam partner in Stockbridge/north Henry. Practicing alone is getting dull. I know you're as busy as I am, but maybe we can work something out. Looking for an eventual lite performing partner, maybe.
Me:
Late 40's. Like rock, folk, blues, worship. Play guitar and harmonica, sing and harmonize well. Not a fan of southern rock or southern gospel.
You:
Play guitar and sing. Male. 30's, 40's, early 50's...
All: Is this a good appraoch to finding a jam buddy, or can you think of better?
Oh, and last May I resigned from our church's praise band. A tough decision since I'm our only adult player who plays contemporary style (they have a teen now, who's good). It was becoming keyboard and female vocal oriented and I was losing my mind. So I no longer have a band to practice with weekly. I now help them as equipment toter. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Movin up to Roadie? Well, somebody's got to do it. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | It also might be your expectations and what kind of musical experience your coming out of. For me, punk, country and blues are the base. With punk, presentation of the song is most important, with technical ability being secondary. Some people are absolutely anal about being in tune, some are reasonable and others don't care. Look at a band like the white stripes, live they make mistakes, but still an exciting performance. The main thing is that you enjoy yourself, and mistakes and flubs are bound to happen, it's normal. |
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Posts: 217
Location: Snåsa, Norway | It's not only the amount of practice that matters as much as the quality. This means spending most practice time on the trouble spots, not just playing the entire pieces over and over. Also metronome practice at slow speed, so slow that you can play any part of the piece or exercise perfectly, and then increasing speed gradually.
Spending time on basic technical exercises, scales etc. is also important for vertical growth, but tend to be boring. Planning and logging practice sessions is probably wise, so much time on scales, so much on specific exercises, and tunes. Try to benchmark your playing by recording yourself occasionally to register your progress.
This may seem tediours and boring, but I think it's what it takes. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | GH1 ,do you find yourself being "cornered"..maybe it`s time to change your point of view..is there something that you`ve allways wanted to do..like,I dunno,Climb the Himalaya,Hitchhike through Europe,see the Chinese wall...maybe there`s something you could do (albeit on a smaller scale )..usually things "hang together"...Good Luck :)
Vic |
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Location: New South Wales, Australia | I had piano lessons as a kid (for 8 years) and practice time was always the worst. My mother believed that if I didn't practice for at least 90 minutes then it wasn't enough. Consequently my resentment towards the piano and practice grew until, at 15, I was old enough to say...that's it, no more piano.
Had a two year break from music and then taught myself to play the guitar and loved it from the very first moment. I played for nearly 20 years before I went and had some lessons. My teacher was a bit uptight but he gave me some great advice (well, for me anyway). He told me to practice for no more than 20 minutes at a time and then to just play without thinking. Any more than 20 minutes and I'd start to get bored and frustrated.
For me it worked and I did manage to achieve some vertical growth in that time. I still play for a couple of hours every day but in that time I only "practice" in short bursts. Works for me. |
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Vertical growth
