Members smatel Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 My attention tends to waiver when I'm practicing or playing; I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RyanGillam Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Don't play for so long. take small mini-breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 I think exercises will only get you so far, diet/nutrition and sleeping patterns are IMO a bigger factor in your ability to concentrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pmc100 Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Funnily enough I was going to post the same thing today. I find no problem concentrating on playing. Either playing along to song or backing tracks or just noodling. But I find practising boring. Actually sitting down and learning something properly. I get bored after more than a few minutes, which of course means it takes ages to learn anything. I'm kind of half tempted to conclude that while I love playing guitar, I don't love it enough that any kind of guitar playing is enjoyable. How to you guys who practise for hours at a time cope with boredom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Funnily enough I was going to post the same thing today. I find no problem concentrating on playing. Either playing along to song or backing tracks or just noodling. But I find practising boring. Actually sitting down and learning something properly. I get bored after more than a few minutes, which of course means it takes ages to learn anything. I'm kind of half tempted to conclude that while I love playing guitar, I don't love it enough that any kind of guitar playing is enjoyable. How to you guys who practise for hours at a time cope with boredom? I tend to focus quite intensely for about 30mins on whatever it is I'm trying to achieve..and then have a break, noodle, play along with the tv or whatever and then come back for another spell. The thing that guarantees my focus, is if I start every practice session (as opposed to noodling) with some sight reading. I find that the effort required for me to sight read even simple pieces of music, gets my brain/fingers totally warmed up and focused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stomias Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 I tend to focus quite intensely for about 30mins on whatever it is I'm trying to achieve..and then have a break, noodle, play along with the tv or whatever and then come back for another spell. The thing that guarantees my focus, is if I start every practice session (as opposed to noodling) with some sight reading. I find that the effort required for me to sight read even simple pieces of music, gets my brain/fingers totally warmed up and focused. Yeah it's the basic 40min rule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonPhillips Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 How to you guys who practise for hours at a time cope with boredom? I know this isn't a lot of help, but I just don't find it boring. When I'm not playing my guitar, I'm totally consumed by the desire to do so. My wife says I have an obsessive character though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smatel Posted February 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks for your responses! So far we have:Break up the session into smaller periods (and perhaps work up to longer periods). Can do. Somehow nourish my brain so it has the energy to work for longer periods. (I think I get enough sleep at 7 to 8 hours per night) Any suggestions? My practice/playing normally happens at night, after work and a visit to the gym, so my energy reserves may be low. I eat after the gym, usually a balanced meal of around 500 calories. Maybe a particular nutrient could be added? Attempt to make the practice more interesting to stave off boredom. Maybe I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Honestly, I really dont struggle with boredom and practice. I love practicing and look forward to it. It took me a while to get there though. None of that is helpful to you so let me say this: I agree with mo - starting a practice session with something robotic like sight reading is an awesome way to sharpen your focus and generally calm the hell down. Plus it makes you a better musician - win-win. Other things i do: Set a timer and take breaks for a walk about, drink and a trip to the can. Make a practice chart and use timer to make yourself stick by it (the second it dings stop what you are doing immediately and move to the next item on the chart) To Digress a bit If you are talking about creativity - it isnt a light switch you just flick on and off. If you want to improvise effectively or write effectively you have to "get in the zone". Pat Metheny says it takes him 2 hours to get to that place where he improvises effectively. His pre performance warm ups are 2 hours in length for this reason. Now, I am not putting this out there to say do as Pat does. We dont all have the time to do that. What i am saying is even the greats require time to "get there". It kind of akin to a meditation playing an instrument - you need to clear your mind of all the {censored} to see what you are looking for. Hence the effectiveness of the sight reading - it makes you focus. BTW- I concur with Pat Methany I find after 2 hours I start feeling my most creative. It took me many years to make this observation and understand it. I used to think I just sucked - then i realized most of my writing and improvs were in my pre warmed up state - of course it wasnt very good. For important performances now I do as Pat does. Get there early and be ready. It makes a huge difference. One of the benefits of aging is maturity and understanding of your body and how it functions. Everything else about aging sucks!! Hope this helped somewhat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 P.S> Effortless Mastery, Zen Guitar, The art of practicing all great reads. My advice- get the books and read em - helped me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DanSlime Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 my personal view on it is that if you're not motivated to study something its gonna be hard. For me, I'm not concerned with efficiency or a goal oriented attitude. I try to play and study things that are inspiring in one way or another. The motivation comes from that. ...again this is not an efficient way of doing things. My only advice would be that if you're having trouble then go do something else (as others in the thread have mentioned). One thing to do is to take up another instrument. You have to have the motivation to do so. But if you do...then you can have something else to do while taking a break from guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smatel Posted February 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 P.S> Effortless Mastery, Zen Guitar, The art of practicingall great reads. My advice- get the books and read em - helped me. Thanks for the book suggestions! I have read Zen Guitar; good book. In the process of ordering the other two titles, I came across books with similar titles. Which of these are you suggesting? http://www.amazon.com/Art-Practicing-Alice-Artzt/dp/093322463X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235763890&sr=8-3 http://www.amazon.com/Art-Practicing-Guide-Making-Music/dp/0609801775/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235763890&sr=8-1 [edit] I'll assume the second since it appears to deal specifically with guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smatel Posted February 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 Also, Jamie Andreas has written a book called Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted February 27, 2009 Members Share Posted February 27, 2009 I'll assume the second since it appears to deal specifically with guitar. The one by Madeline Bruser is the one i have read. I find I get as much if not more from a non-guitarists view of things. They seem to deal more with audition and performance specifics if they come from an orchestral background. There are a lot of little details that interfere with good practice she breaks them down well. The one I got the most out was was Effortless Mastery. Although he gets into meditations and stuff ... didnt read those parts not really my headspace. But it dealt with self ego and interference a lot which is more in line with your issue (we all have ego issues and interference is the direct byproduct) I got something from each of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Li Shenron Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 Also, Jamie Andreas has written a book called Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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