Members Hydrospin Posted February 20, 2003 Members Posted February 20, 2003 I just noticed this is my 100th post. Yeah for me!!!! Anyway, I would like to share something that I discovered in my playing over the past few days. I believe this may help some that have not been playing all that long or may be at a stand still. For a month or so I was at a stand still and wanted to learn something new. I started to pay attention to my left hand. How I fretted notes, how hard I pressed down. My timing between my pick attack and left finger movement. In hopes this would spark something new and bring me out of my rut. I started working on fluid lines and phasing. I noticed that in most instructional material Iv'e read the author may state something about this but not how important it is. Lessons seem to be more mechanical than feel. I am far from pro status, but I believe this a sign of a good player. I started to hear "Tones" That I have not heard before. As I relieved some of my finger pressure my notes really began to sing more. I was never a heavy handed player to begin with but I just found this spot where the whole neck started vibrating with resonance. After that my speed picked up huge. My phasing seemed to just fall into place. It was the first time I felt I was one with my guitar. Not just trying to play it. I could hear all of these notes between the notes you could say. And the dynamics were great. My song writing has taken a whole new dimension in a better direction. So much more melodic. I'm playing stuff I had now idea I was able to write. All I had to do was relax and pay attention. I guess a good statement would be. Slow down and pay attention to every move you make and the result. Even between the notes. Get to know your fret board. Not just the notes but how it feels. It's all starting to make so much more sense to me. I'm so pumped. Hope this may help someone.
Members superdaveb Posted February 20, 2003 Members Posted February 20, 2003 I am going to try this and experiment. Nice post.
Members Hydrospin Posted February 20, 2003 Author Members Posted February 20, 2003 Thanks, Gotta make that monumental 100th. post count:p
Members StratKat Posted February 21, 2003 Members Posted February 21, 2003 You my firend have stumbled onto the mysterious epiphany of learning an instrument. Months of hard boring work that seldom seems to be inspiring or beneficial go by and then one day something crucial stands up and you grasp its meaning. That then leads to everything you have studied now making sense and becomming usable on demand. Ive had many of these over the years. It is a part of the learning process. Get tons of knowledge into your head and then when the crucial moment arrives and it gells you just understand its purpose. Sometimes it takes months, years, to arrive though.... The great moments i had were: the pents for soloing. Switching from LP's to strats. Learning to play with people more advanced then i was. Not having to use full chords all the time. Just partials... Understanding that alot of the guitar rhythm parts on records are actually single note lines rather than chords. Learning that to play fast you learn slow, and relax your grip, not tense up with force. Learning the pattern style of playing i have in my lessons. Discovering the five positions of the blues scale. Buying a Boogie. (this actually breathed new life into my feeling because of the tone that i was getting. For the first time i was inspired to go out on limbs when soloing.) And this last one took alot of pressure off me once i finally grasped it! That on my best nights few people noticed me or my abilities. And that other players who were (cough) of less knowledge, but more entertaining then me were getting all the glory. Dont laugh! It made playing for me alot easier when i didnt think i had to prove something to an audience each night. At first it was sour grapes and jealousy, i admit it. But after a few months i realized i was playing WAY better then before and it was because i wasnt trying to prove how good i was anymore to anyone. Illusions in your mind cause stress and fatigue that hold your ability back. When you cut loose those demons and shoot that monkey off your back you can play to alot higher calibre alot easier. The more you can relax and THINK about the music you want to play the easier it is to improvise on the spot. It frees up precious (cough) memory chips in your mind for thinking ahead. You have more resources to draw upon that way... Cant wait for my next moment...Wonder what it will be?
Members edeltorus Posted February 21, 2003 Members Posted February 21, 2003 Hi Stratkat, I love these moments when suddenly your mind opens. Great things to look forward! Nils
Members ninjaaron Posted February 21, 2003 Members Posted February 21, 2003 I had the tension epiphany about a month after I started playing. I count it as pure luck, but I am damn glad, I also am constantly working on my touch, most of the guitarist round hear play very stacato-ish because they don't think about how they are playing the notes, they just hit them.
Members DemoEtc Posted February 21, 2003 Members Posted February 21, 2003 Originally posted by Hydrospin I just noticed this is my 100th post. Yeah for me!!!! Anyway, I would like to share something that I discovered in my playing over the past few days. I believe this may help some that have not been playing all that long or may be at a stand still. For a month or so I was at a stand still and wanted to learn something new. I started to pay attention to my left hand. How I fretted notes, how hard I pressed down. My timing between my pick attack and left finger movement. In hopes this would spark something new and bring me out of my rut. I started working on fluid lines and phasing. I noticed that in most instructional material Iv'e read the author may state something about this but not how important it is. Lessons seem to be more mechanical than feel. I am far from pro status, but I believe this a sign of a good player. I started to hear "Tones" That I have not heard before. As I relieved some of my finger pressure my notes really began to sing more. I was never a heavy handed player to begin with but I just found this spot where the whole neck started vibrating with resonance. After that my speed picked up huge. My phasing seemed to just fall into place. It was the first time I felt I was one with my guitar. Not just trying to play it. I could hear all of these notes between the notes you could say. And the dynamics were great. My song writing has taken a whole new dimension in a better direction. So much more melodic. I'm playing stuff I had now idea I was able to write. All I had to do was relax and pay attention. I guess a good statement would be. Slow down and pay attention to every move you make and the result. Even between the notes. Get to know your fret board. Not just the notes but how it feels. It's all starting to make so much more sense to me. I'm so pumped. Hope this may help someone. Totally cool, man!
Members Hydrospin Posted February 25, 2003 Author Members Posted February 25, 2003 Originally posted by StratKat You my firend have stumbled onto the mysterious epiphany of learning an instrument. Months of hard boring work that seldom seems to be inspiring or beneficial go by and then one day something crucial stands up and you grasp its meaning. That then leads to everything you have studied now making sense and becomming usable on demand.The great moments i had were: the pents for soloing.Learning to play with people more advanced then i was.Not having to use full chords all the time. Just partials...Understanding that alot of the guitar rhythm parts on records are actually single note lines rather than chords.Learning that to play fast you learn slow, and relax your grip, not tense up with force.Buying a Boogie. (this actually breathed new life into my feeling because of the tone that i was getting. For the first time i was inspired to go out on limbs when soloing.)And this last one took alot of pressure off me once i finally grasped it!That on my best nights few people noticed me or my abilities. And that other players who were (cough) of less knowledge, but more entertaining then me were getting all the glory. Illusions in your mind cause stress and fatigue that hold your ability back. When you cut loose those demons and shoot that monkey off your back you can play to alot higher calibre alot easier. The more you can relax and THINK about the music you want to play the easier it is to improvise on the spot. It frees up precious (cough) memory chips in your mind for thinking ahead. You have more resources to draw upon that way...Cant wait for my next moment...Wonder what it will be? We share many of the same "finds" on our journey. For the longest time I have not been able to find the "tone" I wanted.I switched to a Tele and a Boogie. Finaly a step in the right direction. I still want a Ric 360It is amazing what new gear can do to you. I had the same problem playing with other people. It was actually my biggest problem. I tend not to show too much emotion around people. Part of me always stays back in the risk of exposing too much. Starting to play and sing songs that I wrote about myself infront of my band mates was a HUGE leap for me. Once I was comfortable they were blown away. I have no problem with that now. I can't wait to start playing bigger shows!! Mental strength is a big factor in music. Well, in everything for that matter. I learned that when I played pool all of the time. (Might of went pro if I didn't like music so much) 80% of pool is mental. I've found that when I am in the "Zone" while I am playing, the feeling is pretty similar to "Dead Stroke" in regards to pool. Once your there you don't want to leave. "The key to success is changing the way you think"
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