Practicing on Guitar...Does this happen to you???

[dinkyguitar]

Hi All,

 

Been playing the guitar on/off for 20 years. There's been times where I've been serious, and times where I haven't played for months. Now, I'm seriously playing again but looking back, I've noticed that if I try to play a difficult part too many times I get worst. Then I get discouraged and don't play the guitar for a fews days or whatever. Since realizing this "phenomenon" I know I have to give myself a break in order to make progress.

 

After taking a day or so off, my skill level is where I last left off, only now I'm building on that. At this point I feel I'm making progress and start getting exciting that I can "almost" play that difficult part. But, then at some point I notice myself getting worst again and have to stop.

 

Not sure if this makes any sense, but it seems like I get better if I take a days break. And it's not like I'm practicing 8 hrs a day. My regular routine is about 2-3 hours a day, trying to play various riffs, 2 or 3 speed drills. On weeks ends I'll play longer....

 

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

dinyguitar

[-TJ-]

At this point, I feel like I benefit from time off. When I play for too long, I can get stuck going in circles, doing the same things over and over again. Sometimes its best to step back for a bit.

[Alexbiscuit]

just play slower.

 

you have to program the fingerings into your brain, and if you can't do it perfectly slow, then you'll never be able to do it perfectly fast

 

even if it feels like you SHOULD be able to play something fast by now, it's probably a little more difficult than you give it credit for. just keep nailing it at a slow tempo.

[Lonnie99]

I don't play 2-3 hours a MONTH so I'm no help.

[sleewell]

you can def practice something too much to the point where its not benificial. if you are not getting it and not making improvements move on to something else and come back to it later. practice is about repitition and building muscle memory but if you are ingraining the wrong stuff its almost worse and it gets to a point where its not helping and could be hurting overall. i think that happens to everyone, you are not alone trust me.

[honeyiscool]

just play slower. you have to program the fingerings into your brain, and if you can't do it perfectly slow, then you'll never be able to do it perfectly fast

One of the interesting experiments in my life is that I practice all guitar things at full tempo. It's underrated, trying to reach beyond your abilities.

[Alexbiscuit]

how does that work out for ya?

[Brainfertilizer]

I actually have the exact problem.
I finally get the chance to sit down and play for a few hours a day several days in a row. I sit down the first day and have a pretty big success. You'd think I'd be all excited to jump in the next day and continue that success, right?

Instead, I avoid playing/practicing at all.

After having this happen several times and pondering on it, I finally realized that I'm afraid. Yes, afraid of success. I'm afraid of setting a standard of development I can't sustain, so I sabotage myself before I can set that standard.

It's twisted and/or stupid, I know, but I don't even have a band right now, so the only person it affects is me.

[komodo117]

One of the interesting experiments in my life is that I practice all guitar things at full tempo. It's underrated, trying to reach beyond your abilities.

 

I do the same. I feel that it's the only way I really improve. I constantly try to push myself beyond what I'm capable of. Just repetition over and over and over again until I can play it exactly how I want to.

 

However, I don't think my hand muscles agree and I'm currently taking a few days rest on a very pained, stiff and overstretched pinky at the moment.

[honeyiscool]

 

how does that work out for ya?

Quite well, actually.

 

I think the problem is you have to learn to avoid being discouraged.

[Dan Acheron]

It takes time to get some things down. Some days I will practice something and really will not make any progress that day. Then the next day I practice it and for some reason it is easier and I can do it at a faster speed. I have no idea why it happens for me this way but one thing I have learned is if you want to get good at something you need to be persistent on practicing it!

[WRGKMC]

When you see a musician that really impresses you, a normal listener sees them as gifted. A musician should see them as an athelete that puts in many more hours working out than you do.

 

I play alot. at least 3~4 hrs a night and maybe 12 hours on the weekends. maybe one night a week resting but thats rare. I do alot of mixing when I'm not playing. Its not all the same kind of playing though. I may spend a night doing nothing but oddball scales, kind of an aerobic workout. Another night may be recording and dubbing in parts either all chords, all leads, Bass, Keyboards, or a combonation jumping back and forth. Another night may be a 3~5 hour rehursal with the band, and another night working with another band helping them write music or adding parts on their recordings. Some nights is nothing but writing leads or fitting parts into an arrangement. The rest of the time may be mixing the music, and believe me you need to do just as much listening as you do playing to get parts down tight.

 

The most benificial of all these as far as lead playing goes is the areobic workout and getting the heart pumping and pores sweatting. I use all four fingers (sometimes the thumb) equally playing scales and I gradually ramp the speed up till the riff or excercise if flying over the frets.

 

From there on, I can change to learning or writing a part and the fingers are already in automatic mode and simply need guidence.

 

If its a copy tune (which I havent done alot of in years now cause I'm burnt out paying other peoples music and prefer my own) I'll first tab the parts out by ear. Then I'll take several measures and play those measures over and over till the fingering feels automaticlly natureal, I'll then do the next couple of measures, then play both sets together, then go on to the third, 4th etc till I have the whole thing down.

 

If I find one part of the tab feels unconfortable, I may take time to find alternate fingering positions that make sence to use, Or if the song has a video of the band and I can catch a few shots, it may give me some clues to what position the leads are being played in. I've often used my own positions because thay made more sence to use or I just learned them that way. Since it is a copy tune, it simply needs to sound good. I have no desire to be anyone but myself but every once in awhile I'll pick up something cool to try. It just becomes less and less as you learn thousands of tunes and dont hear much out there worth the effort of learning.

 

 

Anyway, I always found if you take the song and lay down relaxed with some headphones, and play the song back over and over for a few hours you should be able to hear the parts in your mind that need top be played. Dont be afraid to memorise all the parts as well. Then it just takes ramping up your physical ability to play it. Its not much different than sports training. You got to work out if you want to be considered a real musician and not a part time warrior.

[mrbrown49]

I do the same. I feel that it's the only way I really improve. I constantly try to push myself beyond what I'm capable of. Just repetition over and over and over again until I can play it exactly how I want to. However, I don't think my hand muscles agree and I'm currently taking a few days rest on a very pained, stiff and overstretched pinky at the moment.

 

Try slowing things down. The point of doing that is so you aren't flailing trying to hit the right notes and keep up, and straining your hand in the process. Slow it down and gradually speed up so you hit the notes with confidence, fluidity, and control.

[Alexbiscuit]

 

Quite well, actually. I think the problem is you have to learn to avoid being discouraged.

 

 

thats cool

 

ive taken a weightlifting approach to my guitar playing abilities. sometimes after a long session i'll drink a whey protein shake. but i never 'lift' more than i can handle because it would just do more harm than good.

[komodo117]

Try slowing things down. The point of doing that is so you aren't flailing trying to hit the right notes and keep up, and straining your hand in the process. Slow it down and gradually speed up so you hit the notes with confidence, fluidity, and control.

Confidence and fluidity isn't so much the problem as it is me being a bitch and having girly, gimp pinkies.

[mrbrown49]

Confidence and fluidity isn't so much the problem as it is me being a bitch and having girly, gimp pinkies.

 

Try doing some of this stuff. Try it both alternate picked and with pull offs. I like the "reversed Spider" at the bottom. Oh, and start slow.

[komodo117]

Once again, it's a matter of actual dexterity and strength. I neglected my pinky for years and now I'm paying the price by it being underdeveloped. I have a pretty rigorous workout down, and being currently unemployed allows me to play all day, every day. Unfortunately I can't work beyond my muscle growth, and the last week or so of practice has killed my hand because I've really been pushing it. Saturday I picked up my guitar as soon as I woke up and damn near dropped it the moment I threw my pinky in for a long bend. And here I thought I was long past that awkward cramping stage. Silly me.

 

Just gotta wait until it feels better, then get right back to grinding. Feeling pretty hopeful that it'll be on par with my other fingers soon though. So long as I can get it to act independently of my ring finger. That seems to be the hardest part right now. I really struggle with pull-offs and bends between those two, and make a conscious effort to focus on that a lot.

[faberbz]

There is also something to getting older. At different phases of life, we learn differently.

 

(resisting urge to break into cognitive psych babble....)

 

Kind of like working out. We need more rest intervals between big workouts. So does the brain. But the cool thing? The brain will continue to learn even when you just think about your last playing session. That's a capacity that improves with age

[honeyiscool]

I'm not really convinced that there's a muscle growth element to guitar playing. I'm pretty sure it's all muscle memory. As we get better, we learn to economize our movements and cause less strain.

[komodo117]

I'm not really convinced that there's a muscle growth element to guitar playing. I'm pretty sure it's all muscle memory. As we get better, we learn to economize our movements and cause less strain.

 

If you saw my weak little bony fingers, you'd understand.

 

Sure wish I could be a manly man with some strong hands but I'm stuck being a little guy. Often wondered if working out would help, but then I remind myself that I'm a musician, not an athlete. Just have to push through the bad in order be good, inflamed tendons and all.

[honeyiscool]

O_o

 

Inflamed tendons means you need to stop playing. You can't push through pain. If something is hurting, you're not doing it right and you need to stop whatever it is that causes pain. Otherwise, you're going to be suffering from arthritis or carpel tunnel or whatever musicians so often get.

 

I was trained in classical piano and it was never about power, it's all about posture and having zero stress as you're playing. That's how you get speed and dynamics, not by hurting.

 

I have tiny fingers, I can barely reach a 10th on a piano. I'm also 5'7" and 120 pounds. Fingers don't get stronger, you just learn to use them better.

 

Oh, and I know this sucks to hear but your pinky will never be as fast as your other fingers. Never.

[mrbrown49]

 

Once again, it's a matter of actual dexterity and strength. I neglected my pinky for years and now I'm paying the price by it being underdeveloped. I have a pretty rigorous workout down, and being currently unemployed allows me to play all day, every day. Unfortunately I can't work beyond my muscle growth, and the last week or so of practice has killed my hand because I've really been pushing it. Saturday I picked up my guitar as soon as I woke up and damn near dropped it the moment I threw my pinky in for a long bend. And here I thought I was long past that awkward cramping stage. Silly me. Just gotta wait until it feels better, then get right back to grinding. Feeling pretty hopeful that it'll be on par with my other fingers soon though. So long as I can get it to act independently of my ring finger. That seems to be the hardest part right now. I really struggle with pull-offs and bends between those two, and make a conscious effort to focus on that a lot.

 

 

Those exercises I linked too will help build strength if you do it often. Makes a great warm up routine too.

[komodo117]

Oh I know it. Hence why I haven't played in a few days. It's torture though. I want to jam but I know I'll just damage something

 

I'm in your same boat. 5'10, 125lbs, hard to reach beyond any 4 frets (well, 5 if its past the 12th). I'm not looking to be able shred with it, just make it useable. Which, in its current condition, is not. But at least I'm learning to actually play with it and use it instead of keeping it curled back all the time (probably why hurts so much right now).

 

*EDIT* Those excersises look kind of similar to my actual warm-up. Though, I tend to jam out and incorporate it into the mix rather than just running blindly through a single scale for hours.

[honeyiscool]

I actually do power chords and octaves with my pinky because I have small fingers.

 

I've always been able to stretch from the 1st fret to the 5th. Piano gets your fingers nicely stretched out.

 

Anyway, you shouldn't let your fingers hurt. Your brain will do a lot of the practicing for you once you start the exercises, you don't actually have to be at your guitar.

[normh]

What I have learned is that it is not practice that makes perfect, rather it is perfect practice that makes perfect. Slow down, and get that perfect practice, then speed up.