Playing- So disatisfied with tecnique you wanna give up?

[Swirly]

Hiya.

Now im not one of those people that expects amazing results overnight but i like to see improvements in the things i do.

Ive been playing the guitar for about 10 months now and i play quite a bit. Since about a month ago i have been playng around 6-8 hours a day, smtimes less (or light tonight, none at all as im washed out and pissed off). Im never happy with my playing, i know people are always never truly satisfied with their playing as they feels somthings always lacking. But im so unhappy with my playing that i feel i couold quite quit, even though the guitar and music is my life, it seems i play for hours on end each day, day in day out and i get nowhere, i somtimes even go backwards. Take a lick i learnt a while back, i can barely play it now, and its not probably even recognisable. I have no speed, no real tecnique, accuracy etc and ive been working on it for months.

I have a freind whos been playing the same time as me, and he basically played scales to a metronome for a couple of weeks and now he can shred like ****, well good enough for his age and experience at least. And here i am, playing my guts out and playing **** loads of excersies, and not getting anything,not even a slight piece of enjoyment out of the instrument. Life is somewhat unfair in that way.

Im searching round for a new teacher atm and hopefully a new teacher will help me out as i dont have any joy playing anymore, just the need and want to get better even though im not.


Im just wondering if people ever feel like their wasting their time. Or if theres just somthing ****ed up about what im doing ,causes my playing to suffer.

[agquake]

Swirly, I know you've heard this before, but have patience. Ten months isn't very long at all. Also, you may be over playing, believe it or not. 6-8 hours a day of true playing time is a ton, and it sounds like you're not giving your muscles enough time to recover. I know it sounds silly, but it's true. If your muscles don't recupperate and you keep attacking them, their performance is going to suffer and actually diminish. I would try taking 1 or 2 days off of playing, and then slowly get back into a practice schedule, starting at around 45-60 minutes a day for pure technique stuff. As for your friend who is now able to play certain things, everyone has a different rate of development. Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor can Super Shreddin' Swirly be either.

[Artist]

Swirly I was incredibly surprised when you said that you had only been playing for 10 months.
I have a feeling that at the moment your feeling overwhelmed by this guitar world, especially the one thats created on jemsite. What I realised is that these guys have been playing a long time and although it seems like everyone is miles ahead of you, you are on the right path, a better one than a lot of guitarists.

Just ask paul gilbert, for the first year of playing he only used upstrokes,


on the low e


and only with his middle finger on his left hand.

Then he got some lessons and look at him now.

[rl^^]

this is what i do alot with playing, when im stuck in a rut with a certain
exercise or lick...i just take a break from it for a while and come back to
it....youd be surprised that it gets easier

also i watched on george lynch video that he will put the guitar down for a
few days, maybe even longer...and when you pick the guitar back up you
have a new found perspective, and you seem fresh and ready to tackle
the things that have been giving you trouble

iv did it and it really helps alot

[Mr Orange]

Yup. I know the feeling. I get it every two weeks or so, and I've been playing for years. Just hang in there and you'll be good. It's not a sport.

And in the words of Robert Fripp: Comparison is a mark of the fool.

[Swirly]

I know that playing the guitar isnt about comparing yourseflf to people, and its not a race. But when your at an age like mine (im 15, 16 in a few weeks) you look at young players and think, "Dam that kids my age and he rules" and you get swamped down by all the things to do, well at least i do.


My practice routine is pure technieque building, its legato, string skipping, fast licks, sweeping etc so theres no musical side to things as i feel i suck so hard i need to increase. Rather than reduce my routine, how about i take everyother day as a theory day, or a time when i can either leve the guitar alone, or improvise and stuff.
Would that ease things up a bit?

[Artist]

it probly would, also try playing along to a few songs, improv over the top or something. Learn to play songs and learn whats has been written musically.
It's not all shred.

Jeez when I had been playing for 10 months i didnt even know what sweeping was.

[Al M]

I've been there and i discovered 2 things which applies to learning any instrument. The first thing i learned there is a point (for me at least) where i think whats the point im useless and getting nowhere fast lets giveup. I discovered that if you can old on in there thigs will go from strength to strength.

The second is that you can praci too much, know what i mean? you can almost go stale, sometimes its good to have a bit of a break.

As we all know we have great nights and nights where is just dont work. Something else i learned is that if your having an off night its far less stressful etc to just put the axe away and so something else and try again the next day (usually things are much better by then)

Thx

Al

[Swirly]

I know what you mean. But i have an 'off day' , everyday.
I can remember licks like the Tech Diff Intro that i learned months ago and i still suck at it. I mean, months arnt exactly years , but i dont expect to play for hours and not actually have anything to show at all.



I also feel like if i take a break then oits time i could be playing, therefore making me better (well pigs may fly) so i dont like to take breaks.

Urg, i dunno what the anwser is, or even what im looking for to make me happy, but all i know is playing isnt enjoyable.


I think i just want to be able to do somthing and say " yeah thats pretty cool" Like a fast riff, for example a PG type lick :
------------7-----------|
--7-9-10--------10 9--|

Somthing thats requires some technique. Which is why on my practice routine ive got about 6/7 differnt sections with 4 excersses in each (15 mins for each ex). That way i feel i can work on legato, sweep picking, alternate, finger accuracy, and stuff like that all in one go. This was said by many to be a god way to practice as you cover all aspects. But is it possible that by doing this im actually getting worse? The thing is, in the past ive broke away from set routines and just messed around and focues on say one riff like the one above, yet i still dont get anywhere, or see any improvments.

[Al M]

I think this is psycological as much as anything! remember you CAN IMO praci too much, and almost end up going backwards. Dont overdo it. Remember ultimately this is supposed to be fun. Maybe try not playing technical stuff for a bit and just get some jamming under your belt.

[glynn]

Practice makes permanent, so slow down.

I dont think that you should be that hard on yourself, comparing yourself to PG is not the way, and I bet most people would have a tough time with most PG stuff, regardless of how long they have been playing. PG didnt get to PG's level in one year, or even 5.

I'm also willing to bet that you have made improvements, its just very difficult to see your progress.

Relax a bit, this is supposed to be fun, not torture.

[Jeff]

What I like to do is quit playing guitar on Monday and don't play it again until Friday. You're technique may not be the best, but you'll have tones of tone stored up in your fingers and it seems fun to play again .

Or maybe your ears just aren't used to hearing yourself play and you really do still suck ....but this is what I usually do when I get burnt out, and playing becomes fun again!!!

[Devo]

man.. dont force it

do it cause you love it and for no other reason. Your only playing ten months. Chill... seriously... take a few weeks off...

whats with the rush?

[Artist]

I think I can answer on swirlys behalf on saying that at a young age (i'm just 17) it feels like there is great pressure to be playing better than you are, with all these guys being able to play like anything at similar ages).
I have since tried to get away from progressing fast through pressure on playing.
Don't play for a while, then take it easy, jam along to songs all day. Spend a day just listening to albums, listening to what they are doing. Improvising over stuff is important, from your practice it sounds like its not something you do regularly, and its mostly technical practice.

Grab a song that stays in one key, and just play over it, whatever takes your fancy. Some Hendrix might be nice, then you can just play your heart out on a blues scale, and instead of just playing, think about some of the favorite things you have found when learning other peoples music, then throw it into your improvising.
An example of this is a fastish lick I picked up from listening/playing(trying) some satch.
e15----------------
b---18-p-15-------
g------------15b17
played by sweeping.

Or messing around using the notes
e5-7-8
g5-7-8
b5-7-8

As often used by gilberto.

Just **** around and say **** it to all the technical stuff. Play some stuff that gives you "that" feeling inside that makes your face do stupid stuff.

[spencer096]

Originally Posted by Swirly

Hiya.

Now im not one of those people that expects amazing results overnight but i like to see improvements in the things i do.

Ive been playing the guitar for about 10 months now and i play quite a bit. Since about a month ago i have been playng around 6-8 hours a day, smtimes less (or light tonight, none at all as im washed out and pissed off). Im never happy with my playing, i know people are always never truly satisfied with their playing as they feels somthings always lacking. But im so unhappy with my playing that i feel i couold quite quit, even though the guitar and music is my life, it seems i play for hours on end each day, day in day out and i get nowhere, i somtimes even go backwards. Take a lick i learnt a while back, i can barely play it now, and its not probably even recognisable. I have no speed, no real tecnique, accuracy etc and ive been working on it for months.

I have a freind whos been playing the same time as me, and he basically played scales to a metronome for a couple of weeks and now he can shred like stuff, well good enough for his age and experience at least. And here i am, playing my guts out and playing stuff loads of excersies, and not getting anything,not even a slight piece of enjoyment out of the instrument. Life is somewhat unfair in that way.

Im searching round for a new teacher atm and hopefully a new teacher will help me out as i dont have any joy playing anymore, just the need and want to get better even though im not.


Im just wondering if people ever feel like their wasting their time. Or if theres just somthing ****** up about what im doing ,causes my playing to suffer.

i used to when i would just sit down and try to learn a song from beginning to end.

practice smart, not hard...best advice ever.

when you practice, before, write up a schedule of what you want to accomplish in this day. stay as strict as possible to the times you write in for each area and each day, give yourself some extra time to review what you did the previous day. also, play light on the weeknds (unless you have something that takes up a lot of time during the week and weekends are about the only time you have) and give your hands a rest. like any muscle, when you use your hands, the muscle breaks down, and needs time to regenerate. this time also give your mind a reprieve from working so hard. you need time to clear everything.

record yourself playing, then 2 months later go back to it and see how much youve improved after sticking to a rigid schedule. youll be shocked.

think of it this way. you dont go into a weight room and just start doing random exercises, youll either hurt yourself, get frustrated, or not do anything positive at all. you go in with a schedule and you stick to it, thats where improvement lies.