Have you regressed lately??

suziko
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Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:28 pm

As for regressing, look at it this way: it's like taking golf lessons. You are shown new techniques that at first feel awkward and your playing suffers at first as a result. Once the new ways become habits improvement soon follows. In other words: one step back, two steps forward.


BigBear
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Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:43 pm

gingold wrote:
As for regressing, look at it this way: it's like taking golf lessons. You are shown new techniques that at first feel awkward and your playing suffers at first as a result. Once the new ways become habits improvement soon follows. In other words: one step back, two steps forward.

Good point Greg! I'm working on Windy And Warm which is a long stretch for me. I work on it and then put it away for a few days. When I go back, it is always easier/better than it was when I left it. It's weird but I think it happens to everyone. It must be something about how we humans learn. :cheer:


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neverfoundthetime
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Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:00 pm

It's called "quiet learning" Bear. You let go of something you've been working on consciously but your "Undermind" is putting all the pieces together for you as you sleep or go off line for a while. When you come back on line there has been some reorganising of the stuff you've learned. And it all works better. Neat, eh?


badger_125
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Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:24 am

I have certainly regressed at times. I find that if I keep hammering away at a particular tune, then I start to regress terribly. I think you just get tired and then we start to make mistakes. What usually works for me is to just get away from that particullar song or even stop playing for a short time. When I do get back later on I seem to be refreshed and begin to play better. It's like boling. The longer I play, the more gutter balls I begin throwing.


goldleaf
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Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:46 am

I think I've regressed after improving when I started w/TG. At first I found a song I really wanted to learn and started practicing. As things went on my interest turned to more new TG songs and I seemed to jump from song to song not really learning any one. Also I think the baseball grip is a natural grip IMHO and when it feel right in a particular song or part of a song it makes it easier to play that song. You don't feel like you're always fighting what comes natural. I think changing some of the basic techniques need to be long term projects for me so I don't get discouraged at not being to eliminate mainly the baseball grip. That one seems to be the one I could fight on almost every song, and that can't be good, it's sure not fun. A lot of great players don't have the classical form and grip but can wail on the guitar. Gary


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neverfoundthetime
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Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:35 pm

I have been playing for 35 yrs. I forgotten alot of things I have learned due to the fact I play only the songs I want to play. But I can go back and after a bit figure the songs out. It's easy to regress if your not constantly trying to improve your skills. I have long since gone past that point..lol Now playing for me is just enjoyment and nothing else. Playing and singing love songs and ballads.;)


goldleaf
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Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:37 pm

Paul, I hear what you are saying. I have no intension of doing more than learning a few songs on TG, I would like to get those songs down to a point where I can play them well enough to make a vid. I think this topic is an important one that can make a guitar player become discouraged if they set unrealistic expectations for themselves. I like that you are clear about not practicing a lot, just playing whatever you enjoy even if it means limiting what you play to campfire type or the types of songs you described. Some TGr's want to progress to the point they can play in public at open mic settings others want to take it farther than that. I think it is important for each player to establish where they fit in range of goals so they can obtain those goals and enjoy the process of practicing or just playing. Gary


wrench
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Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:26 pm

Hey Guys,

Regressions can be disappointing, especially when you are not expecting them. So a key to coping with regression is to expect it.

Playing guitar involves hardware and software. You know something intellectually, and you apply it to the guitar physically. Learning material generally isn't going to take as long as physically developing an acquired skill, so as guitar players, we are always learning stuff faster than we can play it, and therefore behind our own curves.

I think the regression comes into play when you try to change one of those developed skills, and it upsets what you can do physically, which is why you try change something like a hand position, then find you can't play stuff you already know. I will also throw in here that any bad physical habits you may have picked up along the way means when you try to take the physical part of your play to a more fundamental state, you will find there is more to change than you may have anticipated.

So the bottom line here is improvement comes with a price, and that price is regression. You're messing with what your body allows you to do, and it takes more time and effort to re-train it than it takes to merely learn about it. I think the only way to avoid regression is to avoid improvement. That's not to say you can't get real good at doing something fundamentally wrong, but that approach will limit your range.

So for us rookies, tear your game apart, and build it back fundamentally right. Experienced players with good fundamental skills may just need a bad habit check. You will play worse in the short run, but better in the long run, and expect exactly that. I think it was gingold who said one step backwards, two steps forward. I agree.

wrench


davidjdriver
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Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:52 am

I have recently switched to in ear monitors and I cannot believe how sloppy I have let my timing get. We used to really lock in when there was only three musicians but since we have added more musicians and singers it has gotten really bad but I did realize how bad until I could clearly hear everything. Just wow, real bad. It is a good thing though. Now I can start to get it fixed.

I wholly recommend in ear monitors. Save your ears please.


Jimmer
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Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:30 am

For those who have been playing a long time, I think a little regression is to be expected... and if unexpected and NOT covered in training, it should be.

Anytime you try to UNlearn a bad habit, it will set you back until a new one is ingrained. But it should be seen as an over all PROgression, otherwise you'll never see significant improvement.

My 'real job' is in IT... and I am so 'old school' that I never took a typing class nor learned how to type properly. So here I am, 25 years into a career where I type 45wpm... with three fingers. It's the funniest thing you've ever seen. But the thing is, I'll never improve PAST the 45wpm unless I make myself start over with a typing class, 'home row', and strict adherence to the rules.

For typing, it's not worth it to me... But for guitar, I welcome the little dips in progress as I learn a new technique. In the long run, my playing will be better for it.

:-)


> Jimmer


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