Barriers to Improvement

[BigBear]

I wonder if we take the path of least resistance? If a song, or even a passage, is hard, we drop back into something comfortable. It's more fun to make good sounds on the guitar rather than bad ones.

I'm struggling with Windy and Warm. Parts of it I play well but some of it sounds so bad. I am very motivated to just drop it and try some easier stuff but what have I accomplished. Nada! I have to keep going in the hope that I can break thru this barrier.

Which is better, playing easy songs well or hard songs poorly? That's the 64 dollar question isn't it? Do we really learn anything playing easy songs well? :cheer:

[Lavallee]

Bear , I have found that if I struggle badly (hitting a wall) on a song, I avoid it for a week. Then when I do it again next time, after that pause, it seems that the song sank a bit into me and I seem to progress a little faster.

Marc

[AndyT]

Any coach will tell you that the biggest barrier to improvement is the player himself/herself. If they really want to learn then they would find a way around any and all excuses.

[jayswett]

I used to believe my barrier to improvement was a lack of innate, natural musical talent. I no longer believe that. I now believe that while some of us have more of a predisposed ability to learn music, all of us can do it if disciplined and organized enough. No doubt that it will take longer for someone like me to learn music theory or master some of the more complex guitar pieces, but with enough discipline and organization, it can be done.

[wrench]

non-existent or poorly constructed series of goals.

[sellis1974]

That's me, exactly. Plus, my first (and only) teacher was (is) a top-flight fingerstyle blues guy, and that's what I've learned. I just suck with pick, and strumming in time doesn't come easy to me, though I really want to be much better at that.

[neverfoundthetime]

Welcome to the forums sellis! Like to pop over to the introduce-yourself-thread and tells us who you are. Chris

[Music Junkie]

Focus and direction for sure! I get started on something, then don't know where to go from there. I get bits and pieces of lots of stuff, never the entire picture. This site is helping out though, and I am trying to become more aware of my short comings in those areas.

MJ

[BigBear]

AndyT wrote:

Any coach will tell you that the biggest barrier to improvement is the player himself/herself. If they really want to learn then they would find a way around any and all excuses.

I agree but is there a point where you have to admit that you just don't possess the necessary skills to accomplish the task or play the song? Is there a point it becomes self-defeating? I think these questions are at the core of adult learning and especially music learning.

I'm not ready to admit this yet but can you bite off more than you can chew? :unsure:

[BigBear]

jayswett wrote:

I used to believe my barrier to improvement was a lack of innate, natural musical talent. I no longer believe that. I now believe that while some of us have more of a predisposed ability to learn music, all of us can do it if disciplined and organized enough. No doubt that it will take longer for someone like me to learn music theory or master some of the more complex guitar pieces, but with enough discipline and organization, it can be done.

Jay- that seems to be the perfect attitude to learn the guitar. I think we automatically assume all great guitarists are just "naturally gifed". But what if they were just guys like us, who had the time and perserverance to practice their tails off, maybe found some good teaching and just excelled through really hard work?

We'll never know the answer to that question so we can't use that as an excuse for not getting better. Maybe we've let it become too easy to say "I'm not naturally gifted, or I just suck and that's the way it is". Maybe the barrier to learning isn't talent but opportunity molded with really hard work. Maybe the good ones just wanted it more. :cheer: