Are you improving?

tovo
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:32 pm

One of the things that I know frustrates players of all levels is when they feel they are no longer improving. I'm certain that leads a number of players to leave that instrument in the case and do something else.

Do you feel that you are getting better or are you stagnating?

What are some tips for keeping playing fun and challenging whilst at the same time ensuring that the desired progress from beginner to advanced player continues?


willem
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:51 pm

FUN,DESIRE,CHALLENGING. TIPS


Desire i have alway's,, can't stay away from the guitar and other musical things,,fun is to learn some easy songs and make them intresting all over the fretboard and make them your own,,,challenging is maybe to work so now and then on a level 10 song...


and a kind of reward is that when i practice a view songs every day a whole month the friends recognise it and sing with or on my playing,,when the evening or night is over i get frustrated again 'cos it's over..


Lavallee
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:09 pm

I think improvement is relative as it is not the same for everybody. A player might feel he is stagnating but he might just not getting where he wants to be as fast as he was hoping. But from other people perspective, he might be perceive as a quick learner. It boils down to why someone plays guitar: for fun or to have a specific goal and time frame.

For me my motivation is to learn songs, not in specific orders. I do not the desire at this point to compose anything (I am not very artistic anyway) but learning songs that I have always like keeps me going. As I am improving (cannot define the rate I am improving) new songs seems to be in reach. I am working on a bunch of songs which the interest varies as I am learning them. I mean that I might work actively on something, feel that I plateau and let it go for while and focus on something else and come back later. It becomes a bit of novelty when I come back as I start to improve again.

Marc


buddy
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:25 pm

One of the things that has really helped keep me motivated is to learn and play songs that I like. When I started on TG I was going to just work my way through the lesson list. This approach really became a big bummer for me very quickly. When I started focusing on songs that I really liked I became much more motivated.

I think that it is also important to make small goals for yourself. For example, learn the basic chords and strumming patterns first, then move on to bar chords etc...

This more open ended approach has really helped me a lot.

Of course, all of the encouragement that we give one another along the way is a huge factor !

Bud


BigBear
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:25 pm

Tony-

I think the concept of "improvement" is pretty broad. Is improvement the ability to play tougher songs? Or play easier songs better? Or remember more songs? Or realize the theory behind what you play?

After tremendous improvement this past year and a half I am not improving nearly as fast as I was. But I think I may be getting better as an overall guitar player. Is has become much easier to pick up a guitar and just play something.

But I'm still like the lake that is a mile wide an inch deep. I can play a lot of songs but not enough of them very well (IMHO). My focus remains poor due to too many new, cool songs. I must have 20+ great songs I'm trying to learn and that is just way too many.

I will say that taking a break from playing for a time has had a positive effect. When I play now I seem fresher and better able to absorb new material.

Another good question from my friend from Down Under!!

Cheers! :cheer:


snipe
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:49 pm

Tony,

I agree with willem about desire. I have a desire to continue. I dont have a schedule, a program, a regemine, reference book. I just work on songs and things that I want to learn (scales, blues licks etc.) I practice when I feel like practicing, which could be anywhere from a few hours to zero. If I get tired of it I put it down and walk away. Sometimes i may spend several hours a day working on something if i feel like Im getting close. I like to push the envelope sometimes and go where I havent been before. When I learn something new (song or technique), this keeps me motivated to keep going and learn more. I know I will never stop learning at this. Just my take.


In short. Yes I feel I am improving a great deal, especially using the tools on this site and for the above reasons !

Mike


beaker
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:55 pm

Tovo, I am willing to hazard a guess that yes, we all improving (with one qualification..... This applies to those who are making an effort and practicing (and learning)... a lot or a little, either way .... the result is improvement). The thing is, the TG method (Neils Method) is not a secret "quick route to learning guitar". It is the best that I have found but, Neil steps forward to teach us, and each of us has to decide how much we want to practice (a lot or a little) and we have to also step forward and put in the effort of practicing. Neil can't do this part for us. Sometimes I feel like I am not improving because oftentimes the improvement moves very slowly... like a slow drip. I find I have to remind myself that I cannot compare my playing with last week... I can only compare with 6 months or a year ago. When I keep perspective and look at the long term progress, then yes it is easy to see. Making video's can be very effective to document our improvement.
Just a couple of thoughts, Beaker.


millponddave
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Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:29 pm

The short answer is yes, I am improving although as I've said before that improvement comes at very small increments and sometimes goes unnoticed by me at the time. It is only later when I try to play something that I've been unable to play before that I notice that now I can play it better. So as time goes on and I look back I see that I am indeed getting slowly better, thanks to TG.

Dave


lueders
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Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:52 am

Am I improving...you bet yer bippy! No, most days I would say yes, I am improving absolutely...( but tonight I'm getting frustrated at Elvis Costello for putting all these blasted syncopated strums in the middle of his otherwise simple tune...just joshin" makes the tune more interesting, even if Elvis is kickin' my can.)

Yes, I like to think I am improving. And I've learned more than I have in a long time. I haven't reached the plateau yet, so I must of done whole a lot of stuff wrong before. But then again isn't there always something more to be learned? T.G. is great! It is one of about two things I look forward to in my day right now. Thank god for it.


AndyT
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Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:36 am

BigBear wrote:

I think the concept of "improvement" is pretty broad. Is improvement the ability to play tougher songs? Or play easier songs better? Or remember more songs? Or realize the theory behind what you play?
Improvement is all of these and more. It's getting better at any aspect of what you are working on. I know I'm getting better because I can now play things that I would not have even tried before. I can play that stupid F chord now and it only took me two years to teach my broken hands to work around it. Now I'm attacking the Bm.

I really make an effort to put in at least 15 minutes of actual concentrated practice on things I can not currently do every day. As long as I keep that up, I'll actually be able to play this thing one of these days.


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