1 tiny step forward, 1 GIANT leap back!

[dottmcse85630]

After attending camp and learning what to do better and what not to do, I was noticing improvement the past few weeks. Paying close attention to:
Relaxing (thanks Ness), Posture, Fretting hand position, Slowing it down, Focused practice (thanks Neil) & Timing. Timing's a joke cuz' I'm rhythmically challenged.

That was all good and well up to about 3 days ago and then it ALL went away. I couldn't play a simple song, I couldn't get the simplest chord correct consistently! I'm looking at my hands and myself sayin' what the heck is goin' on?
So now I am really paying attention to what to do, correctly. But it's like starting over AGAIN.

So no way can this be ME and I am beginning to think these guitars have mind of their own and they CONSPIRE against us. Heck what did I do to piss off my guitars?
I have not threatened them they are soon to become splinters! I massaged them with the guitar finish we received at camp, new strings on one even, so what gives?

Well maybe on reflection, I could be me. Hey does anyone know of a Pharmaceutical that has a side-effect of really great guitar playing?
We hear ads for new drugs and the extensive list of side-effects, such as Man-boobs, compulsive disorder to destroy 6-stringed musical instruments, flatulence, etc.

So maybe a day off from practice. Or maybe I should switch to drums, DANG can't do that, rhythmically challenged!

Sigh

Dennis

[auntlynnie]

Hey Dennis,
We all have bad days. Give it time. You have the heart of a guitar player.
You will get there.
Don't give up.
Lynn

[neverfoundthetime]

Ah, I hear the sound of progress Dennis :laugh:
Yeah it really is like that at times, seems like nothing works but if you keep going (the lessons learned were good ones) you will come out the other side and be at a new level. Progress from A to B is never a straight line, meandering for a while is part of learning and improving. I see it every day in my work with sport students and in my own guitar playing. Know what? You check yourself out in 6 weeks time and I bet you will see you have improved. I'd bet quite a few beers on that. Just keep the practice up, come what may.
Chris

[sandysue]

Hi Dennis

I think Lynn put it all in a nut shell. I would say that I don't think your in the boat alone, most of us get a little scared and shaky at open mic performances no matter how well we play guitar at home. Wine helps. :S

Sandy

[wrsomers]

Dennis,
Your humor always shows through! I laughed all the way through your tongue in cheek (for the most part) essay.

On a little more serious note, you are experiencing the "plateau" every learner of everything goes through; no matter what level. My best advice and I know it would be Neil's and Vanessa's also...When you get frustrated with practice...STOP. Go back to it later. Continuing will only lead to discouragement. When you get back to it, keep doing the other habits of good practice you have already mentioned.

And yes there are pills for performance anxiety...beta blockers :ohmy: :ohmy: :silly:

And lastly...What Lynn, Chris and Sandy said..

Cheers,
Bill

[familyman4]

Hey Dennis,

Like others have said before me, give it a bit of a break. Maybe just a couple of days, maybe a week. Don't worry though, you haven't forgotten everything and your mussel memory will kick back in. You might even be concentrating too hard. Remember that you need to relax and play. Even though we should "practice like we play" because that will help us get through the frustrations of wondering how our fingers ended up in strange positions sometimes.

I would even suggest that during the down time of not playing, go ahead and watch some of the instructional videos on TG. Sometimes it's good to watch and listen w/o the guitar just to get a different perspective. And not really a song lesson, some of the "Genius series" or something like that.

Have fun!
Bart

[tjwatson10167]

Hey Dennis,

Yes....I feel your pain. Sometimes it goes away.....but it always seems to come back when you least expect it. I have had times where nothing seem like it was going right. Tone, rhythm , everything. It is frustrating. Giving it a break as others have posted is a good idea sometimes.

Don't fret. You'll pick up that guitar when you least expect it... and the magic will happen. Makes it all worth it. Have fun.

later,

Ted

[michelew]

I also enjoy reading your learning-journey essays. Keep them coming.

I think the drug you're looking for is called "give yourself a break this stuff takes time to master and everyone would be doing it if it was easy"; also know as "be sweet to yourself."

Sometimes ignorance is bliss and greater awareness can suck. It sounds like your playing doesn't feel as free and easy as it was because you've now aware of all of things that you'd like to be doing better and trying to achieve them all at once and at the same speed. One solution could be to spend some time practicing with focus (more slowly) and then give yourself time where you just play for enjoyment without worrying too much about the things you want to improve on. Trying to do it perfectly all the time will be exhausting.

It sounds like you've entered the phase of learning where you're painfully aware of all of the things you still need to learn. Do you remembere when you were learning to drive and you had to consciously think about engaging the clutch correctly, changing gears at the right set of revvs, watching out for dangers, staying in your lane, etc. etc.? Do you remember when you were still learning how to do some of those things efficiently or at all? I assume you now do that stuff easily and without thinking about it - you're 'unconsciously competent', it's all automatic. You'll get there with playing the guitar too; though of course you'll go through all of the stages of learning whenever you take on new learning challenges.

Take it slow, keep applying yourself, keep having fun and you'll keep moving forward. You're not going backwards, you're probably just painfully aware of the things you're trying to do better.

Good stuff.

Michele

[wiley]

*Tequila!!!

Now you may not 'sound' or 'play' any better, but ya won't care near as much if, at all.

Nah, everyone of us have been there, done that. Keep on plugging away.

*Woodford Reserve works just as well*

[dottmcse85630]

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement, it really means a lot to me.

Na, I'm not gonna give up, I'm too stubborn to let a (%$&$ guitar get the better of me.

Tequila, a short break, focused learning, slowing it down. Yep I can do that, we'll see.

Dennis