I was at the park today practicing my guitar working on a few songs but mostly Wish You Were Here. It was coming along GREAT! I even had a small audience when residents from the local Lifetime Assistance came by and sat at the shelter I was at to eat lunch. One of the guys even said I was doing very good and when he found out I have only been playing for 3 weeks he was impressed (He plays guitar also)...
So this evening I decided to do a second practice and work a bit farther on Wish You Were Here and can you believe I couldn't hit a good note with a barn door!!!! BUZZING this and DUD that!!!!! It seems like all of a sudden I can't even get my fingers in the right position. I thought maybe if I switched back to the acoustic like I was at the park that might make a difference...NOT AT ALL!! MAN I just wanted to smash the darn thing...(but I didn't because I knew I WOULD regret it so I just walked away...
OK...sorry...I just needed to get that off my chest. Maybe I'll have a quick beer and get back to it...
Thanks!
Sometimes you need to take a break during good times and bad.
I don't mean to sound negitive, but there will be lots of times like this. It just happens and so you know, it happens to all of us. Your not the only one. People of different skill level's have the same problem.
Take a break and come back with a fresh attitude and you'll do fine.
Keep at it and have fun!
Hehe ... definitely go grab a beer mate. :wink:
I've only been playing for about three weeks too, but I reckon it's absolutely no different to learning anything else in life. Playing sport for instance - even ones you've been playing for years - sometimes you just play like crap. :)
I can even think back all those years when learning how to drive a car ... I can still remember doing really well one day then feeling like I'd never even seen a car the next. Same again getting out on the bike. :)
With the guitar I've found that I'll start doing really well with something and just as I think, "Hey, this is sounding really cool", it all goes pear shaped. I usually then realise at this point that maybe I've been at it (for this session) too long so I take a break.
So enjoy that beer ... I'm sure you'll be back playing and progressing before you know it. :D
From little things big things grow - Paul Kelly
This is going to sound preachy, but it is not meant to be.
I am glad guitar is difficult. Because if it was easy I would tire of it quickly and quit.
It is the challange of guitar that has kept me playing almost every single day for over 30 years. I never get tired of it or bored because I'm still not as good as I want to be.
I hope it always stays like that.
You have only been playing 3 weeks. Keep playing. You will find in time that guitar will become your best friend.
I would not give up all the thousands of hours I've practiced, the days of discouragement like you are feeling now, and the few moments of joy, confidence, and victory at playing well for all the money in the world.
Guitar never gets easy. Even super-greats like Yngwee or Eric Clapton or BB King have to practice every day. And trust me, they get frustrated and discouraged just like you.
Feelings come and go. Just keep playing. The more you play the better you will get.
Enjoy the journey. :D
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Thanks guys...I just needed to vent...I had my beer and went back to it...I got it on the acoustic OK but for some reason I just can't seem to get it on the electric...its usually the other way around...things are easier on the electric...
I just couldn't get the hammer-on of the Wish You Were Here intro...which REALLY irritated me since That was one of the songs I COULD play 7 years ago when I attemted this before...plus I just about nailed it earlier today...
I guessI will listen to the mp3's of the lesson again just as a refresher...
Thanks Again!
Even super-greats like Yngwee or Eric Clapton or BB King have to practice every day. And trust me, they get frustrated and discouraged just like you.
I once came across an interview with one of the all time great violin players. He was asked why - at the age of 80 - he still practised, despite being one of the world's most accomplished virtuosos.
He replied "because I find that I'm still learning things.." :)
I like to think that my best performances are the "real" me - but of course the real me is a mixture of good and bad, with a lot of indifferent in between.
It can infuriate me when I have a "Mikespe Moment" and can't reproduce a good session, but it seems to help to just relax and accept... The more angry I get about it the tenser I become and the longer it takes to get it back.
If I had a beer, every time this happened to me then I'd be permanently drunk... but I do like the "relax and regroup" idea behind the beer.
:D
If I had a beer, every time this happened to me then I'd be permanently drunk... but I do like the "relax and regroup" idea behind the beer.
:D
Rest assure Chris I only had one beer... :P !
Plus I eventually got it on the acoustic...I just now need to put the parts together to actually make a song...I did however play with the strumming a bit..but Dave did suggest "making the song breathe"
Thanks
probably just tired hands. warm up slowly, take it easy.
Ha! Had EXACTLY the same problem here, yesterday, trying to play the 12 bar blues through with into and outro.
Funny thing is, sometime I'll play through the whole outro perfectly when I'm just messing around. As if a pro was playing through my fingers. And then I'll cheer (quietly in case my wife thinks I'm losing it) for having finally mastered it, and as soon as I try to repeat the process...BUZZZZZZ.
Lots of good advice... Usually when this happens to me its either because my hands are tired, even if I dont realize it yet or my guitar is out of tune. But there are days of brillance and days of frustration. I suppose its like any relationship.
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
