stuck !?

[kennchu]

hi, have u all ever been stuck while practicing ur insturment?
as for mi, i play the guitar...trying to practice twice or even thrice the load as before because i realise im too far behind left behind. worse, im going to army next mid year....
thus i beginning to feel lost... dunnoe wad to practice,etc... shud i perfect a song first , or learn new songs to brush up my technics, or i shud just concentrate on scales?etc....
it has been a long time since i get into such situation... have any of u all have such experence before, like dunnoe how to carry on?
do u all have any ideas for mi to get over with this?

thanks

 

[tany]

what are u stuck with?

for me, i practise licks those scales to improve speed and coordination.

for songs, i dont play them for now. but u can listen to a nice solo, then learn and master it that's fine too!

for me i'm still trying to improve my tapping and sweeping

 

[amberbrew]

just keep learning songs, and after awhile learn some scales then after awhile songs.

 

[ShredCow]

I didn't learn songs... till today (7yrs from start of guitar life) I can count the songs I learnt on 1 hand.

I just decided to DIY everything... licks lah , solos lah... listen, get inspired, then compose somethings myself.

BUT.

I would recommend anything to you because its you, not me. Perhaps you can try to do licks first. Perhaps a song. However, what i do know is that, what you need is inspiration more than practice and songs.

Perhaps hunting the web for guitarists will help. Try youtube or google.video for vids on guitarists. Maybe you will find someone or something to spur you on.

Sometimes, we just need that extra oomph from seeing another musician exercise his talent, making us feel unworthy of the instrument. Then we just start rocking harder. :twisted:

 

[Luke]

hi, have u all ever been stuck while practicing ur insturment?

Mate we have all been there, and we will all go there again. YOu've hit a rut and this is part and parcel of the commitment to the instrument. I have been playing for 14 years, I play guitar for a living in the US and I am about 2 years away from getting my degree in music. Guess what, I face the exact same problem you do. From experience, here's what I can suggest.

Firstly, there is no such thing as being left too far behind. This is not a competition. If you are forcing things to happen, they will take even longer to achieve. But first of all, you have to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve on the instrument. You are lost because you don't have any goals. So decide what you want to do and then envision taking steps to do it.

Draw up a practise regime and do not deviate from it for a couple weeks and keep adding stuff to it.

I do not mean to be insulting to anyone but I can't believe some of us don't learn songs. To me, songs are the best way to put all that technique we are learning into a musical use. Its like learning all the words, but never reading a book.

So keep on working on scales, work on theory, work on learning songs, keep developing your ear.

My point is that, write on a piece of paper, a timetable of what to practise and stick to it. But always reward yourself by jamming to backing tracks or by playing along to songs that you've learnt.

Always remember, you are trying to learn to be a musician, not an athlete. While some of the training is similar, there is no need for competition. The destination is no the prize my friend, its the journey.

 

[bizzynick]

i know how you feel i was like you when i started,i suggest you perfect everything you learn before moving on.Dont give up no matter how hard it is,have patience in yourself.Dont expect to master every single thing overnight,and i suggest you learn simple songs using simple chords n progress to power chords slowly.

 

[ShredCow]

I do not mean to be insulting to anyone but I can't believe some of us don't learn songs. To me, songs are the best way to put all that technique we are learning into a musical use. Its like learning all the words, but never reading a book.

No no... no offense taken.

What you said is true. but seriously, I didn't learn songs because I had this thinking (last time) that I wanted to be unique so if learnt songs, I would be copying those guitarists then.

Today, I look back and I do regret somewhat that I never learnt songs... i'm very boring to jam with. But I guess I made up for that by composing something for everything new I learnt.

I guess right now, if I want to learn to play a different genre of music, I would go and learn the songs to get the vibe of the genre. However, i find its just nice keep listening, and when I hear a nice lick/riff, I attempt to play it from memory later, so as to get the feel of the lick/riff but I get to input some of myself in it. Something like that... at work, rushing to type.

 

[Luke]

Firstly, allow me to commend you on your cheerful nature. I sometimes have a tendency to offend without intent but I really do appreciate your candidness and honesty.

Indeed, you are correct. You have gone a different way and I think you are absolutely right, different strokes for different folks and all that.


However the one benefit of learning songs is that it makes you improve your ear.Unless you pursue classes or lessons for ear training, most musicians rely on learing tunes to improve their ears.

 

[ShredCow]

Hey Luke, its only words... Not the best medium for expressing oneself.

In anycase, you wouldn't believe how bad my hearing is. :x Thats is the unfortunately setback of not learning tunes by ear. While playing with fellow musicians, my problem (other than lack of songs) is that I can't hear well. Ah well. I guess you could just shred/sweep/tap at hyperspeeds or do chromatic runs... or claim every off note as some jazz lick. 8)

 

[kennchu]

wow... thanks alot man..... guess i just have to keep on going and be patient... very patient....and very very patient... its the journey that matters.. i will remember that...

 

[guitarman78]

Ken ... in the first place ... Army shouldn't waver your love for music .... if you really do love music ... many of us had served our term and we are still constantly trying to progress ...

Just play on Dude ... army or no army ... just play on ...

BTW ... another way to get out of the frozen stage ... is to either Jam with people or to find a teacher ... intereaction with others helps you to see things in different angle ... just like how Luke helped me with the Melodic Minor stuff ... right?

 

[Luke]

Ken ... in the first place ... Army shouldn't waver your love for music .... if you really do love music ... many of us had served our term and we are still constantly trying to progress ...

Just play on Dude ... army or no army ... just play on ...

BTW ... another way to get out of the frozen stage ... is to either Jam with people or to find a teacher ... intereaction with others helps you to see things in different angle ... just like how Luke helped me with the Melodic Minor stuff ... right?

Glad I could be of help and I am sure I too will be picking your brain soon mate especially about your improvising concepts.

 

[The_Rover]

I was playing mostly Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Green Day when I first started 10 years ago. 2 years later, I find myself got stuck! I wanted to improve myself, but don't know how. I was playing the same thing over and over again! So I started meeting new people and jamming with new friends and then I picked up Blues! And it suddenly became a whole new chapter for me. I found myself playing Hendrix, LedZep, GrandFunk, Santana, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Rush and all the 70's classics! We could jam a Hendrix's Red House for as long as half an hour and it never gets bored!

And then a few years later, I got stuck again! Cos I was playing a lot of minor and major pentatonic which really limits my playing versatility. And it became less interesting. So I started working on my techniques and developing on my scales and modes, and found myself playing Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai, and DT!

But its all good in the end, its all good. You see how you transform yourself as a musician. And playing with new people is always fun. I've played with blues band, funk band, metal band, top 40s band, and everytime I learned something new from the people I've played with. Although I'm self taught, it has its good and bad signs. Good is because you develop your own feelings towards your instrument and you develop your own identity in your playing style. You tend to become more "Street-Wise". Bad is because you'll eventually reach certain walls or obstacles that you can't get through. Certain things you wish to put into your playing, but you know you'll never be able to do it.

But whatever it is, just play!

 

[kennchu]

thanks alot

thanks alot... hi guitarman78... i wasn't afraid of me losing interest in music.... but i heard from frens and they dun have as mush time as before to practice... after they com4e out.. they need some time to brush up again.... but nvm now... think im worrying too much... just play on yeah..... thanks for all the advices everyone....

 

[ShredCow]

I was in your situation before I got into MDC. So when I get home , i played till 2am. Almost every other day. Sacrifices have to be made for passion.