The Ebb and Flow of each practice Session

[Russ]

I just wanted to throw this out there. I know I'm not the only one who goes through this. I often start out a lesson or a practice session sounding completely horrid. By the middle, I seem to sound alright, or at least better. Sometimes near the end, I sound worse than when I started. This can apply to any particular practice session or any lesson, like I said. For instance, the ABGU lesson 2, example 6: I actually started improving dramatically when I focused on Griff's videos and a particular pair of barres. I was becoming almost good at it when the floor fell out from under me. Each practice got so bad, that I had to start from scratch at around 45 BPM (beats per minute). Going that slow is what finally allowed me to get the fast slide to work within the timing.

Basically what I'm saying is that this about sums up my learning curve.
Suck at it.

Get better.

Expect perfection and go back to sucking at it.

Start over even slower.

Improve in technique and learn that I don't have to be perfect to move to the next lesson.

So what I'm saying, is don't be harsh on yourself when you have a bad day or anything. Positive attitudes help drastically.

 

[ddfoston]

You're right when you say that.  I feel the same.  But when I come back each day it seems a little better.  I'm still on Ex4 with a bit of a go at 5.  I can't believe how inaccurate I am BUT I'm  determined to get it right.  I've even gone back as far as researching how to hold a pick correctly to see if that helps.

I want to get these 2 reasonable smooth before I start hybrid picking as I know I really suck at that.

All the best
Dave 

 

[MikeR]

I'm right there with you guys.  There are some days when I can't do anything right and then the next day, it all comes together (at least for my level).  It's sometimes hard to believe you're progressing, but by recording practices at least once a week, I can look back and see how far I've come.

 

[kgarkie]

Sounds like my practice sessions.  My add and/or my butt usually tell me when it's time for a break and that's usually when my playing reverts back to sucking. 

 

[Russ]

I think there has to be a time limit for some of us. Some people don't have the attention span of a gnat and some people catch every little thing all day long. It's a proven fact that your brain wants to move onto different things after a while. That would explain our practice sessions going bad after a certain amount of time.

 

[luckylarry]

Russ, when I was still able to play I found that if I took a 5 minute break every 10 to 15 minutes I could practice longer and I didn't hit that part where the practice started to deteriorate found quite awhile. When the deterioration started i then just went and played things I knew and liked for 10 or 15 minutes and then put the guitar down for the day. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Russ]

I've been trying to do chores here and there. It does help a little. Or at least it breaks up the chores  :

 

[sleepingangel]

hi everyone, I'm new to this course but I completely agree with you. I'm also on session 12 of Gibson's learn and master Guitar and I'm really enjoying it. That's what actually made me give this course a try since I have been pretty successful with that one. In that course I didn't have any trouble with timing and counting but I guess I haven't gotten to more of the tricky stuff. I am having so much trouble with the counting especially of the tied eighth notes. So, I moved on and did really well with the triplets in 12/8 time go figure? But I really want to get the other example too (25) I think I just have to keep going over it. I find that Griff is great but he goes kind of fast when he plays the example the whole way through. But as you all said we have to stink then get it then stink again etc. but eventually I'm sure it will sink in. Also I do much better when I am playing the examples with the lick and not just the same note exercises. It's like I can feel the timing more than count it (the 4/4 one) The 12/8 I can count!
Take care
Maria

 

[Bluesgrass]

I've got a different kind of problem.  I only have about an hour or so a couple of days a week to practice.  The bad thing is that it usually takes about 1/2 an hour for things to start feeling "right".  I start out feeling like a complete hack and then at about the 1/2 hour mark a switch is flipped and the notes start to ring and the rhythms start to gel.  Then it's time to put the kids to bed.  Anybody else?  Any solutions?

 

[Thatman]

I've got a different kind of problem.  I only have about an hour or so a couple of days a week to practice.  The bad thing is that it usually takes about 1/2 an hour for things to start feeling "right".  I start out feeling like a complete hack and then at about the 1/2 hour mark a switch is flipped and the notes start to ring and the rhythms start to gel.  Then it's time to put the kids to bed.  Anybody else?  Any solutions?

Sounds from this that your trying to keep quite to let the kids fall asleep. If you have an electric guitar then can you use headphones to stop the sound.   :-/

 

[Rav_4]

Practice Too Fast

I'm new to the forum, but not to Griff's courses.  I find that one of my main problems is trying to go too fast.  I try to start around 50 beats per minute only to find myself doing over 100 beats.  Then I jump to some little run that has nothning to do with the course. All of that wouldn't be soo bad, except the faster I go the worse it sounds. Does anyone else have that problem?

Wayne

 

[luckylarry]

Wayne I had a similar problem of going too fast too soon. After a year or so I realized that while I could do some things quite well I missed a lot in the lessons. What I did to break the bad habit was to find a piece of music (Peter Green's "Need Your Love So Bad") that I would not get bored listening to over and over. Then I made a promise to myself that I would learn this song a bar or 2 at at time. This meant among other things that I could not go on unless I had the bar or 2 down including the right timing. I continued with Griff's lessons but spent about 80% of my time on the song. This really helped me to learn to look at the lessons, understand what the lesson was teaching and especially to pay attention. I used to hook up the guitar, turn on the video and go. I learned to watch the lesson as often as necessary before putting on the guitar. This really helped.
It has been said many times on the forum that it is not a race and to take time but I wanted to learn and learn fast. Big mistake. I can tell you that I learn more, retain more, play better and actually progress through the lessons faster now that I take my time.
Hope this helps. 

 

[Russ]

Bluegrass,
I suggest finding 5 minutes a day. Just work on the Circle of 5ths. Try leaving the guitar near the TV or the kitchen...... Whatever room you spend any amount of time in. If you don't want to do the Circle, perhaps do a few bars of a lesson. As little as 5 minutes a day will help you retain a lesson and I'm pretty positive it won't take 30 minutes to get your hands into playing condition. Larry is right about the electric. Don't even bother plugging it in. It will still ring enough for you to know if you're doing it correctly, but will be quiet for the rest of the house. Trust me.

 

[sleepingangel]

I agree with you Russ,
I sometimes feel like I don't have enough "time" to put into practice to make it worth it but have found that even if I only do get to do 5 or 10 minutes its really a good thing. For instance I just started this acoustic course a few weeks ago. I have only gotten through lesson 6 and knowing about how long each video is I haven't had time to devote to moving on BUT i know for a fact that I don't have every single example exactly right. Most have to do with the timing. So what I have been doing with those five minute practice sessions is to go back to some of the examples that I'm not perfect on and redoing them by listening to the cd. (i took Griff's suggestion and put it on my iphone and that was an awesome suggestion because I always have my phone handy) so I just play the example on the phone and try to play along or just understand the timing better.
Take care
Maria

 

[Cynicure]

I think it's a natural enough progression Russ: When you begin a session your fingers take a little time to warm up so they're a little stiff and slow at first so you may sound a bit rough... then as you warm up you get into the swing of it; your fingers begin to enjoy the exercise (I think of it as 'dancing' for fingers!) and rhythm and movement become much more natural... then, you get down to the challenging part of your lesson: learning new material... this is always gonna be slow at first, and Griff himself would applaud the way you automatically slow yourself down 'til you get things right; but at first, with new material, one tends to cram in as much as possible of a new song; as many new licks as possible, until you've done so much your fingers, and perhaps more importantly, your brain, are tired... when you start to stuff up licks you've just got right, it's time to take a break; I usually try to finish a session by playing something I've recently learned but which I know I can play reasonably well... that way you make sure you end your session on a positive note, feeling good about what you can now do...

[smiley=beer.gif]

 

[Russ]

Since I've Aced the fretboard on Lesson 3, I went back to Lesson 5, Example 29. I should have recorded my practice yesterday, because today's practice is almost like being a beginner again. Bar 3 is giving me the most trouble. Funny how it LOOKS like it should be the easiest bar  : .

 

[Russ]

Working on Lesson 6, example 33 now. I watched Griff a few times and listened to the track a dozen times or so. It just wasn't "clicking". I've been really busy the past few weeks and have only had time to practice it a couple times a day at most. The last couple days, I've watched the video again and listened to the CD track about 40 times. I'm almost able to keep up with the slower "learner's" speed, but I still get fowled up a bit toward the end. I think I'd do much better if I could memorize any of it. I just can't, so I have to watch the tabs to play it. I don't know how I'm gonna play the station if I can't play this little ditty without watching tabs. The urge is there so there shouldn't be any mental blocks. Honestly, I think I'm drinking too much pop because I'm having memory issues in the rest of my life as well. The wife says she thinks it's the aluminum in the pop cans. Jokes are not needed here, thanks. I'm only 43.

Yes, I've worked on doing 1 or 2 bars at a time. That doesn't help.  :-[

 

[Bluesgrass]

Russ

Have you tried the counting out loud idea.  Somehow it seems to solidify the notes in your head.  Next time you practice, it might be more internalized.  Other than that, just keep practicing the same bars over and over.  If you can memorize the circle of 5ths, you can do "Down to the Station".  Don't give up!!!!

 

[Russ]

Oh, I'm not giving up, and I do count out loud. Good point on the circle though. 

 

[Rockybottom]

I know how you feel and the posts from others are all good stuff.  I have come across this problem in my career, learning golf, learning piano and now guitar.  There is good practice and bad and its about the methods you use which have to suit you, the environment and the timing.
The environment is often a killer and Dons suggestion of headphones is spot on.  They both cut out distractions (unless open backed) and they stop the guilt of disturbing others.  The timing comes in in a number of forms but the main ones are "Don't force yourself to practice...want to practice" because the practice session has to feel positive .  Always end a session on a high.  Make sure you finish with something you can already play to reinforce the memory of the session and make you want to come back to it.  The final point on timing is "how long".  This is personal.  My span of concentration when learning something new is about 35 minutes (ask my golf coach !!!!) so I don't go above this for learning unless things are going really well.  I then warm down by playing something I know.
The method used for learning is down to you and what works but I have found on Piano, and I am sure it will be the same with guitar, that I need to break a piece down into bite size pieces, start slow to just get the notes right and timing right and grasp the melody.  With me it needs to be a discipline of making sure I play it exactly as its written.  Having sections done like this makes the patterns easier to memorise and your muscle memory takes over.  I still find sometimes that I will loose my way with my right hand but my left hands carries on without me thinking of it, and thats the way you build up speed.  Hope this helps and rest assured, we  "ALL" have the same issues, we are just at different stages of mastering them.

Good luck with the lerssons.