Help - I've suddenly gotton really really ****.

Tellox

Im playing guitar about 2 years now, and was starting to learn sweep picking. However, over the past few months,I degraded in class sharply. I stopped playing for about 3 weeks, and then when I picked it back up again, being 2 days ago, I realised that I am probably worse than I was when I was at the 6 month level. I keep making stupid newbie mistakes - in particular, hitting my right hand thumb off the strings while strumming/picking, hitting loads of ghost notes, not palm muting properly etc etc. Which didnt make sense, since I didnt pick it up in about 4 months at one stage, due to my girlfriend "getting sick of having nothing to do while Im practicing". (She was later dumped). When I picked it back up, I was straight back into the swing of things. So it cant be the 3 weeks that I had abandoned it.

Everything just sounds like utter piss now. I can barely play Muse, let alone the Canon Rock peice I was learning.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I feel just about ready to lob the ****ing thing out the window.

Karl Hungus

Oh no! You've lost your mojo! :eek:

Seriously though, I know what it's like, if you leave the guitar for a while it can happen. You just have to get back on the saddle so to speak. I would recommend doing some chromatic excersizes to a metronome, as that's an excellent way to warm up your fingers. You do warm ups, right?

-=al=-

yup, hasnt happened ina while now though u gota keep playing till u get back into it! its as simple as the mroe u practice the better u get

and as for sweep picking it can take a while to get down nice and fluid, that takes a helluva lota time to get right


its beter to play 10 mins a day than once an hour a week for a reason!

crosstownk

-=al=- wrote:

its beter to play 10 mins a day than once an hour a week for a reason!

Good advice. I try to play for at least 15 mins every day minimum. Somedays I can get hours of practice and others it can be difficult to find time. Even still I get a few days where fingers just won't cooperate with the brain - could be due to other stresses of life. I play keyboards, but I'm sure the same applies to any instrument.

-=al=-

My typing really does suck

crosstownk

-=al=- wrote:

My typing really does suck

Luckily, I was able to decipher it Like I said fingers just won't cooperate with the brain :D

leninbenjamin

i'm going throught the exact same phase as you tellox, fulltime night work for the Summer left me too tired to play, didnt realise how bad i had gotten til i started jamming again... im starting to pull out of it though slowly but surely (my put down was a lot longer than a few weeks..... more like months...). a steady Routine as mentioned seems to be the best thing to do.

Quatre Mains

metronome madness is the cure IMHO. And to measure your progress make sure to write down each week what speed you're working off. Guaranteed it'll go up without you noticing otherwise and you won't realise what progress you're making. Best of luck

Don1

Okay I must be the worst disciplined guitarist around. I don't do structured practicing or "warm ups". I just play whatever I feel like at that particular moment.
As for this ability slump, it happens to me every now and again but I just crank it to 11 and play some really easy stuff for a while. (Not rubbish though, just stuff that you play so much you could do it locked!) (Also this should be stuff that psychs you up) When you feel "in the zone" start upping the difficulty and hey presto mojo restored!

Addmitedly sweep picking etc. is beyond my ability so this technique might not be effective in the higher reaches of skill!!

Although after a two month hiatus this summer, I returned and could barely play chords!! After a blast through some Artic Monkeys stuff :rolleyes: I upped it and upped it again and after a few hours I was knocking out "Am I Evil" (Metallica:P Garage Inc. cdII version) as good as ever. Not perfect but good enough for me! I did say I was lazy.

BossArky

Run through some cromatic exercises whilst watching TV or football on TV.. i.e. tonight watch the champions league matches and diddle around subconciously. You'll remember more cos your brain is not actually concentrating on learning... if that makes sense.

-=al=-

match is on right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yeah i used to do that, its usefull enough

Fingers Mcginty

BossArky wrote:

You'll remember more cos your brain is not actually concentrating on learning... if that makes sense.

Eh? Never heard that before

-=al=-

Muscle memory plays a key part, doind somethin like chromatics while watching tv or whatever is gona be somewhat benificial

Fingers Mcginty

-=al=- wrote:

Muscle memory plays a key part, doind somethin like chromatics while watching tv or whatever is gona be somewhat benificial

*pulls a deniro face* ......Fair enough

Don1

That muscle memory, sub-concious learning while watching tv thing was recomended in Total Guitar a few times. Seems to be the job although I just end up paying too much attention to the tv and my left hand ends up in one chord shape until the ad breaks. Then I just try figure out the tunes off the ads!

Killaqueen!!!

I know how ya feel. I started playing guitar 4 years ago. Have had lessons on and off but for the last year I haven't played and when I try to pick it up I have nothing to play and I suck. It's really annoying cos I still love the guitar but I just get frustrated so easily and I don't bother playing or don't have the time..grrr...It's also annoying that my electric guitar is so ****ty I can't play it, and my acoustic's strings are all broken and I don't know how to re-string (embarrassing, eh?...)

LundiMardi

i can go weeks without taking my guitar out of it's case!! Sometimes when i go back to it i play ****, other times i'm in the ''zone'' and play great, if i do say so myself:)

You've not been playing relatively long, just keep at it and you'll get it eventually. Happens to us all and it will most likely happen to you again in the future:)