Motivation

Sambostar

Best motivation is leaving the amp on for a good half hour to warm up with decent enough fretting fingernails. 

Worst is playing through a 1960 with unbroken fizzy Celestian G12T-75 and a cold amp turned down, funny air pressure and chewed up or broken short fretting fingernails which make everything painful.

But even when it sounds bad and your fingers hurt as the frostbitten flesh is being forced backwards over what was once your fingernail, way below the quick, it is a challenge to make it sound good, by which stage the amp has warmed up anyway and you forget the state of your nails.

I go through phases too.  I was Warren Demartini last year, this year I am George Lynch.  I am seriously.

Alnico

Since i went back to work i have had to throw myself into it headfirst as it's a whole new learning curve for me, i'm pulling agricultural bulk trailers for the first time in my 22 year driving history. It's been tough but i've just about got the hang of it now so last night i picked up my Telecaster as i couldn't remember when i played it last............

I AM RUBBISH.

I mean literally awful. Sloppy, out of time, no co-ordination and i can;t remember how to play the simplest of songs.

I have to keep my kit in the living room so it means practicing will take over the room and that's not always going to happen mainly because after a days work for all of us, 'Rizzoli and Isles' and 'NCIS' is about all anyone can stand before going to bed at 8pm (We are all generally up for work around 4am).

I have noticed that this job involves lots of periods of time where i'm sat waiting while unloading for up to 2 hours at a time so i might start taking my guitar to work and try to practice in the cab but until i get assigned my own truck, it's not the most practical solution.

What happened last night made me feel like shit. I was a better player when i was 17 but in those days i lived for it and played in the morning, afternoon and evening so it's quite obvious where i'm falling down.

Having a dedicated practicing space seems to be more important to me than i previously realised !

Flink_Poyd

Best thing that happened to me for practice was buying a Zoom G3, no need for an amp just plug the headphones in and block the world out. I leave the house at 7am and get in at 8pm some nights then have to take the wofe to work for 9pm, some nights Im too knackered to play but most nights its the only 45mins I get to do what I want, my motivation is it keeps me sane.

viz

Alnico said:

Since i went back to work i have had to throw myself into it headfirst as it's a whole new learning curve for me, i'm pulling agricultural bulk trailers for the first time in my 22 year driving history. It's been tough but i've just about got the hang of it now so last night i picked up my Telecaster as i couldn't remember when i played it last............

I AM RUBBISH.

I mean literally awful. Sloppy, out of time, no co-ordination and i can;t remember how to play the simplest of songs.

I have to keep my kit in the living room so it means practicing will take over the room and that's not always going to happen mainly because after a days work for all of us, 'Rizzoli and Isles' and 'NCIS' is about all anyone can stand before going to bed at 8pm (We are all generally up for work around 4am).

I have noticed that this job involves lots of periods of time where i'm sat waiting while unloading for up to 2 hours at a time so i might start taking my guitar to work and try to practice in the cab but until i get assigned my own truck, it's not the most practical solution.

What happened last night made me feel like shit. I was a better player when i was 17 but in those days i lived for it and played in the morning, afternoon and evening so it's quite obvious where i'm falling down.

Having a dedicated practicing space seems to be more important to me than i previously realised !

You may find you've grown in your heart and head, if not in your hands. Playing the thing is only the half of it.

randomhandclaps

Mate, you currently hate your job and are looking to move on.  This in itself is going to naturally create a degree of both anxiety and depression.  Oddly he first thing we do in this circumstances is stop doing the things we enjoy.  Try not to sweat it.  The rest of life shit will pan out and so will playing in turn.

mike_l

@randomhandclaps ; I think you hit the nail right on the head.

However I am playing (albeit slowly) to a metronome everyday, mostly scales, but I'm also revising the songs I've previously learnt/partially learnt.

 

randomhandclaps

mike_l said:

@randomhandclaps ; I think you hit the nail right on the head.

However I am playing (albeit slowly) to a metronome everyday, mostly scales, but I'm also revising the songs I've previously learnt/partially learnt.

 

Well then kudos to you.  Despite not feeling like it you are still working at it, and in the right way.  That proper discipline rather than pleasure.

Teetonetal

I have a constant battle (with my wife) to practice as much I'd like and really this has made me much more motivated to use my precious time as well as possible. I always do a little bit of scales, a little bit of improv and a little learning something new. Happily my couple of hours part time teaching keeps me going over the basics.

The wife can't understand why I'd rather not have a cup of tea and watch homelands

mike_l

randomhandclaps said:

mike_l said:

@randomhandclaps ; I think you hit the nail right on the head.

However I am playing (albeit slowly) to a metronome everyday, mostly scales, but I'm also revising the songs I've previously learnt/partially learnt.

 

Well then kudos to you.  Despite not feeling like it you are still working at it, and in the right way.  That proper discipline rather than pleasure.

I really need to sort myself into a proper practise routine.

Currently it seems to be 30-45 minutes of finger exercises/scales with a metronome and 30-45 minutes of going over songs I'm revising.

I'm  hopeful that I can get learning new stuff soon.

 

Sambostar

I swear my amp is getting worse.  It almost sounds like a Transistor amp now.  Flat as a pancake.

Teetonetal

Sambostar;514445" said:

I swear my amp is getting worse.  It almost sounds like a Transistor amp now.  Flat as a pancake.

my amp started sounding very poor, turned out to be a single valve.

mike_l

So over the last couple of weeks I've been doing some proper practise with a metronome.

Without looking at any theory, other than running through scales, I've got my picking back to around 2/3rds if where it was before I started the decline, all with around 60-90 minutes a day.

 

Sambostar

Teetonetal said:

Sambostar;514445" said:

I swear my amp is getting worse.  It almost sounds like a Transistor amp now.  Flat as a pancake.

my amp started sounding very poor, turned out to be a single valve.

It sounds great again now, very valvey.  It's temperamental I think.

The last year or two, besides my endless Lynch wannabe/Demartini-esque soloing and Jimi style Strat stuff, I've been practicing more rhythmic playing on the electric and the acoustic and trying to sing.   Not strumming, picking or melodies, but doing them rhythmically.  I got a mandolin delivered Tuesday and it's paid off no end.  The idea is that the Mandolin will help even more. Who knows, one day I may even be able to end a solo on the right note at the exact right time, rather than going on for another ten minutes.  Playing simple redneck songs are also helping with my concept of timing and bars, although singing helps the most with bars.

I think most importantly I can fluff notes or introduce random timings or legato type triplet licks and all sorts and still keep the beat going.

I think the next step is recognising bars, it's almost as if I subconciously don't want to repeat stuff because it sounds repetitive.