Under pressure

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MichaelRobinson
Posts: 2172
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:20 pm

Under pressure

Post by MichaelRobinson »

Hi Guys !

My performance anexiety tells me that I have to study music and pentatonic scales and how to applay them in a song. I'm under my own pressure :wall:
As it is now I reapet my self over and over. You have notis that, I persume. The problem is that I want an absolute pitch to learn fast. Unlucky for me is that I don't have absolute pitch. :cry: :tears:
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Pena
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:37 pm

Re: Under pressure

Post by Pena »

Wow MR, I have similar probs too... repeating, not knowing scales...etc
Frustrating sometimes... oh well, there's only one cure for that, you and I and I bet all the rest of us know it too... it's the old PRACCY, PRACCY and PRACCY :big_smile:
I myself have "sold" my time out for playing, but I'll pick my guitar every time I have the chance... normally 5-10 mins a day... :sad:
Take care MR
Pena
"The blues is a low down achein' chill" Robert Johnson
MichaelRobinson
Posts: 2172
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:20 pm

Re: Under pressure

Post by MichaelRobinson »

Pena wrote:Wow MR, I have similar probs too... repeating, not knowing scales...etc
Frustrating sometimes... oh well, there's only one cure for that, you and I and I bet all the rest of us know it too... it's the old PRACCY, PRACCY and PRACCY :big_smile:
I myself have "sold" my time out for playing, but I'll pick my guitar every time I have the chance... normally 5-10 mins a day... :sad:
Take care MR
Pena
I don't "sell" my time. If I want I can play from morning to evening. I'm retired so I have plenty of time to be serious about guitarplaying and music studys. I can't blaim on lack of time. In fact I have nothing to blaim on, nothing. I'ts still "I start at an other day" and I keep go on like this. That's why I never start. I allso want things to happend fast when I do them. I don't have self diciplin to read a book systematicly when I study. When I open a book I want to be ready with it in a hurry. :shy: .
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vancouverois
Posts: 922
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:55 pm

Re: Under pressure

Post by vancouverois »

MichaelRobinson wrote: In fact I have nothing to blaim on, nothing. I'ts still "I start at an other day" and I keep go on like this. That's why I never start.
I guess I had the same approach as you, and lately I found it may be due to some habits I had.
Meantime I changed of job, I mean still in IT but now more in project management oriented stuff instead of IT security.
The pressure is the same but in a different way, it leads me to a different sight of the things.

Just to say, enjoy learning even if at a glance you think it's boring and slow. Make the "bad stuff" become an allied in
your musical travel instead of always getting the same bumps on the road. You have the control.
Jan 15th 2007
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Blindboy
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Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:34 pm

Re: Under pressure

Post by Blindboy »

I, too, feel like I play the same things over and over. I joke that I only know three licks...
As far as practice, I pretty much only pick up my guitar on Monday nights, when I get together with the Trainwreck guys. I have no excuse for not playing at home, except that I don't care to play by myself. :roll:
Just keep on playing... we are usually our own worst critics, and others don't hear the mistakes we make nearly as much as we do. Your playing has improved noticeably since you started posting here, so you are definitely growing as a picker. :thumbsup:
Try this when you listen back to your recordings... Instead of listening for mistakes, listen for stuff you did well. Two reasons... if you focus on the mistakes, you will make mistakes... if you focus on things you want to play, you will play them. Second, you will likely hear things that you like and not remember how you played them. By going back and figuring out how you did them, you will put it more firmly in your brain.
This may help you realize that your playing is better than you give yourself credit for. :thumbsup:
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
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VikingBlues
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Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: Under pressure

Post by VikingBlues »

Blindboy wrote:Just keep on playing... we are usually our own worst critics, and others don't hear the mistakes we make nearly as much as we do. Your playing has improved noticeably since you started posting here, so you are definitely growing as a picker. :thumbsup:
Very true. :thumbsup:

There's good advice in the posts above. I think we can all do with reminding ourselves that we are often way too critical of our own playing.

With the problem of repeating ourselves when playing ... a few thoughts ...
1) What we are mostly doing in the blues room are 5 or 6 minute purely instrumental guitar solos. Most professional atrists - good as they may be - are often only playing short solos in a piece between vocals.
2) Those professional artists that make CDs we buy tend to produce an album every couple of years or so. Say 12 tracks ... 2 years ... that's 2 months a time to get the finished product. Rather more time I suspect than we give ourselves - I know I'm guilty of listening to a new backing track, playing around with it a bit, and often producing a finished recording within a day or two. Not really enough time to get to having a recording with new ideas and not much repeating myself.
3) Some amount of repetition is useful. It helps establish our own identity as a player, and it can help establish a "hook" that helps give a song an identity.
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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12bar
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Re: Under pressure

Post by 12bar »

MichaelRobinson wrote:As it is now I reapet my self over and over. You have notis that, I persume.
Not really. I hear it's MR playing, but not only repeating himself. I do this :big_smile: , but I don't put myself under any pressure (except there is a collab and that damn record button is red :whistle: ). I play for fun, sometimes trying to learn a new thing, and I'm happy as a kid if I get it right. I've just started playing basic slide guitar again - and happy to have found a good setting for my Toneport. Small things can make you happy!
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