# Playing for just under 10 years but and am NOT getting any better.... please help me!



## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

I come in need of help/suggestions. 

As the title says I have been learning guitar for just under 10 years and though my theoretical knowledge, chord knowledge, and scale/mode knowledge has dramatically improved I cannot seem to get more fluid or free in my guitar playing. I always do chromatic warm-ups followed by scale studies and chord spellings, I know many arpeggios, open chords, barre chords, I always do ear training, and know lots of other peoples songs. The issues I keep running into are: A) I can learn how to play an artists song but I cannot play through the whole song smoothly or without incidents B) I can't seem to write a whole song myself.

I know a ton of Jimmie Hendrix, Muse, and John Mayer songs, both solos and chordal elements and I have totally deconstructed Radioheads In Rainbows Album front to back.... all parts. I also know a variety of other artists and songs but I really want to sound like the few artists I just mentioned.

My fluidity sucks and my consistency sucks. I always practice with a metronome. 

Thanks for reading my post !


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Have you played with other folks? It doesn't have to be guitar players. Maybe a bass player, a singer that's if you don't sing. a drummer, etc. Or just plain jam with others. For me, the best feeling I get playing music is when I'm playing with others, especially in a band setting. Also, playing with others, you get a chance to try things you won't do or can't do when you're playing alone.


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## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

Playing with others would be nice but unfortunately I spend the majority of my time based out of camps in the middle of nowhere. I haven't ever run into another musician and if I ever do it will be a shortly lived romance as the work doesn't really allow for roots.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Ha .. like they said .. time to get with some other players that don't have great timing like you do  ....to get comfortable know that what YOUR doing is right.. basically self confidence. Get on the stage too. Time to acquire an ego :woot:...not too much though


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

First of all, I imagine that you are, in fact, a much better player. But as with most things, progress is slow enough that it's barely noticeable from day-to-day, or week-to-week. I just had this conversation with one of my students yesterday as we were preparing for an annual recital - he realized looking back at last year's recital that he had improved dramatically in the last 12 months, even though he really wasn't feeling that he was progressing very quickly. Do you have any old recordings of yourself to go back to and compare? If not, sit down this week and record yourself and promise to listen to those recordings a year from now.

When you try to play through a song, make notes about where you are having difficulty. Focus on those problem areas. Play through them slowly and pay attention to your technique as you do. Slow them down until you can play them fluidly and then slowly build speed again. 

Also, try playing for an audience. Grab a friend and tell them that you need to practice playing in front of people. There is something about having someone listen to you that sharpens your focus as you play. Again, make notes about things that are giving you trouble _and_ things that you did well.

Some people keep a journal so that they can track their progress - I'm not that disciplined, but I can see how it can help.

Another thing that works for people in your situation is to sign up for a guitar camp for your next vacation. 

Also sometimes you just need to put the metronome away (I can't believe I just said that - I'm a huge advocate of metronomes) and have some fun with it.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

It sounds like you've done every formal thing you've needed to do, but haven't "let your hair down".

Go grab your guitar, turn it up, give it some gain, and just noodle. Have fun! Don't worry about your patterns and arpeggios and timing and all that, just play.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Another suggestion I would have is to learn to play through your mistakes. Don't stop and curse your fingers - keep going like it never happened. To watch the masters on stage, you'd think they are playing everything perfectly because they have learned to recover from fumble-fingers. But after the show, they may well be extremely frustrated with their performance. Everybody makes mistakes when they play. The trick is to not be fazed by it.


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## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I appreciate your perspectives. I'm going to try everything you have suggested here and I will definitely try to stop cursing my fingers.... sometimes they piss me off though haha. 

Do any of you have experience with writing your own compositions ? I'm curious to know how long it generally takes you to write a song from inception to total completion ?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Depends. I've had ideas come to me that I was able to turn into a song in an hour or 2. On the other hand, our band is evolving songs that were written 2 years ago. Lyrics, I can usually just bang em out. But that doesn't mean they won't get heavily edited or even scrapped later. For me, it's very much a 'flow' thing, have an idea and try to stay in that moment or mind frame.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

I've got songs I've been working on for 40 years and I still can't finish them! Others just flow out of me like I've sprung a leak. I just take it as it comes. Lyrics are the hardest for me. I get phrases and hooks but have trouble with the meat of the song.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Dionysus said:


> Thanks for the suggestions guys, I appreciate your perspectives. I'm going to try everything you have suggested here and I will definitely try to stop cursing my fingers.... sometimes they piss me off though haha.
> 
> Do any of you have experience with writing your own compositions ? I'm curious to know how long it generally takes you to write a song from inception to total completion ?


It entirely depends. I can write a metal song in 2 hours, the question becomes will I remember it if I don't record it. A song is done when you say it's done.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

bw66 said:


> When you try to play through a song, make notes about where you are having difficulty. Focus on those problem areas. Play through them slowly and pay attention to your technique as you do. Slow them down until you can play them fluidly and then slowly build speed again.


This is excellent advice for those "problem areas" that just don't seem to improve with time. The logic is that if you keep playing them incorrectly, your muscles can never know how to play them right. By slowing down and repeating over and over your muscles will recognize the pattern and each time you go back you'll see improvement.

My own personal experience is much like yours. I've come to the realization that a lot of my issues aren't on my fretting hand, but my picking patterns so I've been working on those.

Good luck. The glory is in the journey.

Swervin


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

The thing with guitar playing and pretty well everything else that requires coordination, including touch typing, is that its all muscle memory and if you have to think about doing it, then its hopeless. For some inspiration:

[video=youtube_share;Vms_6_TSQuc]http://youtu.be/Vms_6_TSQuc[/video]


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Have you ever tried playing a solo guitar arrangement?-could be folk,classical,pop,jazz tune anything(tons of books available in any style for guitar). Just pick an easy one and work with it for a while-memorize it. Work on playing it confidently-once you have one that you can really play well add another and so on until you have enough to play a short recital for friends and family. Always play easier material to build confidence then gradually introduce a piece that requires more effort-a show piece. Make sure not to just gloss over material, make each piece your own and always have them on your fingertips available to play at anytime or place.The metronome will help in the preparation process to work out trouble spots etc.. but when your song is ready to perform then ditch the metronome and work on musicality and interpretation. The end result will be you'll feel a sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction and confidence gained from performing will prepare you for the next 'new' piece.


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## jeremy_green (Nov 10, 2010)

Dude, dump all the exercises and drills. Can the metronome for a while...
Start playing MUSIC - ALL THE TIME. Every time you pick up your instrument ONLY play something musical... no more scales (for a bit). Just grab album after album of bands you like and learn songs all the way through - ALL BY EAR.

Also EVERY practice, try playing a spontaneous improvised composition. Just make stuff up. It doesn't need to sound great and won't at first... but keep your awareness on the tempo and just keep in the groove and adventuring.

Bands are great... but if you have no access then you need to be more disciplined. Keep it really fun and you'll play more... but when you play, make SURE you are 100% focused on it. Don't be half there, don't give up. Find the love and be creative like you were when you were a kid. It's still in there but adulthood strips it away and buries it down. The guitar is a sandbox or a canvas .. explore it without fear of sucking. It's OK to suck - that's part of the road. We all do at times. Don't let that discourage you, it just means the practice approach you have been using has run it's course. You need to redesign your practice over and over again to get different results.


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## Rudder Bug (Nov 21, 2011)

May I suggest you to try different tuning, like drop D for a start, and even better, drop 6th, 5th and first string down a tone. 6th becomes a D, 5th turns in a G and fist string a D. You end up with an open G chord, Keith Richards style. Explore your finger board tuned this way and you will be amazed of what you can play.


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## grooveyard (Dec 3, 2012)

Just reading your post here....and I know it's different for all of us.....a few years back I began attending hand-drumming workshops with some like-minded friends...I was so tentative when first hitting the drum, but after a while I couldn't believe how it woke up my guitar playing! Totally suprised me from out of left field! Learning a few basic african rhythms really instilled a pulse in me that is now part of my playing. And i can hit the drum with authority now too! 
Then my wife (a drummer)and I attended a seminar with the amazing bass player Victor Wooten...talk about groove! I've learned that it's not the notes we play, but the "feel" we play them with. A few well-placed notes can pack so much intensity. 
Good luck developing your own sound. Don't worry about sounding like John Mayer etc...the world already has that.....Originality is where it's at! Sounds like you have lots of technique and musical knowledge on your side....sometimes things don't start moving until we stop pushing. Find your own inner pulse and let the music flow out of you! 
All the best, Jim


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## Uncle Jackie (Apr 27, 2014)

I have gone through this a few times as well. The best advice ever given to me is (not verbatim), "we tend to practice things we are familiar with and good at, don't play anything you know for a month". For me that meant no scales, hammer on drills, chromatic exercises etc. Instead I focused on skipping strings, tapping, sweep picking, (stuff I had never gotten around to). I learned more in that month than I had in the past year and my playing got remarkably better.

The hardest part really was avoiding what I already knew.


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## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

FrankyNoTone said:


> The thing with guitar playing and pretty well everything else that requires coordination, including touch typing, is that its all muscle memory and if you have to think about doing it, then its hopeless. For some inspiration:
> 
> [video=youtube_share;Vms_6_TSQuc]http://youtu.be/Vms_6_TSQuc[/video]


I laughed so hard I gave myself an asthma attack!


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