*** Practice fright *** is this normal???

[BenoA]

Hey folks from IbreathMusic... Sorry if this post seems long but I need your advice. So here goes my lil' strory...

I've been playing guitar on and off for 18 years. I've never been much into practicing technique and exercises. Lately, i've been back playing with some friends in a band and i noticed how crappy is my playing mostly when trying to play some fast solos.

So i decided to invest in a "practice" routine. I don't have much time each day but I'm looking to, at least, run throught one hour a day of serious exercises. I have Stetina's Speed Mechanics book, Petrucci's DVD and a few prints from IBM (thanks Eric V and others great site!!!).

So i have the tools... I have a few minutes but i get "practice" fright!!! :(

When i start to go throught some picking exercises i get bored very fast because when i notice i must perform them VERY slowly to play them properly i then go out of focus and start noodling various stuff instead of concentrating on the "exercise"... Is this normal???

Tell me, do i really suck after all these years or is it normal to have to start those exercises very slowly???

Any advice, tips or comments welcomed... :)

BenoA

[EricV]

Hi there,

I know what you mean. When you have to play something slow in order to play it accurately, your mind often starts to wander.
That´s why making up little etudes is a great way to work on technique. You know, actual small pieces of music. This will keep you focussed, since you´re playing a piece of music, not just a three note run over and over.
You can either pick some etudes by others ( "Perpetual Motion", my inside picking etude, the Morse picking exercise is great... ) or make up one based on what you wanna work on.

Also, you shouldn´t feel to pressured. Instead of thinking "If I can´t do this, I suck", think "Once I can do this, I´ll be a better player". Try to always remember what this exercise you´re working on will enable you to do. Stay positive, and look forward to what you can do with the new chops you´re working on.
Also, don´t put your goals too high. Don´t even think about reaching Morse-speed within a week. Tkae it step by step, and try to apply your "new skills" to your music.
Like, work on some etudes and basic mechanical things ( picked runs for example ), but also, work on a few cool licks. Those you can use next time you jam.

And it IS entirely normal to slow down those exercises that much in order to play them accurately and get the fingers and brain used to them. Muscle memory, you know ?
Morse told me once that, when he practices or works on new songs or licks, he plays slow for about 70-90 % of the time. He gets used to the fingering and picking etc. And eventually, at the end, he works on speeding it up.
Hope this helps
Eric

[Relaxation]

Eric, do you mean that the greats like Morse compose their fast stuff slowly then speed them up? I thought they composed their fast songs fast (redundant )

Recently I'm getting into composing and since I want to compose fast progressive stuff like Dream Theater songs, do I have to make riffs and licks at slow speed then work them up with a metronome?

[EricV]

No, actually I meant that when they compose, they might write something that they need to practice before they can record it. Which is cool. Because its always a challenge, and you can keep pushing your boundaries that way, instead of just using elements you can do blindfolded.
Morse once said that he came up with the arp-passage ( the clean one ) of "Tumeni Notes" late at night, and he needed to practice it before he could play it at the tempo the song was supposed to be on.
So if you come up with a part you wanna use without compromisign the tempo of the song, you need to work on it.
But it´s funny that you mention composing fast stuff slowly... I think that one thing that more people should pay attention to is whether their fast licks and solos sound good slow as well. Yngwie said "Everything I play sounds good slow, as well"
Which can be argued about, but that´s not the point. The point is that I think it´s important to sometimes pay attention that your licks are melodically, so that they sound good played slow, as well
Eric

[Bongo Boy]

When i start to go throught some picking exercises i get bored very fast...i must perform them VERY slowly to play them properly i then go out of focus... Is this normal???So...you got Eric's response--a seasoned professional. I'm a beginner with about 2 years of limited practice.

I'd have to say it's normal. I'm doing Vai's 30hr workout, lessons 1 and 2. Alternate picking, 1-2-3-4 stuff. I want to go faster, but the coordination between l and r hands is off. I have to slow down and REALLY concentrate. I love it when it starts to sound right every now and then.

I have, on several occassions, fallen asleep sitting upright on a drummer's throne, guitar in hand. I also tend to start noodling too. But I keep bringing myself back because I know I want those notes to sound like they should.

I think it's paying off--I try to get more practice time in in the early morning now, rather than late at night.

[Axe-aholic]

I know what you mean. When you have to play something slow in order to play it accurately, your mind often starts to wonder.
That´s why making up little etudes is a great way to work on technique. You know, actual small pieces of music. This will keep you focussed, since you´re playing a piece of music, not just a three note run over and over.

I have to second that. Just the other day I was having a problem with a certian picking pattern, and I kept getting out of focus playing the same four note exercise for an hour a day for several days so I just applyed the sequence in a more melodic format and realized I was playing the thing for 30 solid minutes without spacing out just cuz it sounded so cool. Finally nailed the problem too even though I had to start at like..50bpm or so.
Another hint, when you find yourself noodling or daydreaming or whatever, put the guitar down for a few minutes and go do something else. When I come back from that I find my concentration improves greatly.

About going slow, yes, it's normal. I see many people not doing it though. They find it embarressing to go below a certain speed so they keep practicing it at the speed they think they should be at and keep messing up.
I used to do that all the time. Because of it everything I practiced came out sounding sloppy and muddled. If you have to take something down to a redicuosly low speed, just do it and forget about whether you suck or not.
Cuz there's no point in worrying about how good you are. Even if you DO suck, you can't change the present, you can only change the future. In order to do that effectively you have to stop trying to prove something to yourself and work with all you got to reach your goal.

[BenoA]

Thanks everyone for all the good answers... I was off-line for some "not-too-serious" fishing at my in-laws house... What a good stress relief... a few beers, a fishing boat, some nice weather... :D

Well back to guitar, you've all offered great advice and i noticed i mostly do most of what you've told me. What i noticed lately is that my main problem is "concentration" and staying focused on what i'm doing.

Today, I'm starting a new practice routine and will let ya know in a few months of my progress.

BenoA

[Dommy]

I was skeptical at first of trying to play things slowly and correctly first, but when I started trying to transcribe bebop passages and play them at that tempo, I just couldn't do it, I didn't have it ingrained in my brain and fingers yet, so I slowed it down to around 35% of normal, and learned the correct fingerings and timings, and every time I got it right, I sped it up another 5%, until I got to around 80-85%, which is fine by me, considering that once I get it up to that speed, nothing but time is going to speed it up, so I worked on something else.


In short: focus on technique and accuracy, speed will come...eventually.

[Unhorizon]

The same thing used to happen to me. I couldn't go 10 minutes without a few quick minor pentatonic blues licks thrown in, but after about a year of real practice, I've trained myself to stay focus. Now, when I practice a pattern, I kind of get into a "zone", where all I think about is the exercise or piece. I do this a lot with the paul gilbert lick which I'm trying to speed up. I usually put the metronome at a pace where I can play it comfortably as triplets, then do short sixteenth note triplet bursts. All I think about during this time is cleanliness and how what I'm playing sounds.

I don't know how long it will take others to train themselves to stay focuses, it took me about a year to be totally focused during practice. But I still sometimes find myself noodling for 5 or 10 minutes, which is fine every once in a while.

[voivod]

Hi guys,

one thing that happens to me all the time is that I am getting anxious about my practising time. I am a working man so I have only 2 hours a day to practise. I have a teacher and I have a basic workout that I do every day. My anxiety comes when I don't do an exercise good enough and I have to focus on it...I feel that I won't make it on time to finish my workout and by that time I start to suck...I try to relax, drink a beer, smoke a cigarette but I am getting more anxious when I feel that I am losing time smoking a cigarette..Maybe I am nuts! Is there any soulmate that can understand me?

[redmunk]

I think a lot of people will share this view. I practice - i get better - i see myself getting better - so why do i still NOT want to practice? I've got a schedule, i've got the time to do it, I'm not trying to do things that are too difficult for me? Where is my motivation?