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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Don't Know What To Improve On

Posted by: steve25 Sep 26 2007, 05:40 AM

At the moment i feel like i really desperatly need to improve on something but i don't know what, which is the problem. I'm feeling like i totally suck at playing but i just can't figure out how to make myself better at the moment. Only recently as i've been playing with backing tracks and recording do i realise how much i suck and i really want to improve rather then just quit. My practice schedules at the moment usually look like this:

Warmup/excersises

Scales/improvisation

Metronome practice

Tapping

Learning/playing a song/solo

Chords

The time that i take for each of these varies depending on how long i'm going to practice for. So does anyone have any advise about how i can improve my playing or anything?

Posted by: muris Sep 26 2007, 10:51 AM

There's only one way...practice.
I think you are killing yourself too much with those schedules.
Just grab your guitar and try to play something you like,put a goal in front of you.
And after you reached that one,put another one...and on and on.
For quick start,try any of beginners lessons here at GMC.
Just play and you'll be fine! smile.gif

Posted by: shredmandan Sep 26 2007, 11:59 AM

biggrin.gif

Definatly dont quit dude ohmy.gif
It would help to know how long you have been playing ect.Maybe you are overwhelming yourself,also ALL guitarist have these days were they just dont know what to play and they feel like they suck.You need to practice something thats really fun for you that way you will definatly improve in it.Maybe instead of the metronome you could get a drum machine to jam over.I find this much more fun and your still playing in time.I always practice this way as i wouldnt play with a click onstage or in a song i make up i would play with drums.

Also maybe cut back on the chords,warmup ect and just jam and play what sounds good to you more.You can get some drum patterns in the upload section,there are some i used under shredmantrack in the uploads area.Try and jam with that and see what you think.This is just my opinion and do what works best for you.

Posted by: RobM Sep 26 2007, 12:32 PM

QUOTE (steve25 @ Sep 26 2007, 12:40 AM) *
At the moment i feel like i really desperatly need to improve on something but i don't know what, which is the problem. I'm feeling like i totally suck at playing but i just can't figure out how to make myself better at the moment. Only recently as i've been playing with backing tracks and recording do i realise how much i suck and i really want to improve rather then just quit. My practice schedules at the moment usually look like this:

Warmup/excersises

Scales/improvisation

Metronome practice

Tapping

Learning/playing a song/solo

Chords

The time that i take for each of these varies depending on how long i'm going to practice for. So does anyone have any advise about how i can improve my playing or anything?



I know that if you practice every day, day after day after day you get stale. Take a day off here and there, it goes a long way towards how you feel the next time you practice. You said you suck and only came to that realization when you started practicing to backing tracks. Maybe you have not reached the point where you can actually play along and keep good time (tempo) with the backing track and therefore are over extending your ability? You have to work hard to get to any point in your progression as a musician. What part sucks the most? Your chord playing/changes, your lead playing, you just can't keep up and make it sounds good, what part is it? Once you have answered that, then you know where you should concentrate your practice time untill you get that part down. Then move on to the next part and get that and so on.

I found that if I get my practices structured too much I get bored, I have a general idea what I want to do when I practice and make sure to cover all of it during the time I have but change it up from time to time. that way I develop faster and get bored less.

BTW, try and not say your playing sucks, try saying something I'm not as good as you etc. Saying that you suck over and over again will certainly make you feel like practicing the next time might be a waste of time? Of course practice ANY practice is never a waste of time, you will only get better thru lots of hard practice time.

Posted by: Resurrection Sep 26 2007, 04:19 PM

QUOTE (steve25 @ Sep 26 2007, 05:40 AM) *
At the moment i feel like i really desperatly need to improve on something but i don't know what, which is the problem. I'm feeling like i totally suck at playing but i just can't figure out how to make myself better at the moment. Only recently as i've been playing with backing tracks and recording do i realise how much i suck and i really want to improve rather then just quit. My practice schedules at the moment usually look like this:

Warmup/excersises

Scales/improvisation

Metronome practice

Tapping

Learning/playing a song/solo

Chords

The time that i take for each of these varies depending on how long i'm going to practice for. So does anyone have any advise about how i can improve my playing or anything?



Can you think about what aspects of your playing you don't like when you jam with a backing track or listen to a recording? If you can be specific about it then you can tune what you do during practice sessions to improve those particular areas. You might find that your current practice schedule actually doesn't spend that much time working on the areas that are weakest in your playing. As an example, say you listen to your recording and think "I don't like my vibrato on that recording" then get some GMC practice material designed to work out your vibrato and reserve some of your practice time to playing and analysing that particular technique.

Some people like to take one or two weak areas of their playing and practice them intensely for a while. Others like to work on lots of different weak areas so that each practice session has a bit of variety. You need to think about which approach would work best for you.

Posted by: steve25 Sep 26 2007, 04:46 PM

Hey guys thanks for the replies i greatly appreciate it. Ok so i should have been a bit more specific in my first post so sorry for that here goes. Alright i've been playing about a year now started getting lessons this time last year so i count that as starting to practice seriously. But i heard that for a lot of guitarists it only takes them a year to be really good but it's obviously taking me a lot longer. So do you recomend that i change my practice schedule? When i practice on my own i can plays certain things. Mostly it's my lead stuff that sucks. My chords aren't too bad, could be a bit quicker at chaning but they don't sound bad. Really when i try playing solos and stuff it sucks. Even the simple stuff, and the solos on here at GMC like the neoclassical 3 level beginner solo for example, when i play that on my own with no backing i can play it but as soon as i play it with a backing track it sounds aweful. So you think i should stop trying to play variety and try something different ie concentrating on 2 weak areas for now in my practice schedule until i'm good at that and then move on?There are so many lessons at GMC now that it's becomming overwhelming for me really to think that i have to learn all those, but i guess if i got better i would be able to play them quicker. Not sure which lessons to go to, i did all the beginner lessons ages ago and done a couple of tapping lessons, think that's about it. Oh and some of the solo ones.

Muris - Yeah sometimes i just randomly jam and stuff but i feel like i don't make any progress at all. But that goal idea isn't bad i'll give it a go

Shredman - thanks i deffinatly don't want to quit. I generally try to jam along to backing tracks now, TRY to. I don't have a drum machine but a metronome is fine for me as there are different beats you can get on metronomes and you can mix some. Perhaps i will consider doing something different in practices.

RobM - Yeah i'll see if i can mix up my practices a bit then. And yeah i see what you're saying saying you suck will probably get you down more than someone else saying you suck.

Ressurection - thans for reply i've named some things above ^^

Posted by: muris Sep 27 2007, 02:15 AM

Ohhh,when I had only one year of guitar experience,I was a HUUGEEE sucker,believe me!! smile.gif
You can't imagine how bad it was,really...
But I didn't give up,I practiced a lot and always looking forward,never back.
So,again,grab your axe and GO!! smile.gif

Posted by: benhowell Sep 27 2007, 02:38 AM

Hi Steve,

If someone asked you to play a fingerstyle peice could you?


If you had the progression Emin9-A7-Eb7-Dmaj7#11 could you solo over it coherently?

Do you know different types of inversions? 9th chords, 11th chords, 13th chords?

Arpeggios and Scale/modes in ALL keys?

I dont mean to sound blunt but hopefully that may spark something to work on smile.gif

Eventually if you want to persue a semi-pro or pro career in music you will need to roll with whats thrown so versatilty is a must, IMHO.

Without it sounding too corny, a good quote is that of Larry Carlton- ' Practice what you must, play what you love'. It has alot of truth to it.

-Ben

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 27 2007, 03:08 AM

QUOTE (benhowell @ Sep 26 2007, 07:38 PM) *
Hi Steve,

If someone asked you to play a fingerstyle peice could you?
If you had the progression Emin9-A7-Eb7-Dmaj7#11 could you solo over it coherently?

Do you know different types of inversions? 9th chords, 11th chords, 13th chords?

Arpeggios and Scale/modes in ALL keys?

I dont mean to sound blunt but hopefully that may spark something to work on smile.gif

Eventually if you want to persue a semi-pro or pro career in music you will need to roll with whats thrown so versatilty is a must, IMHO.

Without it sounding too corny, a good quote is that of Larry Carlton- ' Practice what you must, play what you love'. It has alot of truth to it.

-Ben


After my first year 'learning' (and I do mean 'learning' in '' rolleyes.gif ) the guitar I could probably just about tune it and play bad versions of House of the Rising Sun and Smoke on the water. I sort of knew the major and minor chords between 1st-3rd fret.

I spent several years sort of 'learning' in a very unfocused way and would have struggled with any of Ben's list. It took me ages before I decided that I really had to apply myself and learn properly how to play, My first time on a session I was given a sheet like the progression Ben's layed down and told to blow over it. It put the fear off God in me and I went away and really got down to learning chords and listening and learning different styles.

So I think I'm with Ben on this one - it's never to early to learn and if you want to be semi, or pro then you have too be prepared to be versatile and know your chops so well that nothing will phase you. It's a long road traveled but the earlier it's started the better. (And for me the end still isn't in sight wink.gif )

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: muris Sep 27 2007, 03:22 AM

Well said Tony. smile.gif

Still,I believe it's more important for Steve to feel real passion for guitar and music in general.
And pushing him into 13th and add chords is too much for him at this point.
Let him jam,practice and enjoy in music he likes.
And if he feels power to explore deeper,that's more than great! smile.gif

Posted by: benhowell Sep 27 2007, 03:43 AM

I hadnt read that Steve had only been practicing for a year, so the topics i had talked about are too advanced (unless he wants to learn that biggrin.gif ).

However the orignial sentiment i still stand by, the earlier you get into these things the better if you want any sort of music career at all as Tony says.

Its a hard hard road, but your on the right route with a schedule IMHO, based on my early experiences of not making much progress without one.

-Ben

Posted by: steve25 Sep 27 2007, 04:01 PM

Thanks guys. Yeah i couldn't do those things you said. I can't even play in the pentatonic minor scale at the moment. I'm learning but it's very slow at the moment and i can't play fluently at all. Yeah as i said i've only been playing a year, so this is what i can do:

Major chords A, B, C, C#, D, E (F is a problem for me at the moment)

Minor chords A, B, C, D, E, F#

Just about any barre chord

Power chords (easiest)

As for lead stuff i can alternate pick quite well now

can easily do the basics of tapping, need to do more of kris' lessons on this to improve

learning the pentatonic scale so i guess as for lead not really much

At the moment i'm trying to practice muting with my round hand as i play leads to keep it clean but that's taking quite a while as well. I guess i'm just not used to it. Hammer ons and pull offs are perfectly fine and so are slides. I need to work on my bends and vibratos though as i haven't quite got the pitch right every time. So i do want to get there and be a great player and everything and want to practice correctly but at the moment not sure how. It seems i have a need to change my practice

Posted by: muris Sep 27 2007, 06:06 PM

Listen to this Steve.smile.gif
When I was in your stage,I had big problems with barre chords,not to mention solos etc.
I was so angry of it so I made the promise like,"I'll never play these stupid chords,I don't need it!! laugh.gif
Of course,I broke it not so long after. smile.gif
Just give yourself time,you can't accept huge results in one year trust.
Practice hard as you said you've been doing already.
And keep us updated with some audio or video of your playing,ok?
Chin up!! smile.gif

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 27 2007, 07:11 PM

Same with me 1 year in and I was bad (as in seriously rubbish rather than 'whose the maaaaan, he's baaad)'. I think yo've got a big advantage on me at that stage, not just that GMC didn't exist back then (nor did easy access to the internet!) but that you have already got a practice regime and are working on things that you've identified. Me, I was bumbling on blink.gif .

Cheers,
Tony

nowadays I've improved loads - just rubbish rather then seriously rubbish. I'm aiming to be be ok on guitar in the next few years cool.gif .

Posted by: Skyla°Lit Sep 27 2007, 07:31 PM

Looks like Steve just needs to relax a little smile.gif

Stop thinking about what's wrong with your practicing for a while...
& make friends with your guitar) Approach it with an inner smile and a grin on your face...Pick it up thinking "Ok, buddy, time to make you sound a little bit better than yesterday" rolleyes.gif

When I don't know what to improve on I just pick up a song I like, and that I consider challenging to learn at my actual level of playing and, well, once you start...right away you have like tons of stuff to work on to be able to play it eventually...

Mastering the guitar, or even just 1 song, always reminds me of jigsaw puzzle blink.gif First - it's a mess, then you start connecting the pieces and the more you see the whole picture the more excited you get.

Like Muris said - just give yourself time...

Maybe if you stop worrying about it that much you'll see clearly what you need to improve on biggrin.gif

Best of luck Steve!

Posted by: muris Sep 27 2007, 11:51 PM

QUOTE (tonymiro @ Sep 27 2007, 08:11 PM) *
Same with me 1 year in and I was bad (as in seriously rubbish rather than 'whose the maaaaan, he's baaad)'. I think yo've got a big advantage on me at that stage, not just that GMC didn't exist back then (nor did easy access to the internet!) but that you have already got a practice regime and are working on things that you've identified. Me, I was bumbling on blink.gif .

Cheers,
Tony

nowadays I've improved loads - just rubbish rather then seriously rubbish. I'm aiming to be be ok on guitar in the next few years cool.gif .



Good point Tony!!

When I stared playing during siege of Sarajevo,we had no water,electric power etc.
Not to mention internet or sites like GMC. smile.gif
I hope you'll spend more time with guitar instead
of thinking too much about progress.
Progress will be there,there's no doubt!! smile.gif

Posted by: shredmandan Sep 28 2007, 12:13 AM

QUOTE (benhowell @ Sep 26 2007, 09:38 PM) *
Hi Steve,

If someone asked you to play a fingerstyle peice could you?
If you had the progression Emin9-A7-Eb7-Dmaj7#11 could you solo over it coherently?

Do you know different types of inversions? 9th chords, 11th chords, 13th chords?

Arpeggios and Scale/modes in ALL keys?

I dont mean to sound blunt but hopefully that may spark something to work on smile.gif

Eventually if you want to persue a semi-pro or pro career in music you will need to roll with whats thrown so versatilty is a must, IMHO.

Without it sounding too corny, a good quote is that of Larry Carlton- ' Practice what you must, play what you love'. It has alot of truth to it.

-Ben


You have very good points.IF someone is truly serious about being a musician this stuff will really help.Well said wink.gif

Posted by: steve25 Sep 28 2007, 03:30 AM

Ok thanks guys i was going to record some stuff that i did a while ago but didn't think there was any point. I'll just concentrate on things that i think are the worst for now. Thanks for all your help

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 28 2007, 05:40 AM

Record and post it Steve - peeps will give constructive opinion on possible things to work on. Sometimes getting that can be really good as sometimes we worry about things that others think are fine. And sometimes we sort of don't pay enough attention to bits others think we need to concentrate on blink.gif .

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: muris Sep 28 2007, 05:47 AM

Oh yeah,post videos of your playing!!

Posted by: steve25 Sep 28 2007, 05:57 AM

Ok will do, well i can't record videos but i can record sound, though it may not be great quality but i'll give it a go. Thanks for the tips i'll probably put the recordings in a different post though

Posted by: muris Sep 28 2007, 06:27 AM

QUOTE (steve25 @ Sep 28 2007, 06:57 AM) *
Ok will do, well i can't record videos but i can record sound, though it may not be great quality but i'll give it a go. Thanks for the tips i'll probably put the recordings in a different post though



Hey,if you records video with your cellphone,that's fine too. smile.gif
Point is to see your hands as well,to be able giving some advices etc..

Posted by: steve25 Sep 28 2007, 06:51 AM

Well i do have a webcam, but i don't know if it can record or not and if it can i haven't worked out how yet. I'll look into it though. I guess i'd have to record the audio and video seperatly but atthe same time if that makes sense, different programs and sync them together.

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 28 2007, 06:59 AM

Give it a whirl Steve - if you can't get it synced you could still post the audio.

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: muris Sep 28 2007, 07:00 AM

QUOTE (tonymiro @ Sep 28 2007, 07:59 AM) *
Give it a whirl Steve - if you can't get it synced you could still post the audio.

Cheers,
Tony


You'll have lot of work if you gonna use webcam,syncing etc.
If not,audio shall do the job. smile.gif

Posted by: rahimiiii Sep 28 2007, 11:58 AM

I am stuck in a box too... have been for a LONG time.. I think this lesson is helpful:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=5023

(learn at least 2 boxes first... I am doing this now)

Then this one...

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/One_on_one_pentatonic_scale1.htm

Posted by: Josiah Oct 4 2007, 03:36 AM

QUOTE (steve25 @ Sep 26 2007, 04:40 AM) *
So does anyone have any advise about how i can improve my playing or anything?



Looks Like you got lots of good advice already Steve, I'll be brief.
I have been playing for many years, and this is what I have found;

First, decide what you want to do specifically. Is your goal songwriting, playing songs, being a great lead player, an improvisor or something else? No one completely masters all areas and styles of guitar playing in their lifetime. Find what you want to do most and concentrate only on those things that will bring you closer to your goal.

Second, develop the practice of recording yourself doing what it is you want to do. Next listen back to yourself and find the two things that if you improved on, would make the most difference, then focus working on improving those things. This method is how I always know what I should be practicing to get me closer to my goal.

Third, practice consistantly. To get better requires a certain level of commitment and dedication. This varies from person to person. Practice daily, and make your goal, "just for today", to be a little better guitar player at the end of the day than you where when you awoke.

Hope this helps!

Posted by: ZaKk WyLdE Oct 9 2007, 10:35 PM

I totally agree with Muris,you're playing guitar for fun,it's not like maths where you have to memorize many things...I've been playing for 2months,i would say i don't have much experience to help u out but,evryday i learn a new riff of metal sogns that i listen to,and now i can even play Zakk's solos,many riffs like Symphony of Destruction,Blood of Heroes,I hate you etc...
Just play what u wanna play and you'll improve much more than learnign scales all day...Just learn one scale or two for a start,then you'll figure it out...

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