Everyone always say keep practicing to improve.

Sometimes you hit a point where you completely cannot improve after you practice.


Then you stop practising that same routine/scales and just don't touch the guitar for weeks.


When you come back and resume that routine, your speed increased by even more, and you have not been practising at all.

Has it happened to any of you before ? Of course, cannot abandon for too long, but basically if you just dump the guitar at one side for 2 weeks, and come back to it, you'll be surprised sometimes you actually improved, as opposed to practicising it every day.

Good sleep is also a huge boost.

Also when you practice doing OTHER types of scales, or play other songs, when you come back to it, you improved. Variety is important, not just 1 same scale all the time.

Normal. I blame it for inspiration. Always, when playing the first song for the first time for that day, it always seems to be almost perfect, then it starts to deteorate. (I am keyboardist btw)

I guess, that is natural. XD

~Cheers!

no ler..if didnt play finger will get painful and was unable to play 1 song finish dota didnt play long time sure dun know wat to buy well for me la

There's something called mental practice... Can try to read more about it...
It helped a lot of players...

well, if u hit the max point, and u still sux at it.....it shows u've got NO TALENT !

thats all part of sports psychology.
i used it alot b4 when playing competitive sports etc.

Yeah,I do that when I've no inspiration

take a read at this:




Attached File(s)
 PracticingandCurrentBrainResearchbyGebrian.pdf ( 52.1k ) Number of downloads: 68

Very interesting read! Exactly my experience, SLEEP really helped me and I do think about the scales/songs and I move my fingers a lot even when I don't actually play!

actually theres this weirder one for me....i have the inspiration in me when im not holding my bass ....like i have the riff's and melodies and able to humm it out .....but when i grab on to my bass and start to "play" ..i cant play it ...lol...its like suddenly all pooof gone....astho i've forgotten lidat ..

I know what you mean.


When I was half asleep, I could think of very good pop/tunes that were good enough for mainstream audience, but because I couldn't pen down my thoughts, I always forget them when I wake up from sleep.

I have no idea how many good original songs in my head has been wiped out just like that...


Nothing to do with guitar though, just inspired songs.


I am starting to wonder if I am being possessed by dead song writers when I am almost asleep in the night..

man, wher dis all tis come by...try meditating man!! steve vai does tat
may b yoga can help ur reflexes...i wana try pilate haha

as dwayne does, hummin the tune wen nt practising does help in my playing
its like revision homework keke

bman, hey i gt the samething as urs, sometimes...
lateli im jz too tired to even tink of cool tunes

lol dwayneeeeeeeee ur here too.

anyways, a short break always helps. It's kinda like bodybuilding. After working out/practicing for a while, ur body gets tired. Give it a break.
When you come back, you will definitely be better. Nothing happens in a day

but for the inspiration part, no matter what happens, i will force myself to wake up and pen it down. It happened to me on friday night right before the LYN jam. I slept at 2, then i woke up at 3 with riffs and lyrics running in my head. Sat down, and wrote all the darn suckers out, completed composing an entire song, and by then it was 6am, and I had something on at 9 so i couldn't sleep = =

Which is why i looked like a zombie at teh jam but oh wells.

Actually I think it's just that our own ideas sound better in the dead of the night =D Like try playing some acoustic in 2AM and it sounds so good and you're so in the vibe etc etc, then in the morning it sounds just like normal playing, heheh! I have that very same thing too, I've come to realize those riffs and whatnot are usually not so hot once you start thinking of them in the morning and trying to play them out etc heh.

Except yesterday evening like around 12, I got some stuff that I thot was really hot so I played around for a while and then recorded it on my hp so I don't forget about it. I still had those riffs in my in the morning and I'm hoping it sounds as good when I try em again today =D

From your situation, it's more likely due to stress, or stress/force/blind practice.
An example can be this:
Sometime, you struggle very hard to overcome some some playing (trying to play it right). You keep trying and get stressed, tired, etc. You might give up, but after your relaxed and return, suddenly you just got it right or it isn't that hard anymore.

Another possible problem is, like what they say "Study Smart", there's also something called "Practice Smart".

Another more complex explanation is in regards to RIGHT and LEFT brain. This happens to our daily lives without us knowing it, more common in people who have strong RIGHT brain.
(e.g. sometimes, you have a problem you can't solve no matter how hard you think or try. When you relaxed (e.g. went for bath, toilet, sleep, etc... that's when your RIGHT brain goes to work and might give you an idea how to solve/tackle the problem. For those who have experience this before would understand what I mean...
It happens to anything you do, even when playing games... sometimes, you see someone struggling over something (e.g. playing strategy game), then he went to the bathroom, suddenly he/she rush out having a great idea to try...)


This post has been edited by Andy214: Jan 28 2008, 02:01 PM

Bro i have been tutoring for quite sometime now...instrument that i play is the bagpipe....

For everyone info....

PERFECT PRRACTICE MAKES PERFECT...

its ridiculous to say praactice makes perfect...if ur practicing wrong stuff u will keep playing wrong stuff....

Trying doin it right and not necessarily u need talent to be able to play an instrument...sometimes...hardwork can get u there as well...

just my 2cents...

From my experience, I think the next important step to practising is to start writing your own music on the instrument. That way, you'll start improvising and actually USE what you have been practising. Once you do that, new ideas will keep flowing in and you will start to mature as a better musician.

I second this. There is also a theory that if we keep making mistakes, our brain will eventually adapt to it and guess what? you'll be playing more mistakes than you're playing it right!!

And yeah, i read quite alot about our minds and mental practice, mental study and mental images are extremely important in life(if you've read the book The Secret, it tells you "If you see it in your mind, you're gonna hold it in your hand" . I have also a book called "This is Your Brain on Music" by neuroscientist Dr. Daniel J. Levitin. It tells on how Music affects us mentally, physically and emotionally. On how it moves us from within and what our minds do etc. etc. Its a great book, everyone interested in music should check it out ^^

Bottom line, if you read some stuff about the mind and apply it to your daily life, you'll be amazed at what your mind can bring you. ^^

shud i try yoga?
pilate....

meditation
praying...

not bad idea to do all that, yet its all just a mind set....get ur mind into u will do it....

I suggest listening to some music daily when ur driving ....not the that gets ur head beating....and blood pressure rising.....

So slow...instrumental...classical...one...its awesome...feeling if u do it daily...i do it...daily...

good luck