Getting stuck in skill level ... what to do?

yesfan said:
This guy is right! I am no expert and also not gifted but playing it fast with mistakes makes you learn the mistakes. they dont go away. Play with no mistakes slow and then fast till they are gone. Also play it 100% right and stop. Dont ever stop on a wrong play. When you try the next day the right take sticks. Dont know why but hes right.
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the answer to this is both yes and no...

but think again
what is the purpose of this specific practice session??

purely technique?
then mistakes are not permitted, you play for accuracy and uniformity..
speed is added little by little

purely for experimentation or for fun?
anything goes... fall off the bike you're trying to ride as often as you like
cos it'll not hurt...
you are trying to push the creative limits and break into new ground
so slipping up and getting scrappy is fine.. and often expected....
 
3 things:

1. Learn songs (not just "licks") that feature playing that represents how you'd like to expand your skill level. Not necessarily just new techniques, but new styles or genres as well. If the song features a solo, learn that solo also. Play these songs with a real band if possible. If not, play along with the recording but the key is to learn and play whole songs and not just licks and sections so you learn about composition.

2. Write your own songs and record them. Listen back with a critical ear and then try to correct your mistakes and record the part again. When you listen back you WILL notice imperfections that you don't notice as you're playing. Don't be afraid to write something that is technically beyond your skill level and then record the song extra slow at first. Then gradually increase the BPM each time you do a new recording.

3. Play with other musicians at an equal or higher skill level than yourself. You will learn from them.
 
a few guys have said about the 'learn songs' thing...

got to violently agree with this...

look at what the new song gives you and what you learn from it..
experiment with what you've learned... now you are adding composition and improvisation to the list of learning

learn a song... write a song... learn a song... write a song... wax on... wax off....
 
I too am going through a little stagnant time in my guitar work, and learning songs seems to be all I've been doing lately. That's getting old and it dampens my creativity. Lately, while trying to nail some solo work, I've been laying down progressions on the Looper (as suggested previously by Simeon). I've been layering different textures and adding harmonies to my solos. It has proved to be very inspiring and I have a hard time stopping. Trying something different, no matter what it is, will get you "unstuck".
 
Zwiebelchen said:
Doing the same exercises day by day isn't really fun... and takes the motivation away slowly
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So don't do the same exercises every day. Change it up. There are a ton of exercises out there. Make one of them a phrase from a solo you want to learn. Ane make your practice be more than just exercises.


Zwiebelchen said:
I always come to a point where I can not go faster anymore without making mistakes even after weeks of training - and this point is FAR below what should be possible, considering all the ridicolously fast shredders out there.

All in all, I feel like I'm doing something wrong...
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When I find I can't get the speed I think I should have, it's almost always because I'm playing with too much tension. Fretting too hard. Pinching the pick too hard. Squeezing the neck in a death grip. Tension and excessive force are the worst speed stealers.

Find out if tension is what you're fighting. Fret a note very lighly—only enough to mute the string. Start picking that note. While you're picking, slowly increase the pressure on the string until the note sounds clearly. Note how much pressure you're putting on the string. That's all the force you need in order to play. If you've never tried this before, the results will surprise you. It takes almost no effort to correctly fret a note.

And yes, sometimes you reach a plateau, and it can take a while to work through it.

And yes again, there are some wickedly fast shredders out there. But playing speed is a wickedly narrow way to guage your playing. David Gilmour is no shredder—not even remotely—but he's an amazing guitarist.
 
Another two cents; Time time time... get forward in periods where I have time at night to play; mostly in winter period. Only when I play over 1-2 hours everyday I will be able to break out of my usual cases and progress and create with ease. The rest of the year, when playing remains limited to 1-3 hours a week or just one rehearsal, well I just stand still, even can fall back (the soft fingertip syndrome..)
What worked out the best for me regarding opening up the neck in past was changing styles for rehearsing, even though I'm merely a blues & rock'n roll amateur, what made me advance from time to time (per plateau as simeon called it) was :
- jazz tunes (oldies goldies), even if I almost in no case managed to control these songs, the difference in tone and intervals opened up a bit my playing capabilities
- a few doug seven videos (bloody country/chicken picking !), the first 3-4 series were real fun and opened up a bit the fretboard to me
- playing over CD's or radio
- get to the acoustic; old Richie Havens stuff with open tunings
- last but not least : the pressure of an upcoming bandgig, we only do very few (all real amateurs with jobs and families), but the tension makes us straighter and the songs we rehearse for and play on a gig remain 'graved into the brain' for quite a few months before "fall back" occurs
- speed never was a real obsession for me; there are always a few tricks to make something sound suddenly faster (pulloffs/hammer ons, tapping...) without killing your picks or lefthand fingers, righthand techniques/damping..etc..
Well..
 
lauke-lux said:
old Richie Havens stuff with open tunings
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Great advice from all previous posters.
I gravitate to the the same old riffs but if you tune your guitar to something else then the same 'finger memory' patterns open up new areas for inspiration.
 
the guitarcampus website looks really promising. Perhaps the guys registered there could answer two questions:

1) How long does it usually take to get a video answer? I'm especially interested in Paul Gilbert.
2) Can you just ask them questions concerning their lessons or are you allowed to ask other things too? Could i for example ask for solo ideas for a specific chord progression?
 
A "rut" is another term for "decreased passion".

So first, go get your passion back, and get excited about something musical.

We're all musicians, and we've all had times where we've heard something and gone 'OMFG THAT'S F**KING AMAZING OMG OMG'.

THAT is what drives us, that's why we started playing in the first place. If you're not feeling that right now, you need to go and find it.

I can't tell you what to listen to, as it will be different for everyone. Maybe it's a solo, maybe it's a band, maybe it's a something totally different to your comfort zone like jazz or country or tibetan nose-flute. (>> Not that I know what your comfort zone is, just giving examples).

So go get excited, get passionate. Your rut will evaporate very quickly. (But also follow any of the excellent advice given in previous posts.)
 
frozen:
It can take a week or a month to get a response. There is no favoritism. Its first come first serve on the upload. ASK AWAY on the forums man....I have learned so much by just using the "ASK PAUL" feature..

He's getting ready to go on tour in ENgland and spain March/April....But he does VE's on the ROAD!!!!... The guy is simply a great teacher. He once (few months ago) did a bunch of Ve's in a Limo. That was back when he Did Marshalls Anniversary thing.

Not to mention its about 275 bucks A YEAR. Cheap.
 
Manning said:
A "rut" is another term for "decreased passion".

So first, go get your passion back, and get excited about something musical.

We're all musicians, and we've all had times where we've heard something and gone 'OMFG THAT'S F**KING AMAZING OMG OMG'.

THAT is what drives us, that's why we started playing in the first place. If you're not feeling that right now, you need to go and find it.

I can't tell you what to listen to, as it will be different for everyone. Maybe it's a solo, maybe it's a band, maybe it's a something totally different to your comfort zone like jazz or country or tibetan nose-flute. (>> Not that I know what your comfort zone is, just giving examples).

So go get excited, get passionate. Your rut will evaporate very quickly. (But also follow any of the excellent advice given in previous posts.)
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Abso Fukan Lutli
 
I understand. All these other comments are nice, but that is not the root cause of your problem. All you ever hear is slow down, learn it, and speed back up.

Approach guitar technique like one would approach an athletic event like a golf swing. The technique has to be correct. Wasted motion, muscle tension, etc can all deter that. Play slow, but note everything your fingers, both hands, arm, shoulder, etc are doing. Then watch the Troy Grady slow motion videos of the elite guitarists playing on YouTube. Compare your technique (the way you physically move) to the different players. You will note that many look very smooth with little wasted motion while they are playing super fast (even though it is slowed down). Work on your flaws. Consider practicing in front of a mirror. Record (video i mean) yourself playing and analyze your own technique. It doesn't do any good to slow down, if you are practicing the wrong technique, just slower.
 
Rex said:
When I find I can't get the speed I think I should have, it's almost always because I'm playing with too much tension. Fretting too hard. Pinching the pick too hard. Squeezing the neck in a death grip. Tension and excessive force are the worst speed stealers.

Find out if tension is what you're fighting. Fret a note very lighly—only enough to mute the string. Start picking that note. While you're picking, slowly increase the pressure on the string until the note sounds clearly. Note how much pressure you're putting on the string. That's all the force you need in order to play. If you've never tried this before, the results will surprise you. It takes almost no effort to correctly fret a note.

And yes, sometimes you reach a plateau, and it can take a while to work through it.

And yes again, there are some wickedly fast shredders out there. But playing speed is a wickedly narrow way to guage your playing. David Gilmour is no shredder—not even remotely—but he's an amazing guitarist.
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I've been doing this lately. Whereas I'm usually very light on my touch, I've been forcing it and sounding like crap because of it. Thanks for making me realize I'm not the only one!
 
I agree with the theory that getting better isn't linear. You kinda plateau then get better and then plateau again. What I found worked for me was to play something that was beyond my ability. I would keep at it and I could only sound so so. But then try to play something you couldn't play well that was technically easier you'll be amazed how easy it is. For me I wanted to solo better. So I tried to learn Eric Johnson songs. I got to the point I could play portions of his songs ok but I was amazed how other things were a breeze after focusing on his material. Guys like Eric Johnson and joe satriani are virtuosos. Try to take on some of their material slowly and doing more traditional rock soloing will seem like a breeze. I guess the saying is shoot for the stars and you'll land on the moon. And the moon is pretty cool.
 
Kidsfeet said:
I've been doing this lately. Whereas I'm usually very light on my touch, I've been forcing it and sounding like crap because of it. Thanks for making me realize I'm not the only one!
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I know what you mean. I'll think I have it licked for a while, then it'll creep back into my playing.
 
Some interesting comments on the "rut" thing in this thread. I'm no expert, will never be a Vai (or clarky) and am too old to ever get picked up for touring, or making my living from music. I make a VERY comfortable living as an IT architect.. I play 'cus I like to. I HATE scales.. and at my stage in life, view them like stretching before playing soccer.. something you gotta do if you want to keep playing.

That said, I'm in the same rut as the OP, but been playing longer. I play bass and guitar - completely different approaches/techniques.
I have found than being in a band and having to learn material so that you can perform publicly is great motivation. I have also found that speed is kind of "meh". It comes with practice, but some of the best solo's out there are not fast at all.

Right now I'm separated from my last band (long story) that had been playing EVERY weekend since July but am looking for a new one - but it's that time of year. So there's no motivation to get anything played/learnt.. sure I noodle but nothing focused, nothing serious, no REAL objectives. A new band would help, but I'm already tired of sitting in with mediocre garage bands who want to play out "once a month" and do so for beer/food, or the type that thinks they're "hot stuff" and have no concept of how the bar/club world works and wants to ONLY play music they like.
.
/depressing :cry.
 
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hey, its a long story, but I haven't plugged my guitar into anything in 5 months (but not by choice). I play nearly every night at home though, unplugged.

Anyway, not being plugged in, I can hear exactly how hard I am plucking the strings. There is no amp sim to compress the volume and smooth things out.

So, I have found my picking technique is becoming more consistent now. I dont hit the strings nearly as hard, and when playing chords, even power chords, I find that I am more conscious of strumming each string with even pressure.

I think this alone has greatly improved my technique and tone (which isnt all about speed). With the axe-fx, I would often expect the tone to "come to me" - I wasnt putting much care in the way I fretted and plucked a note and expected all the tone and expression to come from the box. I think differently now. Cant wait to get back into it.
 
@ Zwiebelchen, don't focus on the negatives man, I've been in my share of ruts over the past 18 years of playing, and the simple fact is that there will always be someone faster, a few years younger, a better songwriter etc.. Branch out a little and try some new techniques, find that one thing (whatever it is) that you've always wanted to play, that passage you thought would be almost impossible, and get it down! If you hear a guitarist play any piece of music, there is no reason you cannot play it just as well, because it IS possible. The same practice regiment of patterns, scales, chord progressions etc..will bog down any enthusiasm for playing your guitar really fast. I myself have been feeling a slight loss of creativity, fortunately the Axe 2 has brought it back. So I hope you find your way out of your rut Zwiebelchen, don't let the fact that there are young guitarists flawlessly warp speeding their way through complex sweep tapped arpeggios bother you. Millions of guitarists can learn some mind-bending runs, but it takes a truly disciplined guitarist with those skills to incorporate the other 95% of the music to make it all work together.
 
Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts in this thread. You may not believe me, but it really helped to know that this is something perfectly normal.
I'll try to pick some of the ideas up and use them and see if it helps, then try some others if not.
I think I will stop doing technique and scale practicing for a while and move over to learning songs for now.

I also take some private guitar lessons over the next months until I move to a different town and see if it can help me come out of the routine.

Can you possibly recommend some "mid level" songs to learn with not neccesarily fast, but interesting leads/solos? Something in the rock/blues/progressive genre would be awesome. I always was a huge Pink Floyd fan, but never tried to play one of the songs or leads out of respect... Maybe I'll look into it now, just to get out of the comfort zone.

Thanks everyone!
 
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