The one thing you wish you could do better?

[Bombadil]

Thanks, Mike. I can do simple things like Dear Prudence and Julia well enough. It‘s when I try to play the notes between the notes, syncopation and such, that my thumb loses it. I‘d like to be able to play in the style of Knopfler, if not his actual level.
I‘ll check out your vid suggestions.

[tapper mike]

I had a cancelled acoustic gig recently (blizzard) at an assisted living center. It's been ages since I performed last and as my brother was going to be a member of the audience I thought I'd play 60's and 70's songs. So... The Beatles. There are two guitars for "If I fell" The arpeggiated one is not travis it's Thumb Index, then middle and ring together. I do play "Blackbird" strict travis even though it's not quite how Paul McCartney does.

"Dust In The Wind" is strict Travis and a good workout but it's hard for me to play it like that as I'm so accustomed to thumb on the low two strings and a finger for each of string thereafter.

"Landslide" is a relatively easy travis picking song.
"Danny's song" Starts as an easy Travis picking song but then Kenny Loggins starts breaking up the patterns.

[tapper mike]

Arpeggios/sweep picking. And timing.

Hybrid picking


People (including me when I first started) tense up too much when trying to play faster. Don't try to master high speed in a day. Master fluidity in micro motion.

[mystran]

People (including me when I first started) tense up too much when trying to play faster. Don't try to master high speed in a day. Master fluidity in micro motion.

I think this is another "lifelong journey" more so than "when I first started" kind of thing... although it is certainly possible to get very good at noticing any excessive tension early so that one can then focus on trying to get rid of it... but at least for me, doesn't matter how many times I do it, over how many years.. when I'm trying to push myself, excess tension is going to happen and it needs to be corrected again ... and again ... and again ...

ps. I mean ... at some point it can become the sort of thing where when you start tensing up you're like "oh, my shoulder feels a bit tense, let me relax it" and that's the end of it ... but at least for me it's still something that can never be completely forgotten about.

[tapper mike]

I wish I would stay in one lane.

I flat pick I finger pick I hybrid pick I tap and pick (sort of like Stanley Jordan but with complex voicings) I also play the linnstrument.

Sometimes I'm playing the beatles and other "easy guitar" some days I'm playing asia and yes stuff. Some days I'm playing chord melody jazz and other days I'm trying my hand at country or "easy" classical pieces. Some days I'm playing 80's pop

On the linnstrument many days I'm playing orchestrated cinematic stuff, Sometimes I'm playing folk/pop piano. Sometimes I'm playing (or trying to) progressive rock synth like Rush

[mystran]

Anyway... I find a lot of stuff is "just" a matter of putting the hours in... but there's this one thing where I definitely wish I was better: keeping track of song structures.

I have no problem learning a piece that's more or less unique throughout, but anything that repeats the same thing is kinda terrible, 'cos I tend to lose track of where I am. Basic pop-song structures that repeat verses and choruses (especially the choruses 'cos even the lyrics might be the same) are especially terrible, 'cos how am I supposed to remember if this particular chorus is followed by another verse or a guitar solo or if it repeats or whatever.

Unlike most other things... this is something that I just have no clue as to how to actually practice ... 'cos just playing the song again and again and again doesn't really do anything ... 'cos the problem isn't that I don't know the structure, the problem is that I tend to forget where in the structure I actually am.

[tapper mike]

If I'm writing non classical. I do quick scoring in BIAB. I pick a style insert a tempo and a key. Then I start writing chord progressions. Usually I'll mute everything but the drums and jam out rhythm parts. BIAB styles by default have both an A and B style but some have multi styles and you can mix and match other styles. Giving you verse chorus prechorus bridge so and lead all with complimentary styles so not your typical auto arranger keyboard.



(he chose a lousy style)

Then what I would do is import it all into Real Band and replace / record my own real instruments.
Real Band is PG music's daw packaged with BIAB separately and... it kind of sucks. But it does display all the chords from start to finish

Now If I like what I'm hearing in BIAB I keep 90 percent of it and use the biab plugin in Cubase


Contrary to the presenters statement the biab plugin does not work in all daws. It crashed acoustica's mixcraft so bad I had to stop using it (Mixcraft)

[ThoughtExperiment]

My vibrato sucks. Long story, but to cut it as short as possible: I had a stroke 20 yrs ago, left side paralysed for a few weeks, left arm a bit more than a few weeks. Muscular thing, not cognitive thank god so I could remember how to play, but for a time I couldn't even hold the guitar.
Eventually I re-learned to play, albeit I'm slower now. But I never was a shredder

The one thing I never got back is my vibrato - all I can manage is a slowish shallowish wobble, despite physio, weights, etc. I've had years to think about this and I think it's a brain-to-muscle thing. What makes me believe this is, for a few months before the stroke, I'd been working on my vibrato technique: I'd decided it was weak, so I was trying to move the control from my fingers to my wrist. Strange, but it's the one part of my 'technique' that has never returned, no matter how many hours I've put in. In fact, when I try really hard to speed it up to a BBKing-style shake, something weird happens almost like a mild anxiety attack- almost as if my brain is telling me 'No, you can't have that back - you can walk, you can pick stuff up, you can play rhythm but you can't play lead. Deal with it'. So I mostly do...

[lfm]

Unlike most other things... this is something that I just have no clue as to how to actually practice ... 'cos just playing the song again and again and again doesn't really do anything ... 'cos the problem isn't that I don't know the structure, the problem is that I tend to forget where in the structure I actually am.

Do you record yourself?
- listening you will hear how tight you really are
- are you listening enough or are into yourself playing?
- not properly listening can make own playing off
- focusing too much on your own stuff may make you loose track where you are too

Why I mention is that I noticed I was not listening enough, but felt I played alright.
- recording is revealing
- so into myself playing was the verdict
- rushing a bit on some parts, not awaiting the music enough

Train of thought is that you might be doing so difficult stuff that you are into yourself to master what you are about to do.

Even playing freely by yourself a metronome helps to always listen to something as you play.

A wild idea from me....having no clue how much you play in a band or otherwise....

[tapper mike]

My flat pick straight 8 strumming sucks. I think I'm just going to let that one go. I'm much better at frailing for rhythm guitar.

I don't think we mere mortals were meant to master everything.
My vibrato sucks too. I can get the job done if it's subdued.

[mystran]

Unlike most other things... this is something that I just have no clue as to how to actually practice ... 'cos just playing the song again and again and again doesn't really do anything ... 'cos the problem isn't that I don't know the structure, the problem is that I tend to forget where in the structure I actually am.

Do you record yourself?

A little bit here and there.

I'm slightly sick at the moment, so the best I can do today is this short and sloppy blues improv (tried a few takes per track to get something that's not totally terrible, but otherwise they are unedited so there's a few mistakes) ... and I apologizes if (when) the mix sounds totally horrible 'cos my ears are stuffed, so can't really hear what I'm doing ... but it should probably give some sort of an idea of my timing (ie. not the worst, but not really the best either).

bluesy.mp3

But ... like the song structure thing I was talking about earlier... it's more of a problem with really easy stuff, 'cos ... fingers do their thing, thoughts drift elsewhere... and then I have no clue what comes next. Probably related to some of my other ADHD-type traits.

[tapper mike]

Ready for the hard truth?

Breathe.
You hang on to notes for way too long trying to think of the next phrase you're going to play. Phrases always sound better when they are well defined have a beginning middle and especially end,

I'd give a larger critique but that stuff is reserved for the music cafe forum here.

[Uncle E]

In fact, when I try really hard to speed it up to a BBKing-style shake, something weird happens almost like a mild anxiety attack- almost as if my brain is telling me 'No, you can't have that back - you can walk, you can pick stuff up, you can play rhythm but you can't play lead. Deal with it'. So I mostly do...

Sorry to hear that! Would playing nylon string or fretless (or both) help?

[mystran]

Breathe.

No. I don't want to. Breathing is for old people.

I'm only middle-aged, I don't need to breath yet.

ps. Listening again though, I do realize there's a few too many long notes that I should have filled with something a bit denser... but ... like I said, I'm a bit sick right now.

[ThoughtExperiment]

In fact, when I try really hard to speed it up to a BBKing-style shake, something weird happens almost like a mild anxiety attack- almost as if my brain is telling me 'No, you can't have that back - you can walk, you can pick stuff up, you can play rhythm but you can't play lead. Deal with it'. So I mostly do...

Sorry to hear that! Would playing nylon string or fretless (or both) help?

Thanks
I have a fretless bass, and I've tried the 'violin-type' vibrato there, but I seem to be stuck at the same slow tempo.

I tried a nylon string for a while (I restrung and set up a new classical guitar for a friend's son) and although it was way easier for me to play, my vibrato was still slow and weak. I think it's the nature of the motion rather than finger strength - I have a Jazzmaster with slightly higher action and 11s rather than my usual 10s, and I don't struggle to play it.

I admit I've become fixated on it, and tapperMike's right about not expecting to master everything - the funny thing is I never used to be bothered about the technical aspect of my lead playing. I never studied scales or modes, I just improvised freely - I don't know if I was any good but other people were complimentary, and it felt good to me. I did study chords and voicings, that was important to me and that's stayed with me, thankfully. And I've always been more interested in harmony than melody, it's just the way my brain works.

At the end of the day it's a tiny aspect of my playing, but it affects my enjoyment out of all proportion, because it's the one thing I could never get back.