1 Topic by micky the mooch (edited by micky the mooch 2009-03-21 05:58:36)

  • From: North East England
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 207

Topic: mind block?

Hi fellow chordians!
                              Well ave been bashin' the strings for year and a half now (learning myself )
and ave hit a mental block or something? Brain does'nt talk to the fingers and vice verser anymore!! finger act like they cut down broom shanks arghhhhhh and the brain thinks B is in C shape arghhhh, its got so bad my playing sounds (bluntly)crap!i was forever checking my wooden box was in tune!(which it was)..any advice plzzzzzzz 

Ps plz dont say give it up, though i have contemplated it (sobs)


thanks micky

Forgot to say, i try get 1 hr a day practice when possible

cool Dont Stop Kid Keep Rockin'  !! cool
  • From: Western Oregon,US
  • Registered: 2008-07-22
  • Posts: 2,498

Re: mind block?

Dude.... hate it when that happens!

  I think you are going to find that sometimes the magic just doesn't work, and there is really no single cause, or remedy.  Might as well just give it up, sell the darn thing and take up knitting! (just kidding.... really!)

  From time to time it happens, don't let it get you down or it might get worse from the worry.  I play 3 to 4 hours daily, something like 20 minutes at a stretch and then take a bit off to stretch out and relax... you might be too "tight" and need to break up your regime a little.  Make sure that you have properly warmed up and have all the hinges in your paws moving freely, run a few scales, work out positions for a couple new chord variations and changes.... then open your music book at some random page and play whatever is facing you.  It will pass as all things do, so don't lose heart.

Take Care;
Doug

"what is this quintessence of dust?"  - Shakespeare
  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: mind block?

Micky, this does indeed happen to us all. Take a short break, say 1 or 2 days. Then go back to basics when you pick the blessed thing up again. I mean like try playing the 1st song you ever learned. Get the chords up on screen and take your time and play it concentrating on the basic chord shapes. Sometimes playing a really familiar song will reboot the hand/brain link. Or just sit and play between the chords you're having trouble with for 15 - 20 mins and then have a break. It's important to have a break every now and then; it lets the old grey matter get to grips with what your fingers are doing.

Sometimes, for me, I maybe haven't played for a couple of days because I'm in a bit of a rut and then I'll hear a song on the radio and think - that sounds playable - and this can re-ignite the willingness to learn.

I gave up about 16 years ago and have regretted it since I got the passion back about 4 years ago. NEVER give in. Yes, it's hard but man it's fun! I can now sit and play a few songs with family and friends and can assure you, once you do this, there is no feeling like it. If I'd stuck at it all those years ago I might even be quite good smile

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • From: Chesapeake,VA
  • Registered: 2008-11-12
  • Posts: 332

Re: mind block?

Try this Mickey.  Spend next practice as follows.  First few minutes do a pentatonic scale type exercise to limber fingers.  Then 20-30 minutes focusing on RIGHT (picking) hand with the idea to increase right hand skills only.  Left hand either holds chord patterns while right picks individual arpeggios, or left hand holds individual strings and right hand works on attack and rhythm of single notes (or perhaps two notes).  Next, after left and right are now warmed up spend 30 minutes strumming improvisational three chord or four chord progressions... G, D, Em, C  or something along those lines.  Don't play any particular song, just wing it.  SO to recap:  Fret hand loosen up, Pick hand talent search, then improv.  Then don't play for two or three days and see if next time you pick it up see if your game is back on.

AccoustikNoyz's Website

  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
  • Unofficial king of Scotland
  • Offline
  • From: Balloch, Scotland, UK, Earth
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 3,290

Re: mind block?

my brain and fingers dont talk to each other after I drink a bottle of whisky, a few beers and a pint of milk. I was thinking of laying of the milk to see if that helps next time lol lol lol



Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

6 Reply by deadstring (edited by deadstring 2009-03-21 12:12:17)

  • From: Louisiana
  • Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 863

Re: mind block?

Micky, I can relate to this in another way. I ran heavy equipment for 27 years. On most days I could take your cap off of your head without touching you with a  rubber tired excavator capable of moving a ton of material at a time. Then for some reason a day would pop up when it was hard to hit the ground with the digging bucket.
    A lot of good info has been posted. Back up, take a deep breath and get after it. Don't quit.  AL

When the Power of Love overcomes The Love of Power the world will be a better place.

deadstring's Website

  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: mind block?

Hi, Micky,
My lifetime of guitar playing is a series of plateaus. Progress seems to stop and things fail to improve for a long while sometimes.
Then something happens to jumpstart my musical enthusiasm. It is inspiration or excitement about a great tune, a compliment from a valued source, a gig where we really smoke 'em - something that gets the juices flowing and it's on to a higher level or another plateau. Then it's time for a new music project.
There's a motivator coming at you from somewhere. Be ready. It could be a new love, being among a group of exciting players, a song that showcases something you do that works.
No need to quit when so many good things are possible ahead of you.
toots

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

tubatooter1940's Website

  • From: North East England
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 207

Re: mind block?

Thanks Chordians,

Am ready to chill wiv out a pill ...and get on following  your vices lol(minus the whiskey lol)

maybe am expecting too much in a short time?

thanks again   the mooch

cool Dont Stop Kid Keep Rockin'  !! cool