I’ve been playing guitar for a long time and I can handle playing scales and spider exercises at a good tempo. But, whenever I try to play an actual song, I find it really hard to play cleanly on a consistent basis. When I pick up something that I think is my skill level, I can often (with practice and going slowly) get through it, but if I were to play it ten times, most of those times I’m making mistakes or not playing in accurate time.
I’ve decided that I probably need to focus more on learning some actual licks and songs for a while and I started with Slow Dancing in a Burning Room as something that would be a good challenge. I can sorta get through the intro, but most of the time I’m making some very noticeable mistakes. (There’s a video in my Learning Log.)
I am wondering if I should do a reset. I think when I look at Justin’s videos, I’m probably at around a Grade 4—maybe 5. But those are the kinds of songs that I can maybe get through by the skin of my teeth. Should I spend some time with the Grade 3 (or lower) songs I like and work on getting them really perfect, or should I keep pushing hard and not necessarily playing things all that well? I am worried that I am just accumulating bad habits with my sloppiness.
I think you already know the answer but maybe hope we’ll say something else! I think based on what you say you have to slow it down and tidy up. Pushing on from where you are is just adding another floor to a house built on wobbly foundations.
The thing is while this might be discouraging, in my experience, if you slow it down, play it repeatedly and gradually dial the speed back up 1% at a time, then it’s not the big backwards step you might think - it can come good pretty quickly.
It doesn’t have to be perfect every time, we are human and we are learning, but there shouldn’t be mistakes every time and it shouldn’t sound rushed. Don’t obsess over grade numbers, they don’t matter.
The other thing is that playing along in time to a song is a skill in itself - so don’t underestimate that. Not only is your brain having to cope with the actions of your left and right hands being co-ordinated with other, it’s got to do it in time with a song. Playing scales and spider exercises are useful but playing in time with a song is an extra layer, even if you’re used to playing with a metronome click because you’ve got to lock into the rhythm of the song. Again, it’s just practice, but start to learn it with the simpler songs or you’ll have a real hard and frustrating time
I think Matt is spot on. My wife plays piano. She said to me, every time you introduce a new thing, such as a metronome, your brain has to adjust to that. She said never introduce more than one new thing at a time.
The key here for me would be to find out EXACTLY what mistakes you are consistently making.
Eg. Is it on a string change for lead, or a position shift,; perhaps going from a major to a minor chord, or a transition section of a song. Are you perhaps losing the beat after a period of time? Is your fretting hand losing its form as a song unfolds. Are all your chord forms solid? Etc, etc.
Filming yourself is the only real way to find out the above.
Once identified, isolate these ’ problem’ skills. These then become your practice items in your practice sessions, which is all about solving these types of problems.
Thanks Matt. I think I am going to spend some time with some songs that are a bit less challenging and try to focus on making sure I can play them very cleanly. Fortunately there are a lot of songs I love on this site in the Level 2—3 space. I think I just get impatient. There are some songs that would probably come at a higher grade but you’re right—the grade doesn’t matter; it’s the skills I learn along the way. Something like “Slow Dancing,” I don’t think playing it slower even helps much as it just feels like my fingers are in the way and I get into panic mode. Maybe slowing down a little and building more confidence will help me come back to it fresh later.
Oh this is a big problem because it feels like everything! I recorded myself playing Slow Dancing and everything looks wrong. My hand position defaults to the way I’d pluck the strings on my bass, and when I move my fretting hand, it’s all over the place—not smooth or precise but jerky like I’m in a panic. I can look at that song and I can tell you all of the CAGED shapes it uses and I know where everything should go, but it’s like my hands and brain aren’t working together the way they should.
If there’s songs you enjoy at the lower grades then that’s even better. I never spend time on songs I don’t enjoy.
When I have something like a riff that requires my fingers to move in a specific pattern, at first I don’t even try and play it in time, I just work out which finger is next and where it needs to go. Once my fingers understand the sequence I can then focus on making it musical! In the long run I find this quicker than just trying and failing to play the thing quickly from the off. I also try to make sure I can play it slowly without looking at my fingers.
Justin’s strumming SOS course could help with getting your strumming on autopilot. It’s a paid course, but worth the expense.
Leave the song aside for a while and focus on easier songs that allow you to develop the skills you need.
And actually number 3: cut it up in small chunks, even to just one bar if necessary, and slow it way down. Practice those (very) small parts separately, first very slowly, then gradually speeding up when you get the hang of it. After that, slow down again and start stringing the different parts together, maybe just adding one bar to the part you have mastered.
Having watched your learning log video, I’d make two initial observations.
Firstly you seem like you’re perched on the edge of a bed with your leg in an almost crossed position - is that how you normally play? You might want to find a better position / chair.
Secondly, you are trying to play this too quickly and rushing it. Listen to John’s recording - it’s slower and more relaxed. Let it breathe.
You’ve got some great advice already. If it were me, I would slow it right down, put on a metronome, and work on one passage at a time (just one bar, or a few notes) - that would allow you to isolate any mistakes and fix them as Shane suggests.
Ditch the song altogether for the moment, until you have gain increased competency in the various skillsets required for the song, or
Designate the song as a ‘Dreamer’ ( using Justin’s terminology) and chip away at it slowly over time, but in a targetted way. Eg. Just concentrate on the intro or verse first , and do the LIE method on just that.
Then you have 2 options