https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 22:06:14 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386589 Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:39:20 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Kister91 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386589 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386221 Sun, 21 Jun 2015 21:59:42 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion bluetransam838 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386221 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386003 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:32:55 +0000
Most "Naturally talented" children tend to burn out by the time they're 20; the School system doesn't teach about handling the pressures of staying at the top of the game.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Alan Green https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386003 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386001 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 07:38:18 +0000
There are 2 things that will make you succeed - Talent and Skill. Talent naturally comes within you. Skill, on the other hand, requires you to spend hours in beating your craft.

So if you have a natural talent in playing guitar, then it's easier for you to pick it up. But if you don't have one, it's still achievable through spending lots of time in practicing your guitar.

So what does this mean to you? If you think that you don't have the natural talent, then keep practicing, and you will eventually get there. :)]]> Guitar Players Discussion fanomar https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/paged/2/#post-386001 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385832 Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:54:50 +0000
So playing chord change progressions and limping along will retard your progress. Try slowing down until it sounds correct and then while practicing, increase the tempo, working back and forth between slower and faster tempo. At some point, in order to play the chord progression at the correct tempo, you may want to practice it faster than the correct tempo and then eventually the correct tempo won't seem like it is too difficult anymore.

Another muscle memory trick is alternating the above technique with the closing your eyes technique and practicing blind. Slow down and listen to the pace where the sound quality is best, no matter how slow, and then repeat that pace for a pre-specified amount of time - say 2 minutes or whatever seems a little too long. Do it every day, at least once to as many times as you have time to practice with some rest time in between. As you get better and it gets easier, bump up the pace, and if it begins to sound not perfect, slow it back down. Repeat.

The next level of muscle memory training combines doing two things at the same time in preparation for playing and singing without actually playing and singing at the same time. I came across this technique decades ago when I first started listening to music while skiing. I found out rather quickly that it is incredibly easy to get going way-too-fast while skiing when you first begin listening to music at the same time. All the sound your skis make that correlates with going fast are gone and replaced with music. So, all the speed corrections you make in light of those fast skiing noises are missing too. After having several (painful) going way-too-fast crashes, I began paying more attention to the input coming from my legs to gauge how fast I was going. in other words, I was retraining my brain to do 2 things at once and improving the one that, without such remedial skill instruction, would be more painful. I had to learn to disassociate listening to the music from paying attention to my legs' input.

So, for this level of muscle memory training (that doesn't involve the falling pain of skiing) practice your chord progressions while watching TV (if you watch TV). It will teach your brain to pay just enough attention by letting your muscle memory be in charge of the chord changes while the brain can focus on the dialog of what you are watching on television. This form of cross training is not for everyone and it can be incredibly annoying if you are watching a program with someone else who is trying to listen to the TV while you are going through the same chord progression over and over.

If you don't watch TV (or even if you do and want a cross training change-up) you can also cross train by changing your body position, what ever you normally do, change it. If you normally sit while playing, stand up. If you normally sit on a chair while playing guitar, try sitting on a stool. When standing, vary your standing posture or how your guitar hangs on your torso. Change it while you are playing while trying to keep the chord progression at a constant quality and tempo. You will find that some things will just not work at all while others seem to have little effect on your playing quality and tempo. You'll also find that this cross-training activity can help prepare you for some aspects of stage craft - how to move around on stage and make it look ok while you are not feeling uncomfortable doing it.

These cross training methods will help you learn to actively disassociate what you are doing with your guitar while passively allowing your muscle memory to develop and take over some of the spatial control that doesn't really need our full attention after a certain degree of proficiency is achieved. A good analogy here is learning to drive a car. Over time, much of what initially seemed moderately overwhelming becomes increasingly less so. Also, I'd suggest this cross training being done in addition to, and not in in lieu of, regular practice time.

Good luck and best regards,
Steve]]> Guitar Players Discussion llamaslider https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385832 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385800 Sat, 07 Feb 2015 03:53:09 +0000
Whether you become a talented player is something you won't find out until you get past the technical hurdles.

It takes a child a long time to learn how to write. But everyone who learns how to write doesn't have the talent to become a good author. Without learning how to write first, the rules, the grammar, the devices, you will never know if you have the talent to become a great author.

So my advice is to not worry about it, just practice, and see where it takes you. If you have the luxury of having a good teacher, you will probably learn much faster.

Insights and incites by Notes]]> Guitar Players Discussion notes_norton https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385800 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385786 Mon, 02 Feb 2015 22:26:04 +0000
The one thing I think you do need... and i am really not sure how to fix it - or if it can be fixed is a bad sense of time. If your time is bad... not many people can overcome that. You can still play and enjoy the journey and all that. But as far as becoming a monster player, you may need to adjust the bar a bit.]]> Guitar Players Discussion jerrycasemusic https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385786 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385648 Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:22:32 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Bruceye https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385648 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385419 Sun, 28 Sep 2014 05:08:07 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Cat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385419 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385418 Sun, 28 Sep 2014 01:29:08 +0000
Learning anything - not just music - is really about problem solving. And solving a problem starts with making sure you're asking the right question.

You say you're struggling with chords... all chords? Some chords? Is there some common flaw - a string that always seems off? A finger that never seems to find its place? "I'm no good at chords" is a generalization, and you want a specific problem, like: every time I fret Am, the third string sounds dead.

Next you observe - watching your fingers closely, as Alan suggested. Are you landing on top of the fret instead of behind it? Is some other part of your hand getting in the way?

Then you have awareness of what's wrong, and you come up with a drill to work on it. Go SLOWLY - you're trying to do it right every time, so you form a habit of doing it right.

Then you move on to the next problem. And there's always a next problem - in one practice session this past week I spent 20 minutes playing just two measures of music, over and over. I probably played the same 8 beats a couple of hundred times. Habits don't form quickly, and problem habits take even longer to break.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/can-it-be-a-mental-thing/#post-385418