Stop Noodling! - Guitar Players Discussion

RE: Stop Noodling!

dogbite — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:13:59 +0000

noodling has its moments.
I did something that put an end to meaningless noodling. I put myself out beyond my comfort zone.
I volunteered to be a backup guitarist in a band backing pedal steelers at a showcase.
I was given charts by several players to learn. you know...words and chords.
I had to stop my habits and learn new stuff.
sure , they were easy chords..cowboy chords like Gso get outside your zone.
you will find yourself thinking. and thinking fast.
and actually getting excited and energized about playing all over again.

RE: Stop Noodling!

muddy — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:06:50 +0000

something that helps me when i am against that proverbial wall is a mixture of educating and challenging myself whilst pulling out the style in which i posess..
example.. i had a problem with putting hooks in my music inbetween the chordal changes.. so i picked a topic which was prevalent in my life at the time, noodled with chords for a bit while thinking of the topic.. found a sound i liked.. put in a few spoken word lines in then a few hooks of fills in between the chords.. rinse and repeat eventually i had a song that came from me.. had the hooks i needed to practice between the chords.. i wanted to work on that song it was in my mind all day at work the words the chords the timing... the fills.. and soon enuff i could add those fill lines.. i could hear myself getting better and the determination of creation and creativity got me to learn to listen, and to jump off the plateau....
I for myself need to push my abilities by engauging in the act.. i cannot work out in a gym. i need to play a sport... i cannot run on a track i need to bound through the woods... i cannot practice a scale i need to utilise that scale to create music.

RE: Stop Noodling!

cnev — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:11:32 +0000

Mike - I think Arjen had some good advice try one chord/one fill kind of thing and see how that goes. I wouldn't be too frustrated in what you're doing as it will take time to get that transitioning back and forth between fills and chords. That's part of the more phsical aspect of playing. That's one reason my teacher has me going up the scales in eighth, sixteenth notes etc. One thing you might try is play to some blues backing tracks. Start with a fairly slow blues track and get the rhythm down then start throwing in a few short fills here and there. If the song is slow enough it should give you time to get back to the chord without missing a beat. Then you can slowly start playing songs with a faster tempo. But reading all your posts over the last year I'd say your doing pretty well. You're going through the same thing everyone does, but it'll pass and you'll have your next breakthrough and pretty soon you'll be stuck again and so on and so on.

Pearl - I kind of disagree with your logic about noodling. If you were noodling around to get an idea for writing a song or working out a chord progression for a song then I'd say it was something you need to do. But noodling around with powerchords that you already know...I don't see a value to that..at least in terms of progressing your playing. Plus if you aren't pushing yourself to learn new things you won't ever progress.

I'm not saying don't noodle because everyone does it, I'm just saying if you sit down with the intent of it being a practice then I'd say leave the noodling for another time.

RE: Stop Noodling!

pearlthekat — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 05:44:08 +0000

just have fun and don't worry about it. OH I am having fun..I just don't want my progress to stop. This past year has been amazing for me when it comes to guitar. Fifteen years ago when I bought my first acoustic I never dreamed of being able to do anything but strum a few chords. So in the closet it went. Now I am amazed everytime I walk into my living room and see all my gear and know I can pick up the guitar and at least make it sound like something.

Like I mentioned in my original post...part of this was just ot vent. I hit one of those sticking points and had no one to express it to. Then came the curiosity if any of you felt like I am. I just need to start putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. One skill I have as a teacher is the ability to break a skill down into its parts. That's how I have been learning the guitar..one piece at a time. After one year I feel it's time to assemble the puzzle. As all of you know this is the hard part (well I hope at least SOME of you know what I mean! :wink: )
I know what you mean about assembling the puzzle. I've been trying to put it together for a while now. but again, that's where noodling comes into it.

what's hard is having limited time for putting what you know together in your own way, practicing the old stuff so you won't forget it, getting better at old skills and progressing to learn new skills. i think most people solve the dilemma the way you are--forgetting about practicing for a limited amount of time and noodling around, then going back to the practice routine. i think the only other solution is to starve.

RE: Stop Noodling!

simon@home.co.uk — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:38:30 +0000

True but I have to LEARN the scale first which means playing the scale up and down until it is familiar. Well no, there is a much more enjoyable and (for me at least) more effective way of learning a scale.

You have to put the scale in your short term memory first - Just go up n down the shape and remember it, visualizing it etc. so that you can remember it just for now. This should only take one minute or so.
Then you imbed in it in your long term memory by improvising around it for good while, trying lots of different ideas and getting used to the sound.

I find it much much easier to remember a scale this way, then simpley going up n down it.

RE: Stop Noodling!

PRNDL — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:17:24 +0000

Here are a few things to ponder over.

Have you considered that at your level, any sort of "beginner" exercise would seem boring and repitiious to you?

Have you noticed that many people consider rock/metal solos to be "outdated", and many modern musicians refuse to play them (when they write new songs)?

Have you noticed that your creativity is engaged when you are having fun (i.e. power chord riffs)?

IMHO, creativity should be your primary focus at this point in your development as a musician. The challenge is two-fold. To find your "inner musician" and to develop your own musical style of expression. This is not an easy task.

We do have some examples, such as Satriani (a former guitar teacher himself) and Eric Johnson, who said that after a few lessons with SRV his music changed from black and white to color. There's tons more, but those came to mind first.

Creativity usually involves playing something familiar/old/boring in a new way.
This was used very successfully by Kurt Cobain, who defined a new musical style.

From the perspective of creativity, chords and scales become extremely important because they are the backbone of music.
The challenge is to see them differently.

There is a Buddhist saying ... "Before enlightenment, carry wood and wash dishes. After enlightenment, carry wood and wash dishes."

This refers to the chores in a meditation center, which involve carrying wood for the fire and washing dishes.

For guitarists, "Before enlightenment, practice scales and chords. After enlightenment, practice scales and chords."

RE: Stop Noodling!

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:06:34 +0000

RE: Stop Noodling!

pearlthekat — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:58:25 +0000

just have fun and don't worry about it.

RE: Stop Noodling!

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:54:42 +0000

I honestly don't see what the problem is. Noodling around is not only fun but creative as well. What's the sense of doing all the practicing if you can't noodle around integrating the things you have already practiced in your own way? How can you come up with your own style if not for the noodling? True but the idea is to get the right combination of noodling AND practice. I totally understand that the importance of both. It's just lately the "practice" is well....boring :roll: ! I just need to find that "something" to spark me again. I don't mind spending a day or 2 just noodling. I have been working very hard on practice lately so I know I need a "working break" (meaning still playing just not formal practice) but I know it's time to get back to "work" (and I use that term loosely here).

I have to go to the laundrymat tomorrow morning so I might just take my 12 string with me (I haven't touched the acoustic in a week or 2) and work on strumming patterns and combining various patterns...just to get away from what I have been doing. Maybe that will spark something.

RE: Stop Noodling!

pearlthekat — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:46:26 +0000