Showing posts with label improve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label improve. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Want to Improve Your Playing Be a Positive Thinker
Sending negative messages to yourself.
It never fails to amaze me how many students start off a song with a phrase like "this is the one I always screw up." Or, "I just cant get that part to sound right." Theyll then proceed to experience the self-fulfilling prophecy and screw the song up or complain, "see, that part doesnt sound right."
What causes these problems?
In many cases its not lack of practice, but lack of confidence. Do negative thoughts or statements instill confidence? Absolutely not. How do you develop the ability to play confidently? Start off by listening to yourself play the song. Isolate the trouble spots, and concentrate on smoothing them out. If you continue to think a part doesnt sound right, listen to a recording of it. Dont try to play along at first, just listen several times so you know exactly what it sounds like. When you can hum it or sing it, then go back and fix your mistakes.
Theres plenty of help available, do some research.
With You Tube videos, guitar teacher websites, recordings, and all types of instructional material available, theres really no reason to struggle on your own. Find a guitar teacher, watch videos of the song youre trying to play, or any combination of those.
Change your attitude and your outlook.
Ive talked a little about this in other posts, but it bears repeating. Think positive thoughts, focus on what youre playing, and try to improve each time you play. Practicing the parts you already do well doesnt help. Work through the difficult passages, playing them slowly at first, then build up the parts around them. I tell my students to work on the hard part, then add a measure or two that lead into that part, and then on the measure or two after it.
It never fails to amaze me how many students start off a song with a phrase like "this is the one I always screw up." Or, "I just cant get that part to sound right." Theyll then proceed to experience the self-fulfilling prophecy and screw the song up or complain, "see, that part doesnt sound right."
What causes these problems?
In many cases its not lack of practice, but lack of confidence. Do negative thoughts or statements instill confidence? Absolutely not. How do you develop the ability to play confidently? Start off by listening to yourself play the song. Isolate the trouble spots, and concentrate on smoothing them out. If you continue to think a part doesnt sound right, listen to a recording of it. Dont try to play along at first, just listen several times so you know exactly what it sounds like. When you can hum it or sing it, then go back and fix your mistakes.
Theres plenty of help available, do some research.
With You Tube videos, guitar teacher websites, recordings, and all types of instructional material available, theres really no reason to struggle on your own. Find a guitar teacher, watch videos of the song youre trying to play, or any combination of those.
Change your attitude and your outlook.
Ive talked a little about this in other posts, but it bears repeating. Think positive thoughts, focus on what youre playing, and try to improve each time you play. Practicing the parts you already do well doesnt help. Work through the difficult passages, playing them slowly at first, then build up the parts around them. I tell my students to work on the hard part, then add a measure or two that lead into that part, and then on the measure or two after it.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Pay Attention to Details and Improve Your Sound
Make your music more musical.
What makes a great guitar player sound that way? Attention to detail. No strings buzzing, no squeaks, no deadened strings, playing clean, clear notes. Its things like that you need to listen for. Whats the best way to hear them? Record yourself. Recordings dont lie, they pick up every sound good or bad. When the strings buzz you need to push harder or play closer to the frets. A deadened string is almost always caused by something being in the way. Keep your fingernails short, push up your sleeves and arch your fingers so they dont bump into the other strings.
Listen closely to the recording and youll hear the trouble spots.
A lot of times we get so intent on playing that we dont hear ourselves. Ive had to tell students to listen to their playing and gotten blank stares in return. You need to hear what you sound like before you can fix the bad spots. Once you pick them out, then you grab your guitar and start slowly and methodically making the song sound better.
Attitude means a lot.
Once you find the phrases that need work, practice them slowly and build up speed so you can play them with confidence. Saying to yourself: "here comes the part I always screw up" becomes a reality. I hear lots of negativity during lessons and it will definitely affect the students performance. A positive attitude can make a big difference in helping you progress.
Put it all together, practice it and try again.
After youve eliminated the rough notes, cleaned up the chords and corrected the timing, record yourself again. If youve followed through and worked hard at improving your sound, the results should make you very happy. If not, repeat the above steps.
What makes a great guitar player sound that way? Attention to detail. No strings buzzing, no squeaks, no deadened strings, playing clean, clear notes. Its things like that you need to listen for. Whats the best way to hear them? Record yourself. Recordings dont lie, they pick up every sound good or bad. When the strings buzz you need to push harder or play closer to the frets. A deadened string is almost always caused by something being in the way. Keep your fingernails short, push up your sleeves and arch your fingers so they dont bump into the other strings.
Listen closely to the recording and youll hear the trouble spots.
A lot of times we get so intent on playing that we dont hear ourselves. Ive had to tell students to listen to their playing and gotten blank stares in return. You need to hear what you sound like before you can fix the bad spots. Once you pick them out, then you grab your guitar and start slowly and methodically making the song sound better.
Attitude means a lot.
Once you find the phrases that need work, practice them slowly and build up speed so you can play them with confidence. Saying to yourself: "here comes the part I always screw up" becomes a reality. I hear lots of negativity during lessons and it will definitely affect the students performance. A positive attitude can make a big difference in helping you progress.
Put it all together, practice it and try again.
After youve eliminated the rough notes, cleaned up the chords and corrected the timing, record yourself again. If youve followed through and worked hard at improving your sound, the results should make you very happy. If not, repeat the above steps.
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