Aside from the obvious physical maladies that come with age, what are some of the things that can affect your playing in a negative way? The reason I ask is I play out two nights a week, roughly 8 -10 gigs a month. I have been playing guitar for around 30 years. I am 43 now. It just seems like I was a much better guitarists 5 years ago. Has anyone experienced this? It is just headspace or what? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Remember! It is the indian, not the arrow! Although the arrow can help.
Huuumm..., well I feel like I'm a better player now than 5 years ago. Not dramatically better, but I constantly strive to learn more a become a more dynamic player all the time.
I seem to not worry as much about flashyness as I age (41).
One thing that does affect my playing more now than some years ago is lesser musicians. I have just gotten to where I have no desire to perform with "not so good players" anymore...just don't have the patients I guess?
Off bass players or non-dynamic drummers seem to really aggrevate me these days as opposed to years ago.
Of course I don't party like I once did so......?
In what way(s) do you feel like your playing has slipped, bignote?
Perhaps your playing is the same but your expectations/perceptions have changed?
s'all goof.
Well, maybe it is more my perception than my actual playing. I have been thinking about this for a couple of months now. I live on Okinawa and the scene is pretty small. I want my playing to be the best it can be, and the band should be the best they can be as well. That said, there are still only a handful of players and places to play. I almost feel like what is the use sometimes...Player's crisis maybe. I just feel like I am in a funk. I can go out and watch other bands, always get asked to sit in. I just can't put my finger on it, just something missing. It is hard to define I guess. Even more so when I ramble in the post.
Remember! It is the indian, not the arrow! Although the arrow can help.
It sounds like you are suffering from SOSOS (Same Old Same Old Syndrome), a well-document guitarist ailment. The scene in which you find yourself is not inspiring for you. My suggestion would be to take it upon yourself to learn a style you don't normally play, something that perhaps has always interested you and would be a challenge. Whatever you pick - fingerstyle jazz, Chet Atkins, acoustic ragtime, classical, Brazilian, etc. - will make your brain and your fingers work, and it will push you out of that rut.Originally Posted by bignote
And even if you should remain somewhat depressed, you will at least have a bunch of new chops with which to express it.
"The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."
At 46 I'm playing better than ever in some respects (I know how to do more and how to do less) and I'm not as good in other respects (arthritis and carpal tunnel have slowed me down a bit).
I'm aging and adapting (and going to a specialist at the end of the month for the arthritis and ct).
i'm in the same boat.
on the one hand, my performance has improved dramatically over the past few years because i've been playing with the same guys and we do our thing. we're always adding new songs, and that certainly helps to keep things interesting but it is very regimented and tight.
on the other hand, i have trouble being spontaneous these days and if the chops aren't in a song i currently play, then i don't have them. i used to have some really good chops but a lack of blues, funk, swing and just plain old jammin' has found me way out of practice and feeling a bit stale these days.
I hear ya.
I listen to recordings of my playing from age 17 (I'm 45) and I wonder where all of my "piss n' vinegar" went.
Maybe I had way more 'expendable' energy.On the other hand, the more economical way that I play now has more feel, tone and experience.
Besides arthritis and having little kids running around, the things that seem to impede any real 'progress' are boredom and too many distractions.!!
"If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards
Funny you should say that. I've been feeling exactly the same. I think part of it is that after you get tight with a band the jam-style stuff just doesn't do the same for you as it did before you took the advice of Archie Bell and the Drells.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Practice, practice, practice.
CT.
beer
I am near 60 and I have had a lot of ups and downs in my playing and my perception of my playing. Doc W gave some great advice as well as nothing ever stays the same, patience my friend.
Being drunk off my a**!
I think I'm better at that point, but it's a really bad plan.
I shoot myself in the foot by not being disciplined enough.
I know I would be much better if I was out there playing in a band.
I ought to just find something and go with it!
I guess alot of it has to do with finding out and admitting to yourself who and what you are as a player. I have diddled with being a singer songwriter guy for a time. But I guess I am most at home with a tele in front of a deluxe or some other animal just playing blues rock stuff. I do agree that I should try and actually study a different style and incorporate it into some of my playing. Plus maybe a little more beer so I take myself a little less seriously. Thanks for all the input ya'll
Remember! It is the indian, not the arrow! Although the arrow can help.
Being challenged is what makes you a better player. Learn new material, play with some new folks, dissect a favorite solo, work on some harmonized melodic stuff.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Sometimes just a change in string gauge can help your playing.
I remember the first time I went to .011s----it inhibited my ability to do some things (like bending),but forced me to play more linear and see different paths of expression.Instead of staying in a box,I started reaching outside.
Playing a different guitar helps me too...........when I went from full time Gibsons to playing Fenders most of the time,it was challenging.Some of the old stuff didn't work---but until I made it work,I discovered new ideas.
Doing a trio will work you differently,as will playing in a larger band where you lay back more.
"My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
PS. 73:26
MY JAMS--
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music
Yes, I recently played my first gig using no overdrive for my solos. 3 hours, all clean, and I was the only guitar player.
It made me quite uncomfortable at first, but halfway in I felt I was playing new stuff and playing better than ever.
I'm still nor commited enough to play wirth a working band, but tossing the effects has had a very positive effect.
Plus tuning the radio to some music I never would normally listen to, like R&B (old stuff), pop, cool jazz.
I find my phrasing improves greatly to the point of playing the old classic rock tunes differently.
I hocked pretty much all my effects, I use an OD occasionally and a wah pedal, but for the last year and a half now I just plug straight in and go! I dunno, I just feel that with less stuff goin' on I force myself to play cleaner, maybe its a "placebo", but I feel it works for me.
RIP Lacey Cat 1992-2009
It varies from player to player.
When I start tofeel a little stale in my playing,I focus AWAY from solos,and concentrate on rhythm and FEWER notes.Fewer notes,MORE feel.There is a TON of music in the spaces.I also try to grab one of my guitars that is a challenge to play,and give it all I have.You can discover alot of new stuff that way.
"My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
PS. 73:26
MY JAMS--
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music
i find that my band skills improve most during times of boredom. sometimes it's a result of planting my parts firmly in the groove and working it out with the bass and drums as we go. this can be a little stale but to the average listener it sounds really good even if i'm not as excited about it. so i try to be on the lookout for this condition and if the music isn't all that intersting i'll focus on creating a smooth, solid groove. i read somewhere that "if you're bored, you're not groovin" and i think there's a lot of merit to that statement. these are the times when i try to focus on my sound and presence in the band. it's not all about me!
+1It varies from player to player.
When I start tofeel a little stale in my playing,I focus AWAY from solos,and concentrate on rhythm and FEWER notes.Fewer notes,MORE feel.There is a TON of music in the spaces.I also try to grab one of my guitars that is a challenge to play,and give it all I have.You can discover alot of new stuff that way.
I can not play as well as I could years ago, and I'm OK with that (for now at least).
I focus on being a better musician rather than a better guitarist.
Mark
Being close to sixty I also do have physical draw backs that have made some phrasing harder to pull off.
Listen to other instruments and think about how those approaches can be applied to guitar...
Good thread revival, and a great point.
I have an ancient Guitar Player book...a big one, tucked
in a Davy Jones locker somewhere.
But many players from Tal Farlow to Joe Walsh recommended listening to Big Band horns, jazz trumpets...for phrasing.
Just 5 minutes ago I was chillin' on the deck playing with just my fingers (no pick). Clean tone...kind of like Beck.
The lack of ability playing that way allows for that kind of phrasing.
Like taking a breath between notes.
Found myself doing some tunes I hadn't thought about in a very long time...like a dip in a cool springwater creek.
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