I only ever do the same things...how do I get better?

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  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    I had a year of lessons after playing for nearly 20. Took me three goes to find an instructor that suited though. You've got to find someone who plays the way you would like to otherwise there's no point. I was encouraged to play things I would never have attempted which forced me to modify my technique and my playing improved a lot. Might pick it up again soon
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169

    What do you suggest I do?
    I've stopped trying to "get better", I think it's like chasing a rainbow, and could even be negative by causing unnecessary stress.

    Instead I'm concentrating on doing what I enjoy - which is playing rock songs, ideally with other people - in the hope that getting better happens as a side effect.

    If it doesn't, I'm still having a good time!

    Context is perhaps relevant - I'm early 50s and been playing 2 years so I don't have the runway or available practice time (business, kids etc) to be the next EVH. It is what it is.


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  • Get yourself on YouTube and look up all the stuff that interests you and you would like to learn to play. Even if it is just a lick, learning something new keeps the fire going.
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  • BarneyBarney Frets: 614
    edited October 2018
    I think you have just answered your own question in the title ...repeating the same thing dosnt really do much ..it will get you better at the one thing but that's it ...try working on new material for a while .it will make you feel as though your getting worse at first but you will reap the benefits after a while ...
    I always think about practise as working on things I don't know ..it's the only way to improvement beyond what you do at the moment 

    Probably a good place to start is learn the 5 minor pentatonic shapes iff you don't already know them and start using them to improvise the same way as you would with the standard one most people use ..ie A minor 5th position 
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4941
    Reading the OP, it seems that the fun has gone out of his playing.  And if he will pardon me for saying so, his sense of direction is all over the place.  That situation is not very rare nor is it confined to playing guitar.

    I will use a parallel situation to make and explain my point:

    Thirty odd years ago I took up golf.  I am pretty seriously disabled but took to the game with gusto.  Lessons, practice - I did the lot.  Despite everything, new clubs etc., I was at best a hacker on the course.  Sometimes middling, most times awful.

    About five years ago I was on the point of giving up golf.  I found it hard to motivate myself to get out to play and I felt it was a waste paying an annual sub but only playing a few times each year.  So I spent some time thinking about golf.  And what it is that I enjoyed the most from the game.  The answer: I enjoyed the exercise and the fresh air also the company of like minded individuals for the few hours the round takes.  I enjoyed too the feeling of hitting a good shot and of racking up the odd par on the course.  What I also discovered in this 'think in' is that winning prizes or being considered a decent golfer by my companions, had absolutely no attraction or importance.  I reset my priorities accordingly and am now really enjoying golf again.  Playing without the added pressure of trying to make this putt or hit that fairway.  I realized too that I was very uptight and a bag of nerves before starting a round and only got to relax on the back nine.  The quest for greater distance from the tee has been compensated by the increased accuracy of a fairway wood.  My drivers and long irons all ended up in a charity shop.

    To put my golfing experiences into a guitar context, it is necessary for the OP to think about his playing and why he continues to play guitar.  The idea of getting better or improving is impossible to define let alone quantify.  Does 'better' mean faster???  A lot of us play for our own enjoyment but if you are not enjoying your playing, something is wrong.  In my experience of guitar playing and now bass too, a lot of enjoyment is to be had from playing music with a few friends.  Once every few weeks is enough.  We play a lot of old songs and standards, none too exacting or demanding, and have a laugh especially when something goes wrong!  These get-togethers give us a sense of focus, a goal even if it is only to learn the intro to something.  But most importantly it is fun.  Something that a player playing on his own to backing tracks loses out on.  You will learn more about music as a result and your guitar playing will improve.  And be fun.  Nothing wrong with that.


    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • @Rocker Thanks for the reply.

    You’ve inferred quite a lot from my initial post, but I’m afraid precisely all of it is wrong.

    Playing guitar is still very much fun for me, and my very first post defined exactly how I would see myself as being ‘better’ - know how to play more scales, in multiple positions; learn some more chords, and know enough theory to know why one particular scale will work when I improvise vs. why another won’t work.
    I don’t have a gambling problem, I’m winning, and winning is not a problem for me. That’s like saying that Iron Maiden have an awesomeness problem.
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  • RMJRMJ Frets: 1274
    Paul Davies is doing an interesting series on YouTube at the moment showing how he learns licks from people he is inspired by. Basically slows things right down and learns note for note what they play. He's an incredible player anyway, but he's learning new stuff. 

    I've been trying it too. I looked up Hah Joe covers on YouTube and just tried copying other people licks. It's an easy way to bust out of the same old stuff I always play.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10643
    @Rocker Thanks for the reply.

    You’ve inferred quite a lot from my initial post, but I’m afraid precisely all of it is wrong.

    Playing guitar is still very much fun for me, and my very first post defined exactly how I would see myself as being ‘better’ - know how to play more scales, in multiple positions; learn some more chords, and know enough theory to know why one particular scale will work when I improvise vs. why another won’t work.
    Have you tried my suggestion yet? It’s quite an ear-opener if you’re not used to it (and gives your fingers a new playground too)
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • @viz I’ve not tried it, but I have looked it up. It sounds a bit unpleasant to me.
    I don’t have a gambling problem, I’m winning, and winning is not a problem for me. That’s like saying that Iron Maiden have an awesomeness problem.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10643
    edited October 2018
    @viz I’ve not tried it, but I have looked it up. It sounds a bit unpleasant to me.
    It’s like stilton. It’s gross at first but once you get used to it it’s delicious. And you wanted to try something different, give it a go!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4941
    @Godlykepower, apologies my friend for reading things in your post that were not there.  Glad to hear that you are enjoying your guitar.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • Rocker said:
    @Godlykepower, apologies my friend for reading things in your post that were not there.  Glad to hear that you are enjoying your guitar.
    No need to apologise at all! Thank you for taking the time to reply!
    I don’t have a gambling problem, I’m winning, and winning is not a problem for me. That’s like saying that Iron Maiden have an awesomeness problem.
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  • antonyivantonyiv Frets: 300
    Chords:

    - CAGED
    - Major Triads
    - Major Triads + 7
    - Major Triads + 2
    - Major Triads + 6
    - Major Triads + 4
    - Minor Triads
    - Minor Triads + 7
    - Minor Triads + 2
    - Minor Triads + 6
    - Minor Triads + 4
    - Chords Inversions 

    Scales: 

    - Ionian mode
    - Aeolian mode
    - Mixolydian mode
    - 3nps - three notes per string system

    Here you go, you are set for at least a year.




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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    antonyiv said:
    Chords:

    - CAGED
    - Major Triads
    - Major Triads + 7
    - Major Triads + 2
    - Major Triads + 6
    - Major Triads + 4
    - Minor Triads
    - Minor Triads + 7
    - Minor Triads + 2
    - Minor Triads + 6
    - Minor Triads + 4
    - Chords Inversions 

    Scales: 

    - Ionian mode
    - Aeolian mode
    - Mixolydian mode
    - 3nps - three notes per string system

    Here you go, you are set for at least a year.




    that in a nutshell is why I'm perfectly happy cranking out Whole Lotta Love and Highway to Hell instead.

    each to their own of course, it's interesting how players look for different things from their learning experiences.
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  • close2uclose2u Frets: 997
    Justin Sandercoe has it all laid out in a comprehensive and structured way and most of his content, not all but most, is free.

    Justin's beginner course is not just for brand new players ... those that have played for a little while but with 'unstructured' learning can and have learned incredibly valuable skills and basic techniques that will be of massive benefit later. Work through the beginner course online - using the skills you have to fast track - but spend time on it and make sure you have all those techniques and don't cheat yourself by missing out on something fundamental for your skill-set.

    https://www.justinguitar.com/categories/1-beginner-guitar-course



    Then, practice songs ... learn songs learn songs learn songs ... lots of them. In different styles / genres as suggested already.

    https://www.justinguitar.com/songs



    Then make sure your strumming techniques are good with a lot of different patterns.


    https://www.justinguitar.com/categories/2-intermediate-foundations




    Then pick a style module.

    https://www.justinguitar.com/categories/3-intermediate-modules




    Then go advanced.


    https://www.justinguitar.com/categories/4-advanced-modules









    The better you are at the basics the better you will be so make sure you take your time to get things right. You may need to unlearn and relearn some ong-lived 'bad' habits.
    :)
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    As a largely self taught and limited guitarist I'll just say what ( some of ) the cleverer people have said - transcribe and/ or repertoire. 
    These can be as intimidating as you want them to be. Working out the three chords in a three chord song or an entire Vai instrumental or some happy point in-between. 

    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    viz said:
    @viz I’ve not tried it, but I have looked it up. It sounds a bit unpleasant to me.
    It’s like stilton. It’s gross at first but once you get used to it it’s delicious. And you wanted to try something different, give it a go!
    It also moves your bowels if you overdo it. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4941
    Simple does not always equate to Easy.

    Take the 12 bar blues for example. Chords are I, IV, V.  A7, D7, E7 in the key of A. Practice these so called simple chords until you really have them down. Play them in the dark just to confirm that you have them. Do the same for the other keys. Remember simple is not always easy. No guitarist was ever run off the stage for (correctly) playing simple chords or no bassist for playing (simple) root notes.  Walk before you try to run. Our (guitarists) problem is that we want to sprint before we have learned to jog. This applies to any skill you might need.....
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • mrkbmrkb Frets: 6635
    antonyiv said:
    Chords:

    - CAGED
    - Major Triads
    - Major Triads + 7
    - Major Triads + 2
    - Major Triads + 6
    - Major Triads + 4
    - Minor Triads
    - Minor Triads + 7
    - Minor Triads + 2
    - Minor Triads + 6
    - Minor Triads + 4
    - Chords Inversions 

    Scales: 

    - Ionian mode
    - Aeolian mode
    - Mixolydian mode
    - 3nps - three notes per string system

    Here you go, you are set for at least a year.

    Nah, sus2 and sus4 are all you need to rock it up.
    Karma......
    Ebay mark7777_1
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  • @close2u Thank you for that, my friend! I saw this site years ago, but couldn’t remember the name!
    I don’t have a gambling problem, I’m winning, and winning is not a problem for me. That’s like saying that Iron Maiden have an awesomeness problem.
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