Practice - sudden loss of 10% to 15% of ability , what’s going on ? Do you get this

hollywoodrox

Hi  I practice 2 hours every day in timed segments of 10 /18 or 20 minutes for each lick /piece /whatever I am working on.  I have been practicing consecutively for 69 days today (Covid jab sickness for 2 days ruined a better run) .

today I noticed a downturn  in ability accuracy and speed in a few pieces /licks which led to a detriment of 10 to 15% loss of progress ,speed in some pieces .

the stuff I’m working on is not what would be considered shred. Just some of the faster /trickier Slash licks in various Solo’s Or licks like them , that give me trouble .

I practice these pieces against examples that are slowed down  and Also use a metronome to isolate some areas that prove demanding .

overall I’m still better than I was a week or probably a fortnight ago ,looking at my records (daily diary with notes )  and I am more or less managing to stay detached from these negative results , trying not to see it as a competition with myself (the book “the practicing mind) Thomas M sterner ) 

I have resolved to slow down the speed for my problem areas tomorrow and work on accuracy /clean playing . 

Although I can see the trap I’m falling into of judging my outcome on past days progress , it can be a bit  of a let down to see a sudden dip in your results ,especially after a few previous days  gains.

I know this all seems rather clinical but I have a goal to be able to play the stuff I really want to play to a gigging level ,instead of settling for easier stuff . I am much better than I used to be  but still falling short , but am hoping if I keep this up for a few years  I may be able to achieve my goals or even exceed them .  I would like one day to be nearly up to the level of @fastonebaz  and other players on here .

 I am hoping that now being over 50 will not impede my progress , but from what I’ve seen in sustained consecutive practice it is possible to make vast improvements in the last 69 days .

as an aside I have slipped into a habit the last 4 or 5 days of going to bed quite late instead of my usual early to bed routine , this may have taken its toll , especially reading the iPad when going to bed ,which I had previously got out the habit of .

anyway , who else has recently or in the past experienced this disconcerting dip in ability .

hope this was the right place to post this . It’s kinda to do with technique 

Rocker

Progress is not always a straight line graph.  It can be more like the steps of a stairs, sometimes it takes a bit of time to reach the next step.  There are times when you seem to have stepped down rather than up.

fastonebaz

 I'm sure you're already super talented!  As Steve Vai once said,  exaggerate your strengths,  don't dwell on your weaknesses.   I discovered I found tapping easy but synchronised shred picking hard. So most of my solos have tapping in  

I do find that progress is like steps and it feels like I plateau for a while and then suddenly there's a marked improvement. 

Also find that taking a break for a few days helps progress aswell.

Apparently EVH hated that guitar players turned out into a competitive sport rather than emotional portrayal of feeling.  

If it makes you feel good,  it's good.   

hollywoodrox

fastonebaz said:

 I'm sure you're already super talented!  As Steve Vai once said,  exaggerate your strengths,  don't dwell on your weaknesses.   I discovered I found tapping easy but synchronised shred picking hard. So most of my solos have tapping in  

I do find that progress is like steps and it feels like I plateau for a while and then suddenly there's a marked improvement. 

Also find that taking a break for a few days helps progress aswell.

Apparently EVH hated that guitar players turned out into a competitive sport rather than emotional portrayal of feeling.  

If it makes you feel good,  it's good.   

Ive heard Steve vai say that and read it too, yes your tapping is ace , it’s a cool technique 
Your beautiful trauma band looks loads of fun ,and the new one 

fastonebaz

Ah cheers bro, can't wait to get back out there.

Keep practising. 

Practice playing whilst standing up to I find that's important. 

Barney

I think sometimes the better our ears get the worse we sound ...your ears are probs getting better plus sometimes we have days where we can't be bothered basically ....even doing the 2 hours iff we are not really into it it's not as good as iff we are .....

poopot

Different days innit!

some days you’ll be on point, other days you won’t…

don’t judge yourself day by day… look back at where you were six months ago… in six months time look back at where you are today!…

more importantly… just enjoy what you are doing!…

digitalkettle

poopot said:

...some days you’ll be on point, other days you won’t…

Or your guitar will/won't!

poopot said:

...don’t judge yourself day by day… look back at where you were six months ago… in six months time look back at where you are today!…

One could keep a diary/practice log to maintain a perspective on this (no, me neither ).

smigeon

Yeah, get to bed earlier and don’t take the iPad. Seriously.

hollywoodrox

digitalkettle said:

poopot said:

...some days you’ll be on point, other days you won’t…

Or your guitar will/won't!

poopot said:

...don’t judge yourself day by day… look back at where you were six months ago… in six months time look back at where you are today!…

One could keep a diary/practice log to maintain a perspective on this (no, me neither ).

I’ve been keeping one it’s really useful 

hollywoodrox

smigeon said:

Yeah, get to bed earlier and don’t take the iPad. Seriously.

This is very true , look up the phrase dopamine detox  on google or YouTube  pertaining to 
 how we get hots of mind altering chemicals from  looking up,interacting on the net  which can leave us jaded 

UnclePsychosis

Usain Bolt ran 9.58 once, but that doesn't mean he could run 9.58 every single day. 

Complex physical skills are always a bit variable day to day. Some days you're on point, others you aren't. The trick is to get good enough at the skill that your "bad days" are better than the minimum standard you need to perform. 

Stick at it, you'll get there.