Fluffing my notes ?

Jimbo55

Hi all, forever beginner here, need to practice much more ....
Why do I fluff so many notes when I try to solo, more often when playing with others ...I seem to get to the correct fret positions but then many muffled notes - I know. like many. that maybe I am rushing to get there, in panic possibly.
Even worse when I say slide up on two strings (not adjacent ones) to pick each one after other.
Maybe it's old age setting in and coordination problems - I think I position/anchor my hands/fingers OK on he neck. Not easy to explain this - when I look at others playing they seem to be hitting clean notes effortlessly.
I sometimes think my guitar(s) are all a bit duff fret-wise/string heights, but these have been checked over by my local guitar store gurus.
I guess many will advise sensibly that I need to take my time, and practise practise practise ...but is there something I am missing doing ??? Feeling silly .....help !

fretmeister

Slow down! As slow as you need even if it is 1 note every week!

Practice only makes permanent - and that includes mistakes.

Perfect Practice makes Perfect.

Don't practice until you don't make a mistake, practice until you can't make a mistake

Use a metronome properly. Humans are crap at playing things the same tempo every day so with a metronome you can set it and then increase it by say 5bpm after a week and so on.

An old shredding lesson always suggested backwards steps too.

50bpm until you play it perfectly for a week.

Then 55bpm

Then 60bpm

Then drop back to 55bpm for a week - that's the easy consolidation week you get to relax a bit. Should be easy. Then back to 60, then 65 etc etc.

digitalkettle

Along @fretmeister 's lines, my first thought was 'are you practicing to a metronome' (or backing track).

Also, are you doing it 'honestly'. Record yourself, just with a phone if you like, and listen back.

Are you playing set pieces or improvising?

CarpeDiem

@fretmeister is spot on. The only thing I would add is try to relax - easier said than done if you’re really focused on what you’re playing. However, if you start slowly and are practicing properly (ie not repeating mistakes) it should get easier, and sound more musical. I suspect that most of the people you’ve seen that make it look easy have spent many hours getting it right.

viz

Enjoy yourself. It will come. Keep playing, experimenting, pushing your boundaries

digitalkettle

viz said:

Enjoy yourself. It will come. Keep playing, experimenting, pushing your boundaries

Double-down and go full Henry Kaiser!

Jimbo55

I really appreciate all your replies - I have been told before to use a metronome, and keep intending, but always seem to never really buckle down and do so - I fully accept now I have to - perhaps I am trying to run before I can even walk or crawl !
I'm in that mid-ground of knowing some scales but turning these into proper riffs/solos is quite a hurdle, so most of what I am doing is trying to learn solos note for note without understanding the scales usage - maybe I'm not using the right/or best fingerings for these as well - and I let frustration set in quickly.  I guess if I understand and accept my present boundaries, and keep endeavouring to move forward with them, and start to feel more progress it will inspire me for more and more. Keeping calm with it, getting the notes clean as part of the control process should indeed help. Thank you, I feel ready for the next step ahead now !

Winny_Pooh

Go to a teacher, you might be doing things that you cant even perceive that are hampering you.

Devil#20

What @fretmeister says. Good advice that. Slow down. It's not a race. When you become note perfect it's easy to speed up. A metronome is one of the best tools in your arsenal and recording yourself too. 

BillDL

I assume you're talking about electric guitar?  You mentioned that you tend to fluff things more when you are playing with other people.  Do you practice and play sitting down when alone and standing up with the guitar on a strap when playing with others by any chance? 

Roland

As already said: slow down, and practice standing up. 

If you don’t already do it, cut your nails for cleaner fretting.

sev112

Listen to some BB KIng solos, he hardly plays any notes, and most of those few notes are in the standard pentatonic shape so hardly any moving needed,

he’s a genius for tone and solos though, which sounds at odds with the first para,

listen to him pick one note and just then go to another , that’s his whole solo phrase often !

but he sounds in another world to us mortals

fastonebaz

Yes practice standing up deffo.   You really see the neck from a different angle vs sitting down which might be why Yr fluffing notes.

Lestratcaster

Definitely replicate performing live i.e standing up. Use a form of backing music/metronome etc. Knowing where you are in the music is helpful.