Bad habits and frustrated

[Lonekimono]

Hello everyone. I have been playing guitar on and off for a long time. I am almost 50 years old I started when I was about 12 years old. With no lessons only guitar tab books. So I never learned theory. I just learned bad habits. So I can say that I'm lost when it comes to the fretboard and never could play a whole song. Especially solos. I always picked down and every time I try and speed up with alternate picking. It all goes down hill. I unconsciously go back to either all down picking or just mess up. I think my picking hand mechanics are really bad and inconsistent. So to say the least I am really frustrated with myself and I feel a little stupid trying to learn the fretboard. It is just overwhelming at times. I hope this makes sense. I don't know where to start and how to fix this? Thanks. Ron.

 

[Toge]

Hey! I´d recommend not going straight into solos if youre struggling with technique, maybe build first a strong foundation, starting slow but precise, and little by little speeding up. Trying to improve while fighting old habits is really hard, try to enjoy the process!

 

[William B.]

I think over time with with set slow focused practice the alternate picking may incorporate itself some eventually.
Like if you jam session is 20 minutes, maybe spend 5 focusing on upstrokes and alternate picking, also sometimes start with an upstroke, it has a different feel and may work itself out.

For the fretboard things like learning the names of the notes on it and chord formulas help. The CAGED system is amazing. Learning scales and how they sound to maybe try to figure them out in other parts of the neck is lots of fun.

The Major scale is the foundation.

I'm by no means an expert and maybe others know more.

Uploading a video could help us help you cause then there's an added visual and watching yourself play is also beneficial to you.
Maybe you'll hear or see things you would want to improve on or things that you really enjoy and build more on.

Hopefully this helps some, have a good one!

 

[Lonekimono]

I think over time with with set slow focused practice the alternate picking may incorporate itself some eventually.
Like if you jam session is 20 minutes, maybe spend 5 focusing on upstrokes and alternate picking, also sometimes start with an upstroke, it has a different feel and may work itself out.

For the fretboard things like learning the names of the notes on it and chord formulas help. The CAGED system is amazing. Learning scales and how they sound to maybe try to figure them out in other parts of the neck is lots of fun.

The Major scale is the foundation.

I'm by no means an expert and maybe others know more.

Uploading a video could help us help you cause then there's an added visual and watching yourself play is also beneficial to you.
Maybe you'll hear or see things you would want to improve on or things that you really enjoy and build more on.

Hopefully this helps some, have a good one!

Thanks for the advice and tips. I will have to record some things. I have been learning the notes and some other things as well. As far as the CAGED system. I am so put off by it. I know it is me. Every time I watch a video or read something on it I am disgusted. With the shapes and this is an E shape but a different chord. I just don't feel it works for me. I can never get through a full video. With out being annoyed.

 

[Lonekimono]

Thanks. I will give it a try.

 

[Ed Seith]

Hello everyone. I have been playing guitar on and off for a long time. I am almost 50 years old I started when I was about 12 years old. With no lessons only guitar tab books. So I never learned theory. I just learned bad habits. So I can say that I'm lost when it comes to the fretboard and never could play a whole song. Especially solos. I always picked down and every time I try and speed up with alternate picking. It all goes down hill. I unconsciously go back to either all down picking or just mess up. I think my picking hand mechanics are really bad and inconsistent. So to say the least I am really frustrated with myself and I feel a little stupid trying to learn the fretboard. It is just overwhelming at times. I hope this makes sense. I don't know where to start and how to fix this? Thanks. Ron.

Kindred spirit here, my friend. I am 52 and have been playing since I'm 14, off and on. I definitely know a lot of full songs, and have written my share as well. Also could be regarded as a pretty solid lead player, but where we converge is that LONG period of resting on bad habits and thinking it's too ingrained to change.

It's not.

I'm learning things PROPERLY now, that I've been doing wrong for 35 years. How?

Be patient. Trust the process. SLOW DOWN, and go further back in fundamentals than you think you need to.

My biggest mechanical hangup was alternate picking hand synchronization. Because of that, almost everything fast that I did was "cheating," if you will. Muscle memory based on decades of what wound up sounding good without really knowing what I was doing or how I was doing it.

In the end, I have been breaking it down to the three basic 3-note-per-string shapes. On one string. Repeated. With 16-note triplets at like 70 BPM to start (I'm up to a solid 115 now, and 120 on a good day - going to break into string crossing bits starting next week).

5-7-8-5-7-8-5-7-8-5-7-8
7-8-10-7-8-10-7-8-10-7-8-10
8-10-12-8-10-12-8-10-12-8-10-12

Doing that kind of thing first legato (only pick the VERY first note, and then in reverse - 12-10-8, etc) and then alternate-picked. Focusing on consistency and accuracy LONG before stepping up the tempo.

That's what I've been doing.

William is right about the major scale. Everything springs forward from there. Papa's lessons (when they're back) share invaluable methods for learning the fretboard and better understanding theory. Dude is a theory GOD, just like his inhuman son.

Stick around and grow with us. If you ever want to virtually get together to talk about old man guitaring problems, hit me up.

 

[William B.]

Thanks for the advice and tips. I will have to record some things. I have been learning the notes and some other things as well. As far as the CAGED system. I am so put off by it. I know it is me. Every time I watch a video or read something on it I am disgusted. With the shapes and this is an E shape but a different chord. I just don't feel it works for me. I can never get through a full video. With out being annoyed.

I'm still getting through it and learning the names and more but it's like a map/outline and can be used with the intervals type stuff as well.
The chord stretches are rough at first but doing them a few times every other practice is making it easier. I kind of new it from the beginning but often overthink things, essentially most of the chords beyond open position are barred chords of the prior. Even if not fully grasping it ( I don't ) there could be something in the lessons