Starting a new topic on something I had started in another thread. I’m hoping some of the older folks and Papa can chime in with thoughts.
I have all kinds of speed and stuff when I improvise, but when I try to learn something note for note, I can’t even manage half the speed I get when I improv. I finally settled on fixing that, and it’s not working.
Lately I find myself struggling mentally with improvement, and even regressing on things like building my downpicking strength and speed. I’m usually self-correcting, but I’m having a hard time with this, and I’m not sure why. I know it’s a mental thing, but I’m at a loss for how to overcome it, and I find it affecting many aspects of my playing.
I think the problem may be the anxiety of aging and “I don’t know if I’m too old to improve like I used to” and that degenerates into “Am I so old I’m just going to start slowing down and losing what I already have” and the anxiety takes over from there. I’ve not generally been anxiety-prone in my life, so this is a new thing for me as I close in on 50, less than 2 years away.
There are a lot of styles, techniques and speed related abilities I wish I’d taken the time to learn properly when I was young, and I fear that my time has passed to break new ground. What I need help with is navigating my brain around those ideas. And I am royally fucking stubborn, and I know it.
I guess where I get lost in my mind is that the greats built their skills when they was young. Hetfield picked like a demon when he was young. Paul Gilbert – don’t get me started. Even a lot of the young guys and gals here are blowing me away.
The question is, as you age, is there a difference between keeping what you have (as those folks have been able to) and being able to improve technically (like I’m wanting to)? That’s where my brain is struggling.
Thanks!
I have all kinds of speed and stuff when I improvise, but when I try to learn something note for note, I can’t even manage half the speed I get when I improv. I finally settled on fixing that, and it’s not working.
Lately I find myself struggling mentally with improvement, and even regressing on things like building my downpicking strength and speed. I’m usually self-correcting, but I’m having a hard time with this, and I’m not sure why. I know it’s a mental thing, but I’m at a loss for how to overcome it, and I find it affecting many aspects of my playing.
I think the problem may be the anxiety of aging and “I don’t know if I’m too old to improve like I used to” and that degenerates into “Am I so old I’m just going to start slowing down and losing what I already have” and the anxiety takes over from there. I’ve not generally been anxiety-prone in my life, so this is a new thing for me as I close in on 50, less than 2 years away.
There are a lot of styles, techniques and speed related abilities I wish I’d taken the time to learn properly when I was young, and I fear that my time has passed to break new ground. What I need help with is navigating my brain around those ideas. And I am royally fucking stubborn, and I know it.
I guess where I get lost in my mind is that the greats built their skills when they was young. Hetfield picked like a demon when he was young. Paul Gilbert – don’t get me started. Even a lot of the young guys and gals here are blowing me away.
The question is, as you age, is there a difference between keeping what you have (as those folks have been able to) and being able to improve technically (like I’m wanting to)? That’s where my brain is struggling.
Thanks!