Home › Forums › Blues Guitar Discussions › Moving forward but also losing ground
- This topic has 7 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 9 months ago by Canada Moose.
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June 11, 2019 at 4:16 pm #135519
I’m playing my guitar again after a 40 year haitus and have found Brian’s lessons to be the best fit for me. My playing and technique have steadily improved and I’ve started to build a vocabulary of licks. The problem is if I don’t play a song or a lesson almost every day when i am practicing after a month or so i forget a lot and i have to refresh/relearn.
Does this mean I never really learned it? I’m not looking to build a set list but how do those of you who gig and jam remember so much info. Any tips are appreciated.
Thanks, George Harris -
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June 11, 2019 at 5:10 pm #135520
I think you’re being too hard on yourself. For one thing, there’s a large amount of good guitar stuff in each one of the lessons. They aren’t simple songs to learn. I have the same “problem” as you: it seems like if I don’t reinforce the song like every day, I forget much of it after the beginning of the song. Right now I’m focusing on EP211, EP231, EP288, EP307, and EP297, all songs that I loved immediately when I first caught the lesson. So I just load that lesson and continue to slowly plod through it, hoping I don’t get sick of the song after so much repitition.
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June 11, 2019 at 6:17 pm #135521
I’m playing my guitar again after a 40 year haitus and have found Brian’s lessons to be the best fit for me. My playing and technique have steadily improved and I’ve started to build a vocabulary of licks. The problem is if I don’t play a song or a lesson almost every day when i am practicing after a month or so i forget a lot and i have to refresh/relearn.
Does this mean I never really learned it? I’m not looking to build a set list but how do those of you who gig and jam remember so much info. Any tips are appreciated.
Thanks, George HarrisHey George
Common problem that you mention. Here is how it was explained to me many years ago by Mark Stefani of Vision Music
Since we aren’t building a set list from anything that we learn whether from Brian or whomever, we glean what we can from that lesson and we move on.
Its the technique and knowledge that we gain by practicing it. There may only be one lick that really identify with in a lesson; learn that and keep it in your arsenal for later use. Don’t be overly concerned if you don’t remember the whole piece.Spend the majority of your time either 1) learning new material or 2) working on problems area to refine your technique and ability
Now, having said that, I will appear to contradict myself here – when you learn a few pieces from Brian, use those as your warm up material. Let’s say that you have 6 lessons memorized – use 2 per practice session as warm up’s and rotate through them. Since you are just getting back to it, you need the repetition at this point to help you develop.
As you continue to add to the number of lessons that you have memorized, use the newer ones to your warm up’s don’t play the older ones very often.What you will find is that, in time, you will be able to play the first ones that you memorized very well, even if its been a while since you have played them, with maybe a quick glance at the tab to refresh your memory
Most of all have fun in the process – as one person say, Enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going
Keith
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June 11, 2019 at 6:42 pm #135522
George,
Yeah I have the same problem. I used to keep about 20-25 songs fresh in my memory. But I found that I would use up most of my guitar time playing through them to keep them that way. I eventually let them go so I could work on new things.I suspect some of it is age thing. I started playing probably fifty years ago, so that gives you some idea of my age. Funny thing is, even though I don’t practice them anymore, I can still play some of the first tunes I ever learned, and if not they come back quickly with a little practice. Can’t say the same about new material.
Bob
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June 12, 2019 at 9:06 am #135543
I think most of us forget tunes however I find they are easier to learn the second time round.Sometimes I find I am playing lessons slightly different than they should be.
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June 12, 2019 at 10:37 am #135545
George,
Welcome to my world!!!!
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June 12, 2019 at 4:02 pm #135553
I am 100% with you on this phenomenon. The number of songs or lessons I can retain in my repertoire is decreasing the more I practice and play. Yes, I am getting older, but I don’t think that is the problem. I think it is pure “knowledge overload”. In addition to the lessons, I have been learning: CAGED chord voicings, funk guitar chords, legato runs, and 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and sus chords plus interesting chord sequences using them. I have reached the point where I don’t think it’s necessary to memorize any lesson for more than a very short time. And sometimes when Brian produces a lesson that sounds good to me, I only practice a section of it that I particularly like. I have reached the point where I can put on any jamtrack and play some improv that sounds at least passable. So what next? I’m asking myself “how does Brian – or any musician, for that matter – come up with such awesome melodies?”. Brian often explains how his melodies relate to the chord changes, and that is a part of it. But at some point, you have to just be able to hear a chord sequence, and in your mind create a beautiful melodic phrase. Then that phrase has to be assigned to the verse or chorus part of the overall song, and slightly modified each time around until you have a great composition. Or should I just buy one of those apps that claims to produce computer-generated melodies?
Sunjamr Steve
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June 13, 2019 at 8:18 pm #135595
Sometimes i learn one of Brian’s lessons note for note, sometimes i just jam to backing tracks, sometimes i get serious and work on technique (alternate picking, vibrato, scales, reading music), sometimes I play Bach on nylon strings, sometimes I practice acoustic finger-style (melody and accompaniment), sometimes I dig into electric blues.
Never could stay focused on any one thing for too long, but for over 50 years what I do totally consistently every day is pick up a guitar, tune, and play. And I’ve loved every minute of it.
Enjoying what i’m playing right here and now, that’s the beauty and comfort of guitar playing for me. And over the years I gradually got better. But loving what i’m playing now, that’s what counts for me.
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