In a Rut?
A recent forum post on GuitarGeek.com essentially asked the question “How do you get out of a rut in guitar playing?” In particular, this user was in a rut in guitar lessons and was having difficulty incorporating new techniques. This is something that every guitar player experiences at one point or another, but it’s something that can be extremely frustrating to someone who is new to the instrument. I’d thought I’d describe some of the things I do to overcome the feeling of being in a rut in my guitar playing.
First, let’s define the phrase “being in a rut” in relation to guitar playing. The feeling of being in a rut can occur for various reasons. Perhaps you’ve been trying to learn a song with no visible progress. Or maybe you’re trying to learn a specific technique and are not able to incorporate it into your playing or master the technique. Another example might simply be becoming bored with the music that you’re playing. There are other examples, but I think the examples I’ve given help describe some of the situations that lead to the feeling of being in a rut. Essentially, I equate being in a rut with becoming frustrated with playing the guitar, which saps my desire to pick up the instrument and play.
So, how to go about getting out of the rut? I will usually completely drop whatever it is I was working on, be it a technique, a song, or just a riff, and I’ll start up something completely different. For example, I took two years of classical guitar when I was in college. As anyone who has studied classical guitar knows, classical guitar playing is very difficult, and technique is extremely important. In fact, technique-building pieces comprise most of an early classical guitar curriculum. As a result, for someone coming from a rock background, classical guitar playing can at times seem too rigid and it’s easy to become frustrated. So, when those moments would occur, I would stop playing classical guitar and move back to learning a rock, blues or jazz song or technique. I might not pick up the classical guitar again for a few days or even weeks. Sometimes, I might completely put aside the guitar for weeks at a time. Consequently, when I went back to the classical guitar, I was rejuvenated again and ready to tackle the task that seemed so daunting before. It might still be a daunting task, but at least I was able to come back to it with a renewed excitement.
Another technique I’ve used with some success in the past is to break down whatever is I’m trying to learn into smaller pieces. For example, if I’m trying to learn a song and am having difficulty with a portion of it, I might focus entirely on that portion of the music until I’ve mastered it. Or, if there are multiple bars of music that I’m having difficulty with, I might focus on one bar at a time until I’ve mastered that bar and then move to the next bar.
Sometimes, it’s just important to realize that what you’re trying to learn is difficult, may at times feel tedious, but continue to work through it. If you’re trying to learn a song for a recital or concert, then you can’t always push the difficult parts to the side for later. Instead, you just have to persevere through the difficult parts and really focus your attention on those parts until you’ve sufficiently mastered them. Again, I’ll emphasize that breaking down these difficult parts into smaller tasks may help you work through them and give you confidence as you tackle the next part.
I hope that some of the techniques that I use to overcome the feeling of being in a rut help you when you get into a rut with your playing. What do you do to get past a rut in your playing?
WorkshopLive
WorkshopLive is a site created by the founders of the National Guitar Workshop that features online guitar lessons with many of the instructors from the National Guitar Workshop series. You can select from several different styles, including Jazz, Classical and Rock, and you can select which teachers you want to learn from.
Each lesson features a video of the instructor and a music area that shows the notes the instructor is playing (either in tab view or standard music notation). You cans switch the views so that if you want to watch the instructor you can maximize the video, or if you want to study the notes in more detail, you can maximize the notes view, or you can view both together. You can also modify the speed of the music so you can slow down passages that are difficult. Additionally, there are several special guests, including B.B. King, Carlos Santana and Chick Corea. Lessons are available for keyboard, too, with lessons for drums, bass and wind instruments coming soon.
WorkshopLive offers a free sample lesson, as well as a full tour of the features that they provide. The pricing is quite reasonable and is available in monthly ($29.95), quarterly ($59.95), or yearly ($199.95) subscriptions. When you consider that the cost of a single lesson from a music store costs around $20 for a half hour lesson, then the pricing looks even better. I think that they’ve done a great job in making the lessons truly feel interactive and interesting, and I think this is the best online guitar teaching site I’ve seen yet.
Fender Celebrating 60th Anniversary
Fender is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. To commemorate the event, Fender is holding a festival in Tempe, Arizona on March 31 and April 1. The festival will feature Jeff Beck’s first US concert in years, Eric Johnson, Willy Porter, the John Mayer Trio, Train, and more. Additionally, attendees will be able to watch Custom Shop craftsman build guitars in the 60th Anniversary Village area, which will also feature an interactive Rock & Roll exhibit.
Fender G-DEC Amp Voted Amplifier of the Year
Fender’s G-DEC (Guitar Digital Entertainment Center) amplifier was voted amplifier of the year at this year’s NAMM Show. The G-DEC is a 15 watt amp that consists of many different effects, can simulate several different amplifier tones, and contains both drum and bass digital loops to play along with. With a street price of less than $300, it seems like a good deal on a very versatile amp that would be great for practicing. Fender was also voted manufacturer of the year at this year’s NAMM Show.
Bloom Nominated for a Grammy Award
Eric Johnson’s latest album Bloom
Photos from NAMM 2006
Paul Reed Smith Guitars have posted some photos from their booth at the NAMM Show, which you can view here. You can also view non-vendor-specific photos at the NAMM Show Web site.
Peavey - New Products for 2006
Peavey has introduced several new guitar and bass products for 2006. They have introduced the Vortex Metal Guitar, the David Ellefson model bass guitar, the Windsor guitar amplifier, as well as several other new products.
Line6 - New Products for 2006
Line6 have announced a new line of effects stompboxes and effects modules. The new ToneDock effects pedals can be modified by using the new ToneCore effects modules to generate a wide variety of sounds without the need for multiple effects boxes.
Planet Waves - New Products for 2006
Planet Waves have teamed up with Joe Satriani to create a new line of guitar straps and picks. The straps and picks feature original artwork by Satriani, and he approved every detail of the straps and picks. The straps and picks were debuted at NAMM, and Satriani played a private concert at NAMM that will be broadcast on his Web site in early February.
Rickenbacker - New Product for 2006
Rickenbacker has announced a new guitar for 2006, the Model 1996. This guitar is part of their vintage reissue line.
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About
Welcome to my guitar blog! My name is Josh, and this site is my attempt to celebrate the guitar, its history, and its players. Read more...
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