The Perils of not Practicing

[James]

I went away for just one week, and took with me an old acoustic. I was pretty busy on my vacation and played it only sparesly, not nearly as much as I do during practice routines at home. I knew that when I got back I'd have to build chops again but I didnt' think it'd be this frustrating!

It's very demoralizing when you can only play clumsy chromatic runs at 40bpm slower then you could two weeks ago, and yet would else can you do? If you want the speed you have to go through the loops again. Granted, I still retained all my knowledge of the theory of the technique and all that stuff so I'll build it up again a lot faster then I did the first time, but in terms of sheer muscle coordination, it's like I have to go back in time to accomplish things I've already done. Frustrating.

It's the pitfall of wanting great technique; it's a very temporal thing. You're locked in a routine of practice, and to break out would mean you lose what you've worked so hard to gain.

I see why so many people stick to the blues!

[PonyOne]

See it's funny you posted this, we must be on the same plane of thought and action. I got a Playstation 2 lastwednesday and Grand Theft Auto 3 and just today picked up my guitar again. What's really funny is that I've actually been playing much more accurately than usual. Four hours and not one sour note.

May have somethig to do w/the hand-eye coordination of watching the screen and having to hit the right buttons on the controller.

[Christoph]

Yeah, I gave up trying to have "great" technique a long time ago. I just play for fun. I actually don't even play my electric that much any more. Most of my playing nowadays is on the acoustic, composing and learning fingerpicking stuff.

[pstring]

Practice?

[Polera]

in actually it is true that you continue learning even after you have practiced or preformed an event. To be basic and vague, it has to do with reflex from the cerebellum of the brain in which it is monitor fluxuations of fine tactile movement. Needless to say, even after your practice period, your brain is continusly rewriteing complex reflexes in turn which allows more autonomius responses when playing. Thats why sometimes when you take a brake and come back to something, you perform it better.

[Incidents Happen]

Originally posted by PonyOne
See it's funny you posted this, we must be on the same plane of thought and action. I got a Playstation 2 lastwednesday and Grand Theft Auto 3 and just today picked up my guitar again. What's really funny is that I've actually been playing much more accurately than usual. Four hours and not one sour note.

May have somethig to do w/the hand-eye coordination of watching the screen and having to hit the right buttons on the controller.

yeah, i just bought GTA: Vice City, and the past week i've played guitar less and Vice City more, but im now starting to hate the fact that i did that! gotta build up the chops again:(!

[Dr_simon]

Hind brain activity is cool ! I have never gone off color after abstain for only 2 weeks, but do find thing like tiredness and stress will massively influence the way I play.
I took a beak for 5 years once, getting back on it was frustrating but the scales and chord shapes were still their in the old noggin !

[kingdavid]

I guess it's abit like the way body builders do;just before the competition they do all this toning stuff that reall burns the fat and makes their muscles really stick out of their skins and shine...but I suspect that that shine has to do with some funny oil or something.
Anyway,they work out all along,buld the basic mass and stuff,then tone for competition.I guess toning here would be working for the actual cordination James is talkin about,while the general mass build up is the general theory knowledge and stuff.

[aiwass]

The topic of this thread is why guys like Malmsteen and Vai didn't have childhoods...