Why is My Playing So Inconsistent?

One of the most frustrating things I deal with is that some days I can pick up my guitar and playing is effortless. And then the next day I pick up my guitar and I can't get anything right. It's like my fingers just don't want to obey.

It makes practice difficult because I think I'm making progress and then I lose a whole day.

I don't know if the best thing to do is to just step away and come back later or just push through it.

It seems to happen to others. Kind of "getting out of bed on the wrong side" sort of thing.. Maybe it's a mental thing or physical.. I find that it still happens to me.. It's not going to slow you down much.. I look through guitar videos, study up a bit on theory, listen to my fav rock station.. Skip practice and do my chore.. Maybe just jump on to a different lessons... mass around with the scale or chord tools to see if I can apply what I've learn from earlier lessons..
If you have electric and acoustic guitars switch out and try the opposite one.. Some times just a few minutes rest and try again..
I hope I hit on a few solutions to get you going..

Just to add something to compart1's great advice...just keep it all in perspective...presumably you are doing this for fun. If you skip a night of practice or don't get something down in the timeframe you set for yourself, it's not the end of the world. You aren't going to miss a rent payment because you didn't get something down on your guitar :).

Try to not pressure yourself...keep at it and it will eventually come with consistency. When I get stuck, I find something else I can to and still make some progress just like Compart1 suggests.

Thanks. Switching to acoustic seems like a good strategy. I only have a classical though so I wonder if the wider string spacing would make for inconsistent practice since I'd typically want to use my electric.

I realize that even when I'm "on" I'm still inconsistent. I can get into a good groove and then somehow just lose it. I'd like to be more of an improvisational player but a good improvisational player can jump back into grooves if they lose them. Or better yet form new grooves and come back to the previous ones. But that's another issue I have is I almost can never remember what I was playing previously.

Originally Posted by: maggiorJust to add something to compart1's great advice...just keep it all in perspective...presumably you are doing this for fun. If you skip a night of practice or don't get something down in the time frame you set for yourself, it's not the end of the world. You aren't going to miss a rent payment because you didn't get something down on your guitar :).

Try to not pressure yourself...keep at it and it will eventually come with consistency. When I get stuck, I find something else I can to and still make some progress just like Compart1 suggests.

Thanks for the encouragement. Its also probably good to make time for other things too as to not get burned out. I've been playing on and off for years and have probably developed a lot of bad habits. I can play and switch among several chords with some fluidity and have some speed and dexterity in playing scales (although I don't exactly know where I'm going).

Yet I am hung up on playing Ode to Joy. I mean I can get it, but it's very challenging for me. I'm just totally undisciplined when it comes to playing the same thing over and over.

hey JJ3,
Do you do any pre-stretching and warm up exercises before practice.. Sometimes it's just a matter of shaking you hands out to loosen up every once in a while.. Are you using a metronome or drum machine to keep time..? Counting time is important. That's a few more thing to think about..
On the wide neck classical, I didn't have as much trouble as I thought I would. It may depend on the experience or lack of..
Again, don't let a little hiccup frustrate you.. life is full of up and down cycles and guitar playing is no different..

Originally Posted by: compart1hey JJ3,
Do you do any pre-stretching and warm up exercises before practice.. Sometimes it's just a matter of shaking you hands out to loosen up every once in a while.. Are you using a metronome or drum machine to keep time..? Counting time is important. That's a few more thing to think about..
On the wide neck classical, I didn't have as much trouble as I thought I would. It may depend on the experience or lack of..
Again, don't let a little hiccup frustrate you.. life is full of up and down cycles and guitar playing is no different..

Hi... well I just started doing the spider hands thing. My "practice" has always been a series of warm up exercises if you will. I've always just jammed, never tried to formally practice "lessons" exactly. Aside from trying to learn the occasional riff of some song or whatever.

I don't use a metronome. I know I ought to.

I just hope that starting from scratch on this site will help strengthen my fundamentals and more. I also hope this difficulty I have with holding a groove is not just the product of no natural musical talent.

Originally Posted by: jj3downHi... well I just started doing the spider hands thing. My "practice" has always been a series of warm up exercises if you will. I've always just jammed, never tried to formally practice "lessons" exactly. Aside from trying to learn the occasional riff of some song or whatever.

I don't use a metronome. I know I ought to.

I just hope that starting from scratch on this site will help strengthen my fundamentals and more. I also hope this difficulty I have with holding a groove is not just the product of no natural musical talent.

"Holding a groove" is something that comes with practice. To develop that skill, you should use drum beats or backing tracks to practice jamming. You need a groove to hold to :). Before you can learn to hold the groove, you have to feel the groove. As you practice more and more, you'll find you'll start to maintain the groove even when you "mess up"...maybe miss a note you wanted to hit or didn't quite nail a lick.

This has nothing to do with natural talent...just time and practice. Be patient with yourself, practice, and you'll get there.

Regarding your problem with "Ode to Joy"...I had a similar experience with "House of the Rising Sun". As simple as that song is, I still have trouble with the arpeggiation of the chords. It's a skill I continue to work in the background.