Playing In Mud

[stefeb]

I've read about plateaus in the process of learning, and have experiened a few of them, but never have experienced anything like this. All of a sudden, I stink. My speed has dropped off, I feel as if I'm playing through mud, my tone sucks, and on it goes. It's almost as if this is the first time I've picked up the mandolin.

Maybe I'm getting good enough to notice how much more work I need? I don't know.

I'm hoping this is just a phase, but it's got me stumped.

Anyone else have a similar thing happen?

[Dfyngravity]

Sometimes I feel as if I hadn't ever played before. Usually it is when either I haven't playing in a while or when I have been playing and practicing techniques too much. Sometime I will practice certain things for a couple days and then start playing songs again and my timing is off and nothing sound quite right. So I take a days rest and just listen to a lot of music, mainly mandolin type stuff. Then I will jump back in and everything is back to normal. I think your brain just needs a rest from playing and needs a little more time of listening to what you want to sound like. On the other hand I have had that trouble when I go on vacation or I am stuck doing school work for to long, say like over a week or so. I pick it up again and I'm a little rusty. But I just start running through my practice sessions I have made and again listen to a lot of music and it all comes back. I think it is crucial to listen to a lot of music, especially music you like or want to play. I feel it helps your brain understand what you are trying to get at when you are playing. I don't know, I am sure it will all come back to you, it always does.

[Tim Saxton]

stefeb,

It is so strange you started this thread. I have been having the exact same problem. It seems as if I have regressed in my playing. I have noticed that my improv seems to be very repetitive. It seems like I play the same stuff over and so on in different keys. Another thing is I forget tunes I have learned. That is a tough one!

I notice I have a difficult time at getting the tunes up to speed. My picking patterns are correct. Its when I try to get the tempos up the tone suffers.

There are days I want to put my mandolin in the fireplace and just pick strum on guitar and learn singing songs.

This mandolin playing stuff is just like golf. Enough said at that.

Tim Saxton

[stefeb]

I've been thinking about what's happening, and I think I've nailed down the problem.

Been playing mandolin for five months (former keyboard player/guitar). Reading has never been a problem, and I picked up the basics pretty quickly.

Practice/play minimum three hours a day. Have been making steady progress, and have been having tons of fun playing and learning.

Lately, however, I've begin getting really serious about playing. Maybe a better word is critical. I'm forgetting to have fun while playing, and that speed will come in time. I think I'm just trying to hard, and trying to rush my progress.

So, I'm going back to just having fun. Enjoying my skill level for the moment, and remembering that time, consistency, and desire will produce the results I'm after.

[daveb]

I too have had the same problems, I found myself thinking that faster is better and becoming obsessed with that and losing that smooth clean touch. I have accepted the fact that Skaggs is faster than me !
But really, that was most of the problem, I would go back to the speed of the original tune and I could play it fine. It was during my practice time that I would push faster and faster.
Also I change picks for a few songs, then go back to my favorite and that seems to help as well.

Dave

[danb]

I hit that a lot in my earlier days of playing. Best advice I can offer is go to a gig with some really good players- it'll recharge your batteries. I think a lot of that is in your head as you raise your own bar, when you start hitting the goals you set and you're re-evaluating things you can be very hard on yourself. For some reason, it's an odd feeling to hit your goals, you end up feeling dissatisfied before you realize you are resetting the bar higher!

[John S]

I often have found that my own personal expectations of my playing ability tends to increase at a faster rate than my actual playing ability. So even though I'm generally improving, I often feel like I'm getting worse.

[Tom C]

Since I started playing more with others who are better, I almost feel like I regressed. Because they play at a "peppy" timing, my playing is not as clean.
But thinking back a couple of years ago I was playing slower and had the same feeling. So, I passed that hurdle and picked up a few more beats. Next is how to learn tunes on the fly like at a jam session where you don't know the tune and need to improvise.

[johnsonpt1]

sounds to me like you need to ease up on the practice for a few weeks. choose a few of your favorite songs and play them through a couple of times each day for a while, just for the pure pleasure of playing, then put down your mando and do something else. it's easy to get in a rut and get frustrated. which leads to frustration which puts you in a rut and......you get the idea. before you know it you're wondering what your problem is and not sure how to fix it. after all, you're practicing every free moment you have....what else can you do?

there is a level of play you can only get to by putting in lots of practice. but you have to know when to ease up and enjoy the progress. record yourself every now and then and you'll see that you are probably playing much better than you did in the past.

[Ken Sager]

Two things that help me when I get stuck.
1) Change strings, and I don't just mean a fresh set of the same thing. Try another brand for a few weeks. I keep a few sets of monels around for just this purpose. A new voice on your instrument can often wake up new options to you.
2) Listen to something very different for a couple weeks. Go to the library and check out a few CDs from a genre you don't hear much from. I advise you to stay away from showtunes, though. Piano jazz is a great diversion from the mandolin.

Sometimes you just need to shift a couple simple inputs to help you hear something new you'd like to emulate, duplicate, or create.

Joy to all,
Ken

[LilCreekster]

I often have found that my own personal expectations of my playing ability tends to increase at a faster rate than my actual playing ability. So even though I'm generally improving, I often feel like I'm getting worse.

That's EXACTLY what I do... glad to her it's not just my obsessive/compulsive self hahaha.

What makes me notice it is other people, I'll play for friends that haven't heard me play in a few months and they are always telling me, wow!! You're really getting better! To which I always say, man it surrre doen't feel like it. And they look at me like I'm nuts hahaha.

Happily I seem to still really enjoy playing no matter how slow the progress feels. I've come to really appriciate the small victories, those moments when I am really really happy with my tone, or I pick something up by ear, or read a notataion piece at a decent pace... I hope someday all those baby steps will get me where I'd like to be as a player. But realisticly, I'm sur I'll just reset that bar. Guess I'd better get used to it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Christine W]

I feel as if I"m going backwards too, so I guess it's normal since others are experiencing the same thing.
"the other day at work it was nice so I went outside to pick and the new guys office was right by where I was pickin. When I came inside he was by the door and he looked at my mando and said "oh, was that you, I thought it was someones radio" I was so flattered but immediatley put my playing down because I"m not where I want to be. I think we hav a tendancy to be over critical of our own playing.

[mandolooter]

I've always sucked so I may not notice it as easily but its an uphill journey with some STEEP spots along the way for sure!

[stefeb]

Thanks for all your comments. It's good to know I'm not alone.

Since I've picked up the mandolin I've had the silliest grin on my face, and now I remember why. It's fun http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

I'm going back to having fun. Speed will come. Funny, when you think about it, I was trying to rush speed. There's probably a deep meaning somewhere there, but I'll be danged if I can find it http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif.

[Moose]

Stefeb: See!!! - Not to worry! - Things like this happen to the best(!?#) of us. It happens to me - an' I been playin' mandolin for 40++ years. Don't be too hard on yourself. Enjoy your music ! - Tom T. Hall(CW writer/artist) wrote a song several years ago that I tell myself when I too go thru this "slump".. : "Joe, Don't Let Your Music Kill ya'..,Nobody Cares"... Regards & Best of Luck. Moose. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Trip]

I have some slumps once in a while too where something that seemed easy last week is sloppy or just not there...and a very weird thing for my whole band is the last practise before a show usually is not very tight for some strange reason....but it all comes together on stage...I really dont have the luxury of being able to take time off from playing with the schedule Im in now, one day off is about the most I get...and while I was out west snowboarding a few weeks ago, I still found myself playing with some local bands...had the downtime right there for the taking, but cant resist an opportunity
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