Can You Pick Too Much and GET WORSE!

[Andrew Reckhart]

The title says it all! I swear to God I'm playing more and more the last few months. My band seems to be booked every spare minute that I have. I'm playing every spare minute that I have, and I feel like i'm getting worse instead of better. My left hand tightens up about 5 songs into the set and I can barely get through some of my "stock" passages and licks. I also seem to get confused and forget how to play stuff that I learned two years ago when I first started. Granted, I'm trying harder and harder to play more sophisticated pieces and get better, but I couls barely get through "When My Time Comes To Go" and "Vincent Black Lightning" last night, and they have been my best pieces over the past year! Does this happen to everybody? What do you think causes it? Can I correct it quickly or does it take a while to work itself out? HELP! I don't want to 'suck' too long we have some pretty important (to me anyhow) shows over the next couple of months!

[Tom C]

I do not get worse. My expectations get higher. And I fully understand how you feel on stage as far as tightening up. Forgetting break? Vaporlocking? It really means you need to practice it till you are so bored with it -Then you know it.I always have an easy and harder break. Depending on how I'm feeling to decide which to take. Sometimes it's a mix and match.

[AlanN]

To answer your question on the subject line: Only if you are practicing bad habits.

[Ken Sager]

Relax. Work harder on playing looser. Use the least amount of energy to get the job done. Get a massage. Warm up slower. Think happy thoughts.

Some of the best advice I've ever heard came from Mike Compton: There is great power in holding power in reserve.

Don't give every song everything you've got. Just give it enough.

Relaxing at work today,
Ken

[John Craton]

One of the professors I knew back in undergrad had a saying: "Practice makes perfect ... if you practice perfectly." By that he didn't mean that you should never make mistakes while practicing, but that you should develop perfect (well, good) practice habits. Check here (http://www.craton.net/studio/tips.htm) for some tips on how to develop a good practice routine.

[Greg H.]

Continuing on Ken's advice above, sometimes if you have a bad night the fear of having another bad night causes you to tighten up (voice of experience here) and then they just build on each other. Also if you worry about how much is riding on a particular show--how much a particular performace means to you--it can end up going worse because of its importance. So if you can relax that could relieve a lot of the problems you're experiencing. Try and view each gig as equal--whether it's the main stage at IBMA or the local pizza parlour (not possible I realize but. . .)--and if you make a mistake just laugh and keep on playing. Having said all of this, do you have as much trouble when you're just playing at home or with friends, or is this predominantly a stage issue. If you're not having the trouble off stage then all of my babble above is probably relevent, otherwise it sounds what you really need is a couple of days vacation.
G.

[Bob DeVellis]

One more thing, of course, is fatigue. Playing too much might hurt your performance if you're putting too much wear and tear on your hands.

[Andrew Reckhart]

Thanks guys! #I just realized something. #I haven't actually PRACTICED at all for about 3 months. #I've just been rehearsing and gigging 3 nights a week. #I don't think that I progress the same way in a band setting. # I work until 9 the other 3 nights and the neighbors don't like the sound of my Stiver after 10:00PM. #I really haven't felt like practicing lately either. #Maybe i'm just getting a little bit of 'burn-out'. #The other factor that I had not considered is that I do a ton of computer work. #Maybe between the keyboard and the fretboard I'm just wearing my fingers out. #

Tom C.- #You brought up a couple of interesting points.
I did practice my breaks until they were second nature, and that's why it's bothering me so much. #I know them to the Nth degeree.......... And that leads into your second point.
Second, you said that you write a hard break and an easy break and then go for it depending on how your feeling. #I like that idea. #I write a hard break and if I'm feeling confident I try and "soup it up" quite a bit. #What I've been doing lately is sort of simplifying them due to lack of confidence, and screwing them up because they are fully improvised. #I'm going to write a few simpler breaks for when I'm not fully 'feeling it'. #I really like your idea! #Thanks! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Flowerpot]

Before the gigs, do you have much time to warm up? Have you been going into any of the sets cold?

How is the PA/monitor situation? can you hear yourself well enough without having to play too hard?