Another I'm stuck thread

[Lou Giordano]

I can't get past the freeze or brain lock when I miss a note or make a mistake. I know your supposed to keep going but.....

I see people playing like their right hand is on auto pilot keeping time. I slow way down and still freeze on a difficult cord change or any tight spot.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[spufman]

As a decades long bass player, it's part of my job to keep it rolling and fortunately that ability does carry over well to mandolin (which correctly or not, I treat as a fairly rhythmic instrument, albeit a melodic one). But for a good and accessible way to release yourself to the groove, I will recommend that everyone get a cajon in the house. They are fun and 'easy' to play, useful in most musical contexts, make a great extra chair in the living room (or plant holder, side table, etc.) and look really nice. When just hanging out listening to the stereo, tap along and I guarantee it will help with your overall musicality in short order. Everyone who tries mine ends up with a big smile.

P.S. Cats like them, too.

[Denny Gies]

So what's the worst thing that's going to happen when you miss a note. One idea might be to miss a note on purpose and try to keep going. Doing this a couple of time might diminish the freezing. Good luck. Id this does not work, take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

[Mark Wilson]

Playing along with a metronome or slow backing track helped me play thru unforced errors on tunes I've already learned. Early on, the reflex to stop can be hard to tame

Seems cliche, but isolating tight spots and working thru them s.l.o.w.l.y is the quickest way I know to get a hard phrase up to speed

[Lou Giordano]

So what's the worst thing that's going to happen when you miss a note. One idea might be to miss a note on purpose and try to keep going. Doing this a couple of time might diminish the freezing. Good luck. Id this does not work, take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

Thanks Denny,

It's not like I'm thinking about it, it's almost involuntary. My right hand just stops, saying your fingers are not there yet dummy.

[fatt-dad]

I'm learning a new tune. I already know dozens of tunes from memory. Last night I was performing a pedestrian survey of my yard (i.e., just pissing away time looking at the frogs and such). Had my mandolin and strolling about.

It's funny how the brain works when you are walking about and trying to play a tune. There are so many ways to get distracted! Heck, I was distracting myself intentionally. It's interesting to play under these circumstances. Miss a note? Many! Kept at it though.

f-d

[Lou Giordano]

I'm learning a new tune. I already know dozens of tunes from memory. Last night I was performing a pedestrian survey of my yard (i.e., just pissing away time looking at the frogs and such). Had my mandolin and strolling about.

It's funny how the brain works when you are walking about and trying to play a tune. There are so many ways to get distracted! Heck, I was distracting myself intentionally. It's interesting to play under these circumstances. Miss a note? Many! Kept at it though.

f-d

Distractions, let me tell you. I'm at the age where if need to take something with me when I leave the house, I have to hang it on the door knob or else. CRS syndrome .

I finally get through a song with maybe three or four notes left and if I think, I made it, I'll screw them up.

[bart mcneil]

Start and continue with an incredibly simple tune. So simple you can play it blindfolded. Then play it blindfolded or with eyes closed and don't open them until the tune is done. and again, and again, and again, and again until you play it perfectly. May take several days but don't give up.

Do the same thing with another simple tune, always blind.

... and again, and again.

What I am driving at is that often your eyes are what prevents you from progressing but in fact you really don't need your eyes for playing mandolin and often they just get in the way, as they may be in your case. This may help you from obsessing about your mistakes, as it did for me.

The tune should be so simple and elementary that anyone could play it after a few minutes practice. And eentually your hand will be on auto pilot.

Another question folks might want to ask is "How many minutes or hours do you practice per day... do you do it every day?" Repetition is the key.

[Mickey King]

CRS syndrome .

Many times at a jam , I make through the A part only to forget how the B part goes!

[Lou Giordano]

Start and continue with an incredibly simple tune. So simple you can play it blindfolded. Then play it blindfolded or with eyes closed and don't open them until the tune is done. and again, and again, and again, and again until you play it perfectly. May take several days but don't give up.

Do the same thing with another simple tune, always blind.

... and again, and again.

What I am driving at is that often your eyes are what prevents you from progressing but in fact you really don't need your eyes for playing mandolin and often they just get in the way, as they may be in your case. This may help you from obsessing about your mistakes, as it did for me.

The tune should be so simple and elementary that anyone could play it after a few minutes practice. And eentually your hand will be on auto pilot.

Another question folks might want to ask is "How many minutes or hours do you practice per day... do you do it every day?" Repetition is the key.

I have one of those tunes. I have to give it a try.

[Lou Giordano]

Many times at a jam , I make through the A part only to forget how the B part goes!

We're not alone.

[Mandoplumb]

Practice can cause that problem. If you always stop to correct yourself when practicing you teach yourself to stop and correct now! I always play thru something I'm working on then go back and work on the problems then play if thru again a time or two then repeat the process. When practicing, never stop to work something out in the middle of your play thru you will teach yourself to stop and then you have to unlearn and relearn which we all know is harder than learning it right to start with.

[catmandu2]

Become a bassist

I will recommend that everyone get a cajon in the house.

Yep, get a conga or tumba and a dvd of "How to..."

[Tobin]

I can't get past the freeze or brain lock when I miss a note or make a mistake. I know your supposed to keep going but.....

I see people playing like their right hand is on auto pilot keeping time. I slow way down and still freeze on a difficult cord change or any tight spot.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I used to have that problem too. It took a concerted effort to force myself to play through a flub. Or if I completely goofed it all up, it was very hard to jump back in. But I think what helped me the most was: (1) playing along with recorded tracks, and (2) playing with others at jams.

The important thing here is to put yourself into the musical ensemble in a role where the music is not going to stop if you make a mistake. At first, you'll still get get a bit of brain freeze when you know you've made an error. And it may take a few moments to find a way to jump back into the tune (like, at the start of the next measure or the next phrase). But over time, the more you do it, the more you'll find that your brain is learning to keep following the music and to stay a half-step ahead of where your fingers are.

In my opinion, that's really the key to being a smooth player and being able to keep the music going when you make a mistake. You have to be mentally thinking of where you're about to go, not where you currently are. If your brain can stay a moment ahead of your fingers, it won't come to a screeching halt.

I'm sure there's a fancy-sounding physical/medical explanation for it, but the best I can explain it is to say that you have to take your brain out of the sensory loop. Instead of playing each note and waiting for your ears/eyes/fingers to register that it's correct to your brain before moving on to the next note, your brain has to push beyond that loop. It should already be telling you what to do on the next note as you're playing the current note, without waiting for sensory confirmation. Don't get me wrong, your brain still needs the sensory confirmation to know that you're playing the right tune and the right notes and every other nuance of good music-making. But you have to teach your brain to push ahead without waiting for that confirmation. And the best way I found to get past it was to just keep playing along with music that doesn't stop or slow down to wait for me.

I still make plenty of mistakes. Getting past that is a whole 'nother ball of wax. But at least it doesn't interrupt my playing any more. I tend to compensate by making a frowny face, or smirk, or shrug, or snort when I make a mistake. My next step is to teach myself not to do that. I've had listeners tell me that they wouldn't have noticed my mistakes except for the fact that my reaction told them I made one.

[Lou Giordano]

So many good suggestions and comments. Thanks everyone.

There are some comments that hit home and I started working on yesterday.

I am working on easier songs that I'm not as tense with. That way it is easier to look ahead and pick up on the next phrase. The songs that I already can play in my head.

The eye suggestion hit home. I play a lot of billiards at the clubhouse. I know your eyes
need to have a consistent aiming pattern as well as a really focused thought pattern. So I am playing a couple of real easy ones with my eyes closed.

I then just practice the tougher sections of the more advanced tunes.

I am looking for someone to jam with, but it is not easy. The people that I come across are way ahead of me.

[Jon Hall]

Lou: You said that the musicians you meet are more advanced than you. I would recommend attending their jams and just listen and take notes. Make a list of the songs they usually play and work on the chords and rhythm for those tunes. Even if you are unable to take a break and play the melody you will contribute to the music. In our local jams, a musician that can play a solid rhythm is always appreciated.

[Lou Giordano]

Lou: You said that the musicians you meet are more advanced than you. I would recommend attending their jams and just listen and take notes. Make a list of the songs they usually play and work on the chords and rhythm for those tunes. Even if you are unable to take a break and play the melody you will contribute to the music. In our local jams, a musician that can play a solid rhythm is always appreciated.

Here in NJ we have Albert Hall. The "Porch" jammers are just too fast. There are the "shed" group that may help. Most folks there have been picking there their since they were kids. It's kind of a family. I will see if I can put together a list.

Rhythm is my problem.

[Jon Hall]

You would really benefit from a teacher. I teach mandolin and guitar in Texas and rhythm is hardest thing for students, of any age, to learn. A mandolin teacher would be preferable but if there isn't one in your area a good guitar teacher could teach you the rhythm basics. In your case I would not recommend an on-line instructor unless it is possible for the two of you to play with each other simultaneously and be able to see each other as well. You can learn rhythm on your own but it will be much more difficult. Do you know the basic 2 and 3 finger chords in one of the keys of D, G or C ? Your chords will have to be on auto pilot in order for you to concentrate on your strumming.

[catmandu2]

I recommend buddy wachter's approach--put a towel over your neck to dampen your strings, then concentrate only on picking hand.

Rhythm is fundamental--work on this until it is mastered

[Mandoplumb]

Lou you want to play with musicians more advanced than you, it forces you to learn, you play with those less advanced to help them learn, both help you be a better musician.

[Lou Giordano]

Lou you want to play with musicians more advanced than you, it forces you to learn, you play with those less advanced to help them learn, both help you be a better musician.

I know that, but there is a limit to anyone's patience

[Gelsenbury]

Let me preface what I'm going to say by admitting that I have exactly the same problem. But I have improved and am still improving. And I think I know the reasons. Tobin has summed it up:

I used to have that problem too. It took a concerted effort to force myself to play through a flub. Or if I completely goofed it all up, it was very hard to jump back in. But I think what helped me the most was: (1) playing along with recorded tracks, and (2) playing with others at jams.

The only thing to add to this is that I also changed my mindset about what it means to learn a tune. I started out (and I bet a lot of people do) by approaching a tune as a set of notes to find on the fretboard and play in the right order, at the right length. The problem with this is that it causes the sort of breakdown you describe when things go wrong. You realise that you have played a wrong note, and you get stuck on it.

Over time - and this has happened through experience, not by any quick fix - playing with others and becoming more familiar with melodic variations have made me pay more attention to rhythm and phrasing. These are essential to any tune, probably more so than the individual notes themselves. If they break down, so does the tune. So I started trying consciously to keep the tune going when I made mistakes, and that in itself has improved my playing. I'm sure it comes naturally to some players, but most of us have to work at it.

[Beanzy]

I approach jam & session songs and tunes like a movie car chase.
Just go crashing along until you get to the end & don't sweat a few dents along the way.
As long as you never miss a beat and drive confidently then the baddies can't get you.
You may come out with many scars and looking like a wreck but the audience will be excited, chuffed to bits you survived and no-one but 'The Herbert' in the corner is going to pick holes in your driving or point out the dents & breaches of the Highway Code.

My classical playing is exactly the opposite and I wouldn't dare perform until it's all spot on. I suppose that's why I love mixing the styles.