Is this normal?

[biscuit]

I can learn a new tune from tab and then I play it about 500 times and still mess it up in some place. Or I can get a tune just right and not play it for a week and mess it up. Or I can be playing a tune I know and have been playing for some time with my buddy a fiddle player and just go blank right in the middle. Am I the only one that has these proublems? Maybe I am just to old to learn this.

[357mag]

No no no!! You are not alone! I think I am the poster child for what you described. But it sure makes me feel better knowing that somebody else does too.
Then there are the days when the mando sounds like I just picked it up out of a mud puddle and my fingers feel like they are stuck together with super glue.Arrrgggg!!!

[mandoJeremy]

Yeah, we are all weird in our thinking and that tends to make our minds blank at points. Just keep playing because there comes that time when you remember it all and even more stuff comes out....of course you have to remember what the new thing that came out was......what was I even typing about? Hang in there, it gets much better.

[angrymandolinist]

Too old? I'm 19 and do the exact same thing.

[Skip Kelley]

Hey Biscuit, It is called "CRS" Cant remember solos". It happens to everyone at some time. Just keep pickin'and make it fun!

[PlayerOf8]

I forgot, what was your question?

G

[Bluegrasstjej]

I sort of have the same problem, not really that I forget but that I just mess it up anyway, so that's why I often don't dare to play breaks at jams! I guess the best thing we can do is to learn to improvise so that we can play something else that fits instead of the notes we mess up. Guess this just applies to bluegrass though...

[Steven]

Yes it happens to me and it can really hold you back if you let it.I find myself constantly trying to perfect each tune,the harder I try the worse it gets.With me it is really a matter of being played out,I play so much that my mind wanders ,I dont pay attention and I crash and burn on the tune.I get bored with it trying the same tune all the time.For me its best to move on and come back to the music,get into a new tune and learn that or just practice the basics like tremelo,chords,and scales.

[Dennis Schubert]

Pretty normal, whether you're young or old. I've been both. I liken it to a wire coming un-soldered in my head. Concentration and relaxation are the keys to minimize this phenomenon, but most mere mortals won't ever get it down to the zero-percent level. A few of the "big boys" do. It's very helpful to shake it off with humor and grace, make some crack about "lost as a year-old Easter egg", and then move on.

[otterly2k]

Ah, yes, CRS-- closely related to FLS (Forgot the Lyrics Syndrome) which has plagued me all my life.
While older musicians may be at increased risk for this malady, it is a merciless and random ailment, known to have afflicted amateur and professional alike.

[csstanley]

Hey, read my post on playing out for the first time.

Its a good chuckle.

And your in the right place for support for this stuff. So don't quit, just play more.

[LilCreekster]

I'm right with ya there... especially with blanking while playing with someone! (or in front of someone) I have been playing for a bit over 2 years now, and the first real song I learned was Red Haired Boy. I have kept it in my cycle of songs I play normally & it's the one I could probably play in my sleep. Do you think that means I never gap out under pressure? HA I wish. ahahhaa. I figure if I mess that one up it's just chalked up to nerves & my brain getting in the way of itself.

I do notice that if I keep trying and trying once I get to that stage, I just get more frustrated and worse. Those times I find it's best to just hang back a bit and mentally regroup haha.

See if you can find a slow jam partner who makes mistakes too... somehow that seems to help & you'll both improve & be better players for it

[twaaang]

A doctor I used to work with explained that the medical term is "CRAFT syndrome", which he started to explain as an anagram meaning "Can't Remember A . . ." before his voice trailed off somewhat obscurely. -- Paul

[mandroid]

even the record slips, skips,skips,skips,skips, sometimes ,;

[Tim]

Since the thread title addressed giving up, I'd say that the answer is not in the quality of a given performance but if you are generally having fun.

A week ago, my frustration level got to the point that it wasn't fun. #I put the mandolins in their cases and haven't touched them since. #In a month if I've not been tempted to get them back out, I'll sell them.

[otterly2k]

mandroid... you've just dated yourself!

[ira]

stick with it my friend. happens to many of us.

[luckylarue]

For me, I need to play a tune w/out thinking so I can play it in front of people and it won't matter what's going on in my head - muscle memory takes over. My advice: Play the tune 1,000 times!

[biscuit]

Thanks everyone I needed that. I want to improve so bad I get to pushing myself. I think what started it all was a guy thats been playing guitar and teaching for about 25yrs picked up a mando and in one week he can put me to shame. We should never compaire ourselfs to outhers but it's hard not to. When I do thats when the fun stops and the works starts and I don't need anouther job. Again thanks
Biscuit

[csstanley]

Gotta keep in mind that this isn't a competition, IT's MUSIC!!

And music comes from the heart. And if it aint coming from the heart, well, might as well hang it up, cause you about dead.

[jose250]

I can definitely relate to this post. I've only been playing for about 4 months now and sometimes it just feels like I never even played before. It seems like one out of 10 times (if it's a good night) that I can actually play a double stop the way it should sound. And yeah, it gets frustrating, but I just have to sit back and remember that I have only been playing 4 months. Yeah, it would be nice to make a double stop sound right and that I could hit all the strings right to make it sound like a real chop, but if you don't stick with it, you'll never appreciate the journey. If it all came to me in one week, I'd never truly appreciate how cool this instrument is and how much I'm looking forward to actually being able to keep up with my many guitar-talented friends.

Stick with it, man. Don't give up. I'm not. And if you need something to laugh at, I'll give you my cell phone #, you can listen to me play.

[Dan Adams]

I've seen some of the best musicians in the world have the same problem. #We've all been there. #There is a HUGE plus side to this... #It forces the ability to improvise on the fly! # Keep playing through the tune, song, lead, and you'll find a reference point where it all makes sense again. Make it up as you go, most people don't know the difference anyway!

Now what was that B part again... Dan

[TommyK]

I agree there are times that I

[kvk]

It's like the normal syndrome for me playing fiddles tunes.

What's way cool is that I'm getting just enough playing experience now that if I forget the exact notes, I (sometimes) just do something and it comes out sounding right anyway! The first time you pull that off it spooks you; eventually it feels like magic.

Say you're somewhere in a fiddle tune over a D chord and have three beats to go to resolve to G. So you play six 1/8th notes and you end on G and and it sounds great. Then you realize that the six notes you played aren't the ones you memorized, they are different but worked.

When you reach this point, it gets much easier because you don't have to remember it note for note anymore. I think about i'm about 1/4 of the way there.

[grant_eversoll]

NO it's not normal, you should just give up
Just last weekend I had a gig (solo acoustic act) and I opened with a sone that I have played for 28 years...and goofed it righht in the middle...maybe I should give up