Hi all,
I'm mostly a beginner and need some advice.
At present I seem to be going through
something of a slump with my playing.
Even with exercises I've learned before I'm
having some trouble. It almost seems like I'm regressing instead of marching ahead.
Is this normal for most beginners?
To be frank its starting to get me down.
Any thought/help/advice will be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks to all,
Doug

Hi Doug

I teach and sell Roland Atelier home organs for a living. They're kind of like arranger keyboards in a cabinet.

I'd be interested to hear any specific problems that you may be encountering.

In the meantime, make sure you practice more than exercises. Music should be fun, so play some songs that you like. When you play tunes for fun, thow out all the theory and and just play. If you make a mistake, I can tell you the best thing you can do is to learn to laugh about it. This will keep you more relaxed and up. If you do that you continue having fun and remain more relaxed while you get better through repititon.

Also, the biggest secret to playing is to hear the melody in your head, or even to sing along. This works whether you are reading music or playing by ear. If you can hear or sing it, you can play it.

My guess is that you need to stop using the logical part of your brain. This is the part that analyzes everything. It is the part of your brain that balances the checkbook. In the early stages of learning a song, you might need to figure out what finger on what note. Once you've done that, go for it, remembering to hear the melody in your head. Your fingers tend to go where you are thinking/hearing. If a person continues to think what finger on what note, this is when it is more difficult, tends to sound unmusical and really is no fun.

Let me know what you are experienceing and I will give you some tips that I see helps my students overcome the common pitfalls every day.

Best
Scott

Good point Scott,
this is the best way to do it.

Doug, I am no teacher, and I surely could use one. However, the two years I spent at a music school, showed me this: Excercises are needed, but they were boring me to death.
So I went the other route, I did the minimum on excersises, and just had fun playing songs I liked. Something I heard on the radio, older songs I had on tape, whatever I liked.
At first, I sounded like someone who lost fingers in a minefield in Bosnia. So what? Tried more and more, and more again.

Now I can (with the generous help of an arranger of course, lack of exercises means left hand is still almost crippled), play along and sometimes in unison to others, without showing that much ignorance of music theory. At least people recognise the songs, and sing along...
As for the songs I like, sometimes, I can't walk straight from too much alcohol, but I can still play them well, they are engraved in my mind now.
Practice, practice, practice....It can lead to perfection, just practice songs you like.
Off to work, bye

As for the "it's starting to get me down" thing, It probably has happend to EVERYONE HERE, including people who are playing professionaly for twice the time that I am alive. If you read regularly, you will remember some people here are divorced, some have lost loved ones etc, but In the end they keep trying.
Hitting this forum some months ago, renewed my interest in playing, If you can believe that. I thought, look at all those people doing wonderful things, why should't I?
Let us hear some exercises or songs on mp3. I can't judge them, but many others here can, and will point out things to you. Even the fuss of trying to record for us to hear, will make you a better player.

Let's hear what other members think of that, come on guys, we have someone in need of advice here!

Hi Doug,
Im a very amateur player myself. But yes, I agree totally with trident on the practice part. I look at it in this way. The whole world plays on a similar set of keys but they have different levels and combos of playing. It just depends on how much you want to explore and invent. There are 61 keys and Grammmy Winning soundtracks are made on them. We just have to find the right keys...practice a bit and we could be doing something even better than the rest. When you have a chance also try looking at Michel Voncken's PSR Demo videos. They are truly inspiring. All the best to you and I know that you can do it!!!

CHEERS
Sunny

[This message has been edited by sunster (edited 10-25-2004).]

hi doug,i found that when i bought music books ,the songs that i new in the books were in a key that i didn,t know,so what i did is this ,i have about a dozen fake books ,i wold tear out the easy songs that i could play (in the key of C)and put them in a seperate folder and when i could play these well then i would add to this folder,ex.the first songs you work on ,in the key of C,then work on songs that are in the key of F,then key of G,then Bb,and you will find that your folder will contain lots of songs that you can play ,rather than have big volumes of fake books that you can only play a few songs in each,mike

I am probably weird or something but I've never had a burnout or low-incentive problem with practicing or playing. Then again, I've always played music that I not only enjoyed but I'm passionate about. Even when I was young I would learn whatever scales or songs I was assigned by my teachers and then I'd work on the songs I liked because I needed the application to go with the theory.

To this day, certain songs get stuck in my head and I will be on a mission until I know how to play that song. My current must-do song is a revision of Sting's "Fields of Gold" by Fourplay, a group anchored by pianist Bob James and guitarist Lee Ritenour. I already know the original version of "Fields of Gold" but this new rendition sounds challenging and it'll freshen me up to learn it.

Perhaps the thing that motivates me the most is live performing... I live to play in many ways. That's always my #1 advice: book a gig, no matter how large or small, paid or charity, then get ready for it. Then book another and so forth. These can be any gig as long as it is in the public in some way - a nursing home gig will work fine - as long as it gives you a reason to practice and a presentation to look forward to (this is why students have recitals). Also set a regular practice time - for instance, my Saturday mornings are always dedicated to learning new songs or brushing up old ones.

One last piece of advice: consider completely rearranging your studio or practice room. Freshening up your environment can put some juice in you. I tore out and renovated my studio over the summer and it really made me feel good to have a new practice space when it was done.

Jim.

Nothing weird about never experiencing burunout--I've never experienced it either, and I'm an old timer. Cole Porter once said "When someone asks me how how often they should practice, I told them to practice every day, and when they think they've practiced enough, practice some more."

I sincerely believe, however, that one of the best things I done in recent years was to put my mind to working on Gig Disks. Just firing up all those new and wonderful style files were an inspiration that allowed those creative juices to flow. For anyone that has the feeling of being in a musical slump, I strongly urge going to www.psrtutorial.com and downloading some of their huge storehouse of stle files. Then fire up the keyboard, select a style, and play the first song that comes into your mind. If nothing stirs, this is probably a good time to sell the keyboard and buy a good set of golf clubs.

Gary

Yes, Doug, I know the problem. I remember my accordeonlessons well. In my case it had to do with something very simple: I didn't relate to the exercises. Learning a song - one I liked, preferably - was easier than exercises. One should play these exercises, but not without the pleasure of playing what you like and what you relate to.

After about 4 years of learning the accordeon I got stuck. There didn't seem to be any progress. I just continued untill months later (maybe a year even) suddenly it got better again. I had lessons for more than 9 years, with ups and downs.

So don't worry: you are just human, not a sequencer

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drdalet

I think burnout can occur from too much "same ole, same ole". You have to mix it up, or your brain will cramp.
Part of the wonderment of working in the public for so many years has been the "newness" that each job brings....even the steady ones. There is ALWAY something new to see, hear, feel ..... it's up to you to find it, and relish it.

Mental "carpul tunnel" ( NOT a real mdical condition ) is avoidable ! Just provide more stimulous to your creative side. It sounds like you have the mechanics down already. It's like golf in a way .....
You PRACTICE on the driving range, but come game day ..... you just PLAY.

Now, go out there and JUST PLAY!!!!

Dave is right. Each time I've become a little bored, a new song, style, arrangement,
etc. made things fun and exciting again.

After a particularly hard week in the mid-seventies, I was driving to work and heard Masquerade by George Benson. I was familiar with this tune (The Carpenters, Leon Russell). This gave George Benson a whole new career, with the "Breezin" album and made me appreciate what innovative arrangements can mean.

There have been many other experiences that add new excitement, including the advances in equipment. If you never stop learning and experimenting, the slumps will dissappear.


Best of luck!

Russ

Hi Doug,

Are you taking lessons?

I advise taking lessons with a beautiful young female teacher!!

All kidding aside, one of the reasons I study with a music teacher learning jazz at age 49 is for inspiration. I find a coorelation between how much I practice and how much inspiration I get from my teacher.

When I'm struggling with a piece, he sits down and plays the hell out of it and I just sit there with my mouth open agasp! His chops and talent inspire me to work harder, practice longer, and not miss a lesson.

However, I do suffer burnout by playing too much. When I have 3 four hour jobs in a week, I can't bring myself to practice. My teacher tells me not to worry about it because I've already practiced 12 hours!!!!

Stay with it Doug, it's what separates the bees from the wanna bees!!!

Al

Doug, don't feel too bad. I've been there and experienced the same MANY times over myself. Music is a lifelong path of discovery and we can only master a bite at time. Take the time to taste all the various entrees on your plate and eventually you'll have enjoyed a thoroughly satsifying meal. I often face stumbling blocks when faced with a particularly challenging song project, but find that by letting it go temporarily, and working on some other aspect of music, from working on another song, or other aspect of music making, or even listening to a music CD, or going out to see music performed live) can provide added perspective & inspiration for you to come back and work past your current slump. Doug, rest assured that your feelings are normal. Don't give up on music.

Scott

I do this all the time ....It Works, Try it !!

Instead of boring exercises, try fun exercises. My organ teacher, of 25 some years ago, asked me to buy a book of jigs and reels, and to work on these pieces. They were fantastic finger exercises, they had to be played quikly,but not boring, because they were an actual song, not an exercise. After "practicing" on these jigs and reels my fingers would burn from the workout.
Like U.D. said, mix it up. I might start practicing a piano piece in full keyboard mode (no arranger), get bored, and play that same song with the arranger. This reinforces the right hand, or I might play some other song I know.
Starkeeper

Doug...this may not be the suggestion you're looking for, but for myself, when a slump hits, or I'm experiencing inspirational melt down, I do something else entirely, maybe even for a couple of days, then go back to it with a clear head.
Just my thots...

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...L

Thank you all so very much for the help
and suggestions. Much of what has been
said has helped me to get an overall
clear picture.
I realise that I'm not alone out there
in a world of beginning music students.
I'm a late starter(age 42)& do plan on
sticking with it. What music gives me
is something that is too powerful to
let go.

All my best,
Doug

I agree with most of what's been said...Keep it fresh, one way or the other...will almost always keep one from getting bogged down.

Also, remember the following:

IYADWYADYAGWYAG


(Anybody know what that means?)



Bill in Dayton

If you always do what you always do, You always get what you always get???

Outstanding!

Bill

Thank You......Thank You Very Much...."

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...L

Way to go pro...it takes a real pro to take the time and develop the skills to do anything from the Fourplay book.

I use Fourplay CD's on breaks and try to work on their material as often as possible.

These guys are proof that commercial success is possible for excellent musicians who are not necessarily outstanding entertainers.

Missed Lee Ritenauer at first, but Larry Carleton added a little more edge and I now like the current configuration.

Keep it up!


Russ

I am a big fan both of Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton, so I would really love to hear something by the Fourplay; can anyone recommend the best (or most significative) CDs to buy?
Thanks

Apparently Fourplay has a "greatest hits" album out but that seems strange because I didn't think they'd been together that long. Their newest album is called "Journey" and I'm heading to the record store today to get the new album and the "greatest hits" album if I can.

BTW: Amazon.com has streaming samples of their music/albums. Go to their "Journey" album and you can hear a sample of their version of "Fields of Gold" that has me excited.

Actually, Fourplay has been around awhile. I think I have eight of their albums. The greatest hits album is a good one, and "Four"
is another of my favorites. Anything before 2001 will be with Lee Ritenaeur.

I buy every Fourplay album...don't even need to listen to them first.


Russ

Thanks to both of you; I will follow Jim's advice and listen to their samples on the Amazon site.

Yeah I now see that they've been around since at least 1991 as Fourplay though certainly their individual careers stretch back much farther.

Bassist Nathen East is a joy to watch and listen to. He really holds that bottom together.


Russ

For me, I go and learn (by ear) a new song that I love, een if it has nothing to do with performing. As everyone has said, Music is supposed to be FUN!!!!!!.

That new song will stick in your ribs and your mind. and it will make you happy everytime you play it.

Enjoy

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MusicJohn