Are You Getting Better (As A Musician)

[TapperMike]

I go through cycles.  The best cycles are the goal orientated or the live performance thing.  I perform best when I perform regularly.  Which is something I don't do now.  I have moments when playing at my peak where I ask myself "Is that all there is"

 

I know plenty of players with strong technique knowledge and experience who, don't feel the need to push themselves.  Sometimes it's best to have "your sound" and stick to it. 

 

Then again there are guys like Lenny Breau and Jeff Beck who live music as a journey and re invent themselves even if it means getting rid of some baggage from the past to do so.

 

Where do you stand?

 

Are you comfortable with your knowledge / technique?

Are you pushing boundaries?

Are those boundaries pushing back?

 

Are you getting better, staying the same or getting worse?

 

Do the same regiments that helped you long ago keep you going foreward?

Do you have a set to do list of things to do that you believe will take you to the next level?

 

 

[Rudi]

Hi Mike,

 

Where do you stand?

I have always strived to be better. It’s a lifelong habit, though I have missed out on a few things that now seem unattainable to me.

 

Are you comfortable with your knowledge / technique?

No. The knowledge part needs constant reinforcement. It’s hard to keep it all upstairs. The technique part is easier. It just needs enough practice.

 

But…! I once had someone ask me why I am not better (given the years I have been playing). The answer is that most players consolidate what they learn instead of keep adapting it. Therefore those ‘consolidators’ sound great precisely because they stick to it.

 

Are you pushing boundaries?

Technically: about 5%. It used to be much higher. I am self taught, and most of what I have figured out was re-inventing the wheel. But, I have certain techniques (slurs, picking, muting etc) that I have never seen anyone else use; such as downward string bends + vibrato (towards the floor).

 

Knowledge: I have let go of much of the structure that I relied on. I have always played what felt right, and if it was different, I would figure out what it was & how it fitted into the overall scheme of things. Now I care less about what it is, and just play it regardless.

 

Are those boundaries pushing back?

Yes. I have to adapt to limitations as I discover them. I hate limitations. They should be shot on sight.

 

Also, there are some ‘ordinary’ techniques that elude me. Since I developed my picking further, much of the hammer on / pull off stuff has stagnated. I simply  can’t find those slick pentatonic licks that I hear from many players I enjoy.

 

Are you getting better, staying the same or getting worse?

Its improving, but at a much slower rate than formerly. Its an age thing probably.

 

Do the same regiments that helped you long ago keep you going foreward?

Regimen has seldom had much to do with my practice. It’s probably why I can practice so much. I never get bored. When practicing I am far more ambitious that I would ever be on a stage, or in a studio, but the content is produced almost subliminally. At weekends I often play the silent guitar while watching tv. When music comes out of the tv, I either fight against it (carry on with what I am doing) or join in with it until it ends. I get a great workout that way.

 

Do you have a set to do list of things to do that you believe will take you to the next level

No. I have no clue what the next level might be. I have nothing in my sights. There are some odds and ends that I have never pursued properly. I still dither with them.

 

I am not a competitive player. I don’t measure myself against anyone else. For me, I get far better results by doing things for their own sake. For that reason perhaps, ‘shredding’ is an almost alien concept to me.

 

Rudi

[Just1L]

Where do you stand?

I like to think I'm getting better. I know one thing is I no longer have any fear when trying stuff. I work on getting what is in my head to come out the same way when I'm playing it. I'd say in the past I would just think I couldn't do it and try something else. So in that respect, I probably stand better than I ever have.

 

Are you comfortable with your knowledge / technique?

I'm not so comfortable to where I want to stay in the same technique. I let the sounds and voices in my head tell me what to do. They seem to know best. There's always room for improvement.

 

Are you pushing boundaries?

Beats me. Probably not other than my own boundaries. I don't think I'm pushing any musical boundaries that haven't already been explored or done.

 

Are those boundaries pushing back?

Nah.

 

Do the same regiments that helped you long ago keep you going forward?

No. I never had any kind of regiment so what I'm doing now is really rather new to me in respect to the past few years. I'll say my old regiment did get me to where I am today and if nothing else, it's a little easier to play what I'm wanting to. 

 

Do you have a set to do list of things to do that you believe will take you to the next level?

No list. Hopefully just the act of continually writing songs and trying to mix them properly will be enough to learn from and keep moving forward.

 

Interesting questions - Randy

[TapperMike]

Thanks Guy's

 

I thought I'd see more participation in this thread. 

 

A funny thing about knowledge. I've got a strong foundation in jazz, r&b, rock and blues. I studied jazz played a lot of jazz, rock, blues. and I've cobbled a lot of ideas on theory from both my education and experience. When I share my ideas with jazz guys I'm preaching to the choir. They all know where I'm coming from and where I'm going.  However when I share those same concepts with the classically trained they try their damnest to defeat those ideas even if I show the same ideas replicated in song after song and link to jazz guys explaining the same concept practicaly verbatim to what I typed.

 

I started to blog about various "approaches' which can be applied beyond jazz here but I got sidetracked.

[TapperMike]

Oddly I have a to-do list.  I need to commit it to paper and build from there.   In many ways I wish I still had a teacher. Teachers were more like coaches to me. They'd ask me what I was doing and then they'd ask me to perform the concept, work on it for a week or two and come back and demonstrate it again.

[Rudi]

I imagine suitable teachers are getting harder to find. You are very accomplished.

But I know what you mean.

 

I can offer one suggestion. That is teach or coach someone else. It has helped me, because you have to start looking at things you take for granted all over again. If you are anything like me, you will find gaps, and they can be explored anew.

 

You might even be able to pretend you have a student, and prepare for them. Better still write a series of presentations about music. Maybe even video it. That way you get to go through the same thought processes and end up with a useful resource for others.

[TapperMike]

Thanks Rudi,

 

After reading your response I started doing just that.

 

Ztars are hard to notate for as they allow for more then one note per string. While band in a box does have a heads up fretboad display that can display more then one note per string. it doesn't allow for the custom tuning I use,. Consequently I've been simply charting the fretboard in Open Office,

Edited December 4, 2013 by TapperMike