Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

Man I hate when I have a bad night at the guitar.
Got a gig Friday and this evening felt like waste of time.
I think I'll get some sleep now if I can just unwind.









Good night all.

Trust me on this...

Practice is NEVER a waste of time, even when it seems to be going poorly.

Everyone has an off night, but you will be surprised how you will go to that gig, or the next practice, and suddenly play better than you ever did!

Your brain is taking note of the songs, even when your fingers aren't cooperating yet.

When you sleep, your brain will put everything in it's right order, even if that message is... "Don't play that note, instead of the other one, as you did at practice all night!"

Your brain will differentiate between what you did, and what it was supposed to do. Every time you kicked yourself during that practice, it was a message to your brain to AVOID doing it the next time.

It will work out.

Your fingers will come back to where your muscle memory is training them to go.

Don't sweat it.

Keep at it.

There is a lot to be said for muscle memory. When I was first learning violin in the 60's I was watching a classical pianist rehearse when he would get to a part that was giving him trouble he would play those few measures over and over until the muscle memory would take over. Believe me when I say 100 percent of it is not in your mind. In other words try not to over think a piece, of coarse you have to know your parts mathmatically but don't underestimate muscle memory that is part of it too.

Another thing, sans - DON'T OVER PRACTICE. That can cause more problems than it solves.

Short bursts of 15-20 minutes at a time on the parts you're having trouble with will solve things quicker than hours upon hours of nonstop cramming. Move on to something you feel comfy with for a bit, when you find yourself in a rut. Then come back to it after you take a break.

Thanks for the moral support. I was really frustrated last night.
But hey, I've got a gig Friday !!

The vast majority of the audience have no idea if you play something wrong (unless it's really glaring). In the rare event you screw up play with a good poker face, nobody will know the difference.

You better not make any mistakes on friday....everybody gonna know, even us, and all the band, better not make any mistkes......see how easy it is,I forgot the A , and that was playin' C blues. just messin with you Sans,,
YOU GONNA BLOW THE JOINT AWAY!

UGH

Got photos of the "venue" today. Another gym, hardwood floors and all.
At least the walls are carpeted.
Does anyone other than the band consider acoustics ??

Just get in there tonight and let go George, let the music flow, and remember to have fun!

I hate gyms, but hey you gotta go where you gotta go. Ive found that in gyms we dont have to play near as loud as we want to and it ussually sounds better to me, cause everything carrys.

I think we all get to musical plateaus and just have to push on thru them, its frustrating when you hit the wall. Thats when I just go back and play all the simplest licks to just retain them in my "muscle memory". Just play them over and over, slow and fast til they just come natural to where you dont even think about them. When I play music live it just comes out, I dont want to concentrate on my playing that should be worked out in advance.

Will do John !