The Guitar Players Lament - That"s As Much As I Know
Learning a new tune on the guitar is great, isn't it? You've heard something new, and have decided you want to play it.
You search for music, or TAB, or just decide you are going to figure it out yourself.
You have everything you need.
The first couple of days go well.
You grab your guitar every chance you get, tune it up and start right in.
You have the first line down great.
You play it relentlessly.
It sounds just like the real thing.
That second line is a little harder, but you finally get it.
You practice until your fingers are sore.
The trouble is, if you are like most people, when you practice, you start at the beginning of the song.
That first part is getting really good, and it should.
You've been playing it over and over.
Those next sections though, need some work.
Pretty soon you find yourself halfway through the piece, and starting to lose interest.
The part you know, you know really well.
You want to play it for friends and family, and they really like what you have so far, but your playing always kind of fades away, and then eventually you have to say "and that's as much as I know".
Every guitar piece has easy sections, hard sections, well known sections and less well known sections.
Trying to learn a piece just like it is on the CD can be a daunting task.
Quite often, the CD has an extended version on it, with many repeats or slight variations.
Just the length of the piece you want to learn can make it physically and mentally demanding.
You will have much better luck when you are starting out if you can first decide exactly what parts of the tune you want to play.
Make yourself a condensed version.
You can always add sections back in later if you want to.
Then start learning from the last measure.
You already know you are going to practice the first parts you learn over and over.
If you start at the end, your playing will get stronger as you get further into the music, instead of fading away to the point that is "as much as you know".
From now on, try this: 1.
Decide on a condensed version to learn.
2.
Start learning from the end of the piece.
These two simple things will make you a more confident player.
You will be able to play complete pieces, and your playing will get stronger as you get into the piece, instead of fading away to nothing.
You search for music, or TAB, or just decide you are going to figure it out yourself.
You have everything you need.
The first couple of days go well.
You grab your guitar every chance you get, tune it up and start right in.
You have the first line down great.
You play it relentlessly.
It sounds just like the real thing.
That second line is a little harder, but you finally get it.
You practice until your fingers are sore.
The trouble is, if you are like most people, when you practice, you start at the beginning of the song.
That first part is getting really good, and it should.
You've been playing it over and over.
Those next sections though, need some work.
Pretty soon you find yourself halfway through the piece, and starting to lose interest.
The part you know, you know really well.
You want to play it for friends and family, and they really like what you have so far, but your playing always kind of fades away, and then eventually you have to say "and that's as much as I know".
Every guitar piece has easy sections, hard sections, well known sections and less well known sections.
Trying to learn a piece just like it is on the CD can be a daunting task.
Quite often, the CD has an extended version on it, with many repeats or slight variations.
Just the length of the piece you want to learn can make it physically and mentally demanding.
You will have much better luck when you are starting out if you can first decide exactly what parts of the tune you want to play.
Make yourself a condensed version.
You can always add sections back in later if you want to.
Then start learning from the last measure.
You already know you are going to practice the first parts you learn over and over.
If you start at the end, your playing will get stronger as you get further into the music, instead of fading away to the point that is "as much as you know".
From now on, try this: 1.
Decide on a condensed version to learn.
2.
Start learning from the end of the piece.
These two simple things will make you a more confident player.
You will be able to play complete pieces, and your playing will get stronger as you get into the piece, instead of fading away to nothing.
