Frustrated...

[delocon]

GRRRRR!

I am entering what one might call my first plateau in playing. My current challenge, which I will assault as soon as I've completed this post, is to be able to pick/strum any string/strings I want whenever I want, however fast I want. This is going to take !A LONG FUCKING TIME! to accomplish, but I will not be defeated. Of course my

Comments

[brokenmellcifer]

One of them is on her way to a PhD at the moment

SAY IT'S ME! I could use all the luck I can get!!! PRAY FOR ME.

Muscle memory takes forever, which is basically why I suck hard at guitar and gave up ever trying years ago. Nathan seems to have this innate talent, however, though he vouches (from the peanut gallery) that it takes years of practice. We're going to get an acoustic some time in the next year -- aww! our first guitar together! -- and I swear I'm going to go back to playing. Once I've got that pesky doctorate out of the way.

[delocon]

Well I was trying to be respectful!

Yes, GO MEL! And all that jazzymicjazz. You can learn the guitar, and then write a paper about how it developed through medieval europe, then you can sing the lesson to your students in bluegrass style! ;)

From the beginning, I knew you were capable. :)

[brokenmellcifer]

You can do it too!

Plateauing is good -- it means you're now mastering the things you've just learned. It's alright to pause there for a little bit while it all sinks into your muscles. Soon it'll all just be a part of the way your hands move. I can still play "Blackbird" by muscle memory alone (poorly, albeit, but still!)

You may be delighted to learn that the word for Guitar in Latin is practically the same: cithara. It's pronounced with a hard C and sounds so similar to the English word. (Ok, to be fair it's not actually a guitar, but some ancient stringed instrument, but still!) And I can't find the old english word for it but I know somewhere in the back of my brain that it's similar, because the German is Gitarre. I don't know why all this delights me, but it does.

[notawaterimp]

I hadn't realized that there was so much invisible l33t in my meme. I'll be sure to avoid that next time. XD I'm glad that someone took it from me - tagging seems a waste of time, especially with such a small friendslist.

I didn't know you don't believe in spirits of any kind - you should go to the theatre school and try climbing the attic ladder then. I've not been able to test it myself, but it's supposedly haunted to the point that no one's been able to pass a certain rung.

... Tales of hauntings are a guilty pleasure of mine. XD

[delocon]

Actually, it was kinda a homage to your not tagging friends. I've seen some... disturbing memes go through this thing.

I like tales of hauntings too, but I've never in my life had a paranormal experience. Even when I was in my teens, trying to saying Bloodymary three times in front of a mirror in the dark always gave me a thrill right up to the last letter. But then I was in a way disappointed that she did not come and chop off my hands. :/

And yeah, I'll take on that ladder anyday providing it does not collapse and cause the shattering of my neck.

[notawaterimp]

Bloodymary is hardly the way to tell if there are spirits or not... I would think if that's how you've been searching, you've been searching in the wrong places. I've had a few experiences, though nothing really definitive... Though, enough to make me believe.

I'd love to try the ladder, though I worry more about what's up there, if there's something that's always stopped people from venturing too far.

[doc__holliday]

So essentially all the women I want really are out of my league.

I suppose we all feel that way at times.

One piece of advice I can give as a musician is whatever you do, don't start over if you fuck up. That actually impedes the building of muscle memory, as kinesthetic motion is what you eventually memorize. If you're tripping over a section, go over it both isolated, and as part of the passage. It will make memorizing so much easier.

:)

Perhaps too practical a suggestions, but:

[caitdepaor]

Aside from the cute diddies we played in guitar class in highschool ad nauseum, I found the song Street Spirit by Radiohead a good song to learn with/from where finger picking is concerned. It's a kick-ass song and you can still keep to the tune no matter how painfully slowly you play it, but it's complex enough to give you a feeling of accomplishment when you finally get it going at a good speed.
Good Luck and don't give up!
:)