Really Frustrated Help.

[ironhorse777]

I recently picked up a new book and learning from it. Until a couple of days ago my playing was improving well and I would take very less time to complete exercises from the book. But over the last few days suddenly I feel like I am starting all over again. My fingers do not move so well. I cannot play the stuff I used to as well as I used to and It sounds horrible etc. I cannot believe that I was playing so well just a few days ago and now since a couple of days I have hit rock bottom. Does anyone experience this with their practise? If so please give me some tips to overcome this.
Cheers!

[fazool]

This is 100% completely normal.

Relax. Slow down. The trick is, as you get better and practice more, those "bad times" will get shorter and shorter and less frequent.

When I have one of those days, I put the guitar away and do something else.

[ironhorse777]

Originally Posted by fazool

This is 100% completely normal.

Relax. Slow down. The trick is, as you get better and practice more, those "bad times" will get shorter and shorter and less frequent.

When I have one of those days, I put the guitar away and do something else.

Sometimes I get so upset I cannot play a particular exercise I spend close to 30 min on that exercise which gets me frustrated even more. I look forward to playing guitar all throughout the day when I am doing other things and when I finally sit down to practise I feel as if I am holding the instrument for the first time. Anyways thanks for the tips. Will try to relax a little

[Davis Webb]

On and off days, everyone has them. Things will be fine in a few...

[Ciarre]

Absolutely. I've been known to wonder how I can practice almost every day and somehow get worse.
Keep your spirit up, you will prevail.

[Chin music]

Happens to me ALL the time. Will also happen to me within a single practice session. I will say that since I've made a personal commitment to practice more frequently, I find myself able to dig out of that hole a bit quicker than say five months ago when I was only picking up the instrument 2-3 times a week.

[ironhorse777]

Now I feel slightly better. I almost took my guitar to a local repair guy to see if there was something wrong

[Bingoccc]

Good. Get a good set up. When the time comes, start the metronome (or drum & cymbal program), Start tapping your foot. Then go for it.

We all have ups and downs. As is often said, it's a journey, not a destination.

[EoE]

keep your practice to sight reading for now and something new each time not something you can play. always something new..2 or three times a week .. the rest of the time pick the instrument up when you feel like playing and just enjoy it....after a while you will find you are more constant.

[callouses]

why is it we have peaks and valley's I don't know but it's true..I've been battling that for decades. all I can tell you is that it gets better, then worse, then better again..

[TBman]

You might just need a day or two off.

[Don W]

Originally Posted by ironhorse777

I recently picked up a new book and learning from it. Until a couple of days ago my playing was improving well and I would take very less time to complete exercises from the book. But over the last few days suddenly I feel like I am starting all over again. My fingers do not move so well. I cannot play the stuff I used to as well as I used to and It sounds horrible etc. I cannot believe that I was playing so well just a few days ago and now since a couple of days I have hit rock bottom. Does anyone experience this with their practise? If so please give me some tips to overcome this.
Cheers!

I play each day. Some are good and I feel like I'm getting it and some are not and I wonder if I will ever get it. I'm new to fingerstyle and have now learned 14 intricate pieces that I play well from memory...so when I think I will never get it, I look back and see what I have done and remind myself that its just an off day...easy does it.

[Pualee]

I've been there. Some things to think about:

Are you tired (sleeping less)?

Are you trying to play faster and don't realize it?

Have you changed to stiffer strings?

Is your guitar changing due to climate changes (fall coming)? Your action may be a tad higher.

Are you practicing the exercises less (and playing other things more)?

Are you becoming more critical of your playing?

Are there new distractions - are you less mentally engaged?

---

This is just one of those things to work through. Put the guitar down, take a nap, get a bite, have a drink... then go show that guitar who's boss.

[LeftArm]

Is it the exercises from the book that are causing the problem?
Try breaking up practice time into shorter segments.
Work on the exercise for a shorter time but concentrate only on the parts that are a problem even if this is only one bar or swapping between two notes. (say 10 minutes)
Then play something that your learning but is not too difficult (10 minutes)
Then just play what you like (10 minutes)

[T1mothy]

warming up with few simple stretching exercises helped me eliminating this problem quite a bit