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  #16  
Old 03-23-2015, 02:10 PM
Inked Inked is offline
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I've been playing for 30 years and still can't play a song. But I can sure play a lot of notes from a lot of songs.
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  #17  
Old 03-23-2015, 02:29 PM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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It depends on the material. Songs that are basically singing with guitar backup that can be learned very quickly you could easily have several new ones going on at the same time. Hardest part would be the lyrics. Difficult pieces (mainly instrumentals) could require focusing on only one or two at the same time and over a longer period of time.
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  #18  
Old 03-23-2015, 03:00 PM
gdbird gdbird is offline
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I work on a couple at a time. Reasoning: You know that song that drives you crazy trying to learn or to play cleanly after learning....if you leave it alone for a few days, and come back to it, it always seems like things fall into place. At least for me. I think you can "over practice" a song. You can't get it right, frustration kicks in, and everything goes straight downhill. Mental/physical fatigue at the same time. Sometimes a song has to "marinate".
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  #19  
Old 03-23-2015, 05:49 PM
UncleJoe UncleJoe is offline
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I'm working on 4 new songs right now. Like gdbird said; sometimes you can get stuck. When I get to that point I give it a rest for a couple days and then come back to it. But I still have a few others while the one is "marinating".
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  #20  
Old 04-02-2015, 07:50 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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I have found through trial and error, that I can work on a maximum of 8 new songs (instrumental) at a time. I list them and spend 15 minutes on each one, spending 30 to 60 minutes each sitting. As I get one piece down really well, it goes on my repertoire list I choose the next song to begin. It usually takes a couple of months to really learn a song but I'm having fun. After doing this rotation 4 times, I spend a few days enjoying my electric guitar, then about a week going through each piece I know (over 100), repeating those that need work. Then it's back to the new song list. This is a challenging routine and I hope it will keep my brain healthy as I'm into my 60s now.
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  #21  
Old 04-02-2015, 08:28 AM
love the guitar love the guitar is offline
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I feel like every song I play is still being worked on....never really get "there".
There are songs that are on my rear burner and will take a long time to learn due to new fingerings etc while other songs I can play in just sitting with it for a few hours. Occasionally there's a song that I can play at the tempo I want except for a small piece of it, sometimes it takes quite a while to get that section up to the rest of the piece. I play in lots of genres including jazz, blues, rock, bossa nova's etc. My mindset is that with music I'm like a plant that is constantly growing. I will never really get there, just keep trying to improve. For me it's all about loving and enjoying the process.
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  #22  
Old 04-02-2015, 10:43 PM
daza152 daza152 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Inked View Post
I've been playing for 30 years and still can't play a song. But I can sure play a lot of notes from a lot of songs.
ha that's me too, I don't play any song from start to finish, sell even when there is only a verse and chorus to learn as it goes sometimes, I guess the not singing would make you not want to play a whole song? um, I like to to play a song till it is recognisable as the song I am trying to play that brings joy and is enough for me...I tend to choose a song that really gets to me, like the one and only one I keep practising 'Over The Hills and far Away' wow that's a toughie but worth it sounds cool to me, and I love the way it sounds when playing the record, still a wee way off from playing along haha.
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  #23  
Old 04-03-2015, 11:43 AM
gdbird gdbird is offline
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I too am in my 60s. About 18 months ago I was involved in a highly stressful situation and went back to the guitar as a way of taking my mind off of "things". I had not picked up a guitar in over 30 years.

First song I take on....Tony Rice's rendition of "BlackBerry Blossom". I only learned the first versre and the chorus. Will I ever learn it completely.... doubtful. But it's alway the first song I play when I start a practice session.

I have moved on to other songs and learn them from start to finish...ok..maybe not the Layla solo...I do have limitations. Ha.

I have to be careful that I get wrapped up in one song so much that I neglect the rest of my song list.
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