making more changes - practicing
 

Hi guys,

I want to find the fun in playing again. After learning some difficult piano rags and feeling extremely discouraged about my playing and also going through some difficult family times, the fun is truly gone. Worried I may quit playing guitar altogether, I had a long talk with Woody Mann about this and he helped me gain some perspective. Since then I have been reflecting on all of this quite seriously and I have decided my practice regime needs a major overhaul.

Some back story: I've been playing for 33 years. Starting 16 years ago I decided to get into fingerpicking with a long term goal being learning some classic ragtime. I practiced 3-4 hours a day 7 days a week. My practice time was focused on building new repertoire and maintaining existing repertoire. Any techniques, chords, etc. were learned in support of learning a song. Once a year I've gone to Fur Peace Ranch.

Over a year ago my repertoire had grown so much that playing it all in one sitting was impossible. It was now taking 5 hours and I was completely exhausted afterwards. On top of that I was learning new material. Friends, mentors and family were rightfully telling me that this course was not sustainable. Hoping to make things better I split the repertoire in two parts to be played on alternating days. The days in between I worked on new material. After a year of this I've come to the realization that this is not working for me either. It's still a lot of pressure trying to get through everything and it has been draining away my enthusiasm in a serious way. After a talk with my wife I landed on a new proposed practice regime:

Sunday: 2 hours playing through the first 60 songs in my repertoire, pretty easy stuff. 1 hour working on my latest song if I have energy.

Monday: 1-2 hours on my latest song.

Tuesday: 1-2 hours on my latest song.

Wednesday: 2 hours playing through the 7 classic piano ragtime pieces in my repertoire. These are very tough for me and require a lot of focus and often a lot of brushing up. 1 hour work on latest song if I have energy.

Thursday: 1-2 hours on my latest song. Possible recording night instead.

Friday: 2 hours or less playing through the last 20 songs in my repertoire. Since these are new they also require focus and some brushing up. 1 hour work on latest song if I have energy.

Saturday: Day off.

~10-15 hours a week works for me and my family.

So what do you think?

I put all the songs I want to "keep up" in a random list generator and have it tell me which 4-5 I'll run through each day. Then I use the rest of my time doing other things.

But I don't gig so it's not as critical for me.

Doug,

1. I admire your discipline!

2. Your wife is a saint, but you knew that :)

But as you say, if it's not fun what's the point?

In your last thread I almost suggested taking a temporary break. But based on what you are doing now this new plan is pretty much slacker territory :)

I went through something similar with a sport as a kid. My expectations exceeded my abilities, despite a whole lot of effort. By the time I got out of high school the fun was gone, and I gave it up for quite a while and pursued less productive recreational activities. If this current plan doesn't reignite your enthusiasm then you might consider taking a week or even a month off. I bet you will come back even stronger.

Is it necessary to keep your entire repertoire ready to go all the time, from memory? I suspect you already have those tunes so deeply imprinted that giving them a rest for a while would not mean losing them completely, just a little brushing up with the written music when necessary.

And what about a little strumming and singing? That's what I do when the finger-picking starts to feel stale or overly technical. Or even another genre? As much as we love the blues and rags, there is a lot of other wonderful finger style music to play.

I feel kind of funny giving you advice, since you are one of the people who inspired me to give finger style a try, and I'm glad I did. Thanks for that, and hang in there. I suspect some of this is a symptom of what you have gone through over the past year, and it will get better with time.

Wow! No offense but reading this makes me twitchy. It doesn't sound fun at all. Kind of obsessive compulsive. I think it's time to make faces at the teacher or something. I could never even touch this dedication. When ever I get to where I don't look forward to playing guitar I stop for a couple of days. Then I'll slid in when I'm laid back and just play stuff. Easy stuff that isn't something to be worked on. I only work on stuff when I'm in the mood to work on stuff and I only play things that I find fun to play, because I enjoy them. Either that or buy a new guitar ;)

Why maintain an extended unnecessary repertoire? That seems to be dragging you down like a heavy anchor. Just play the old ones you enjoy playing and only learn new ones that attract you and seem like they would be fun to play. Personally I have let the vast majority of tunes fade away without regret. I play what I like to play, learn and compose new things that I find interesting and fun.

I've got my "coat hook" tune to which I return as needed to relax and have fun. It has been great to find new sounds from other tunes and endeavors and import them into it to compare and contrast. If the ratio of joy to effort on a new piece swings toward effort, back I go for a reboot.

I look at the choice like this:

Do I want to practice or play? I favor play for the greater percentage of time spent. As previously noted, your regimen does seem to have a fair amount of compulsion. I wouldn't enjoy that.

+1!!
I haven't asked or know this, but.....do you play out, Doug? To me, that would be a reason to hang with such a maintenance schedule. Like Derek, I have a variety of my 40 or so originals that I've let go or have faded to open up new pathways for new material. I could get them back as needed, but there is only so much to carry consecutively and still retain the fun and the development of fresh material, or refining ones you value and like.
The realization of all this, for me, came on gradually as time and new material made itself known. Each person is different,but with your talents.... I'm sure you'll hear more from folks on keeping it fun. that's my wish for you!!
All the best,
Fred

I'm like Rick and Fred. Stuff I have learned in the past I just let go and concentrate on 2 or 3 new songs. The option is always there to go back and relearn an old favorite.

The difficult thing is finding songs that are challenging, but achievable in a decent amount of time. To be honest I think its better to play songs at a notch below our top ability and nail it then to be constantly pushing the envelope and frustrating ourselves.


I think your 10 to 15 hours a week is good. You need guitar time for you as well as family time.

Back to the drawing board I guess.

Is there an ROI or am I missing something?

I play for fun. Fun drives me to play whether publicly or, mostly, privately, and the minute the fun gives way to some faux benefit level I stop. I know lot's of material (songs and instrumentals) and I'm always making up new stuff. But, moderation is in play to safeguard against ruining the fun.

I disagree, Doug. Use whatever system works for you. What works for others is irrelevant. Best of luck.

This. In your dialed down plan, you mention playing 60 songs in two hours. That boggles my mind and I would not in any way find that enjoyable. I have a lot of material I want to work on but I make the most progress and get the most enjoyment with focusing on less material (less is more). Hope you can dial it back and find good mojo.

Mr. Jelly and Wyllys,

please stop accusing me of having a mental disorder. It's obnoxious at best. Thanks.

...but as he said it is not working for him, thus some of the suggestions

This post is my last here at this forum. To all of you who have been friends thank you. It's time for me to move on. All the best.