10 things that hold people back from progressing

[ploverwing]

speaks for itself but I have no idea why anyone attempts to learn a tune they’ve never actually heard. What’s the point there? Heck, I often have lots of trouble playing tunes I’ve heard all my life, an example being “It’s Only A Paper Moon” which continues to flummox me.

I play a lot of classical and early music pieces that I've never heard before. Different music, different starting point from that perspective!

 

[man0a]

I play a lot of music that I've never heard before, too. The first thing I do is listen to recordings on Spotify or YouTube so I get a feel for the melody. Maybe that doesn't count as "never heard before" by the time I try to play it.

 

[chris667]

I agree that the video is too long for me to watch, but let me just say the #1 reason that I think people are not progressing is that they spend too much time playing and not enough time practicing.

See, this would never work for me.

I have to experiment and play - I would just get bored and stop if I had to practce x numbers of scales, for example. I need to give my attention a job.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

I owe several folk an apology. Everyone has different approaches. I personally have no interest in playing tunes I’ve never heard but never intended to criticize you if you have a different preference. Aloha to all!

 

[ploverwing]

I owe several folk an apology. Everyone has different approaches. I personally have no interest in playing tunes I’ve never heard but never intended to criticize you if you have a different preference. Aloha to all!

Lol wasn't a criticism, I was just pointing out different strokes for different reasons, right? If I wanted to learn music that I was going to sing to I would ABSOLUTELY start with stuff i at least somewhat recognized, so yeah, I agree with that!

I have to experiment and play - I would just get bored and stop if I had to practce x numbers of scales, for example. I need to give my attention a job.

I'm not sure that practice has to equal something as rigid as scales (as an example). I'll practice a section that I'm struggling with over and over, focusing on technique (e.g. timing, or alternate fingering, or loosening up, etc.). Do you never try something that doesn't quite work more than once to get it down a little more solidly? If you do, that's practice: you are focusing on something specific. Then you go off and make music and enjoy what you've achieved, that's playing. But maybe you never have to work on stuff because you don't struggle with anything. If so, huge hats off to you, because that's impressive as heck! I am not there (and definitely not there any time soon)!

 

[Jan D]

I owe several folk an apology. Everyone has different approaches. I personally have no interest in playing tunes I’ve never heard but never intended to criticize you if you have a different preference. Aloha to all!

Sometimes it’s just a different starting point. I was 5 yrs old when my parents signed me up for piano lessons. Back then, the piano repertoire being taught was about 95% classical music - a form of music I had never heard before. My parents weren’t into classical. There was no internet to turn to. So I learned to play my first instrument from the standard notation of music that was completely foreign to my ears. I never questioned whether this was a good or bad idea. I just loved making music and absorbed everything my teacher introduced me to. That set the pattern for every other instrument I took up over the years.

I’ve been exposed to a lot of music in my life, and much of it has been original harp music written by other people. No videos or recordings exist for many of these original pieces, so it’s quite likely I don’t play them exactly as their creator intended. But it is within the original music that I have found some of the most remarkably beautiful, satisfying, and emotionally moving tunes. Tunes that have sustained me during difficult times. Tunes that still make me smile when I play them. Tunes that have made my musical life richer. I do love familiar songs, but my musical journey would have been a much poorer experience if my repertoire had been limited to only familiar tunes.

But that’s been my path, and I firmly believe that people should play the music that interests them, so carry on, Oldscruggsfan. It’s your journey (and Howling Tom’s). Do what works best for the two of you. Life is too short to do otherwise.

 

[Uke with Smitty]

Sometimes it’s just a different starting point. I was 5 yrs old when my parents signed me up for piano lessons. Back then, the piano repertoire being taught was about 95% classical music - a form of music I had never heard before. My parents weren’t into classical. There was no internet to turn to. So I learned to play my first instrument from the standard notation of music that was completely foreign to my ears. I never questioned whether this was a good or bad idea. I just loved making music and absorbed everything my teacher introduced me to. That set the pattern for every other instrument I took up over the years.

I’ve been exposed to a lot of music in my life, and a lot of it has been original harp music written by other people. No videos or recordings exist for many of these original pieces, so it’s quite likely I don’t play them exactly as their creator intended. But it is within the original music that I have found some of the most remarkably beautiful, satisfying, and emotionally moving tunes. Tunes that have sustained me during difficult times. Tunes that still make me smile when I play them. Tunes that have made my musical life richer. I do love familiar songs, but my musical journey would have been a much poorer experience if my repertoire had been limited to only familiar tunes.

But that’s been my path, and I firmly believe that people should play the music that interests them, so carry on, Oldscruggsfan. It’s your journey (and Howling Tom’s). Do what works best for the two of you. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Beautifully said

 

[chris667]

Do you never try something that doesn't quite work more than once to get it down a little more solidly? If you do, that's practice: you are focusing on something specific.

In that case, yes I do. Using that metric, it takes me anywhere between three and seven hours of practice a day to become the solid middle-laner I've managed to achieve. This is music on a whole new level. Intermediate!

What you said made me think about this a bit more, as it happens. I'm not sure you DO need to improve. If you're happy with where you are, I suppose it doesn't matter. It would get boring for me, personally, but I'm not that person. Some of my favourite people at the local uke clubs and open mics do the same thing every month, and have done for years.

 

[ploverwing]

I'm not sure you DO need to improve. If you're happy with where you are, I suppose it doesn't matter

I agree. If that's what you're content with, then that's good enough for you. I also agree: that's boring (for me). I want to keep learning.

In that case, yes I do. Using that metric, it takes me anywhere between three and seven hours of practice a day to become the solid middle-laner I've managed to achieve. This is music on a whole new level. Intermediate!

Wow. You must be a really SOLID middle-laner, then. That's a lot of work, and I'm sure that it's reflected in your music. Especially if you have the ability to compare how you play now to how you played before. I don't spend as long as three hours most days on my practice, often as much as an hour, usually less, but usually daily. So I'll take a lot longer to get anywhere, but it's what I've got time for right now.

I think that with any skill, intermediate takes a long time to achieve from beginner, but expert takes a lot longer to achieve from intermediate. Intermediate is not to be dismissed lightly, it represents a lot of devotion and effort. I am definitely hopeful to someday reach intermediate!

 

[Wiggy]

I don't know if this is holding me back (I have no schedule), but know I cannot go forward without it.

1. I am obsessed with being in tune and having adjacent strings that complement (volume, tone, sustain) and sound balanced (no one string stands out) together.

My greatest love of the ukulele is how effectively (convincingly) it can play chords with 4, 5, or even 6 individual notes in them by choosing which notes to not play depending on the context. This cannot be done unless the included notes are on pitch. It is amazing how a person's mind will complete the chords based on the sequence and with help from notes in the melody line.

2. Care and feeding of 12 ukuleles requires keeping them immediately accessible, tuned, strings changed as necessary to improve tone and playability, and adjusting arm and instrument positions for easier (and less painful) play. Learn how to adjust nut slots for comfortable play and better intonation by making changes in very small increments.

Each is the same, but different. Refresh (not justify) impressions of why you still like them and understand their differences.

3... Finally, play through the complete song. This is a world where I am fulfilled when I get it right.

 

[Melodytchi]

This thread has been helpful to me. I'm a beginner so not much I can add but I will definitely keep these points in mind!

 

[Uke with Smitty]

This thread has been helpful to me. I'm a beginner so not much I can add but I will definitely keep these points in mind!

So glad to hear that