People in their 40's, do you notice...?

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Warm up and stretch for a while when starting to playing. I do simple things like:
- bending my wrist forward and hold it and then backwards and hold it. Both hands.
- Then reach both arms up above my head and just shake the shit out of my hands letting my hands and fingers fly all around
- Then play warm up exercises a little bit
- Them start playing some easy rhythm parts and simple melodies
Just takes a few minutes but over time it makes a difference
 
CoreyW said:
So, I know we have never met, but I am the opposite of what you describe.

In my late teens and early 20s playing in cover bands and even a local elks lodge house band.. I could do some southern rock, popish, blues type stuff, but it was stuff i had to work on for a while to learn. Black Sabbath solos were difficult for me, my speed and technique was pitiful, but I was easy to work with, dependable, and people liked hanging out with me, which I credit more to me getting gigs than my playing ability.

Over the years, I would play a good amount for a couple years then put it down for a couple years, rinse and repeat. Then in the mid 2010's I got really fired up, started myself a home studio, and finally took playing serious. Got with a couple online instructors and spent probably a year fixing shit shit that I was doing wrong/bad from my self taught days, and I though I made pretty good progress, even started tackling some of the songs I have always wanted to play.. Bark at the Moon was a goal of mine... got most of the song down and up to speed relatively quickly, but the scale run at the end of the solo kicked my ass and I spent months working on it and eventually got it.

Life got in the way, and I put everything down for a while again, had a baby, moved houses lost my basement studio, career change, I was eventually able to get my practice space set back up, and actually prioritize my play time.

I currently travel for work, im in a hotel 3-4 nights a week, so I have a mobile set up that I get to practice usually 2+ hours a night. My technical ability is leaps and bounds ahead of anytime in my entire playing history. I spent months like 6-8 trying to get Bark at the moon down several years ago, a couple of months ago I spent about 2 weeks getting Technical Difficulties up to speed to play a long with the track, I still have to clean it up. Master of Puppets down picked the way James intended, up to playing with the album in just a couple of days, Im working currently on learning the entire No More Tears album... while I know this isnt Yngwie or Via, but im getting to the point where I am able to sit down and just learn what I want to learn, and not have to sit and develop a new technique just to even start to try and learn something.
Click to expand...
Dude, that’s awesome and inspiring! Glad to hear a personal account that goes against my “theory.”

In my mid forties, I know I’m progressing incrementally over time with the stuff I’m working on, but when I have an off day, I have to remind myself of the long game, and not get too negative.

I don’t even have a good reason to get so wrapped up in my skill, progress, bad off days. I’m a hobbyist bedroom guy LOL. Nobody give a damn about me and my guitar, it’s important to me though.

I want to do something along the lines of an old dude fusion/prog band when my job situation changes (there is light at the end of the tunnel).
Old guy niche music will still result in nobody but me caring about how I play LOL.

Music has been such a long time rewarding pursuit, I get a lot out of the constant challenge of self improvement, plus sometimes I just enjoy playing for fun, no strings attached.

Ultimately, I don’t want to suck at guitar. There are still occasions when I do suck at guitar LOL. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be as rewarding.

Thanks again for speaking on your experience.
 
GuitarVacation said:
Dude, that’s awesome and inspiring! Glad to hear a personal account that goes against my “theory.”

In my mid forties, I know I’m progressing incrementally over time with the stuff I’m working on, but when I have an off day, I have to remind myself of the long game, and not get too negative.

I don’t even have a good reason to get so wrapped up in my skill, progress, bad off days. I’m a hobbyist bedroom guy LOL. Nobody give a damn about me and my guitar, it’s important to me though.

I want to do something along the lines of an old dude fusion/prog band when my job situation changes (there is light at the end of the tunnel).
Old guy niche music will still result in nobody but me caring about how I play LOL.

Music has been such a long time rewarding pursuit, I get a lot out of the constant challenge of self improvement, plus sometimes I just enjoy playing for fun, no strings attached.

Ultimately, I don’t want to suck at guitar. There are still occasions when I do suck at guitar LOL. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be as rewarding.

Thanks again for speaking on your experience.
Click to expand...

Thank you,

Im probably going to get some flack for saying this... but I finally started to try some new ways of approaching things and for me the old school methods did not work.

Learning something slow and deliberate and working the speed up has never worked for me, I only play stuff really slow until I get it under my fingers, then I get try and play it at speed, and if you can handle the initial frustration I am getting results so much faster and quicker than I ever did trying to start slow. For me, I am having more success getting a difficult section to the point I can fumble through it at the speed of my the reference track and I can speed it up even faster if I need to which helps clean up what I was trying to do at the initial speed. Some things I do need to slow it down a little, but I am talking around the 80-90% mark, not 60bpm.

I am a huge proponent of GuitarPro, and have been using it for years, but have changed my approach from the start slow and work up, to start at full speed and isolate smaller sections and just loop them and add the next note or two to each play through, It has really developed my ability to site read tab, but once I can get it closer to memorized, I move to the track as quick as I can to play along with the album.

I mentioned earlier about starting a practice journal, and I can not emphasize enough how much it has helped me. It keeps me focused, as I keep a running list of goals and what I am working on, I use it to hold myself somewhat accountable in actually practicing what I want/need to work on, I track areas that give me issue and isolate them into guitarpro practice files, and ill work on them daily... this also helps expand my lick vocabulary.

My main goal, is to get proficient enough where I can more focus on learning new songs, and writing them, without having to develop a new skill to play the songs I want to play. If you cant play 16th notes at 180bpm, how do you expect to learn a song with a lot of 16th notes at 180bpm, if you can already play notes at that tempo, you only have to learn what notes to play and not what notes and how to play them.


If you have not already, Reach out to Nick aka @Techdeth book a couple of lessons with him, and learn the Michaelanglo Batio exercise he tries to show people, it is a great daily warm up, if you have a way to step it up from slow to ridiculously fast.
 
CoreyW said:
Thank you,

Im probably going to get some flack for saying this... but I finally started to try some new ways of approaching things and for me the old school methods did not work.

Learning something slow and deliberate and working the speed up has never worked for me, I only play stuff really slow until I get it under my fingers, then I get try and play it at speed, and if you can handle the initial frustration I am getting results so much faster and quicker than I ever did trying to start slow. For me, I am having more success getting a difficult section to the point I can fumble through it at the speed of my the reference track and I can speed it up even faster if I need to which helps clean up what I was trying to do at the initial speed. Some things I do need to slow it down a little, but I am talking around the 80-90% mark, not 60bpm.

I am a huge proponent of GuitarPro, and have been using it for years, but have changed my approach from the start slow and work up, to start at full speed and isolate smaller sections and just loop them and add the next note or two to each play through, It has really developed my ability to site read tab, but once I can get it closer to memorized, I move to the track as quick as I can to play along with the album.

I mentioned earlier about starting a practice journal, and I can not emphasize enough how much it has helped me. It keeps me focused, as I keep a running list of goals and what I am working on, I use it to hold myself somewhat accountable in actually practicing what I want/need to work on, I track areas that give me issue and isolate them into guitarpro practice files, and ill work on them daily... this also helps expand my lick vocabulary.

My main goal, is to get proficient enough where I can more focus on learning new songs, and writing them, without having to develop a new skill to play the songs I want to play. If you cant play 16th notes at 180bpm, how do you expect to learn a song with a lot of 16th notes at 180bpm, if you can already play notes at that tempo, you only have to learn what notes to play and not what notes and how to play them.


If you have not already, Reach out to Nick aka @Techdeth book a couple of lessons with him, and learn the Michaelanglo Batio exercise he tries to show people, it is a great daily warm up, if you have a way to step it up from slow to ridiculously fast.
Click to expand...
Cory is gay for me too
 
ZEEGLER said:
I turn 55 this year. I'd say that overall, my playing is still improving, but my downpicking speed has definitely diminished. I think that has more to do with the fact that I don't play anything with fast downpicking anymore.

I tried playing along with STs How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today album, and I just face palm myself. I used to play that whole album front to back with no issues.
Click to expand...
This! When I started playing, I did all down strokes and learned Metallica when they came out in the 80s. Now, I barely play that stuff or use all down strokes with my playing so naturally it's going to feel like a struggle trying to play like that.
 
I'm definitely not as fast and fluid as I was in my 20's. I had more time to play then, played in bands out constantly, etc. I've had hand injuries since then that affect things, children who cut down my time for playing, and a (non-music) career that probably hurt it more. Plus, we do age. I can't run as fast as I did then, and get injured if I ever try doing it, so not sure why my hands would be immune to the same aging process. I'm not incompetent or anything now, but nowhere near where I was from 20-35....really, with anything physical. That's just life.
 
BeZo said:
You can wish in one pair of shoes and shit in another, and only one pair will make your feet stink. It's great that you feel good about your playing, but putting in the work is the only way to see tangible results.
Click to expand...
Try not to take VB too seriously.
 
Nigel said:
Aging is damage from stress. Stress comes from food, environment, activity, and mood.

In other words, optional.
Click to expand...
While there are many factors under our control, aging happens no matter how kind we are to ourselves.
 
JDs Couch said:
While there are many factors under our control, aging happens no matter how kind we are to ourselves.
Click to expand...
Do you eat carbohydrates, or plants?

Observe Maggie White, 83, with Dr. Anthony Chaffe:

642F380C-F213-4D80-AD5F-EA706496545E.jpeg

5D4172B4-6F84-4514-BED5-0F8ED680B8DE.jpeg
 
CoreyW said:
Thank you,

Im probably going to get some flack for saying this... but I finally started to try some new ways of approaching things and for me the old school methods did not work.

Learning something slow and deliberate and working the speed up has never worked for me, I only play stuff really slow until I get it under my fingers, then I get try and play it at speed, and if you can handle the initial frustration I am getting results so much faster and quicker than I ever did trying to start slow. For me, I am having more success getting a difficult section to the point I can fumble through it at the speed of my the reference track and I can speed it up even faster if I need to which helps clean up what I was trying to do at the initial speed. Some things I do need to slow it down a little, but I am talking around the 80-90% mark, not 60bpm.

I am a huge proponent of GuitarPro, and have been using it for years, but have changed my approach from the start slow and work up, to start at full speed and isolate smaller sections and just loop them and add the next note or two to each play through, It has really developed my ability to site read tab, but once I can get it closer to memorized, I move to the track as quick as I can to play along with the album.

I mentioned earlier about starting a practice journal, and I can not emphasize enough how much it has helped me. It keeps me focused, as I keep a running list of goals and what I am working on, I use it to hold myself somewhat accountable in actually practicing what I want/need to work on, I track areas that give me issue and isolate them into guitarpro practice files, and ill work on them daily... this also helps expand my lick vocabulary.

My main goal, is to get proficient enough where I can more focus on learning new songs, and writing them, without having to develop a new skill to play the songs I want to play. If you cant play 16th notes at 180bpm, how do you expect to learn a song with a lot of 16th notes at 180bpm, if you can already play notes at that tempo, you only have to learn what notes to play and not what notes and how to play them.


If you have not already, Reach out to Nick aka @Techdeth book a couple of lessons with him, and learn the Michaelanglo Batio exercise he tries to show people, it is a great daily warm up, if you have a way to step it up from slow to ridiculously fast.
Click to expand...
Great info. Good example of knowledge and experience kicking in, leading you to recognize the particulars of how you learn most effectively. Sounds like you have applied that to great affect.

I totally agree ref assessing your technique in the terms that it allows you to execute the music you want to play. One of my guitar teachers said technique is important to the degree that you want it to be at a level that it is not a factor at all (no barrier) to you playing what you hear or want to execute at any given moment.

I wish I could say I have reached the peak of that mountain haha. I'm better than I ever have been though, and I intentionally have different technical elements in my practice to make sure I'm as sharp as possible, and I'm still moving the needle. The main goal is incremental improvement over time, and sometimes attacking something particular that has come up in my playing.

I'll keep Techdeth in mind if I need a total paradigm shift/challenge to switch gears haha.
 
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