Been playing for 9 years...stuck in a rut...

[FretWizard88]

So here is my predicament,

I have been playing for 9 years, and have been taking lessons for 6 of those years on and off. I think of myself as a pretty decent player, but I know there is a lot of room for improvement. I have tons of books, DVDs, and have watched plenty of videos online (Riff of Week and Lick of the Week), but the second I say I am going to practice with these things, I get sidetracked and don't follow through with it. I know what you are thinking, "You need better time management skills." but I just don't feel like I get anywhere when I actually sit down and learn this technique or this scale.

I guess I am just asking for a little advise as to what is the next step for me becoming a better player. I know that joining a band is a great way to get better, but being from Green Bay, Wisconsin is like living in METAL FREE MUSIC SCENE.

Thanks to all can help me through this lull in my musical journey.

Matt

 

[ArkaneDemon]

Doesn't have to be a metal band. Join/start something you are unfamiliar with. That will force you to learn something outside your sphere of interest which will broaden your musical horizon, and unlock new skills and techniques and open your eyes to a different scene. Hell, I play and listen to metal every day, and yet I'm trying to start a jazz trio cause I got an 8 string guitar that I want to utilize in new ways unknown to me. I literally have no idea how to write or play jazz, but I'm forcing myself to learn and apply what I'm learning in a short timeframe and it's helping greatly. Not to mention that the theory and skills I'm learning through this method can easily be applied to the metal stuff I normally do. It's something you should think over. Just don't go into something that takes less skill than what you're currently doing, otherwise you won't learn much.

 

[FretWizard88]

I know it doesn't have to be metal, it is trying to find musicians in the area that actually take music seriously. I would love to start a jazz trio, and I know from taking lessons that Jazz is your friend when it comes to knowing your shit.

I think I just gotta force myself to learn something more difficult, instead of playing the same shit over and over again. I mean I can sit down with Petrucci's Rock Discipline book every day for an entire year, play it note for note, but if I don't understand how to apply it, what am I going to get out of it....Nada....

 

[troyguitar]

If exercises aren't doing it for you, learn some songs instead?

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

Just a thought: look for community bands and jams, community college ensembles, music festivals, classes, lectures, concerts of both metal and other types of music. You know, get involved. It may not be what you want at first, but you may find some interesting things from branching out like that, and networking is always good in this particular lifestyle. Who knows, you may eventually find some serious musicians that are into what you're into.

 

[AvantGuardian]

I agree with the previous advice of just getting out there and playing with others. I was feeling similar to you, so I started jamming with a few different groups in vastly different styles (one funk-fusion band, one prog metal band, and one avant-garde rock band). I'm rehearsing about four nights a week on average and writing/practicing my ass off the other nights to keep on top of things. Most importantly though, I'm having fun and becoming a better player.

 

[MrTheBerry]

Stuck in a rut, eh? You maybe got the blues. Here:
Rules for the Blues

 

[Guitarchitect]

A couple of quick thoughts...

A lot of people have general goals about what they want to achieve, but having specific goals will help you get there faster. For example, I don't know anyone who plays guitar seriously that doesn't want to be a "better" player - but how you define "better" has a big impact on a plan of attack.

Let's say that you want to solo "better" - what does better mean here - soloing with more feeling? with more technique? with more expression? with more melodic/harmonic complexity? Maybe it's all of those things - but to break those goals down into individual components - will help make them more achievable.

In general - playing with other people (or practicing soloing or comping over different chord progressions) will - will certainly help provide a good litmus test is of where your playing is. I've had a lot of students that shed specific licks and approaches - but forget all of that and go back to their comfort zones almost immediately when playing over unfamiliar chords/riffs/progressions. What you really have under your fingers - is what you can pull out when you're improvising.

Some very general tips:
​

Listen to a lot of different music. If you only listen to band x, and only learn the solos of guitarist x - your going to sound like band x and guitarist x when you play.

Try learning things by ear - I'm not knocking learning how to read, but there a lot to be learned from getting it sonically. Additionally check out things that are not guitar oriented - vocal lines, horn solos, non western music - whatever grabs you and is something you'd like to hear in what you're doing is something to work on.

Try playing in unfamiliar situations/chord progressions. Force yourself out of your comfort zone. Experiment with styles you're not currently playing.

Make periodic recordings of practice/playing sessions and listen to what you're doing. Try working some of the ideas that you like into those situations if you don't like it at first.

Lastly, and this is really important - scales, chords, theory in general, are all in the service of making music. They're just tools. Try writing an instrumental song and using the ideas your working on as riffs, melodies, solos etc. If you work at integrating them into songs - you'll own them on a much deeper level.

Just some general tips - but hopefully it's helpful to you. You can also check Guitarchitecture.org under the blueprints section for more practice tips.

I hope this helps!

 

[Iheartmidgetbooty]

I have had the same problem about a year ago. I was just mind-bogglingly slow when it came to learning new things and applying them to my writing skills. Then I came across a few items that made playing harder techniques a little bit easier (I'm sorry if some of these products you've already had knowledge of, but I'm just trying to help). Such as switching picks, changing string gauge and the boss loop station. The pick I found that totally stunned me how differently it made me play was the dunlop "Jazz III". It's a really small pick with a large thickness and a narrow tip. It was useful in learning 'Economy' and 'Alternate' picking, which I was horrible at. Sweeping also became increasingly easier with the Jazz III. The looping station was pretty expensive but it helped me build layering skills and apply them to song writing. I would play a rhythm, figure out the many possibilities I could add to it, be it scales, harmonies, polyrhythms and leads. It just was a great practice tool for me and hopefully picking one up will help you as well.

Also another thing, I challenged myself by learning one of the most difficult songs I could possibly try to learn - which at the time for me was "The Ancient Covenant" by The Faceless. I learned new applications of scales and even learned some new scales and sweeps. It took a hell of a long time to learn by ear (it's recommended you learn songs 100% by ear, it helps you recognize pitch and use that skill to relate riffs into each other and cohesively have them flow) but when I was done learning it, I had a whole new understanding of composition and style.


Hope I was of 'any' help.

Good luck and happy shredding!

 

[Mettle209]

My advice is to learn the techniques that you want to use and to learn the music theory by which you want to make your music with. Learning music theory and techniques for me has always been dependent on what I realistically wanted to achieve and do with and not on what I am told I neeed to know.

For example, when I watch Paul Gilbert's Guitar Clinic about rhythm and how he dicusses listening and mimicing drum players' to get out of a rhythm rut, my immediate motivation and inspiration is to take my guitar solos and runs and to revision them with that purpose.

Of course, we all approach learning/acquisition differently but this is the process that works best for me. Otherwise, I cannot or am not disciplined enough to just learn all the tools needed.

Just for reference, here is a link to Paul Gilbert's Rhythm Playing:

 

[ryan9896]

one thing that really helped me was the Andy James Shred Guitar 6 week DVD course. i was solid at rythym guitar, but felt like my lead could use some improvement. i heard alot of good things about the Andy James courses, and i was very impressed by the contest entries that so many people posted online after they had finished his course. i mean there are 13, 14, 15 year old kids absolutely SHREDDING their guitars. so i bought the set, and honestly, on the FIRT DAY, FIRST DVD, FIRST LESSON i made more progress than i would have in sixth months if i just kept doing the same thing. i knew a few scales and sequences before hand, but in about 10 minutes of listening to what was explained in the DVD and practicing the sequnces, i was shredding....i repeat-SHREDDING.....through this particular scale and i had a smile from ear to ear.

he has a rythym guitar and a lead guitar 6 week DVD course, he is a great teacher, everything is explained very thouroughly, and they use multiple camera andlges so you can really clearly see his pinking and his fingering, check it out!!!

 

[Mettle209]

one thing that really helped me was the Andy James Shred Guitar 6 week DVD course. i was solid at rythym guitar, but felt like my lead could use some improvement. i heard alot of good things about the Andy James courses, and i was very impressed by the contest entries that so many people posted online after they had finished his course. i mean there are 13, 14, 15 year old kids absolutely SHREDDING their guitars. so i bought the set, and honestly, on the FIRT DAY, FIRST DVD, FIRST LESSON i made more progress than i would have in sixth months if i just kept doing the same thing. i knew a few scales and sequences before hand, but in about 10 minutes of listening to what was explained in the DVD and practicing the sequnces, i was shredding....i repeat-SHREDDING.....through this particular scale and i had a smile from ear to ear.

I'll check that out too. It sounds interesting.