Crow Left of the Murder Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 lately ive been so frustrated with my playing. im just not good enough. every time i try to play with the pick somewhere along the line i automatically start playing with my thumb again because its what im used to and i NEED to get out of that habit. i feel like such a horrible player because i cant even get one G scale right with the pick. why do i have SUCH a resistance to simply USING A PICK!? also, every time i try to play, i watch my posture a lot, and every time my back ends up hurting. i simply can not play sitting down, and my strap broke so at the moment i have no way to play standing up. everyone is surpassing me that used to be worse than me. its so stupid because i know all i have to do is practice, but how can i practice if every time i do, i do everything wrong and it hurts?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriBaby Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Why do you have to play with a pick? A lot of greats did not or do not use a pick, the first one that comes to mind is Jeff Beck. I don't think anyone here would say he would be a better player if he just used a pick. If you can make it work using your thumb, let it be. Once I thought I saw you, in a crowded, hazy, bar........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Soloway Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 If it's any consolation to you, I can't play with a pick either and people seem to think I play pretty well. There are lot's of great players out there playing with their fingers. Maybe you're just meant to be another one of them. www.solowayguitars.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Left of the Murder Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 I don't like that. I can't do any solos or anything, and its not loud enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Left of the Murder Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 and thats not the main reason i'm even so so so mad at myself. im just not good enough. i cant seem to be a good player and i HATE myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Hey, man, don't be so hard on yourself! I'm sure you can play some stuff. You just need to take some time to develop some skill. I know I'm probably not going to be the next John Petrucci, or Doyle Dykes, but that's not going to stop me from playing! For me, what I do when I can't play something is put the guitar (and/or bass, in my case) for a few days and do somethin' else. In my case, I've been writing some silly pulp fiction on one of my online journals. Just another way of using my creative skills. You probably need a break. Also, you might want to reevaluate your goals for playing. Try to concentrate on things that will improve your playing. Don't try to go beyond your skill level too much, though. Even if it's just a simple tune you need to go over, or a scale, or whatever, just do it. If you think you need a playing bud, go find one. That seems to help some folks. I don't know your current situation, but if you truly have the desire to play, DON'T GIVE UP just because you can't do something you like just yet. I ain't the Doc for nothin'! sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlChuck Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I have evolved a pick/no pick style that depends on the situation. It seems that when I comp, the pick usually just kind of gets tucked away in my palm and I use my thumb and three fingers of my right hand to play. When I solo, the pick finds its way back between my thumb and first finger, but not necessarily and not always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalhair Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 As a guy that started out fingerstyle and had to learn to use a pick long after being able to play guitar, it is a tough adjustment. You need to just slow down, and work at it-- if you want to do it. Don't just blame the picking hand, the coordination between the two hands must be re-learnt. If I don't keep at the picking technic I loose it, but if I work my ass off at it I'm happy with it sometimes. check out some comedy I've done: http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/ My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I'm another fingerpicker who learned (sorta) to use picks. I never used a pick until I picked up an electric guitar. That was years after I learned to play. Then, I never became particularly adept with one, so for the most part, I've chucked it. It sounds like you need more time and practice, regardless of whether you learn to use a pick well or stick with fingerstyle. I say this because Jeff Beck certainly plays fast. Mark Knopfler plays fast. There are more than a few ways to "skin this cat". Some involve two or three finger techniques. Others involve more eclectic digit manipulation. Doyle Dykes wanted to approximate, in picking, a drummer's flam technique. He taught himself to pick using two fingers moving back and forth over a single string. Once he mastered this technique, it enabled him to play a repeating note on one string very quickly while playing melody on other strings, simultaneously, with his thumb and index finger. Listen to the beginning of "Nothing's Too Good For A Friend" for a great example of this technique. My personal favorite technique involves switching from a traditional fingerpicking style to "flatpicking" with my thumb and index held together. It's my index finger that actually becomes the flatpick. It took some time to become adept at this method, but it works well for me. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 don't give up. there will always be a new plateau to reach. but its fun. did you try a thumb pick? i used to be consumed with all the fast playing in the 80's. now i find it unexciting unless it is vital to the song. when i play now i find myself milking the heck out of notes for expression. most guys feel the need to fill everyhole with flurries of notes when a well placed vibrato gets the point across. i mean check out Angus young. sometimes he is just banging away and making noise( fingerslides, muted picking etc) but the power and attitude he is delivering gets me in the gut every time. not to mention the fact that the guy has a solid knowledge of what cool rythmn licks will accent Malcoms playing. and don't forget how many people respect Keith Richard. ya don't need to shred to get the point across. as for the pick thing start off slow and relax, speed will come later. one thing is forget what the other players are doing, we all have our learning curves. they may reach their peaks and taper off while you go further. just try to be better than YOU WERE as opposed to better than THEY ARE. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Personally, I hate using a pick- though I still want to design and make my own "ultimate/perfect pick", go figure- and I LOVE playing my own brand of fingerstyle/pickless/"ridin' bare-back". Perhaps some technique from classical, flamenco and fingerstyle-jazz, and other similar fingerstyles, could help you play more of the types of passages that you want to take on. There are a lot of very fast, technically proficient players out there that don't use a pick! I have been working on using my index-nail (and, if that gets broken or too worn, my middle-nail) to execute pick-like stuff, as well as my thumb and fingers. Now, in general, whether you use a pick or not, nothing just comes overnight. Practice does make perfect, and it's just a hard, cold fact of the Universe that what comes quickly and easily to some comes slowly and difficultly to others. In the long run, folks from the latter camp can and do sometimes get farther along than their once seemingly more gifted brothers and sisters from the former. Don't let the frustration get to you! I know that is more easily said than done, but hang in there, we're all on your side here, alright, Crow'? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Diss Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 You don't sound like a whiny baby, and yeah maybe you do hate yourself. You got to figure out why you hate yourself, it's not because you can't hold a pick or play a solo, it's most likely more than that. A lot of people have reached out and tried to give you suggestions to help your playing. I just want to say man think about yourself and what the hell is really bothering you. Think about you, worry about you. No one can find anything fun about you unless you start to find shit that gets you happy. This attitude of hating yourself has to go, find out what it is that is making you hate yourself and do small things to change it. It took me years to realize that I wasn't as bad as everybody told me I was, years before I started not giving a fuck about other's opinions. Things, people, situations constantly change in your life, the people you are hanging out with now you may not even know in five years. Get a grip. Put on your favorite CD and lay back and live in it. Kurt Cobain may have killed himself but he got me through a separation from my daughter of more than a year and a divorce. He saved my life when no one else was doing shit for me. I was depressed and hated myself like a motherfucker and I was doing everything I could to self destruct. Didn't happen. It took time but things changed, I got to feel better about things and myself, life moves on whether we like it or not, look for the changes, find better alternatives...do something that will make you feel good about you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueZet Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 why don't you try a thumbpick? there will be only a slight difference in technique and you will have the added volume. most of all: dON'T GIVE UP!! - due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been SWITCHED OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratasaurus Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Again for what its worth lots of really cool players are finger players. A couple that immediately come to mind, Mark Knopfler and Lindsay Buckingham. Both can and do solo like Mofos. I myself switch between fingers and a flat pick depending on the song and context. Often these changes are mid-song. i.e. fingerpicked verses with strummed chorus. On the frustration end of it. Forget your own expectations at least for awhile. Play what and how you feel best. Sometimes the road to improvement isn't a straight highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 How come you can't play sitting down? That's my favorite position. Here's an idea for your bad back. get a foot stool, small, maybe one foot high (experiment). As your back is getting tired, put one foot on the stool. Alternating what foot you put on the stool will also help relieve pressure. Also, as a chronic bad back sufferer, I can tell you that you should see a doc. They can give you anti inflamatories to help. Hell, I'm at a stage where they gave up on surgeries and give me steriodal injections in my back. I still find a way to do normal things like swinging a golf club (poorly) and playing guitar (slowly advancing). bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A String Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I'm assuming you've reached a plateau. Not sure if it's your first or not, but there are a lot of them. Practice and faith are the only way out of a plateau. However, I'm going to have to go with Compact Diss on this one. It really sounds as though there is more then just, not playing with a pick, that is bothering you. Remember, no matter how bad things seem, life has a way of working things out. Think of something that happened in your life that brought you down. I'm sure you recovered. You got over it. No matter what your current problem is, things will get better. Hang in there! Also remember that if you need a place to vent, we are all friends here and you can always get things off your chest on this forum. Craig Stringnetwork on Facebook String Network Forum My Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Left of the Murder Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 I'm fine as far as my life goes, I'm actually really happy now. I do think I've reached a plateau.. and also, when I made this thread, it was about me being angry about something I've never seriously tried to do before. I know I have to practice, and that I will.. and also no matter how frustrated I get a lot, I could NEVER just give up the guitar. And I also think its because whenever I learn something, I'm the kind of person who wants to be great right away. For example, when I was learning piano, instead of starting with Mary Had a Little Lamb, I picked up Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elise, and learned those. I realize now that I really do need to learn the basics then work it up to being really good, because in the end it will be a lot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 just be happy with your plkaying, practice but dont right off the bat try to jump to playin stuff thats just too complicated, trust me youll get there... a lot of the people you probably listen to most likely have been playin for at least 15+ years....alot of people here have been playin for more than 30...when you do get there youll look back and be like "why couldnt i alalways play that" cause it just comes so natually then, but it takes time....and who knows maybe after you play after awhile youll realize playin super fast solos and crazy scales and stuff wont make you happy, my good friend billy corgan once said "there came a point where i realized that even if i practiced 8 hours a day 7 days a week i still might not be as good as some of the dudes out there, some people are just lucky, but im as good as i need to be"...something along those lines.....i dont know im probably wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 If you whine, you need some cheese. http://www.stiltoncheese.com/US/Images/recipestilton.jpg Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Ooh, can I add Robbie Krieger (sp?) of The Doors to the great pick-refusers!!! Are you taking lessons?? If you aren't and it's not working, maybe just an hour with a guitar teacher or even just someone experienced at pick playing will be able to show you where you are going wrong so that you aren't enforcing incorrect technique? Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 And don't forget Richie Blackmore Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Really?? Didn't know that one!! He was born in a small seaside town not far from my hometown Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 You should try out Jamey andreas's web page. It's all about how to practice. His publication "The Principles of Correct Practice For guitar" is priceless. It works for both Acustic players and electric as well as fingerstyle and Pick style. I am self taught and this book really helps with anything I am Practicing. The best thing you can do when practicing is sloooow down. Check out his website at www.guitarprinciples.com If you apply his principles you will improve. Play On! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 Originally posted by Base: Really?? Didn't know that one!! He was born in a small seaside town not far from my hometown Read here Richie at Fender Players Club Be sure to read the notes on the "Woman from Tokyo" lesson. Also - the infamous lead in to "Smoke on the Water" was played in "Triple Stops" using three fingers plucking three strings simultaneously. Try it sometimes LynnG Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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