When is it ok to move from a lesson


jgarrow.jg
Registered User
Joined: 07/06/19
Posts: 3
jgarrow.jg
Registered User
Joined: 07/06/19
Posts: 3
06/27/2020 11:00 pm

Is there any general rules in terms of when it's ok to move from a lesson? I'm playing "I Get it Now" and feel like i know it really well but keep making similar mistakes. Hit the proper notes perfectly about 70% of the time after a week and a half of doing it daily. Will it all start to click in better if i keep moving even though it's not perfect?


# 1
William MG
Full Access
Joined: 03/08/19
Posts: 1,648
William MG
Full Access
Joined: 03/08/19
Posts: 1,648
06/28/2020 12:51 pm

Good morning and welcome

From my experience yes, move on. I think we have an inner clock that tells us when enough is enough and we are verging on boredom and stagnation.

My own experience has been keeping it fun and interesting drives my ambition to practice. I can and do loop around to various techniques and pickup where I left off.

Good luck


This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!

# 2
elizabethasibley
Registered User
Joined: 04/30/21
Posts: 2
elizabethasibley
Registered User
Joined: 04/30/21
Posts: 2
04/30/2021 2:57 pm

Thank you, I also often lingered on one topic for a long time.


# 3
moosehockey18
Registered User
Joined: 02/02/20
Posts: 168
moosehockey18
Registered User
Joined: 02/02/20
Posts: 168
04/30/2021 9:13 pm
Originally Posted by: jgarrow.jg

Is there any general rules in terms of when it's ok to move from a lesson? I'm playing "I Get it Now" and feel like i know it really well but keep making similar mistakes. Hit the proper notes perfectly about 70% of the time after a week and a half of doing it daily. Will it all start to click in better if i keep moving even though it's not perfect?

I do agree with William that when boredom and frustration start to set in, then it`s time to move on. As long as I understood the concepts being taught in that particular lesson and was able to play the practice tune at least decently ( not perfect) at a minimum 70% speed, then I allowed myself to go to the next lesson. Of course my goal was to try to play the practice tune well at full speed but that didn`t always happen. You can always come back to that lesson later and brush up on it some more . You`ll be amazed how much easier that practice tune will be when you got more playing time under your belt !


# 4
deanbadam
Full Access
Joined: 03/06/21
Posts: 21
deanbadam
Full Access
Joined: 03/06/21
Posts: 21
05/04/2021 10:31 am

Hopefully there's not a hard and fast rule here else I'm doing it wrong :)

I have about 3-4 songs permanently open on my browser

1-2 songs that I feel I've 'learnt' - I can play these fairly comfortably with the odd stumble - so like Have you ever heard the rain for me atm has just replaced out Every Rose has its Thorn. I start a practice with one of these songs. It warms me up and gives a sense of yes I can do this. Sometimes just cause its fun I run through it again.

I have a song I'm making reasonable progress with and doesn't seem to hard and I have a song that feels a bit of a challenge and is taking a little longer; mostly needing time to master a particular chord change, finger picking section or lot to memorise.

I always try and have a run through on the challenging song to build the familiarity, but might spend more time on the progress song depending how much time I have or how the fingers are feeling.

I also usually have a have a technique or foundation lesson open - finger picking in blues atm and I'll chip away at that a little too.

I guess I'm focussing a little less atm on learning a song, and more on having consistent practice, building speed with chord changes and consistency of rhythum, as well as getting more familiarity/muscle memory for finger picking. This doesnt need any 1 song and the variety and sense of progress helps keep my interest up.


# 5
paulcavaliere
Full Access
Joined: 11/05/20
Posts: 132
paulcavaliere
Full Access
Joined: 11/05/20
Posts: 132
05/04/2021 9:27 pm

One thing I can suggest on making similar mistakes. Use the loop feature and segment that specific section where mistakes happen. Slow it way down and play only that section on repeat, not the whole song. When accuracy starts to kick in, speed it up slowly until at normal speed. Once you have the difficult sections nailed, replay the whole song.

My advice is playing the whole song should be fun. If you're not having fun, it may be time to move on. You can always go back to it at a later time.


# 6
davidridler18
Registered User
Joined: 07/24/20
Posts: 1
davidridler18
Registered User
Joined: 07/24/20
Posts: 1
05/05/2021 5:11 am

I have the same problem and because I also have Parkinsons it is becoming a frustrating but funny experience as my muscle memory aparantly goes one way - down hill !

Currently I am plagued with finding the clear sound from a C major open. I either end up muting the open E or the Open G. Any clues would help me.


# 7
Sour_Note
Full Access
Joined: 12/26/17
Posts: 44
Sour_Note
Full Access
Joined: 12/26/17
Posts: 44
05/14/2021 4:47 am
Originally Posted by: davidridler18

I have the same problem and because I also have Parkinsons it is becoming a frustrating but funny experience as my muscle memory aparantly goes one way - down hill !

Currently I am plagued with finding the clear sound from a C major open. I either end up muting the open E or the Open G. Any clues would help me.

I have a general issue with the C chord. I know the shape and seem to be able to land it when doing chord switch exercises. ( G to C, D to C, etc...). It may sound crazy and counter intuitive but when I go thru learning the song I practice at 75% speed. When I get stuck and am muting but am confident I know the chord, I speed it up to 90%. What I've found is that the in song switching gets a bit better. I believe it is a mental issue and if I speed it up I have less time to think about it and the hand knows where to go. It's not perfect by any means but the process seems to work incrementally and help.


# 8

Please register with a free account to post on the forum.