|
Post by creamburmese on Aug 12, 2016 16:27:39 GMT
I thought I was kind of getting a handle on things recently. Get to play my classical guitar to the old folks in the Alzheimers unit without nearly putting myself in the emergency room through stress, still lots of mistakes but getting through - finally finished my talk I have to give at another institution - a new one I haven't given before... Definitely getting there. This week I set up to run through my pieces before my "performance" at the senior living center, and it wasn't too good - lots of unforced mistakes... maybe just a lack of sleep and coffee, I thought, so the coffee deficiency got fixed. However when I get to the unit, there was construction so they shunt me off to a different room with a larger audience than usual and instead of just being the patients, also some of the staff, all waiting expectantly. Well did I make a mess of it. Completely forgot one piece - had to give up and wait for another day, and several stops/restarts on things I know really well. I usually finish up with some strumming and singing of songs they remember, but was so rattled I blew it off and finished early - what is going on? Then I get to work and get an email saying the title of my talk has been changed - what? It took me 2 entire days and now I have to start again? It's not Friday 13th is it? Acoustic workshop tonight where the participants want to learn some scales - I'm assuming I can manage that with one hand tied behind my back, but perhaps I'd better check.... G,A,B,C,D,E, er F#, G. Yup got that one.... Unless it's modal then all bets are off . Glad it's the weekend very soon....
|
|
missclarktree
C.O.G.
Posts: 2,423
My main instrument is: It varies
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"1979e6"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 100605
Mini-Profile Text Color: 020a12
|
Post by missclarktree on Aug 12, 2016 17:54:02 GMT
What a stressful experience! I wonder if tiredness was behind it? I know it makes a massive difference to my memory in relation to music and everything else. It certainly sounds as though you're juggling a lot of commitments at the moment. Does it feel like too much, or do you usually enjoy it all? And can you recycle one of your previous talks and save your new one for another occasion?
From your guitar blog you seem to extremely conscientious in your approach to learning and everything else. Maybe it's time to put your feet up have a night off. Enjoy some junk food with junk tv. And don't answer the phone.
|
|
|
Post by vikingblues on Aug 13, 2016 6:33:50 GMT
That sounds horrible Julie. Alison has a good point with too many commitments resulting in things going pear shaped - it's that lack of focus I find is a killer for messing up guitar playing. Add tiredness on top of that and it gets worse and any chance of being able to focus is doomed! - I know I play much better early in the morning than I do in the evening for that reason. One of the big negatives about taking guitar lessons in the evening when you've been working during the day. When I say focus I don't mean concentrating hard, but being able to be able to relax and avoid thinking about anything else. Having said all that I know I couldn't try to give a guitar performance in public like you did so I'm probably the wrong person for advice. I hope your weekend allows some fun and relaxation. Mark
|
|
|
Post by herb on Aug 13, 2016 8:43:01 GMT
Just had a vision of you lining up the ablest members of the group to march on the spot while singing that Elvis hit (Didja Ever). Keep em smiling.
Is it C - G7 - C ?
|
|
|
Post by ourmaninthenorth on Aug 13, 2016 11:34:15 GMT
These "bad days at the office" can take a life on all of their own... I find it extremely difficult not to ruminate for days on how bloody hopeless I am. The storm passes, and I come to remember that I was simply having a bad day. My last bad day...surrounded by my peers, 6 figure Les Paul in hand, superb amplification, rehearsal room setting...my mind went completely blank...not the sort of blank where you can wing it; and call it Jazz. Rather the sort of blank where nothing came... nothing. I was mortified, until the assembled players in the room showed me that this is far from rare, with comments like.."not your day mate" ... "this has happened to me on stage" ... and one sharp tongued wit..." thought of the saxophone..?? " Chin up, keep punching..it'll come together again, have no fear. Paul.
|
|
|
Post by andyhowell on Aug 15, 2016 7:53:18 GMT
It happens to us all. A couple of weeks ago I went for a long rehearsal session and was very frustrated - terrible playing and singing off the best. Next day I woke up with a flu bug!
As for public performances we can all have bad days and can all forget pieces. At a festival this weekend I saw two very experienced performers doing this - but their experience just meant they handled it with humour. The crowd didn't seem to mind.
Just get out and do it again reasonably quickly!
|
|
|
Post by creamburmese on Aug 19, 2016 17:37:19 GMT
Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I regret to say I haven't been back to bury my mistakes - I couldn't go this week because I had my guitar in for service ... anyway no performance this week or next. I was definitely off my game even without the new location and additional audience, but I think another problem was I hadn't really warmed up. I'm not the kind of person who can pick up a guitar and launch straight into stuff - I really wish I was - I have to run it through in private to remind my brain to talk to my fingers. Well in this case I hadn't even run through the pieces that day - usually I am pretty careful about making sure I've been through things because I know I can't do it cold. Don't know what I was thinking! In fact I've generally been in the guitar doldrums for the last few weeks. I wrote about it in my Guitar Doldrums blog if anyone's interested (I discovered how to add pictures AND sound and couldn't resist adding them, even though I don't have a clean recording of anything and the recordings were done by the iphone...)
|
|
|
Post by andyhowell on Aug 20, 2016 11:18:06 GMT
Reminding the brain to talk to the fingers? How well put!
|
|