Practice Makes Perfect?

[Robert Spencer]

They say that practice makes perfect but have any of you ever encountered a technique or run etc. that you were unable to master or even do correctly no matter how long or hard you tried? Take care. Bob

[johnboy65]

So is this just a question or are you having an hard time with something?
I'd have to say no, but I haven't strayed from your "normal" things (double thumbing, two hand tapping, sweeping, patterns 3-4 finger right hand stuff).I have had a problem with using those things in almost any musical situation. I guess what i mean to say is that there are tons of things that I'll never come close to being able to do; I just tend to not want to do them either.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by Robert Spencer

They say that practice makes perfect but have any of you ever encountered a technique or run etc. that you were unable to master or even do correctly no matter how long or hard you tried? Take care. Bob

No. With right practice anything is possible. You going slow and giving it LOTS of time? Being in a rush to "achieve" will kill you.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by Robert Spencer

They say that practice makes perfect but have any of you ever encountered a technique or run etc. that you were unable to master or even do correctly no matter how long or hard you tried? Take care. Bob

IMO, yes, practice does make perfect. Maybe you just need more of it. There is no time limit on how long it takes to nail something ( assuming you yourself are having this problem ). If you practice for long enough you will get there. As jeff arddun says, it is important to start slowly and deliberately and build up the speed gradually.

[T-MOST]

Originally Posted by Robert Spencer

They say that practice makes perfect but have any of you ever encountered a technique or run etc. that you were unable to master or even do correctly no matter how long or hard you tried? Take care. Bob

Practice can make perfect
Practice can make better
But there are somethings that are beyond our skill level no matter how much we practice. You won't know if thats actually the case if you "stop" practicing. So, keep practicing.

[PJSShearer]

There's a saying in Golf - practise doesn't make perfect, practise makes PERMANENT.

If you practise "wrong" - it'll stay "wrong".

Break the passge down into smaller sections, slooooow it down to a speed that you CAN play it at. If necessary, work out beforeand how you are going to finger (and pluck) the piece, then put it all together and build up speed gradually until you can play it.

If you try and pile in at full speed from the off you will crash and burn and if you don't step back, break it down and work on it, you will always crash and burn when you play the passage.

I speak from experience here.... there's a little bit in the micddle of the break in "Sir Duke" that I had to spend a long time putting right!!. This was 'cos the first time I saw it was at a 6:00pm rehearsal for an 8:30 show, so I piled in at full speed to learn it and engrained a fluff in my technique that was a pain the you know where to get out later on when I had the time....

[JTE]

The correct message is "PERFECT practice makes perfect". If you practice things wrong, then you'll get good at playing them wrong. Playing something sloppy over and over again makes you good at playing sloppy. That's part of from where Jeff Berlin's "no metronome" position comes. If you can't find the notes and haven't figured out how to get your fingers to them, there's no point in trying to play in time YET. Get the notes figured out, then get the physical approach figured out. After that, THEN work on time. Now, I believe that using a 'nome as a reference is a good idea, but not when I'm working out what to play.

The same with just about anything. There's very little that I'd be physically unable to play if I had the correct notes and knew the correct technique. There's a lot I don't play or "can't" play, but that's because I've not worked on the basics of those things. But that's not to say they're impossible.

John

[DanAleks]

Originally Posted by JTE

The correct message is "PERFECT practice makes perfect". If you practice things wrong, then you'll get good at playing them wrong. Playing something sloppy over and over again makes you good at playing sloppy. That's part of from where Jeff Berlin's "no metronome" position comes. If you can't find the notes and haven't figured out how to get your fingers to them, there's no point in trying to play in time YET. Get the notes figured out, then get the physical approach figured out. After that, THEN work on time. Now, I believe that using a 'nome as a reference is a good idea, but not when I'm working out what to play.

The same with just about anything. There's very little that I'd be physically unable to play if I had the correct notes and knew the correct technique. There's a lot I don't play or "can't" play, but that's because I've not worked on the basics of those things. But that's not to say they're impossible.

John

Well said!

[PJSShearer]

Originally Posted by JTE

The correct message is "PERFECT practice makes perfect". If you practice things wrong, then you'll get good at playing them wrong. Playing something sloppy over and over again makes you good at playing sloppy. That's part of from where Jeff Berlin's "no metronome" position comes. If you can't find the notes and haven't figured out how to get your fingers to them, there's no point in trying to play in time YET. Get the notes figured out, then get the physical approach figured out. After that, THEN work on time. Now, I believe that using a 'nome as a reference is a good idea, but not when I'm working out what to play.

The same with just about anything. There's very little that I'd be physically unable to play if I had the correct notes and knew the correct technique. There's a lot I don't play or "can't" play, but that's because I've not worked on the basics of those things. But that's not to say they're impossible.

John

You certainly put it better than I did.

[HeadyVan Halen]

How about "can't play as naturally as others"

I learned how to thump (slap) in 1 day.
Playing triplets with three fingers, still can't do. We don't need it in my band, but it's always nice to have more tools than you need in the shed.

Some things come more natural to some guys and other things you really have to work. It's like that for everybody.
All the great ones practiced or practice their a$$ off. Way more than us for the most part. 8-10 hours a day.

[unownunown]

i've never been able to slap to a reasonable degree.

but then again, i haven't given it my best effort either.

[Art Araya]

unless you have a physical limitation, with proper practice (break it down into its components, slowly and cleanly and patiently work on each of the components) you can achieve much more than you think you can.

an example of a physical limitation:
you may not be able to do some fingerings that Stanley Clarke does with his MASSIVE HANDS if you're a small person with stubby fingerings. but don't use this kind of stuff as an excuse. Look and Django Reinhardt - he had two fully functioning fingers on his fretting hand and listen to all of the stuff he achieved on guitar. Or listen to the stuff that Jamerson pulled off using only one finger of his right hand.

[Robert Spencer]

I think Van Halen hit the nail on the head with "can`t play as naturally as others". Thats how i am. To begin with I have`nt a good ear for tone plus i am practically deaf. I have been away from bass for 46 years. Yes the Beatles were popular when I last played. I have been back at it for almost a year now. Practicing every day to the point of having both hands swollen and sore from too much to hard and too long. I have now backed off from that and limit myself to 3-4 good hrs a day with concentrated efforts. Still working mostly on R-5 variations but love the stuff so I`m not bothered by that. I try to use index & middle fingers on plucking hand & all four digits of the fretting hand. For the most part its working. I don`t expect to ever be as good as someone with a natural talent but I do have expectations of becoming proficient within my limited range of capabilities. The church band is not demanding of me ( though i do demend a steady rate of progress from myself).
Just wondered if anyone here felt there were things they could not get right even though they tried long & hard.
I recently watched a bio on Eric Clapton and one of his former bandmates commented that he would sometimes spend days on getting a certain riff down if needed. That kind of dedication is inspiring to me. Thanks to all those that have chipped in to contribute to the topic. Take care. Bob

[mrjim123]

"Practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, so stop practicing." - Steven Wright

[DevinDamnation]

If you don't nail something the first time you try it (999 times out of 1000 you wont) break it down and take it slow. If you're still not making progress, break it down even more. There's no limit to how much you can simplify something.
Baby steps. Build slowly.

[Infidelity]

Originally Posted by mrjim123

"Practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, so stop practicing." - Steven Wright

Beat me to it! LOL

But I have to agree with the guys above that "Perfect practice makes perfect"

[greggster59]

Practice doesn't always make perfect but it gets you closer to your goals.

Not long ago I spent nearly six weeks on an exercise my teacher gave me. It was a two bar funk riff that had off beat sixteenths mixed with dotted eights and oddly placed rests. I though I'd never get it but kept coming back to it and eventually nailed it. Now it's here to stay.

[namraj]

No

[hrodbert696]

My preferred version of the slogan is "practice makes progress." There's no such thing as perfection.