I Feel I'm Not Moving Forward

[Kalazama]

Hi. I've been playing since mid-summer of this year, and at first I was excited to learn all my favorite songs.

I didn't learn any scales, or what the notes were, I just learned the songs I wanted to do.

I've noticed lately I've been very sloppy. Playing RHCP's cover of "Higher Ground" sounds awful. I looked up the tabs to "Look Around", and although I did learn the main riff, I feel it was very sloppy.

Also, I find it very hard to remember everything to a song outside of the main riff. Basically, I just want advice on how to move forward and how to be less sloppy.

Thank you for your time.

[kesslari]

Developing as a musician is a funny game of catch-up. You learn something, and it's hard, and you can't do it well. Then you get better at it. But as you get better, your ear improves, and your ability to distinguish improves - in short, your standards improve. So that thing you were playing so well - you notice that you're not really playing it all that well, and that it could be better.
Which motivates you to improve.
It's an ongoing thing.

Without getting on a soapbox, the single best thing you can do is to work on fundamentals. Working on basics will allow you to play fancier things much better than just working on the fancy stuff. It's not as sexy to work on basics - it doesn't seem as fun. But it really does get you there.

If you want to play Higher Ground - play it slowly, with a metronome. Work on playing it as cleanly as you can. Make your movements as efficient as you can. You can't work on those things playing it fast (at least, not nearly as well). But if you work on it that way, when you do play it fast you'll play it cleaner and better.

[waveofthinking]

Originally Posted by Kalazama

Hi. I've been playing since mid-summer of this year, and at first I was excited to learn all my favorite songs.

I didn't learn any scales, or what the notes were, I just learned the songs I wanted to do.

I've noticed lately I've been very sloppy. Playing RHCP's cover of "Higher Ground" sounds awful. I looked up the tabs to "Look Around", and although I did learn the main riff, I feel it was very sloppy.

Also, I find it very hard to remember everything to a song outside of the main riff. Basically, I just want advice on how to move forward and how to be less sloppy.

Thank you for your time.

Sounds like an intro bass class would be Ideal to keep you motivated and headed in the right direction.

[MalcolmAmos]

Originally Posted by Kalazama

Hi. I've been playing since mid-summer of this year, and at first I was excited to learn all my favorite songs. I didn't learn any scales, or what the notes were, I just learned the songs I wanted to do.

I've noticed lately I've been very sloppy. Playing RHCP's cover of "Higher Ground" sounds awful. I looked up the tabs to "Look Around", and although I did learn the main riff, I feel it was very sloppy. Also, I find it very hard to remember everything to a song outside of the main riff. Basically, I just want advice on how to move forward and how to be less sloppy.

Anytime I hear people saying I can play part of the song, I pretty well know they are playing from tabs. Not knocking tabs there is a time and place for tabs, however, I find that playing from fake chord lets me play the entire song all the time. Have you tried fake chord yet? If not give it a try.

C..../..../...../..../...G
Happy birthday to you

/...../.../....../.../...C
Happy birthday to you

/.../...../...../...../.../.....G..F
Happy birthday to dear name

F..../...C...../.....G...C
Happy birthday to you

Just root notes at first. One note per lyric word. Hap-py gets two notes as does birth-day as they are two syllable words.

Grab the C chord's root (C) and play five C's which will take you to the word "you" change to the G chord's root (G) for six G's and you are back at "you" for the C chord's root. Keep going..... Yes, if you sing the song under your breath you know when to change roots AND you get a feel for the tempo (rhythm necessary).

Not a step for a stepper. Roots first, if you have time and can manage to add a 5 (R-5-R-5) give it a try. When you have that down where its comfortable you can start fleshing out your bass line with some 8's and 3's, but, just work on roots and fives for now. With Happy Birthday just roots are going to work fine.

You may need the major scale box pattern.

Major Scale Box. 

G|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
Place the R over the root note on your fretboard
and the 3's, 5's and 8's are always in the same 
spot waiting on you.  That was a big WOW for
me.  Opens a new door.

Google your favorite songs --Guitar chords, "name of the song". The comma and quote marks help with the search.
Try this one. Home On The Range Chords by Misc Traditional @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

How about this one: Sweet Home Alabama Chords by Lynyrd Skynyrd @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com You can count on the band's rhythm guitar to have fake chord sheet music.

See what you can do with fake chord. I bet you will have 5 songs under your fingers by next Friday. Shoot for one song per day. Some may take you two days each, but, after you get used to using fake chord sheet music a band member can hand you some fake chord sheet music and you'll be able to play it all the way through the first time you try.

Good luck.

P.S. Nothing wrong with putting your sheet music on a music stand and playing from the sheet music, no need in memorizing this stuff at this point in your journey. When people start paying you then you leave the music stand at home. LOL.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by Kalazama

Basically, I just want advice on how to move forward and how to be less sloppy.

Practice playing with more attention. Being any good is more a matter of how well you stay focused while you're playing and practicing than any amount of theory or chops.

[campersand]

kesslari and jeff arddun gave you good advice. It's good that you can hear that you're sloppy. Now try this:

Play the riff or listen to a recording of yourself playing the riff. On the first mistake you notice, stop and just work on the two or three notes surrounding that mistake. Try to figure out what the mistake is (e.g., "I'm not getting my left hand in position fast enough" or "I'm hitting the wrong string") and play through it, VERY slowly, being deliberate about the movements that you need to make in order to fix the mistake. Keep doing this until the correct version starts to feel more comfortable than the sloppy version, then move on to the next mistake. Repeat this for the same riff each time you practice for a few weeks and they should sound a ton better.

It sounds tedious but the more you do this the quicker you'll get at being able to play things cleanly and musically.