Does this happen to YOU?

[fullerplast]

I suppose it happens to everybody, but....  Do you find the first time you play something new to be surprisingly easy, then later have difficulty with it? How frustrating!

Not being an accomplished guitarist, I usually have to download tabs or chords to something. I've found that I can take something new, even something relatively challenging, and almost nail it the first few times (vocals and all). Even my wife will come into the room, all "that sounded good!"

I'll be happy with myself and go around with the song stuck in my head. But then the next time I try it.... I SUCK! I just can't make my fingers or voice do it. And it may be weeks before it ever comes out right again! I tell you, this frustrates the hell out of me...

I'm a very elementary player, doing covers...  but does this happen to "good" players? Does it happen with original songs too? How do you combat it?

[mezcalhead]

No, it doesn't happen to me .. what a curious phenomenon!

Maybe it's an issue of concentration .. the first time you play it you're just concentrating on the song itself, then thereafter you're thinking too much about what you sound like, look like, etc. This will get worse as you worry about messing things up after your first time playing them. Can you trace what your thoughts are during all this?

I own a copy of a book called "The Inner Game Of Music" which deals with improving how the player approaches music .. you might find it helpful. You can google up the guy's website easily enough.

Originals are a whole different ball game, for me at least .. they change, and hopefully improve, particularly the first few times I play them. One of my writing techniques is to go back to the top of the song and play it through to where it needs improvement and often a change will suggest itself in the context of the whole song so far.

[sookwinder]

i suck, no matter what time of the day ... even worse when I am demoing a new original to my guitarist

[fuzzking]

sometimes i come up with something and it sounds great, even when i'm in bad shape,
and at the rehearsal i suck completely. then it usually takes hours and hours to get that
riff sorted out again. makes me feel like a total idiot then.