Good Practice, Bad Experience
On June 25, I wrote about the excellent practice session I had the night before. I talked about how I had good tone, good timing and how comfortable my finger picks were. Two days ago, I had another one of those really good practice sessions. I had practiced for approximately 4 hours, with at least 3 hours where I was very pleased with my playing.
The next day, (last night) three friends and I got together to do a few tunes and I couldn't do a single thing right! To begin with, I wasn't satisfied with the sound from my banjo which is a major show-stopper for me; when things don't sound right, I tend to have much more difficulty. I don't know why, I'm very quirky; at least that's what I've been told from time to time.
I don't know if the extra ringing and overtones I was hearing last night were due to the strings going dead or not, but it's where I'll start trying to make corrections because they haven't been changed since July 3, which is a little long. Closely related to dead strings is the fact that I couldn't seem to make the banjo sound like it was in tune, regardless of what the electronic tuner indicated. I first noticed an objectionable difference in the sound of the banjo at the last Bluegrass Friends jam session, which was held outdoors. At the time, I thought it must have been due to the outdoor acoustics, but now I am questioning that idea. I'll let you know how much of a difference new strings make after I replace them, tomorrow.
I can't lay all the blame on the banjo when I know most of the problem lies within. My timing was off, I wasn't picking the strings cleanly, I was missing notes, my right hand wasn't anchored properly, my left hand wasn't fretting cleanly (oh, I forgot, I always have that problem!) and the list goes on and on. I just couldn't get anything right!
At this little get together, I didn't expect to "tear the house down" or anything, but I thought after having such a good practice the day before, on the very same tunes, I might at least be able to get through the tunes in a manner where they would be recognizable. Aside from everyone agreeing that it sounded like the banjo was a bit out of tune, (even though the electronic tuner said it was spot on) everyone said they thought my playing sounded okay, but I certainly wasn't hearing it that way. Sometimes people just don't want to say things they think may hurt your feelings.
I haven't had the banjo in my hands at all today - I think last night's experience has made me a little afraid to try it.
The next day, (last night) three friends and I got together to do a few tunes and I couldn't do a single thing right! To begin with, I wasn't satisfied with the sound from my banjo which is a major show-stopper for me; when things don't sound right, I tend to have much more difficulty. I don't know why, I'm very quirky; at least that's what I've been told from time to time.
I don't know if the extra ringing and overtones I was hearing last night were due to the strings going dead or not, but it's where I'll start trying to make corrections because they haven't been changed since July 3, which is a little long. Closely related to dead strings is the fact that I couldn't seem to make the banjo sound like it was in tune, regardless of what the electronic tuner indicated. I first noticed an objectionable difference in the sound of the banjo at the last Bluegrass Friends jam session, which was held outdoors. At the time, I thought it must have been due to the outdoor acoustics, but now I am questioning that idea. I'll let you know how much of a difference new strings make after I replace them, tomorrow.
I can't lay all the blame on the banjo when I know most of the problem lies within. My timing was off, I wasn't picking the strings cleanly, I was missing notes, my right hand wasn't anchored properly, my left hand wasn't fretting cleanly (oh, I forgot, I always have that problem!) and the list goes on and on. I just couldn't get anything right!
At this little get together, I didn't expect to "tear the house down" or anything, but I thought after having such a good practice the day before, on the very same tunes, I might at least be able to get through the tunes in a manner where they would be recognizable. Aside from everyone agreeing that it sounded like the banjo was a bit out of tune, (even though the electronic tuner said it was spot on) everyone said they thought my playing sounded okay, but I certainly wasn't hearing it that way. Sometimes people just don't want to say things they think may hurt your feelings.
I haven't had the banjo in my hands at all today - I think last night's experience has made me a little afraid to try it.
Labels: poor playing
posted by Michael Floyd at 5:32 PM
1 Comments:
hi Mike...in two words I have some advice for you DONT WORRY This seems to happen to everyone from time to time.No matter what you do nothing seems to go right.Most times its ourselves being too critical or hard on ourselves.So dont fret chalk it up to one of those days and carry on with your hard practicing and enjoy the good times...Ken
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