Breaking down the mental blockers

[Chris of Arabia]

Be warned, this is bad and I expect no praise at all. In fact, were I to get any, it would make me concerned for the loss of your hearing faculties.

I am posting this as a means of getting through the mental block I seem to have every time I position myself in front of a live mic. For whatever reason, my playing goes to ratsh!t and I hit every bum note on the instrument. My playing has to improve, I know. I cannot use my equipment as an excuse, it's too long since I could, so I just need practice and gain experience of doing more of this.

This small snippet of me playing my acoustic is therefore a way of putting something out there knowing I can't do much worse, so things should only improve. So have at it and feel free to tell me what you really think.

Oh yes....

the link

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

Man relax and have a good time!!
I liked it alot!
Only one thing...waaayy too much compression

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

Man relax and have a good time!!
I liked it alot!
Only one thing...waaayy too much compression

Thanks for taking the time to listen

Right now, compression is the least of my concerns - I'm still very much learning the practicalities of getting a decent sound down, or I am when not concentrating on hitting the right strings...

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

You are welcome.....well relaxing and enjoying playing actually makes one sound better

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

That's actually the main reason for putting this out. Not for any sense of accomplishment in what the end result actually is, but to get it out of the way, say "no big deal" and move onto to the next step and growing the skill set from this point. I'm kind of tired of hitting the delete key if you understand me.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

Yeah the delete key gets to you!
It is like playing live in some ways, loose the self concious thing can sometimes be a drag!
I clearly remember the first three times I played for an audience...uh man...
Then I made a concious effort just to concentrate on the music alone, when that got a certain form of routine I felt more relaxed and digged more into the moment and all that!

It is about thinking about it, and then forget all about it...same with playing, you cannot think too much about it, or it will suck...it is abit like riding a bike or driving a car...after a few times you get the hang of it, discover a few things you might have some talent for, and push for it.

It is the exploring that is the fun and rewarding part, not any endstation or something like that... that is too defenite for creativity and music in general, there is a long and never ending journy there to live in..

Sometimes I just keep playing after a track is done, because it made me go somewhere I did not expect, or something that just inspired me, keep those moments.
I record alot of stuff, way way more than I ever post here, just keep pushing it, it is something you want, then it most likely will be something you can do as well....

From the playing in your clip, I would say keep pushing, and do not let the delete button depress you

Niels

[Chickenwings]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

theres a bright glassy click at the beginning of every note you play. It could be eq but it sounds more like the way you are actually touching the string.
But hey...i like your concept of de-sensitization.
I especially liked the vocal part at the end!

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

I especially liked the vocal part at the end!

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Breaking down the mental blockers

Sounds fine to me, man. Really.

I know how it feels to be overly critical of your playing and freezing when you hit that record button. There's no quick fix to either but just keep recording yourself. Video helps too! After a while you'll be way more comfortable with hearing yourself play. Ya might even become a little vain in the process. And every musician needs a healthy ego!