is it possible to lose your skill in an instrument?

[bigtoe]

you need better drums! go buy something!

Mike
ps emoticons are taking over...must...stop...

[MoreSpaceEcho]

yeah go get yrself a couple nice splash cymbals and a big ass china.

i agree with whoever said it's probably just your ears improving...stuff that used to sound tight to you now sounds loose, even though you're probably playing it TIGHTER than you used to. so don't sweat it too much. and take everyone else's advice too...play guitar, don't play anything for a week, etc etc...

[takeout]

Try recording a drummer who hasn't played for six months. That'll answer your question.

[greenmeansjoe]

Feeling like you're going downhill usually preceeds a breakthrough in your technique and playing ability. While it seems like you're getting worse, you're actually on the road to getting better.

I'd say Dan is on to something...

This has been true of my guitar playing. I'll go through a funk every now and then where everything just seems crappy. My fingers feel stiff. My playing sounds awkward to me. I hit sour notes. And of course that brings my confidence down a notch.

But then there's always a little breakthrough that follows those crap periods. I end up discovering a new trick or whatever, or all of a sudden I'm able to do something I've never been able to do before.

So yeah. What Dan said.

You'll get your groove back, Wing. Don't sweat it. Just keep playing.

Joe

[firgela]

Agree with tiger and Dot above. imo, this means you're improving. You might be trying new things, expanding, getting a better ear etc. Its a common feeling, dont sweat it.
I disagree with those above that say to put it down for a while. I'd only do that if you were hating playing it or started to have pain somewhere (tendonitis etc). Rather, if you're getting miffed about how you're playing, go at it with more intensity. Focus on a single concept that your noticing your problems, and grind /work through it. Tempo? grind it out. Snare hits?...grind it out. Stay focused and goal oriented in your practice and you'll be a much better player for it. Being great does not happen by osmosis, it only comes by staying the course and working harder than the next person.

This thread is great as I'm in a similar space and time. Swingdoc the sage....ohm. I've been suffering from subconcious melodic plagiarism and though I've tried to reverse it by not listening to music, it keeps happening. Crap that sounds like BillyJoeBob's song #3! Influence is influence but damn this is frustrating.

I'm not trying to threadjack, just wanted to thank Swingdoc for his insight. It gave me some hope. signed -Frustration Ave.

[Rigsby]

Sounds like you may be a bit bored with the things you know you can play, if you're not really into it then you lose that panache, but yeah, at times like these, you are probably on the verge of learning new things and thus improving.

[small sound]

This is a great subject.

I've played bass for the better part of 15 years or so. When I was in my late teens through late twenties I practiced on my own a lot, practied with my band a lot, played tons of shows, toured. I was hot shit player. Then something happened. For one I started listening to some more mellow music and getting influenced by more subtle players. I also started doing some other things in my life like recording, pursuing a real job and now I have a one year old son and I don't practice much and haven't been real involved with music lately. I know my chops aren't what they used to be. But I also know I don't really care about those chops so much anymore. I don't want to be playing busy music. I'm happier playing mellower song writer pop stuff and leaving some space. So....while I feel some of my skills have gone downhill I also feel like my outlook on music and changed. I'm better able to listen to the entire song, see the whole picture and better feel what each player should be doing to contirbute best.

[jamoo]

This is a great subject.

Wing comes up with a slew of them.

Inspiration definitely helps. Sometimes it comes from taking a break or changing gears like some have mentioned. We're designed for progress and newness, at least on a personal level. This is one of those things that's easier to know than to practice.

[digdug]

im trying to say this clearly, but it's not coming out right.

you're probably just getting better, and hearing what was shitty about your "old" technique. you couldnt hear it before because your ears are better now.

This is exactly what I thought upon reading wing's post. Sounds like you're hearing stuff that bugs you that you probably didn't used to hear. I went through a stint as a classical guitarist playing stupid numbers of hours a day, and I would keep notes on certain aspects of my abilities. Every three months or so, I'd get really upset about my "lack of progress" or "feeling of regress", then I'd go back and look at where I used to be. Needless to say, when you do something every day, you don't tend to regress, even if that's how it may seem at the time...

[wing]

hey everyone, thanks for your input.

i would like to mention though, it's not really so much a "sound" thing, or what i'm hearing, at least that's not all it is. it's actually a physical feeling. my limbs feel unsure, less in control. my limbs feel unable to really land the things in time they used to.

does that still tie in somehow?

[kayagum]

hey everyone, thanks for your input.

i would like to mention though, it's not really so much a "sound" thing, or what i'm hearing, at least that's not all it is. it's actually a physical feeling. my limbs feel unsure, less in control. my limbs feel unable to really land the things in time they used to.

does that still tie in somehow?

Absolutely. My hands feel that way a lot when playing guitar. Often, the "physical weakness" feeling precedes a major shift forward in skills, often related to flexibility to reach or timing.

Which means, I'm really, REALLY due for a great leap forward

[jajjguy]

hey everyone, thanks for your input.

i would like to mention though, it's not really so much a "sound" thing, or what i'm hearing, at least that's not all it is. it's actually a physical feeling. my limbs feel unsure, less in control. my limbs feel unable to really land the things in time they used to.

does that still tie in somehow?

sure, it could. maybe you've always been a little sloppy about the beat, but played confidently and no one noticed, including you. now you're noticing, and you're unsure of the beat, because you're hearing it differently.

i always thought i had perfect timing until i started triying to play along with recordings of myself. boy do i get off time, all the time.

which ties into what stokes said, about how recording makes you hear yourself differently. i've found that to be true bigtime. the killers for cello are intonation and evenness of tone, and i never realized the extent of my problems with these until i began recording a lot. it's made me a much much better player, but i really felt like a shitty one for a while.

[junokane]

You know, I suck at guitar.

I've been playing guitar since I was 14 years old. I'm 35 now. I know folks who have been playing for 3 years that can run circles around me. I have a rudimentary understanding of basic theory, stemming from a few years of piano lessons as a younger kid. then I played in high school band, and I sang in every chorus I could. then I got out of high school and it's pretty much been self-teaching since.

I use guitar as a tool for songwriting, which I can do pretty well. Once it comes to recording, I just have to do take after take until I get through something. Thank god for punch-in. And I can fake through bass, keys, harmonica, and a few other doo-dads to fill in the gaps and come up with decent arrangements that sound good to me. I've also played for a paying audience, and I've noticed something.

Despite being a truly half-assed guitar-player, I seem to be able to entertain people. They come away from hearing me with an "entertained" feeling. I have a pretty decent voice, and that helps. But I think there's a lot more to music than chops, and I am glad I believe this, or else I'd think of myself as an unrepentant slacker. I know a ton of technically great players who seem to have sold their souls away for all the "x-factor" or soul or whatever you want to call it that is missing from their playing.

I also seem to enjoy simpler music more than bombastic shredding/noodling, so that helps too. My sucking used to bother me, but it doesn't anymore. I do practice, and I suppose I'm a better player than I was 10 years ago, but I still suck, strictly playing-wise. The beauty is that I've convinced myself that it's ok.

Wing, I experience your frustration almost every time I pick up my guitar. You'd think that after hours upon hours of alternating-bass note and strumming along to some blues or rootsy progression, day after day, month after month, I'd be able to hit the right bass string more than 70 percent of the time. Well, I don't. Did I mention that I suck? Don't let it get you down. Phases happen, and a lot of the comments on this thread seem very relevant, and have cheered me up too, because I'm due for a huge leap in virtuousity any moment now, if it's true. If not, screw it. More Ramones songs! Minimalism is my mantra. And I've recorded songs that people seem to have genuinely liked listening to, even when I'm not around saying "hey, you wanna listen to this thing I did?" So I've accepted the fact that I'm not a natural. It's quite liberating, actually.

[thunderboy]

I noticed that my bass playing got a lot worse after I ran my right index and middle fingers through a cabinet saw.

jt

[markee2004]

Yo junokane I thought you made some pretty good points. But I'm afraid I can't take you seriously or find you very interesting with that avatar. I don't know what it is about it, it just kinda bugs me.

Anywise I actually agreed with bobbydj for once on this thread. I thought his point is probably the most important one.