Every Time I Watch This...

Not My Favorite Performer - Singer - Player By Any Means But I Have To Give Credit Where It Is Due And That Performance Was Terrific!
 
Not My Favorite Performer - Singer - Player By Any Means But I Have To Give Credit Where It Is Due And That Performance Was Terrific!
Pretty much how I look at it.

A great performance, especially of that professional quality and caliber, is a joy to watch.
 
I play at church and for what's required I do a decent job. But I am no where even close to that level of playing!

I'm 70 and while my hands don't hurt, these old working mans hands just cannot get going to that kind of level no matter what I try. I know speed isn't everything but sometimes it would be nice to even semi-blaze through something.

It's not my fretting hand that's holding me up, it's my picking hand. I do picking exercises and my wrist just seems to lock up. But lets face it: I am getting older and becoming a guitar god is not on my list of priorities! Just want to do the best I can with what I've got. But I'll keep trying!

I've seen that video a few times before. Joe's an amazing player and my gosh.....that tone! Now that's rock!
 
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I play at church and for what's required I do a decent job. But I am no where even close to that level of playing!

I'm 70 and while my hands don't hurt, these old working mans hands just cannot get going to that kind of level no matter what I try. I know speed isn't everything but sometimes it would be nice to even semi-blaze through something.
Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite classic recordings, one that probably began the fusion revolution of the '70s: Miles Davis' B!tch's Brew.

It's amazing how much space he leaves unplayed on that record, having nothing to prove to the world other than finding the right notes here and there, and executing them with great precision and beauty of tone. He's not playing all over the place and showing off his chops, which were certainly considerable. Instead, we hear restraint and deliberate choice.

Sometimes hearing space is as interesting as the playing!

I can't play as fast as I used to. I can, however, still create and play interesting melodic parts - my ability to do that seems to increase year by year even though my hands are slowing down. But whole notes, half notes and quarter notes can be as listenable as 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths if they're well-chosen.
 
Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite classic recordings, one that probably began the fusion revolution of the '70s: Miles Davis' B!tch's Brew.

It's amazing how much space he leaves unplayed on that record, having nothing to prove to the world other than finding the right notes here and there, and executing them with great precision and beauty of tone. He's not playing all over the place and showing off his chops, which were certainly considerable. Instead, we hear restraint and deliberate choice.

Sometimes hearing space is as interesting as the playing!

I can't play as fast as I used to. I can, however, still create and play interesting melodic parts - my ability to do that seems to increase year by year even though my hands are slowing down. But whole notes, half notes and quarter notes can be as listenable as 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths if they're well-chosen.
Well said! My thinking these days is: okay, I'll never be a fast player and while I will try to improve to some degree on that, the emphasis is trying to be a more knowledgeable player. Been practicing improvising over chord changes and while it's slow going it is helping me in learning the fretboard much better. Been playing along with various jam tracks on YouTube, even one chord jam tracks. It's all basic stuff but if I don't have that info under my fingers then there's no way I can tackle more advanced concepts.

I've said it here before and I'll say it again. It's a hell of a lot better than rotting in front of the TV all night!
 
Well said! My thinking these days is: okay, I'll never be a fast player and while I will try to improve to some degree on that, the emphasis is trying to be a more knowledgeable player. Been practicing improvising over chord changes and while it's slow going it is helping me in learning the fretboard much better. Been playing along with various jam tracks on YouTube, even one chord jam tracks. It's all basic stuff but if I don't have that info under my fingers then there's no way I can tackle more advanced concepts.

I've said it here before and I'll say it again. It's a hell of a lot better than rotting in front of the TV all night!

There is one of my problems right there. Now that I am a lot more knowledgeable and have a lot more tricks in my bag I get ingrained physically and mentally improvising. It’s the best feeling! Freedom to not be pegged into a box anymore. My whole practice session is well planned but never comes to fruition at times because I get caught up in improvising.
 
There is one of my problems right there. Now that I am a lot more knowledgeable and have a lot more tricks in my bag I get ingrained physically and mentally improvising. It’s the best feeling! Freedom to not be pegged into a box anymore. My whole practice session is well planned but never comes to fruition at times because I get caught up in improvising.
I've not practiced set-piece parts since I was a rank beginner in 1967. I've improvised the rest of the way.

Turns out that not practicing, and just playing improvisations was actually...practicing improvisation!

So it worked out!

Whatever causes you to pursue your bliss while playing is the way to go. If that's doing certain exercises or whatever, great. If it's improvising, go with it! And...it can be either and both from time to time.

Enjoy yourself! What else do we play for? I even enjoy myself when I'm being paid for a session.
 
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