Playing Music, and ADD | ADHD Information
I've played piano for 8 years. When I was a kid I loved piano so much. My
parents never told me to practice once. I would play at least 2 hours a day. I
always have trouble with counting. I really can't count at all while playing. I
either play sheet music or rock music of songs I already know. If it is a song
I all ready know I learn the notes and play it like I've heard it. When I was a
kid I would write music a lot. I also tend to re- arrange songs. Probably
cause I suck at counting. It's just hard to think of what to play and count at
the same time. It's hard though cause I think I've convinced my teacher I can
count really well. musicfanatic39739.8386689815I'm a new musician. All my life I've wanted to play and I finally got off my butt and bought a basic electric guitar setup (guitar, amp, etc) back in July.
My musician friends don't understand why I start off great then get worse as I repeat the lick. Its counter-intuitive to them.
What has helped me the most was to try and focus my attention soley on one hand, let the other go on autopilot. Some of what I'm about to say may not apply to the bass but I've played both so it should be close, at least.
If I'm playing a strumming song, the right hand is the one I put on autopilot. I practice the strumming pattern without fretting. This is boring! So its really hard to stay with it but its necessary. Once I have the pattern down where I'm doing it without thinking, I now focus on the fretting. I fret the chords as best I can without regard to my right hand. If I don't get the chord right in time, I just keep the right hand going and try my best to ignore the mistake.
If I'm playing a picking song, which is what might fit what bassists do better, its a little harder. It depends on the song which hand is the first one to go on autopilot but more than often its still the right. Again, I play the piece without fretting for a while until I have the rhythm down then start the fretting portion.
The exception to this is "finger-style" in which I'm plucking multiple strings in a pattern (Stairway to Heaven, for example)... in that case, its often the left hand that needs to go on autopilot.
Try that and see if it helps.
Ed
I know that there are many ADD musicians on the board and I'd really like to hear from them.
I suspect Davidornado is one of them... Hey you! Remember me?
Anyway, I picked up the bass guitar a year+ ago. I feel I've come a long way since I started but always, always, I feel like any second, it's just going to click over in my head. And I'll be great. Or at least, good. I don't suck now, but half the time I feel like I'm wandering around on the fretboard, and nothing makes sense. I know that I can do this, play music/bass that is. And I just know that I'm about 1/2 turn of the stupid puzzle piece of making a complete picture and everything makes sense.
It's like this. I start playing, I'll hear the music, and see it in my head. but the second I start playing it turns to crap, literally in my hands. And I feel the switch. the point that it turns to crap is when my bully left brain shoves the right brain down on the playground, tell them they don't know what they're doing and tries to take over.
Even once I figure a lick out, and it takes a while because the music that I just heard and I'm trying to replicate doesn't stay there but a second. But once I figure it out, I'll repeat it over and over but the music plays and I play along and I'll still play it different or wrong. Or even worse, can't remember. Even when I hear it all day long, it changes the second I put my hands on the bass.
Even a standard walking blues bass line. It still takes me several minutes to figure out or even remember how to do it.
This is why I play off of tabs. And I hate doing it.
For the musicians:
What difficulties have you had in learning and playing music? What helped? When did it 'click' for you?