G.R.M.D

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G.R.M.D

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Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

G.R.M.D

Or Guitar Related Mood Disorder..

Something that sonikete said about how one's feeling of well-being tends to be influenced by how one's guitar playing is going made me think of this..

If you had to go to your Doctor and say that you are addicted to something that is making you spend a lot of time on your own, sometimes causing friction with your partner or family, is responsible for mood swings, is resulting in obsessive behaviour, causing you to repeat the same actions over and over again, is making you somewhat reclusive and unsociable and sometimes interferes with your work...well, he'd be pretty concerned!
Yet I spoke to a Flamenco Guitar Student a while back who happened to be a qualified and working Doctor and he was complaining of the same symptoms himself!

I'm not talking about professionals here, who would have every reason to feel down if they were not playing well.

Just us amateurs.

It's funny how finally managing to crack a difficult little passage of alzapua or something can brighten your whole mood and outlook on life and make you walk with a spring in your step, being pleasant and understanding to everybody.
Then the bad times when you record something and play it back and hear how bloody awful it is and feel like giving up.
You then walk around like a depressed ogre on a short fuse, shouting at the kids and kicking the cat!

The most interesting thing of all is that nobody is even listening to, or criticising the playing except yourself.
It's crazy!
The effort/return ratio is extremely poor and the end result for a lot of us has no financial value... in fact we pay out a lot of money on guitars, dvds, cds, strings etc for the privilage of being able to torture ourselves more.

Are we sick?

cheers

Ron

_____________________________

A good guitar might be a good guitar
But it takes a woman to break your heart

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 14:47:21

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

"Isn't it true that when you sound bad, you feel bad? Don't you feel great the day after you sounded great? You walk around saying "Wow, I am happening! I'm a happening guy! One of the cats!" But if you sound bad, you might be feeling, "I am nothing, less than nothing. Don't even talk to me, I don't deserve it." That might be exaggerating, but a lot of people relate to these mood swings. The sad fact is that most musicians relate judge their value as a person by their level of playing. Therein lies an unhealthy linkage between musical proficiency and self-worth. It raises the stakes for what it means to play badly or well. This puts undue pressure on the act of playing--and as we just proved with the examples in our own lives, when the pressure is on to sound good we play worse--and so on and so forth."

Effortless Mastery, Kenny Werner
[and he proposes a way to fix this counterproductive state of mind]

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Connect with me on Facebook, all the cool kids are doing it.
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Arizona Wedding Music Guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 15:02:09

Jon Boyes

Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ron.M
It's funny how finally managing to crack a difficult little passage of alzapua or something can brighten your whole mood and outlook on life and make you walk with a spring in your step, being pleasant and understanding to everybody.
Then the bad times when you record something and play it back and hear how bloody awful it is and feel like giving up.
You then walk around like a depressed ogre on a short fuse, shouting at the kids and kicking the cat!

I need to show this to my wife. "See, its not just me.."

_____________________________

Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 15:06:24

Jon Boyes

Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria
Effortless Mastery, Kenny Werner
[and he proposes a way to fix this counterproductive state of mind]

Presumably by kicking the cat?

_____________________________

Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 15:09:14

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Jon Boyes)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jon Boyes

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria
Effortless Mastery, Kenny Werner
[and he proposes a way to fix this counterproductive state of mind]

Presumably by kicking the cat?

No, by freeing your mind, man. A bunch of Buddhist-type stuff plus "affirmations."

_____________________________

Connect with me on Facebook, all the cool kids are doing it.
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Arizona Wedding Music Guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 15:41:02

Jon Boyes

Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

Oh I see, the new age approach. I still think the cat better watch out

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Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 15:43:34

Guest

[Deleted] (in reply to Ron.M)

[Deleted by Admins]

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 16:40:01

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

I don't know about all this Ron but I do know that everytime I watch a vid or sound clip of you playing is pi$$es me off and ruins my day because I realize I still have a ways to go.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 16:58:39

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to TANúñez)

Tom,
That's really nice of you to say man..but those little clips you hear took mucho practise!!
I have a total repertoire of about 10 minutes after many years of work.

(By the way I have never ever kicked any cat ever in my life, although I have received many scratches and bites from the damned moggy over the years

)

cheers

Ron

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_____________________________

A good guitar might be a good guitar
But it takes a woman to break your heart

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 20:31:34

Posts: 320
Joined: Nov. 20 2005
From: manitoba, canada

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

Im sure the cure for G.R.M.D.
could be G.R.M.D.
Get Ron More to Drink

LOL
c

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 21:20:15

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

Well, you do have several years on me when it comes to playing but still, it takes so much progress just to make progress! Now that I've started building, I play even less. Although lately my schedule now has me practicing late at night when everyone is asleep which is the only time I can put my hands on my guitar.

Every once in a while, I wake up in the wee hours of the morning still with guitar in hand and still in the same playing posture I was in before I dozed off

I bet this is probably the reason my back has been killing me lately. I think I may have to start waking up an hour or two earlier to practice first thing in the morning.

That is a great photo!

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 21 2006 22:07:00

sonikete

Posts: 735
Joined: Jan. 9 2004
From: Sweden

RE: G.R.M.D (in reply to Ron.M)

quote:

Something that sonikete said about how one's feeling of well-being tends to be influenced by how one's guitar playing is going made me think of this..

Another thing that influence one´s feeling of well being is aggressive neighbors with little understanding for whole tone scales ...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 23 2006 22:20:36