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Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Heres my story...
Well after 3 days of having nothing to do at work and reading so many of your entries, I've decided to tell my story of how I got started:
I've always loved Flamenco, but never knew anything about it. I guess you could have called me a bit of a poser in the sence that I would talk about flamenco and my passion for it, but when someone would ask me a question or ask me to explain a certain piece, I would look at them with a dumb expression! I never knew about the different palos, the compas, the history, anything. One day 3 years ago I bought a guitar figuring that I could learn on my own with no help from anyone, because I'm just that talented! So for months and eventually a couple of years I sat on my couch and accomplished nothing!
One day while at a CD store, I came across the Juan Martin 0-5 book. It was like a gift from god! I bought it, took it home, and was determined to be a flamenco player before the day was thru! Over the next year or so, I hurried thru as many levels as possible, practising about 45 minutes every couple days... I didn't need to practise more because, well, I'm just that fantastic! Oh yeah, I was aewsome; I would play bits of Rumbas, the easy parts of Seguirias, a little bit of Tangos compas, a real life flamenco player in the flesh!
Then I decided to take a classes (best thing I ever did!). So I sat down in front of my new teacher and decided I would blow him away with a Seguiria. So I played it. After I was done, I waited for him to say "wow, your so good that you don't need classes!". Instead, he said the following: "That doesn't sound any good. Lets start from the beginning and get rid of all of the bad habits that you've picked up, and actually, forget everything you've learned because its not flamenco and it sounds terrible!"
Can it be true? Is it possible that I'm not the young Paco that i thought I was?!!
So to make a long story short, the first thing i did was accept my ignorance and lack of tecnique. I began building my CD collection, started listening (for the first time ever) to the music so as to understand the rythm and the structure. I do palmas in the car or while I walk down the street with my headphones on (pay no attention to the weird looks from people!).
My first lesson was six months ago. I now play everyday, at least 2 hours a day, and now appreciate the importance of taking the time to work on tecnique and compas, instead of trying to be great in the shortest time possible.
It's amazing how a little knowledge and patience can change the way you look at the task at hand. I now feel so happy when I can successfully play a simple falseta for about 30 seconds without missing a beat. I'm happy because I know that eventually 30 seconds will turn into 3 minutes, then 3 hours.
Its great to know that I'm not the only one with self confidence issues, and that other people have the same problems when it comes to playing the guitar.
So thats it!! Now I will continue to play and read as much as I can here for inspiration.
Keep in mind that Paco was raised by flamencos and lived it night and day, and practiced 10 hours a day! Maybe you are as talented as he, but unless you subject yourself to such a regimen, you will never know.
The lesson is that everyone has to work had to achieve excellence....except maybe percussionists :)
I also don't have that kind of willpower, let alone time! After about six hours of playing I can't feel my right foot and my left hand hand takes on a bit of a "claw" like shape! I never aspired to be a Paco or Tomatito...I just want to be able to play the music that I love and one day accompany a dancer or singer.
go go go ...I like serious people , no more 15 min a day .6 hours a day ...that's good man , go go go.U have my admiration!Just dont give up and think happy thoughts ..if u're waiting ,it will come .....and upload your picture.
It's amazing how a little knowledge and patience can change the way you look at the task at hand
It's also amazing how just stepping back and taking a deep breath can also change the way you look at the task at hand. Welcome to the best site on the web, and what ever you do remember this, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Stay safe.
quote:
Maybe you are as talented as he...
Oh, I know I'm as talented as Paco, for about 8 hours every night when I sleep, and a couple of hours on Thursday evenings!
I also don't have that kind of willpower, let alone time! After about six hours of playing...
Are you kidding man? Six hours of playing in one sitting and you don't think you have the will power?!!! That it plenty to get you to where you want to be. I don't think it is the amount of playing, but rather it is the quality and consistency of practice that is important. There is only so much you can improve in a day, no matter how much you practice. The important factors are quality of material you focus on, the quality of your concentration as well as your approach, and regular repetition and consistency. If you keep these in mind, you won't need more than 2-3 hours of practice a day to greatly improve whatever you are doing.
One important thing people tend to overlook is that the learning curve is an exponential function! Therefore, at the initial stages of learning you improve a lot by practicing a little, but as you become better at what you're doing, the level of improvement is not necessarily proportional to the effort you forth. To put this in perspective, Paco will never ever improve as much as you and I, no matter how much he practices. While he is parked at or nearing a plateau, we are slowly but surely catching up to him and others like him. This is what keeps me going as a beginner guitar player.
Ramin
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What we are today comes from out thoughts of yesterday and our present thoughts build our life tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind. -Buddha
I also noticed that my improvement is not linear. That is to say that I may find that in three weeks I don't progress at all, then the next day I pick up the guitar and everything seems to be that much easier, whereas only twelve hours ago, or even two weeks ago I wasn't getting it! Does this make sense? I find that when I feel confident and I'm having a "GOOD" day with the guitar, the strings feel a little bit softer in my right hand, my thumb nail strikes the strings at the exact angle, and my left hand fingers just naturally move across the strings. Its a great feeling. then I'll stop to have a smoke and when I pick up the guitar again its all gone for crap! Ever happened to you?
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Im waiting in fear for the reaction...im wearing my helmet, i got my beer im ready for anything 
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