Have you ever picked up bad habits after learning a song properly?

[zmf]

Originally Posted by theghostwriter

...over time, maybe subconsciously, your technique in playing that song starts to drift until one day you realize you have a bad habit that's hard to correct.

That's called developing your style.

I was just going through some videos of a piece I'm working on -- one I know pretty well by now -- and I'll be darned -- none of those guys were doing it correctly -- not even the guy who wrote it.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

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Regarding "bad habits," many people here on the AGF and elsewhere take the approach that if you learn something "wrong" that you somehow permanently imprint onto your playing style this bad habit that can never be removed or changed. In my own playing experience I have found that I have corrected various improper playing approaches when I felt like I needed to change. It's just a matter of making up my mind, drawing a line in the sand, and saying, from now on I'm doing it this new way.

Glenn

Agreed. I've broken so many bad habits over time, or replaced them with other bad habits, that I'm getting good at it. Either that, or breaking bad habits is easier than thought. Breaking a bad habit is just the same as learning something new. You break it by learning the new way.

[Pdubs76]

I do this often. Somewhere along the way I start to deviate from the original song and have to revisit the transcript or tutorial. Then I have that ah..ha moment when I see where I went astray. I find that this is how I learn most songs. The more difficult the song, the more I have to go back and clean it up.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by rufjbn

Paul McCartney has never sought my opinion on how to perform "Yesterday" properly. Why should I let him restrict the way I play it?

This pretty much sums it up for me as well. In my opinion, I improve every song I cover.

[Coler]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Yes, but since joining the AGF I've learned to call it "making it my own"

Bob, I want to thank you for this public service post, which I also endorse

[Guitars44me]

I am not sure if I even care what is “proper”…
All my fave artists do any covers their own way. Check out any cover by Willie Nelson!
Which version of Over the Rainbow is the proper one?
Besides, how do I feel at the moment I am playing a song, and who am I playing to?
Now I would be happy if I could just remember a few more of my “lost” originals…. Hahaha
To quote Duke Ellington again, “when it sounds good, it IS good.

Carry on and tune up often

Paul

[leonski]

When ever I learn a song, I go back and listen to it again after three or four weeks. I'm always surprised to hear details come out that I didn't hear the first time.

[Norsepicker]

I've been working on Miss John Hurt's THAT LONESOME VALLEY quite awhile as a way to develop that alternating thumb. When I get to the end I want to vamp almost incessantly just because I can, a habit I have to get rid of before I next play which my must partner because I am absolutely sure it would drive him nuts.

[EZYPIKINS]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Yes, but since joining the AGF I've learned to call it "making it my own"

Agreed, there was a time , it seems not so long ago. When I would toil over trying to emulate the record as closely as possible.

Today, I go out of my way to play things My Way.

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by Coler

Bob, I want to thank you for this public service post, which I also endorse

Thanks Coler, my pleasure! Some of my favorite artists don't play their own tunes the way they recorded them, so who am I to chase perfection

Obviously, this can be taken to an extreme (see, Dylan, Bob), but at its core most of what I like has its roots in folk music --which develops organically over time, so our changes (aka hacks, work arounds, mistakes ) are just part of the evolution

[ewalling]

I've heard some people on forums complain about 'improper' renderings of the Star-Spangled Banner at big sporting events. It seems that some have stricter standards of propriety in this instance than they do in others. There's also that moment when Dick Cavett famously asked Jimi Hendrix to explain his 'unorthodox' (Cavett's word) version of the song at Woodstock.

[Misifus]

I have always held that I am not a jukebox. If my listeners insist upon a note-perfect reproduction of a popular song, let them play the recording. I have often heard recording artists play their own hits differently from the recordings which made them famous.

I guess I always “make them my own.”

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

Agreed, there was a time , it seems not so long ago. When I would toil over trying to emulate the record as closely as possible.

Today, I go out of my way to play things My Way.

Unless you are in a tribute band this is the way to go, imo. It's already been done the other way, your version might be better! With solo guitar (or guitar and vocal) it really can't be exactly what was recorded in most cases anyway.

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by theghostwriter

Say you learn a song well, and then over time, maybe subconsciously, your technique in playing that song starts to drift until one day you realize you have a bad habit that's hard to correct. Asking for a friend

Yes, more than once or twice or ….
And not only. It happens in our band as well. Some songs are great at the beginning, then we get sloppy and the songs don’t work anymore.

You can let your friend know that!

[Silurian]

Fingerstyle blues is my thing. There's no "properly". Most of the stuff has been played hundreds of different ways by hundreds of different players. That's what I like about it.

I