Dreaming of guitars

Last night I dreamed that the technician on my course (great guy, plays a guitar on his breaks in his little room) gave me a very nice vintage acoustic and taught me some strumming techniques (note this was not a lucid dream). The significant point here is that I successfully achieved the technique (after some trial and error) and was able to play what I wanted quite easily, whereas in the past I have found playing a guitar in my dreams rather difficult, and I often find I forget how to play tunes that are normally second nature, which leads to that strange feeling of humorous frustration.

Has anyone else had difficulty doing things in dreams lucid or otherwise that are usually quite easy in the real world? Also, any theories as to why this may be the case?

Thanks guys. :)

Hey Sweeney,

That's pretty interesting. I've had many dreams (non-lucid) where I'm playing some wonderful pieces of music, most of which I am sure I don't have the technical skill level to play in waking life, yet in the dream it was effortless.

You seemed to have the opposite effect which is pretty strange. I can make some assumptions, but I don't have the answer to why this happened.

1) Maybe there is somekind of separate knowledge between waking and dreamin life. Like, you have a learned ability and skill in waking life that you may have to "re-learn" into your dreamworld.

2) Maybe there is a more psychological answer. For instance, you might have some hidden fear of forgetting how to play certain songs. Do you perform in front of audiences? I've heard that lucid dreaming can/has helped athletes develop better skills within their sport - or sometimes cut down the learning curve of a new sport.

3) Controlling things in dreams is a tricky thing anyways, so playing guitar in a dream can sometimes be like playing with a pair of winter gloves on due to the difficulty in control.

I don't know, that's about all I can think of. Would be interesting to experience, though.

Interesting theories Joe, thanks. You say lucid dreaming may help cut down learning curves; that would be useful with regards to my piano practice! I think your "difficulty in control" comment is interesting, because the feeling I get when I can't play properly in a dream is very similar to that when I'm quite drunk. Alcohol, as we know has a major impact on motor function, and it is interesting that a similar detrimental effect is experienced in these dreams.

With regards to playing in front of audiences, I never have. I've played infront of a few friends though, but never sung. There is an open mic night at a local pub which I always say I will perform at, and my friends usually try to persuade me to get up but I always shy away. I can tell you that isn't a hidden fear, just a plain fear!

On another note, I can't drive, although my dad did teach me for a while about a year ago and I actually did rather well, but I haven't driven since. In some dreams, I'll often get into a car and think- "OK, I know I can't drive, but I know the basics so I'll give it a blast"- and I end up driving quite proficiently (quite satisfying I must say).

Maybe I should get back into driving :)

Hey Sweeney

welcome to DV's

That looks like a drawing of MJ Ramu is going to love it!

See ya around. :goodjob: