The "Next Day Effect...?" Is it Real?

**AlsoRan** · 10-14-2014, 09:08 PM

I can't count how many times I have been at my wit's end trying to execute a line, phrase, or learn a new song only to end the day frustrated and asking myself why I brought this "six-string" torment on myself only to nail it the very next day in short order.

Now I know that if I exhaust myself on an idea, be it a scale, line, or maybe a chord change, I will rise again the next day and almost fall into it with my execution.

Have you found that this happens to you?

**Flat** · 10-14-2014, 09:12 PM

Definitely. Lay the groundwork, get the essential moves "programmed into muscle memory," then get some sleep. Let the unconscious mind sort out the details. I think it's one viable approach.

**Gilpy** · 10-14-2014, 10:51 PM

Yes, always. For me, that's just the way the brain/finger connection works, with a slight difference. I'll think I have it mastered, then the next day will have to start all over. But it will come easier, and it will stick.

**TOMMO** · 10-15-2014, 07:13 AM

Happens all the time. Even if I'm not really into playing / practicing but want that guitar in my lap I may just noodle around slowly trying to figure out new ways to connect chords and notes without any real success I'll find them in my repertoire the next day....

**MarkRhodes** · 10-15-2014, 10:08 AM

Yes! I never heard this called the Next Day Effect, but yes, I've done that many times too.

I notice it especially when I'm struggling with some awkward / demanding voicings in a chord melody arrangement---it's slow and stiff and clunky, but then night falls and the next day comes and I play it smoothly and I go, "Whoa, that was so tough yesterday..."

**AlsoRan** · 10-15-2014, 11:35 AM

Thanks, everybody!

**Sam Sherry** · 10-15-2014, 01:53 PM

Y'know, I started working on a response yesterday . . .

Today it came out effortlessly!

**AlsoRan** · 10-15-2014, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

Y'know, I started working on a response yesterday . . .

Today it came out effortlessly!

Too much Sherry?

**ecj** · 10-15-2014, 02:41 PM

Absolutely. I have no idea why this works.

My suspicion is that sleep has something to do with it. I keep meaning to experiment one day with practicing something, then taking a nap, and then going back at it to see what happens. Haven't gotten around to trying that yet.

**AlsoRan** · 10-15-2014, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Yes! I never heard this called the Next Day Effect, but yes, I've done that many times too.

I notice it especially when I'm struggling with some awkward / demanding voicings in a chord melody arrangement---it's slow and stiff and clunky, but then night falls and the next day comes and I play it smoothly and I go, "Whoa, that was so tough yesterday..."

I have been teaching piano to a 4-year old and I began to notice that the little fellow would struggle with a song one evening, and then the very next day would be able to finally play it well. I have noticed this with myself as well, throughout my guitar journey.

I decided to coin the phrase "Next Day Effect." Maybe I should hurry and patent it...?

**mr. beaumont** · 10-15-2014, 02:49 PM

There's been some good studies on this...google Harvard synaptic homeostasis. Not a light read.

But generally, as I understand it (as dumbed down and explained to me by my cousin, currently at Harvard for her Phd) is that the brain takes sleep time to organize and more efficiently use space...so yeah, the phenomenon of "sleeping on it" actually has a whole lotta merit.

Because of this small piece of knowledge, I consider myself an expert and feel the need to mention there is no such thing as muscle memory...it's all brain.

**MarkRhodes** · 10-15-2014, 03:03 PM

I Googled Harvard synaptic homeostasis. The scholarly links that came out were beyond my reach, but I gleaned this from a new article:

>>>"Sleep is the price the brain must pay for learning and memory," Dr. Giulio Tononi, of the UW Center for Sleep and Consciousness, said in a statement. "During wake, learning strengthens the synaptic connections throughout the brain, increasing the need for energy and saturating the brain with new information. Sleep allows the brain to reset, helping integrate newly learned material with consolidated memories, so the brain can begin anew the next day. "<<<<

Why We Sleep: SHY Hypothesis Claims Our Brain Must ?Pay Price For Learning?

I guess this is why learning can be exhausting...

**cosmic gumbo** · 10-15-2014, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by AlsoRan

I decided to coin the phrase "Next Day Effect." Maybe I should hurry and patent it...?

I think I saw a stompbox on someone's pedalboard already called Next Day FX...

**monk** · 10-15-2014, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Sleep allows the brain to reset, helping integrate newly learned material with consolidated memories, so the brain can begin anew the next day. "

Sort of like defragmenting a hard drive and realigning all the scattered parts of a program so that the information can be retrieved more quickly and efficiently.

**thesnowdog** · 10-15-2014, 11:10 PM

https://class.coursera.org/learning-002/ might be of some interest. It covers this topic.

**AlsoRan** · 10-16-2014, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

I think I saw a stompbox on someone's pedalboard already called Next Day FX...

Darn it!

**matt.guitarteacher** · 10-16-2014, 11:11 AM

It may just be me, but I find that I don't really make gradual progress with anything. It's mostly spurts or incremental break throughs. I try to tell students not to worry so much about seeing daily progress.

Just put the time in. It's cumulative but not necessarily linear.

**JohnoL** · 10-16-2014, 07:35 PM

I sometimes have the opposite next day effect.
I'll work out a lick or arrangement that I think is really good.
Then when I come back to it the next day it doesn't sound so good after all.