Okay... would like some friendly tips and advice...

[E-string]

I've been so busy the last few weeks, that my guitar playing has pretty much dwindled to nothing... part of me wants to get in there and play and another part of me is not motivated, just too tired... A friend of mine (also a guitarist) said, just sit and play a few chords, unwind, listen to my favorite pieces (or play them) ...

This is not usually like me to make "not being in the mood" an excuse, but I'll be honest... I think that's a lot of the problem right now...

Anyway, when you all have gone a while without playing, do you have a particular thing you do to just get back in to practicing or playing or whatever, something that really gets you back on track???

Thanks... :)

[mjamer]

I had quite a break from the guitar during my time in the marine corps, for me to "get back into it", was more of a lost feeling in the world without it... a sorta, "it was calling me, and my heart calling it".

Maybe you should think about how much you love making music, how much it means to you to be able to play and draw on those feelings for self-motivation. I wake up some mornings to dreary to wanna do anything but lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.. but i want to play so bad, am so much in love with music in general, and have set very high goals for myself (playing flight of the bumble bee by nikolai rimsky-korsakov accuratly and up to speed hehe, i feel that if i can accomplish that.. i can accomplish anything on guitar hehe). I think of that, and my wonderful wife who is very much supporting my music career, and that makes me want to play that much harder.. a combination of it all.

hope that helps =)

mjamer

[E-string]

Thanks, mjamer... :)

The part you said about feeling lost without it, I think that is me, too... Physically, I am just very tired because of my job, yet I still wistfully long to have time to play... I've been making a few moves in the last two days, and plotting out some simple short-term goals (and to an extent, long-term goals), and I think it's there, inside of me... if I weren't so dadgum exhausted!!! :D

Well, the work crunch ends shortly, and then I am going to really get to know my guitar again, and that will be very nice, indeed. :)

[mjamer]

Great that's wonderful to hear =). Short term goals are just peachy, baby-steps I always say.. before you know it you're running in full strides again. :)


mjamer

[cyberfret]

Of course having more time will definitely help......glad to hear you will not be killing yourself for too much longer :) And when you do have periods in your life where there is just not any time to play, do try and find just very short periods of time to play. If you don't have one......get a guitar stand. That way you can grab the guitar quickly and play, even if it is only for a few minutes at a time.

As for recapturing that spark....think about how you felt after meeting Neal Schon....and that concert. I bet you when home and picked up your guitar. Concerts are a great way to become inspired. Or get a new CD........like say.....Spock's Beard....haha...... Or get a guitar video. I find it inspirational to watch a great guitar player up close. Something that you do get at most concerts. There are tons of guitar instruction videos, and also concerts. Go to Amazon.com and type in "guitar" in the video section. I think there is something like 250 listed.

--Shawn

[E-string]

Thanks, Shawn... good ideas there, too...

I took a moment and made sure the guitar stand, guitar, and amp and everything I needed would be right in front of me for those spare moments... Like my friend told me, even strumming some chords would be better than nothing... :D (Or since I love scales so much, maybe I could just spend five or ten minutes messing with scales)...

Spock's Beard... another hint, eh? (Yeah, I did like their music I heard when I listened to the downloads that time.)

Maybe I could sneak Neal's "Electric World" CD-set into work (or at least in my car).

All good ideas. Thanks... :)

[AnUprightMan]

When ever I get out of it I like to find some new songs or techniques to tackle.
Before i know it I have been screwing around with the guitar for hours.