Are their any "guitarist block" anecdotes out there?

[ErikJurado]

Some days I pick up my guitar and I can come up with riffs and make up a lead and it feels good. I can be very productive and feel real good about my progress as a musician. Other days (like today) I pick up the guitar and I feel like I'm just going through the motions. Usually, I will still put in at least a couple of hours worth of playing and most of it would be nothing special. I do this because I usually have about 4 or 5 songs that I work on at a time and like to make any kind of progress I can on whatever song I can. I find that when I push myself when I am not feeling the music I start thinking things such as: I'm not as good as I want to be; I'm not a real musician; and/or that I am just wasting my time time. So, right when I felt this would be the case today, I stopped immediately.

I have been playing for a year and a half and have learned to play all on my own, so I don't know if this is a regular pattern with guitarists or not - sort of like a "writer's block" for the guitarist. Since writers have tips and techniques for dealing with writers block, I was hoping maybe I'd get some feedback on how others deal with their guitarist block - or even any similar stories so that I can at least see that this is a common issue.

Thanks for being here!

Erik

[Digger]

Some days I pick up my guitar and I can come up with riffs and make up a lead and it feels good. I can be very productive and feel real good about my progress as a musician. Other days (like today) I pick up the guitar and I feel like I'm just going through the motions. Usually, I will still put in at least a couple of hours worth of playing and most of it would be nothing special. I do this because I usually have about 4 or 5 songs that I work on at a time and like to make any kind of progress I can on whatever song I can. I find that when I push myself when I am not feeling the music I start thinking things such as: I'm not as good as I want to be; I'm not a real musician; and/or that I am just wasting my time time. So, right when I felt this would be the case today, I stopped immediately.

I have been playing for a year and a half and have learned to play all on my own, so I don't know if this is a regular pattern with guitarists or not - sort of like a "writer's block" for the guitarist. Since writers have tips and techniques for dealing with writers block, I was hoping maybe I'd get some feedback on how others deal with their guitarist block - or even any similar stories so that I can at least see that this is a common issue.

Thanks for being here!

Erik

i will stop playing guitar for wile {kind of like now! lol} and work on other things for a wile and then come back to it.... this is a very good way to keep it fresh for me.

you know somthing? i too use to think i was the only one going through this, as well as meney other things in life.... it was not untill i realized that no matter the situation... some one else is eather dealing with the same thing, or there have been others that have delt with the same thing/things.... no matter what, don't ever think that you are the only one that has ever delt with whatever the situation is...be it guitar, or any thing in life! just allways know that theres someone else that has felt and or dealt with it! this will help you alot through life/guitar/whatever....

hope this helps you out.... and remember: YOUR NOT THE ONLY ONE!



PEACE,

[Bill B]

Interesting Im sure all feel that way sometime or another, I usually listen to something different than what Im trying to do, not meaning to plug but I go to
http://www.songoftherose.co.uk/
and watch videos Rob and others do fantastic things with early 19th century instruments or lutes etc, I know Ill never achieve that level so I tend to take in the music more...I really listen to the nuances and appreciate beauty more.
A modern steel string can be easy to play compared to those, Ive tried, think of what Bream can do with a 14 string lute!?!?!
I realise my limitations and accept them. that doesnt mean I can make music, no one said you have to be a "good musician" or excell to enjoy the creative aspects of making original music.
with the early music, I find the simplicity of some of the progressions and melodies strike me in a way to think more clearly about what I am trying to achieve. It takes away stress and relaxes me. then its on to rolling Beethoven over and over again.

[Dazed]

I buy a new toy! New effect or something that motivates me more.

[kvd]

Guitarist block????? Nope... sorry.

There's always repetition, exercises and plain training, as a gigging guitar player I need that (heck I'm getting older...).

Ow and as Dazed mentioned, new toys!!!!