Conference napalm::guitar

    Whoa, I gotta be careful here, I think I could talk for hours. Matter
    of fact, I think I need a therapist and maybe you're experiencing the
    same thing.
    
    Yep, I'm dealin with this now, and maybe it has to do with the
    traditional "mid-life crisis". For me, I don't think there is any answer, 
    cuz its just a feeling. The thrill is just gone. I don't play in
    a band anymore and I'm not sure I want to again. I keep wrestling with
    that one. Whats for sure is that I won't play in a band just for the
    sake of playin in a band. If its as much of a friggin hassle as it used
    to be, I just don't wanna deal with it - there's too much golf to be
    played, too many fish to catch, too many balls to shoot at the pool
    hall. 
    
    To just sit and wail away by one's self sucks also. So last fall I
    bought one of these automated keyboards that'll even fart for ya. And
    it has been good to have. But it ain't everything. I go to my music room
    and I find that I'll pick up my guitar for about 1/2 hr, play to the
    same track I've sequenced, and do the same thing I've done over and
    over again. (This is why I reply that I'm not really good, just
    practiced at what I do, when someone gives me a compliment).
    
    I also got a 4 track recorder, and it too has been good to have, but
    you gotta dick around with the damn thing for hours and hours. Maybe I
    just got a short attention span, I dunno. After about an hour of setup
    and playing the same thing trying to dial it all in, and then midway thru
    the solo I'll dork it or break a string - it begins to suck too. Notice
    I never did get a compilation submitted for the tapenoters IV. 
    
    One good thing about this malaise is that I don't seem to suffer from
    GTS as I used to. Its like "A $1000 just to dick around at home? Homey
    don' think so!" But then again I got good sounding stuff (My wife 'll
    tell you that never stopped me in the past.)
    
    The other factor for me is this love/hate relationship I have with
    music. Very little music is in the OK area for me. I either love it and
    want every one in the room to shut up so I can *listen* to it, or I
    hate it. A vast percentage of the time, I hate it. Its OK as background
    music, but to listen to it - like radio when I'm driving to work - it 
    sucks.
    
    And while I'm at it here, you know what else pisses me off? The
    Grammy's feature all the ear pablum we hear on radio. Then when it
    comes to giving an award to someone like Eric Johnson, the dorks just
    give it a mention that he won one just as they go to commercial. 
    
    See, anybody who knows me, knows I got this attitude about music and
    this is why I call my ability/interest to play a curse. I wish I never
    even started. But noooooooo, back then I had to come up with some big 
    idea that playin guitar is gonna get me laid. Maybe that's where my
    attitude comes from because it never once worked out that way.
    
    "sakman" 
                                        

    Seems this story pops up in here a lot  8^)
    
    I look at it this way:  I *want* to improve my chops, and try to set up
    times to practice but there are periods when I don't practice at all
    and don't even get my bass out except at gigs.  So what?  It's not a
    competition where I'm going to win some prize for having practiced more
    than Beaver Felton...  
    
    In other words, I pick up the axe when I feel like playing it.  And I
    don't lay a guilt trip on myself when I don't pick it up.  
    
    						Brian

    I wish I could find the time to practice/play enough to even get 
    close to getting tired of it...
    
    Jim (who wishes he could make the time to pick up a guitar every
    	 time he has the urge)

    Totally agree with Brian.  Life's tough enough without making music
    into something that's a drag.  I mean, if I wanted to hate playing
    music, I'd get a full time job playing music that I hate.  Burnout is
    natural, IMHO.  Just get through it however you can and then the fun 
    returns.

    Sometimes I pour myself a glass of scotch and head to the basement to
    play for a few hours.  Other times, I just pour a glass of scotch,
    period.  Somebody else already said it in here, but there's just too
    much golf, skiing, windsurfing, etc. to be had (not to mention family),
    and guitar is just another piece of all that.  Boy, am I glad I don't
    do music for a living, then burnout would be a real problem (not to
    mention the fact that I'd starve to death).  So, just pour a tall one
    and vege out in front of the tube.
    
    Al
      
    
      

>    Seems this story pops up in here a lot  8^)

Alot of frustrated musicians?

	I never can get enough of my instrument.... I do take breaks
	and ponder trying to make the next big leap in learning/playing.
	but there's always small steps to take too!
    
    							Rick
    
    Ps.. go feed a loaf of bread to some pigeons  :^)
    	

    	For myself, the burnout was a symptom of:
    a) Wanting other things to have priority...
    b) Not being excited by playing...
    c) Not being CHALLENGED by playing in a band/with others...
    d) Not having a clear direction for my musical energy
    
    	For about 5 years (when I was married and doing the homebody life)
    I was busy raising kids, fixing things around the house and lots
    of other stuff which prevented me from playing...I hardly picked up my
    guitar during that time...
    	Then I started to get the urge to play again, and I did some
    home recording with a 4 track...which got me playing again (YAAAAY!)
    but I quickly got tired of working on the same stuff by myself... 
    	So, I started in with some guys, and I got EXCITED about playing again!
    I had to work on NEW STUFF!!! I had to BE PREPARED with my parts. I had
    to set aside time to practice, time to work out tough parts...I learned
    that I could sing and play (I'd never tried before, though I LOVE to sing!)
    	Unfortunately, the chemistry of that band was such that it would
    never play out...and that was counter to what I wanted to do...
    so I had to leave.
    	I finally got together with an old friend, and we're doing a Blues
    band now that has been the best thing I could have ever done for my
    playing!
    	I had my doubts about it when we first started...but something
    happened along the way. (Actually, lots of things happened.) I didn't
    believe we would have any success with blues music, and I thought that
    blues could become quickly repetitive and that I would burn out because
    of it.
    	I met someone who showed me some aspects of blues I'd never
    explored...not only is it NOT repetitve...there are so many types
    of blues and so much GOOD blues music recorded to learn from already
    that it may be a lifelong journey exploring the possibilities!
    	Now I am motivated to become a better player, and have even started
    taking lessons again! I'm excited about my lessons, I'm excited about
    the band, the gigs, and the direction we're going...
    	We have been reasonably successful doing what we do...though I have
    no illusions about making big money from music, I do have some goals
    (milestones) I want to achieve... One of them is to just become a
    better player, and that is challenging me...and now I don't suffer from
    guitar burnout... I suffer from calloused fingers and lack of sleep
    because I WANT to play, and play every chance I get!
    Tom T

    I can identify with a lot of these sentiments.  Realistically speaking,
    I'm not going to be hitting the airwaves in my lifetime.  I've been
    learning to basically enjoy the gift of music, as well as other gifts
    in my life.
    
    Brian Rost gave me some good advice in here a few months ago.  If you
    love music (my paraphrased version), stop putting pressure on yourself
    and just enjoy it for what it is and what you get out of it (or even
    what you're able to contribute to it).
    
    Mike

    I got a renewal in my playing by not playing for about six months and
    only doing some light stuff. During this time I had the tapes and CDs
    going constantly listening to almost everything. When I got together
    with a band it was instant excitement. My playing/style also seems to
    have changed and the fun seems to have returned. Also as mentioned by
    another noter doing something different is challenging and that adds to
    the fun.

Reading the replies and thinking about my current position, I agree with you 
guys who say chill out.  I've been laying back for about two weeks now
including taking some time off from work to go skiing, be away and just 
get some perspective on stuff.  As a result of all this I'm leaning toward 
phasing out of the band.  I think me laying back to try and live a little
more diversely, while the band keeps pushing forward will end up being stressful
when I'm not ready with new tunes or the old tunes are suffering from lack of
chops.  I've never been talented enough to be able to fake my way thru music.  
If I don't practice I'm dead and I'm not to keen on being the guy holding the 
band back.  I guess I'll just talk to the boyz and see what they think.

In the meantime I still get to play in the duo which has gigs but not nearly
the committed practice time.  I hate to walk away from a good band but I'm
getting the feeling I'd like a little more balance in the lifestyle.

hmmm... 

ben.

    I've gone through some of the same things described by others in here. 
    The band's that didn't have what it took to gig, the periods of
    frustration with myself because I wasn't musicially productive, the
    desire to play out but not enough time.
    
    I think I've finally found a situation which I can be happy with and
    will fit with the rest of my life (as it stands right now).  I work
    with a friend at writing and doing home recordings of original songs. 
    We get together once or twice a week and work on our music.  That may
    mean anything from just jamming, to trying to write new songs, to
    working up arrangements of ones we've already done, to recording
    things, to talking about what we're doing.  
    
    With a busy job and a new baby, I rarely have time to even play in
    between the times we get together, but I have a moderately long commute
    to work and I use that time to think up new ideas.  
    
    This situation has been more personally fulfilling then anything else
    I've ever done musically.  It's been much more productive then I ever
    thought I could be and it doesn't put a lot of pressure on me to please
    other people's expectations.  Plus it allows me to have the time I need
    to live the rest of my life too.
    
    Sure, I'd like to play out some too, but that's not a priority for me
    right now.  What's important to me is making music and enjoying myself
    doing it.  I'm getting a lot more out of what I'm doing now then I
    think I would from gigging.
    
    re: Brian
                               
>    I look at it this way:  I *want* to improve my chops, and try to set up
>    times to practice but there are periods when I don't practice at all
>    and don't even get my bass out except at gigs.  So what?  It's not a
>    competition where I'm going to win some prize for having practiced more
>    than Beaver Felton...  
    
    What a *GREAT* attitude!!!!  Wish I could stay that relaxed about
    things...
    
    Greg

re .7 

Whachusaid! Anybody out there know anyone looking for a blue blues guitarist?

"sakman"

and.... maybe i just needed a rest... i picked up the guitar again, played
with the boys... and ... there's all that excitement again.  life gets 
wierd yet again... 

b.

    Good to hear it's become "fun" again for you...sometimes the answer
    is so obvious, we just can't see it!
    	I extracted this from note 2393.1...through a funny mishap due to "fat
    fingers" I accidentally got to this note moments after I read the
    latest replies, and thought it might be appropriate to enter it here...
    
    
>	Things to try when you feel stale (about your playing or music):
>
>	 o Play on the tunes that you are currently playing, but at
>	   least twice as slow.  (And no double time!)  This way, if
>	   you start to play any of your "pet licks" (or your "beef
>	   stew"), it will sound so bad to you that you'll probably
>	   stop right in the middle and quite possibly actually start
>	   to improvise, since, at the slower tempo, you'll have much
>	   more time (and space) to think/hear/feel other kinds of
>	   ideas.
>
>	 o Ask yourself: "Is there anyting really important in music
>	   that I've forgotten about?"
>
>	 o Feed a loaf (or two) of bread to some pigeons, ducks, sea
>	   gulls, or other types of birds.
>
>	 o Imagine a time or circumstance where you could never play
>	   the guitar again.
>
>	 o Go for a long walk.
>
>	 o Cry.
>
>	 o Stop playing the guitar and/or listening to music for
>	   1,2,3,4,5,6, or 7 days.
>
>	 o Stop playing the guitar but listen to a lot of music for
>	   1,2,3,4,5,6, or 7 days.
>
>	 o Change the strings on your guitar and polish it.
>
>	 o Send your guitar "back to the factory" to either be retuned
>	   or recycled.
    
    I didn't realize I do a lot of those things already...especially
    restringing and polishing the axes up, and going into a heavy listen
    only mode for a short time...sometimes a short break
    is 
    needed...remember....rests are notes too!
    	Lastly, I'd like to pass  along with something that will stick with
    me for the rest of my life...a couple years ago I had the good fortune
    of meeting BB King after one of his shows, and talking with him
    for nearly 45 minutes...one of the questions I asked him was about
    practicing...how much, how often...and what about playing slumps...
    	He told me he made a routine time of the day when he is going to
    play, and then forced himself to pick up the guitar every day. Even if
    he doesn'tfeel like playing, or doesn't want to play, or whatever...he
    forces himself to finish that 15 minutes...and if after 15 minutes he
    still doesn't want to play, well he puts it away and doesn't think
    about it anymore...but you know what...sometimes that 15 minutes that
    he didn't want to play becomes an hour or more and he doesn't want to
    stop.
    	I've been doing this for over a year and a half, and it really does
    work! Sometimes I only play for 15 minutes and just don't seem
    to be getting anywhere...that's when I get out the polish, or go listen
    to some music I'm not trying to learn (to sort of cleanse the mind a
    bit...) other times you can't pry me away from that guitar...
    Tom T
    
    

    
    i just spent the last 8 days having a blast learning the cello.  Sunday
    i pulled out the Ovation and played and enjoyed it better than i have
    in months.  That night i showed up at a chamber rehearsal i normally
    play acoustic bass in and freaked everyone out by playing the cello. 7
    days hacking and away we go.   I feel, renewed, frankly.
    
    	bob

    Just don't push yourself to practise - I was like that a while back and
    I just relaxed. I'm playing FAR better than ever now.