Slump City

[justcartilage]

Hi All,

I currently live in Slump City. There was a time a few years ago when I had a nice place in Shredsville, but due to maintenance issues I was evicted. My visa applications for a return to Shredsville keep getting rejected, but I really want back in.

OK....now that could go on forever, but I'm really in need of some help. A few years ago I left my last band and since then things with my playing have been steadily going downhill. It's the old story...haven't played as much as I used to...end up playing the same old things..no time...etc..etc.

Recently, I've been trying to pick it all back up. One problem is I just can't play like I used to. I try and try to get back up to scratch, but after a while this just breeds frustration, which makes me think of other things I could be doing. I've always played for the joy of it (plus stress relief), but the joy just seems to be gone. So getting pissed off because I can't play the way I know I used to play, just makes me more stressed. The exact opposite to what I'm trying to accomplish. I know I used to really love to play and I can still see those little glimmers of enjoyment peeking through. They just don't seem like enough to make me really knuckle down and get back up to speed.
A while back I tried the old, drop the electric and just go acoustic. That worked for a while. That is until I discovered Tommy Emmanuel. Some of his stuff sounded like, "Hey, I can do that"....but ohhhh ho ho ho, how wrong I was. I played some of his stuff for a mate and he thought I'd completely lost it. They reckoned I sounded like a monkey on a plastic Kmart guitar. I had to whip out the electric and pull a few shreddy tricks
to gain back his confidence in me. lol

Even with songwriting I feel like giving up. I think I have good ideas all of the time, but when it comes to actually sitting down and writing a song, I draw a complete blank or what I draw up is ridiculous. Again, it never used to seem like such a chore pulling a decent song out now and again.

In short, I just want to see what all of you think about having patience in regaining ability, tips on bringing the joy back in playing, different songwriting tips, etc, etc. I need your help getting my ticket outta Slump City.

Cheers,
Just

BTW, I might add that a product of my current frustrations is that I'm spending a lot more money on gear than I should. Starting to feel like an addiction. lol

[Rekuss]

Hey,

I think we all get hints of that in our playing and one reason you can get past it is by having a break but in this case no lol.

If you wanna start shredding again, get yourself some videos/books. I recommend: John Petrucci - Rock Discipline DVD, Troy Stetina - Speed Mechanics for the Lead Guitar book, John Petrucci - Wild Stringdom.

These all deal with technique but creativity is highlighted in more Speed mechanics and Wild Stringdom then in Rock Discipline. Get all three, has they are all good lol.

I would then get yourself a routine, something that fits in with you lifestyle, let's say you have 2 hours a day to practice, you could do something like this:

20 Mins Picking
10 Mins Legato
10 Mins Sweeping
20 Mins Scales/Arpeggios
30 Mins Study Pieces
15 Mins Jamming
15 Mins Writing/Pissing around.

But I would customise you routine to suit you. Obviously there are things that you should also practice like sight-reading, ear training etc. But you have to prioritise certain techniques to get you out of this rut. If you unlike me, you may not like following a routine and in that case I can't really help you with that lol.

Also, always practice things to a metronome, to get a sense of time and to improve your speed, but only increase the speed of the metronome if the thing that you are playing is perfect.

Another way to find playing more enjoyable could be joining a band or jamming with a mate. Don't be intimidated by them at first, just relax and try to have fun.

One last thing, just remember to start things real slow and relax.

Sorry for the long post, I hope I've helped.

Please correct me if I'm talking nonsense

Welcome to Jemsite btw.

Reece

[Rekuss]

LoL was I any help?

[justcartilage]

LOL! Sorry for the delay. Yes you were!! Just after I posted, several wicked things happened.

-Firstly, I discovered Guitar Rig. Then I discovered an Echo Indigo soundcard for my laptop, which combined enabled me to play anytime of the day (I have a 1 year old that goes to bed very early, thus no loud music) and anywhere in the house.
-Then, I discovered a person selling a UV777BK whom I offered a ridiculous price to, which he accepted to my surprise. How could I not sit down every night and fondle that frickin beauty!!!???? I've been waitin 10 years for her. Now aptly named 'Black Magic'. Will be posting pics when I get the new pickguard ordered from Pickguard Paradise.
-Then, I received the original G3 tab book as well as the Alive in an Ultra World tab book. While I've never been one for instructional books, tab books used to be a way of life for me. While I do read music, tab books were my gateway to learning guitar.
-Anyway, with new gear, new gadgets, and new books, I was away!!! I've been on fire all week and am starting to feel revitalized. Plus I'm about to construct my first custom pedalboard. I'm kind of going with the theory that with a variety of playing facilities (live gear, laptop setup, acoustic, etc) I'll have no excuses to not play and will be more inclined to play if I'm organized (pedalboard).

Plus I started doing some of the exercises you mentioned with a similar schedule and found it very useful. I pretty much made up my own exercises, but just used the technique you mentioned. They seemed to make me feel a bit looser and more in control of things. Thanks heaps for the ideas.

On top of all that, a drummer mate of mine has started recording some stuff and sending it to me to lay guitar tracks down, so that has been interesting. I might even post some of that stuff on here to see what you reckon.

Anyway, it's been a busy week. Will keep you posted.

Cheers,
Scott

[Rekuss]

Ah wicked mate!

I'm glad everything is picking up for you but you gotta shows them tracks lol

Good luck!

Reece

[justcartilage]

Reece, this one's for you. That drummer mate of mine did the german discoteque celebration groove, lol. He asked me to jazz it up. This is what I came up with.

http://www.geocities.com/justcartila...ung_groove.mp3

[Rekuss]

Aww, the link doesn't work lol.

[justcartilage]

Arrgh, bugger. Try this one.

http://download2-6.files-upload.com/...ung_groove.mp3

[Rekuss]

lol 'sorry this site is unavailable'

[justcartilage]

LMAO!! Third time lucky. Try to right click and 'save target as'. That seems to work on both links. I think I've done the post wrong somehow. Good luck and thanks for continuing to check.

[screamndemon69]

A new UV sure sounds like an inspirational start

"Black Magic" is a cool title for it, I like that name.

It sounds like your breaking the playing block and getting out of your slump. I dug the licks/ideas around 1:38 - nice!

Jamming with new people can give you a fresh perspective and you get to be more reactionary at times bouncing stuff off of each other. Rock on bro!

[Rekuss]

Sorry mate, I managed to download it but I can't seem to get it to play even though is a MP3.