"losing it"

[tumorwarrior]

this is not about virginity, ok.    what i mean is the moment you picked up a guitar again after a considerably long hiatus, you found yourself unable to create the tone, the angst/feel or generally produce the sound that you used to. nangyari na ba sa inyo to? bumalik din ba sa dati yung playing nyo? share naman ng experiences mga masters  

[Phil]

this is not about virginity, ok.    what i mean is the moment you picked up a guitar again after a considerably long hiatus, you found yourself unable to create the tone, the angst/feel or generally produce the sound that you used to. nangyari na ba sa inyo to? bumalik din ba sa dati yung playing nyo? share naman ng experiences mga masters  

In my case...reverse...I was a sucky closet guitar player in the 80s...after 10 to 15 years of not touching an electric guitar I got myself a decent $145 guitar and a $45 solid state amp....had my guitar setup and the rest is history.....then GAS....now I'm just making music for myself.....compared to before , I'm waaaaay better as a guitar player.

[nathanmanansala]

chopswise i think i was faster dati when i was young, dum and full of cum back then, all i cared about was reckless speed. i think i'm slower now but i'm more accurate, i play cleaner and my vibrato is way better than the huge wobbly vibrato i used to play with. so i lost the speed but i gained the landi.

[Boosted]

mga sir medyo o.t, kasi napabuhat ako ng mabigat nung isang araw, parang na overstretch/ or nabigla ung left forearm ko.. parang nahihirapan ako mag play ng guitar ngyn.. dapat ko po ba ipa masahe or pabayaan ko muna gumaling or mag praktis ng guitar? tnx

[psychic_sushi]

mga sir medyo o.t, kasi napabuhat ako ng mabigat nung isang araw, parang na overstretch/ or nabigla ung left forearm ko.. parang nahihirapan ako mag play ng guitar ngyn.. dapat ko po ba ipa masahe or pabayaan ko muna gumaling or mag praktis ng guitar? tnx

pabayaan mo muna. depending on where who or where you get the massage, it may get worse. playing guitar may strain your ligaments. i did weights when i was younger, which slowed me down on the fretboard then, but i was advised to stop playing if i'm suffering from some kind of pain from the lifting. the fact that you felt some sort of inconvenience only means that your muscles have sustained minor damage from the strain (its not as serious as it sounds, wolverine, it'll heal ) and playing may increase the chances of prolonged injury.

back to topic-
as i joined the carrot chasing world, playing became more of a freetime pleasure and i indeed experience the dry-spells. as guitar playing has a personality (it has its moods and its days) the whole creative process is also a muscle that needs exercise.

for the physical aspect, i took note of execises that i have to do before i play. parang maintenance excercises that keep my fingers and hands coordinated and limber, and listed down important approaches that i must not forget in a notebook. its my "Anti-Rut" scrapbook. also listed inside, are findings from my last playing session, so that i'm up to date with myself.

as for the mental part, i think about and listen to alot of music when i travel. the listening feeds my head, helps me envision what is done and determine what i want to get when i pick up the guitar next. the thinking about guitar part keeps me attached to the instrument and driven, like thinking about your girlfriend when shes away. it makes you long for her company, just as doing do makes you desire to play. i'm guilty of daydreaming alot too much mental conditioning! but it helps. i also read alot about other things, not just guitar or music, as this provides you extra thought facility to discover many approaches.

the best way to deal with losing it? find something fresh. thats my 10 centavos.

[Deacon Blues]

Of course, it's only natural that you 'lose it' after a long dry spell - be it playing guitar, sex or any skill-intensive activity .. (did I say sex?   )

First on the blame list are physical factors, I guess ("my fingers are stiff", "gee, I must be slowing down with age", "pasmado ako eh ... etc, etc.) While these may be valid up to a certain point, I don't think they're enough to take the brunt of your excuses.

For the most part, I think the 'losing it' syndrome is mostly psychological in nature. Maybe you're just not inspired enough to play. Maybe you're feeling frustrated that your friends are making so much progress and sounding great while you're not. Maybe you're just too saddled with the realities of everyday life that you can't just spend as much time playing (even if you sincerely want to).

Maybe part of it is because you're just trying 'too hard' to play better, to the point that your just bombarding yourself with too many 'shoulds' (i.e. "Steve Vai says I should do this ..", "Eric Johnson says I should use circular picking") which in the end do nothing but confuse you.

There is such a thing as 'information overload,' after all ...

What you can do ... is just play for the sake of enjoying your playing. That means that you can just indulge yourself and play IN THE MOMENT - without any fear of 'doing the right thing'

I believe that it is during these moments of reckless abandon when your 'inner self' emerges - your natural, child-like self who isn't afraid to make mistakes or to challenge the status quo.

Contrary to what psychic_sushi said about lifting weights though, I don't quite subscribe to the belief that lifting weights will 'slow down' or affect your playing. I dunno, it just hasn't done so for me ... On the contrary, I think judicious workouts should strengthen the very same muscles involved in playing. But then again, that's just my two cents in that regard..

Finally, it always helps to keep yourself motivated to always play your best. There's nothing like having a set of player-friends who you can always jam with and give you constructive criticism..

Hope that helped ..

Oh, by the way, we're not 'masters' by any chance ..  

[ferdie]

for me iba kc yung entusiasm mo nung una k plang kumakalabit ng gitara.. cguro kung music yung ginawa kong profession yung degree of playing will be much higher... kung marami ka kasing iniicip na ibang bagay like jobs and family it will definitly affect your time for playing and the playing itself... ang gnagawa ko na lng is listening to different stuffs and watch others play para magkaroon ng inspiration to play and practice... saka di ko na force yung mga di na talaga kayang gawin ng daliri ko... pinipili ko n lng what is comfortable for my fingers...


seryoso yan sean ha....

[nathanmanansala]

use it or lose it.

[tumorwarrior]

hehehehe di naman masyado ferds

[psychic_sushi]

I agree with Deacon Blues, we are not masters. we are masters of the universe... just kidding! we are all students of music in the university of life

heck, if i was a master of some sort, my room would be very clean and i wouldn't have to change my strings myself ;P

[cool2ny]

this is not about virginity, ok.    what i mean is the moment you picked up a guitar again after a considerably long hiatus, you found yourself unable to create the tone, the angst/feel or generally produce the sound that you used to. nangyari na ba sa inyo to?

oo

bumalik din ba sa dati yung playing nyo?

oo

 

[tumorwarrior]

alam ko kung ano ginawa mo praktis praktis praktis??