ive given up on playing

HailHailVitalogy

i have no passion to play anymore...since ive been in college ive played maybe 3 times in 4 months for a period over 20 minutes

im just bored with it, i dont know whats wrong with me...here i am someone who doesnt play anymore and once i played 2-3 hours a day

keeponrockin

You'll come back to it... Sometimes it takes a break.

deadnote

i know what you mean man just give it time












i love you girrl

samquigley

keeponrockin wrote:

You'll come back to it... Sometimes it takes a break.

Well, someone called keeponrockin would say that, wouldn't they?

Anon

I hear what you are saying. A lot of musicians I know (me included) have had at least one significant period in their lives when they have had the dreaded musical burn out. It sucks. Your reasons would be personal and specific to you so i'm not trying to tell you how you should feel and what you should do about it. I'll just reassure you that you are not alone. I have been playing since i was 12 and i'm 24 now so i've been playing a good while. I've never lost interest in music at all, that wasn't the problem, but i went through a period of about 2 months a while ago, that when i picked up my guitar (i would usually average playing a couple of hours a day), i was just not feeling it. Like, i felt uninspired, unmotivated and bored. So i'd noodle around for a bit and be like meh. Not feeling it. Put it down, try again the next day, same old, not happening :(

In the back of our head, i think we all set certain levels that we want to be able to play at. I know i did when i was learning. Each time i passed one of those levels it was like whooo hooo and then i was motivated to get to the next level. I was always looking for other players to jam with that were better than than me. That's easy to do when you are a beginner but it gets harder the longer you play and the better you get. I got so much out of those experiences. Once my goals were basically realized, that's when i found my motivation going out the window. I had also lost someone in my life who taught me to play and who in all honesty was the one who was my initial motivation to become and stay kickass. It was so awesome to see him so proud of me, and besides i LOVED playing.

I was pretty obvious after a while that my biggest problem was that i didn't have powerful enough reasons to move forward beyond the burn out point. Once i worked that out, i was ok again and soon back into it.

This has kinda turned into a big post, so sorry for that, just want to wish you well and reassure you that if you really want it, it will come back and you're not alone. I'ts more common than you think.

All Those Yesterdays

It happens to all of us. I know I've been down that road proabably 6 times in 12 years. I've taken up to a year off before of Hardly touching. If we weren't getting a album out I'd probably being doing nothing again. I'm honestly just board of the music scene in general. And I don't even listen to the radio.

You'll get it back and go off like mad again!

Mike_Muse_Rage

I'm kind of the same. Every time I pick up the guitar I'm not feeling it. I used to write 3-4 entire songs a month, now I'm lucky to write 1 every 6 months. And the stuff about having targets is a really good one; I felt so much more incentive to play when I was learning and when I couldn't play a whole song through. Then when I did it was such an achievement and spurred me on to the next song. It's just not the same any more.

MichaelMcKevin

Whatever you do, don't sell your gear. Just put the guitar down as long as you have to. I'm currently going through the same thing, but in turn I am playing drums more.

I've sold gear because I thought I was done but you will likely eventually start playing again and will probably lose a good amt of money if you sell your gear and try to buy it all back later.

The closet is your friend.

HailHailVitalogy

i dont know maybe its because I cant blast my amp in a dorm or find people to jam with in a dorm...my guitar has sooo much dust on it

DOSW

HailHailVitalogy wrote:

i dont know maybe its because I cant blast my amp in a dorm or find people to jam with in a dorm...my guitar has sooo much dust on it

Do you play acoustic? Because that's all I play here in college because they don't allow amplified instruments.

FinsburyParkCarrots

What music are you listening to?

Are any other people in your college musicians?

If so, what do they play?

Could you get together and jam somewhere, a practice room, maybe?

Does your amp have a headphone jack?

lucylespian

GivenToCarve wrote:

Whatever you do, don't sell your gear. Just put the guitar down as long as you have to. I'm currently going through the same thing, but in turn I am playing drums more.

I've sold gear because I thought I was done but you will likely eventually start playing again and will probably lose a good amt of money if you sell your gear and try to buy it all back later.

The closet is your friend.

This is very good advice.

I played acoustic from 16 to about 32, but less and less over the years, because I was in a rut. I didn't have the right gear for what I wanted to do, and pre-Internet ( yes, tehre was a time) there was not easy access to tabs etc. I eventually hurt my left wrist playing hockey and couldn't make bar chords, so I out it down. 5 years slid by, then one day a friend rand, asking if I still played, because he was starting lessons. I went with him to buy a guitar, and it triggered my interest again. I bought an electric, discovered tab, got some lessons, and now I'm obsessed. that was about 5 years ago now.

I read some great advice recently which went like this..

" Don't focus so much on mastering the guitar, rather focus on exploring music which excites and intrigues you"

Maybe your problem is that there is no music that is currently inspiring you to play. It's getting harder and hardet o break new ground with guitar, and the most exciting music can be found back in the history books, when the rules were being broken and re-written every day.
There are a lot of other distractions at college, parties, girls, passing exams, running around at night playing up, going for long pointless physical and mental rambles, sitting up all night chatting and playing chess or throwing water bombs or whatever.
Don't sweat it too much.

Glorified Irish Guy

im in college and i cant wait to get home at weekends to play,get an acoustic guitar for college and play it when you got free time, and ALWAYS bring it to partys, you could always try givin somebody else guitar lessons, thats how me and my friends startin gettin better and jammin with more people, surely theres people in college thats pretty shit at guitar and needs help ,like that guy at my college who keeps butchering sweet child, hes a lost cause though

Pearl Jam and toast

Shit son, since I got to college I've been playing more. Sorry about your short circuit but these guys are right - DONT SELL ANYTHING. The passion will come back.

who's_pearljam?

You've got a lot going on in life, and the passion does tend to rise and fall for all kinds of things in life.
If you had the passion before, it'll come back and the dust will be flying off the guitar.
Sometimes a new approach helps, too. Try a different style of music, learn some jazz chords or some classical guitar lines, and it can spark your playing.

Get those exams done first though!

Pearl Jam and toast

who's_pearljam? wrote:

You've got a lot going on in life, and the passion does tend to rise and fall for all kinds of things in life.
If you had the passion before, it'll come back and the dust will be flying off the guitar.
Sometimes a new approach helps, too. Try a different style of music, learn some jazz chords or some classical guitar lines, and it can spark your playing.

Get those exams done first though!

I've been learning world rhythms, odd time sigs, and jazz lately and I've never felt so alive and eager to play!

Listen to Frank Zappa, Mah-hah-vishnu orchestra (can't spell it), and Wes Montgomery. But most of all study the way they play the guitar. Read up. Tis my advice.

deadnote

i hope you find the passion to play again its really special to be a part of musical creation