Stuck in a rut. Looking for inspiration

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AllthegearNoideaAllthegearNoidea Frets: 293
edited March 2019 in Theory
Hi

I’m stick in a rut with my playing and have been for years. I’m a half assed player at best and have never really enjoyed playing other people’s songs but don’t have a very creative mind so have hit a roadblock and stayed there for years. 

I enjoy playing rhythm and fills (think wind cries Mary and Little Wing). 

Has as anyone found a resource for this kind of thing without it necessarily meaning learning the artists song. More to give me an understanding of what is going on in these songs?

Many thanks
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Comments

  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7083

    Win a Cort G250 SE Guitar in our Guitar Bomb Free UK Giveaway 


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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    If you want a breakdown of how songs work then Rick Beato's "What makes this song great?" series on You Tube is pretty good.
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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2584
    edited March 2019
    There's a process whereby learning stuff other people play gradually informs your own playing.  I'm not talking about learning a BB King lick and using it unaltered in a blues, I'm talking about learning a bunch of (say) BB King licks and eventually the licks you create yourself have some that flavour while still being your own.

    My point being that learning other people's stuff isn't the opposite of creativity, it's one of the main routes to creativity, whether it's playing or composing.  If you cut out that route by thinking "I'm not interested in playing other people's stuff" then I think you're making the road to creativity much harder for yourself.  You don't have to play in cover bands if that's not your bag, but I bet any player you think of as a good creative artist will have a bunch of tunes by other people that they can play - maybe not note for note, but the essence of the song.

    Rick Beato's been mentioned and he's a good illustration.  He's obviously a creative player who's written hit songs but the amount and range of other peoples' stuff he can play at the drop of a hat is astonishing.

    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    Buy a new guitar, that’ll take the edge off!
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    edited March 2019
    In the key of E, when you go from B7 to E, instead of playing B7 as a barre chord 799877, try playing 76788x. And instead of E 07999x play 079877. Then see what happens to the rest of your chords. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • DLMDLM Frets: 2513
    edited March 2019
    viz said:
    In the key of E, when you go from B7 to E, instead of playing B7 as a barre chord 797877, try playing 76788x. And instead of E 07999x play 079877. Then see what happens to the rest of your chords.
    FTFY @viz ;
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  • FreebirdFreebird Frets: 5821
    edited March 2019
    Start off with any random chord progression, and see where you can take it. As a songwriting exercise, I often revisit the "Axis of Awesome" chords and try to come up with something new. BTW, these chords are where the money is, but you may want to try something different for guitar 


    If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
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  • mrkbmrkb Frets: 6637
    Those Hendrix songs use the link between the CAGED chords and the Pentatonic scales to create related fills and chords. Are you able to play all chords in the five positions and then add little fills from the relevant Pentatonic notes around that chord position (major or minor) - that can be used in any song to link chords progressions together.
    Karma......
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Not exactly what the op was asking for, but I recognise your frustration. This lesson was incredibly useful to me both in terms of theory and technique.


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  • BarneyBarney Frets: 614
    Hi

    I’m stick in a rut with my playing and have been for years. I’m a half assed player at best and have never really enjoyed playing other people’s songs but don’t have a very creative mind so have hit a roadblock and stayed there for 
    I have  been through this a lot and it usually means improvement is coming up in my playing

    By acknowledging the fact ..that is the first step and then you need to to act on it ..which you probably will or you wouldn't have wrote this post...I think everybody gets bored with how they play and then seek something else out ..then when you do.... it's the thing of....I can't play..I'm going backwards ..after a while that isn't the case cos you learn the new ideas and you have went forward cos them ideas have became ingrained and the old playing is still there as well... .

    So to sum it up ..you are probably going to improve iff you act on your feelings

    I think that's what you were asking ..off not just ignore everything I have said :)
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    DLM said:
    viz said:
    In the key of E, when you go from B7 to E, instead of playing B7 as a barre chord 797877, try playing 76788x. And instead of E 07999x play 079877. Then see what happens to the rest of your chords.
    FTFY @viz ;
    Ta :) I put the 7 in B7 later and forgot to change the chord, derr. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • Barney said:
    Hi

    I’m stick in a rut with my playing and have been for years. I’m a half assed player at best and have never really enjoyed playing other people’s songs but don’t have a very creative mind so have hit a roadblock and stayed there for 
    I have  been through this a lot and it usually means improvement is coming up in my playing

    By acknowledging the fact ..that is the first step and then you need to to act on it ..which you probably will or you wouldn't have wrote this post...I think everybody gets bored with how they play and then seek something else out ..then when you do.... it's the thing of....I can't play..I'm going backwards ..after a while that isn't the case cos you learn the new ideas and you have went forward cos them ideas have became ingrained and the old playing is still there as well... .

    So to sum it up ..you are probably going to improve iff you act on your feelings

    I think that's what you were asking ..off not just ignore everything I have said :)
    This is correct. Need to act now or become disenchanted 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    edited March 2019
    Has as anyone found a resource for this kind of thing 
    If, i recent years, you have been mostly listening to a limited range of music styles, start listening to something completely different. 

    For example, if you mainly listen to Rock, edge your way towards Jazz with something like A Tribute To Jack Johnson by Miles Davis. (Save On The Corner and Bitches Brew for later.)
    Be seeing you.
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  • these suggestions and comments show me how much I have been pissing around and how little I know.  They've actually sent me back to basics. Thanks everyone
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  • FreebirdFreebird Frets: 5821
    edited March 2019
    I started playing when I was about 10, and when I got to my late teens I was quite proficient, but by my early 20's I had hit a repetition roadblock and I gave up. I came back to it much later after my brother had a guitar laying around, and I was able to record on my laptop. Finally I could experiment with chord progressions and built up various original parts. I initially took existing chord progressions that were used in other songs, and I modified them. I am now able to construct original musical pieces that are listenable, which is progress if you ask me.
    If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    Freebird said:
    I was able to record on my laptop ... and built up various original parts. 
    Recording yourself should help. It will soon teach you that, in order to have a decent backing track to solo over, you need to get your rhythm playing tidy. Timing, string muting and chord inversion choices all contribute.
    Be seeing you.
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