Lapses of Motivation

stimpsonslostson

I’ve barely picked up a guitar in 3 months & am not motivated to play at the moment.

I know playing “out” rather than at home would give me a reason to play but I’ve not got time to join/start a band (small kids, busy job etc). Most of my social playing is at a friendly jam session, but I’ve not felt like going to it since September. 

It’s strange as leading up to this I was playing often and well (by my standards) I’ve got a great guitar that I loved playing & I’ve not even got GAS for anything. 

Last time this happened was 15 years ago. I eventually sold off all my gear & didn’t play at all for 5 years. 

Have any of you gone through this? How did you get over it? 

King85

I think to some degree we all go through this, I went a good few years without playing and sold all my gear then a few years ago I happened to be walking past a music shop with my partner and we popped in and I had a quick play on a cheap squier tele and loved it so took it home and got back into it.

Have you tried mixing it up and learning something new or from a style you may not normally play?

I think personally my lessons really help maintain my motivation too.

richardhomer

This happens to me a lot. I think time away from playing is good. If it’s really in your blood you’ll eventually feel compelled to play again - and come back to it feeling refreshed.

JAYJO

Happens to me. I stopped playing for years. (I play only at home by the way.) i sold a load of gear but managed to hang on to some in a back bedroom wardrobe. Now having sold 2 new boss dd20 delay pedals i find myself looking at them on ebay. 
I accept now that i play more guitar in the winter time than the summer time. Kids etc. 
I dont worry about it its how the mood takes me. Currently i am obsessed but come the summertime my obsession will change to family camping trips etc. Its all good nothing is wasted. I am happy to leave my guitar alone for a while but its going nowhere....bit like my music career lol..

edenfield99

I've been going through a similar thing since about November. I do occasionally pick up a guitar but it's just for noodling about while watching the cricket rather than actually learning new things or actually trying to get better. I was playing and working on video lessons etc for between 1-2 hours a night after work up to that point. 
Reasons...the blues band doesn't seem to be getting anywhere and it doesn't look like we'll be playing out anytime soon and I'm not really jamming with anyone outside of that so there's a lack of any aim or endpoint.
It's part of my motivation for putting quite a bit of stuff for sale in the classifieds and trying to cut back to the essentials, if I'm not playing I can't justify having loads of gear. Usually buying and selling gear inspires me to play but it's not really working at the moment. I'm sure it will change and I'll be back to playing every chance I get 

Funkfingers

stimpsonslostson said:

Lapses Of Motivation

Sounds like the title for an (as yet) unreleased Pink Floyd or David Gilmour album.

p90fool

I stopped playing completely for eight years. 

I only started again because I was moving abroad and couldn't think of anything else to do for a living. 

Even now, if I don't have a reason to play like being in a gigging band or a studio project I don't really bother. 

SandsJonny

Sorry to hear you've not been feeling motivated recently. I'm in a similar kind of mood atm - I had been playing a lot but I wasn't enjoying it, so I've disconnected all my music gear and put it away for the time being. I'm trying to keep listening to music, though, in the hopes that I'll stumble across something that makes me want to play again.

The thing I try and remind myself is not to 'feel bad' about not being motivated - I can't force myself to enjoy playing, so the best option is just to take a break and wait until I do feel like picking up a guitar again. I hope you find something that makes you wanna play again soon!

IntoTheRough

Once I left the gigging circuit I went into a long malaise punctuated by brief periods of intense playing.

The only way I can keep my chops to a level I'm happy with is find an external motivator. This is usually some kind of public performance but it could also be YouTube videos, recordings, studio session, jam nights etc.

Sadly just buying a new guitar only works for a month or two! Actualy if I just bought six a year I'd be alright 

LastMantra

I've been playing for about twenty years and had lots of breaks. Days weeks months probably gone best part of a year without really playing much. For me it's just a fun hobby if I'm not enjoying it I don't bother. Don't think I'd want to do it for a living for that reason.
Always seem to come back to it though. Don't find it hurts my chops either I actually seem to play much better when I come back with fresh ears and fingers.
I think some people can put too much pressure on themselves tbh. 

LastMantra

And IMHO once you get over "GAS" you'll probably enjoy your whole life more never mind your guitar playing 

<runs for cover> 

Lestratcaster

I've pretty much continuously played since 1997 without ever taking a "break". Sure I've not been in bands for prolonged periods but I've always played in some capacity. For around 6 years I was dicking around on an acoustic though and it was only until I went to a music institute which is when my playing came on leaps and bounds. I teach now and get to play every single day.

clarkefan

I play for me, and only me, nobody else's agendas and crap songs I have no interest in.  I don't ever "practise", I play what excites me and keep battering and scratching at it until I hear "the thing".  There's so much music that excites me I don't have enough hours available.  Every breakthrough is thrilling.  I have no idea what lapse of motivation means.

JonHosker

Picked up a bass...I lost two strings but it's definitely challenging. A good way to connect again with music you love. 

DB1

LastMantra said:

And IMHO once you get over "GAS" you'll probably enjoy your whole life more never mind your guitar playing 

<runs for cover> 

I reckon there's a lot of truth in that.

Greatape

Lessons. 

Give yourself a goal. 

PolarityMan

I can never put it down for long even if I'm not in a band but it's more writing that drives me on.

fendergibson

Yes, this has happened a few times in 30 yrs of playing. Whenever it did I’ve fallen back on some of my favourite technical music, Satriani/Vai or some of the jazz greats etc and dug out a tune or two to learn and it got me interested again. I’ve always been a lead player and so I’ve found that learning more chordal/triad stuff has been a new way to keep things interesting from the monotonous single string/backing track rut I generally get myself into. 

My advice.....watch Joe Pass or some other dude who’s a master at what they do and try and figure out some of their stuff. 

Basically, try something you haven’t done before or just buy a new guitar/amp/pedal like 99% of other stuck in a rut guitarists  

digitalscream

I've been feeling like that for...about 2 years. The whole "recording and releasing an album" process has properly wrecked any enthusiasm I had for playing guitar, to the point where I sold my Helix rig and bought a couple of Jet City amps and a pedalboard to see if that helped.

Right at that point, we've been completely screwed over by our PR company, and we're at the point of cancelling the release (due for this Friday) in the hope that we can salvage the debacle with another company who'll actually do some real work for us.

So yeah...that and the personal stress of the last year...and I've barely picked the guitar up at all. Right now, guitar is just "something I do occasionally" rather than a serious point of focus; I'm a bit sad about that, and even more so about the fact that I don't really feel much of a reason to rectify it, either.

Jonathanthomas83

First time in a long time for me, but I'm in that lapse mode right now and it sucks.

I'm just gonna chill and play some computer games or relax with family and see how it goes. Worse thing you can do is anything knee jerk like sell shit.

grungebob

It’s a hobby. Nobody says you have to do it. 

I play guitar when I want to and when I don’t, I do something else instead. 

It’s that simple. 

I’ve been playing since 1994 probably never got any better at it since 1996 but I don’t care, it’s fun, and when it’s not I do something else.