How fragile our passion is

Tannin

For the last few weeks, I've barely touched a guitar. Most days I've been picking one up, playing a few notes, putting it down and picking up another one ... and although I am blessed to have half a dozen wonderful instruments, none of them make sounds that inspired me. I'd been home from my travels for more than two weeks before I could even motivate myself to change some strings and try to restore one guitar or another to its former sonic glory. 

And all for a simple, almost trivial reason: a minor virus. As always after travelling, I came down with a virus of some sort. I was pretty crook for several days, then slowly, slowly, got better over the next few weeks. I'm still not 100% right though I'm maybe 90% now and able to do most things reasonably normally. 

With my ears blocked up, sometimes badly, sometimes only in a minor way, playing the guitar just wasn't the same. I barely touched it. 

All of this just goes to show how fragile our passion is. One small thing - a very small thing in the context of what can go wrong health-wise or relationship-wise or work-wise - was enough to comprehensively spoil a pretty serious and reasonably dedicated guitarist. 

It could happen to you. One day it will. And one or two of us here have had to deal with things much worse. 


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PS: For the record, I'm nearly better now and these last few days I've been playing again as much as I ever did. My ears are still coming and going but functioning properly at least half the time and getting better little by little. My fingers had gone soft and took a couple of days to harden up again. Other than that, I reckon I might even be playing better than I was before I went away. But it's made me realise how fragile things can be.

Smellyfingers

Glad you are recovering. T

Sorry to troll your possibly shared and poignant experiences  of illness with hypocrisy - but…

Some very famous and dedicated guitarist, lthink Glenn Campbell, said something like that if you can’t practice for two hours a day even if your Ma’s dying and you’ve got mild pneumonia,  then you might as well give up the dream of  being  a guitar star and take up cotton pickin’ instead, because you  have’nt got the need.

But personally  I wouldn’t worry too much about sonic ‘glory’ when you are alone and in the doldrums, because even if you think your playing sounds good to only to you and you enjoy it, that is most of what matters, said the multimillionaire Pink Floyd guitar man.

I think the second statement is more helpful than the first… but still Glenn will always trump Floyd in terms of F.O. lone genius.

thomasross20

Glad you are getting better... 

I think we would continue to go on and find something else to do but it would put years of playing to bed, which is a crying shame.

Cycling through too many guitars is a distraction in itself

Cranky

It comes and it goes.

SpoonMan

Your whole life can be flipped upside down in so many ways. Best trying to not worry and get on with enjoying it while you can. 

p90fool

Hope you feel better soon.
For what it's worth I haven't felt much like playing guitar due to illness over the last two weeks or so either, but half a dozen gigs meant I had to. 
The passion may be fragile but I still have to pay the mortgage!

slacker

I generally play for a gig, practicing for a gig, learning new songs or a honeymoon period with new gear. It's a hobby. The passion isn't playing guitar, it's playing with people.

PCT57

Interesting post. I rarely don't play guitar for a least an hour a day but over the just past Christmas and New year I got some bug that was horrendous for 5 or 6 weeks and there were a number of days that I couldn't be bothered with guitar. 

My hearing does vary day by day but I've learned to accept it and just play.

ditchboy

I totally understand. I haven’t felt the urge at all recently, I’ve been taking advantage of the better weather and playing more golf, walking the dog more. Throw a new demanding job into the mix and all of a sudden I’m not reaching for the guitar every evening. It hasn’t stopped me gassing of course. I usually play more in the winter anyway when there is little else to do. 

DavidR

Smellyfingers said:

Glad you are recovering. T

Sorry to troll your possibly shared and poignant experiences  of illness with hypocrisy - but…

Some very famous and dedicated guitarist, lthink Glenn Campbell, said something like that if you can’t practice for two hours a day even if your Ma’s dying and you’ve got mild pneumonia,  then you might as well give up the dream of  being  a guitar star and take up cotton pickin’ instead, because you  have’nt got the need.

But personally  I wouldn’t worry too much about sonic ‘glory’ when you are alone and in the doldrums, because even if you think your playing sounds good to only to you and you enjoy it, that is most of what matters, said the multimillionaire Pink Floyd guitar man.

I think the second statement is more helpful than the first… but still Glenn will always trump Floyd in terms of F.O. lone genius.

Similarly Rev Gary Davis whose suggested regime for his students was an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.

That being said, playing the guitar isn't a punishment! Probably most of our playing waxes and wains with circumstance, enthusiasm and opportunity.

gws @Tannin ;

Soupman

"That being said, playing the guitar isn't a punishment!" 
You obviously haven't heard me play then.....

  

ScreamingDave

I don’t think it does you much good to force yourself to play if you really aren’t feeling it, in fact if anything I reckon it’ll be detrimental. I sometimes go a couple of weeks without picking up a guitar at all, and I really don’t think it harms my playing (although that might mean my playing is never up to much anyway!

GTC

ScreamingDave said:

I don’t think it does you much good to force yourself to play if you really aren’t feeling it, in fact if anything I reckon it’ll be detrimental. I sometimes go a couple of weeks without picking up a guitar at all, and I really don’t think it harms my playing (although that might mean my playing is never up to much anyway!

When I used to be heavily into distance running, some of best races and training sessions came when I was feeling low and had to force myself out of the door.

When in my teens and twenties I used to suffer from really bad migraines. However, after forcing myself into a session with my guitar, it magically disappeared after 15 mins or so of playing. Or perhaps it just passed on the headache to those around me instead!

BillDL

Tannin said:

My ears are still coming and going but functioning properly at least half the time and getting better little by little. My fingers had gone soft and took a couple of days to harden up again

That's some really weird virus you picked up