Has anyone taken a gap-yah to play guitar? (Or a few months...)

FreddieVanHalen · October 2013

Phil_aka_Pip said:

I used unemployment down time for a part time course at the guitar institute. did me a power of good - mainly the n hours a day practice required to keep up with the course!

I definitely need to outsource some structure - did you hang out much with the other students? I'm confident in being able to work alone to a well structured plan but the one thing that I though might be an advantage of classes over private tuition is access to a network of other musicians to jam with and learn from....

mike257 said:

If you can, try and get into a situation where you''re earning from playing, and you have to learn your chops. I joined a busy function band as lead guitarist around eighteen months ago after mainly playing bass in original bands for years. I had to get my playing together pretty damn quick and learned a bunch of stuff I wouldn't have otherwise looked at. I bailed on my day job (saw writing on wall, took voluntary redundancy) and am now making a living (just) out of playing and sound engineering. I wouldn't go back to office life unless I absolutely had to now, its been a liberating experience, albeit difficult at times. Lucky to have a very supportive other half who had got behind me 100% having gone through a similar process changing career to pursue photography, which she now teaches full time.

So yeah, take a year out if you can financially do it, and you might never go back!

Having some projects is a damned good idea - a deadline like a gig or an open mic night or something definitely focusses the mind and would help give me a reason to keep going on the inevitable days when I just feel like staying in bed.

ESBlonde said:

The trouble I had after having a period of 'free time' thrust upon me through redundancy was that going part time was good, but then going full time again was hard on the soul.

I can imagine it must be hard to come back from a full year off doing something you love. I like Mike's idea above and which I hadn't seriously considered before - try and create a life where I don't have to come back to work full time.

Maybe after a year of trying to make a living out music I'll be happy to come back to an office job LOL