"No guitar" phase...

[Lev]

Heyas,

I haven't posted in a long time but I still see a lot of familiar faces around and the board's still going strong which is great

Anyway, I wanted to get some thoughts and opinions about this 'phase' I'm going through. I graduated from Berklee this year but for some weird reason I've lost the desire to play music. I used to play 8-12 hours a day, restring/clean my guitar weekly, sit on the computer and browse these forums/download stuff all day, etc. I had a strong passion for playing, recording, and listening to music; trying to get involved in every aspect of it which is why I ditched Computer Engineering to pursue it.

Moving right along to today.. my guitar hasn't left its case in months, the strings are rusty enough to make your hands bleed if you play. I have no intentions of getting up off my ass to even restring it, and I have no idea why. I was never competitive and/or interested in proving myself to anyone at Berklee, I enjoyed my time there immensely but during my last semester or two I seemed to just lose motivation. Maybe I hit a creative block, I'm not sure.

Has anyone else gone through something like this? I never had to force myself to play guitar, I was always inspired, motivated, and just had fun doing it. I miss that feeling and am kind of afraid/pissed that maybe it won't come back. Anyways, if you have any similar stories or advice please feel free to share, any help would be appreciated

Lev

[markD]

i do every couple of years. i get burnt out and i feel like selling all my gear. eventually it goes away and i feel like playing again. it happens to me a lot after i play a long string of shows, like if my band does a regional tour or a bunch of out-of-town one nighters....i just get TIRED of my guitar.

best advice is, don't sweat it. time will tell. don't FORCE yourself to play. it only makes you miserable.

[joshulator]

I was a Music Engineering major. After I graduated, I didn't touch my guitar for 2 years. I was burned out. What had once been fun had become a job.
I eventually picked it up again. It was depressing at first. I couldn't get over how much I sucked I compared to the past. I made up my mind that I would try to make minor improvements each week and that this would have to lead to a full recovery. It did, and I'm now tons better than I ever was.

[emperor_black]

There was a similar thread...something called "fell off the train" or something like that. Right now, I am going through some playing-less-than-I-used-to phase. I'm doing some long overdue apartment cleaning and re-structuring. with the wife and kid away, I know this is the only chance I can get.

Its just all about shuffling priorities. you've got to get your priorities in the right order. You have to make guitar-playing a priority. Doesn't matter if its a low priority. Its a gift! Not many can play a guitar. Everyone can, if they want to. but its the motivation that you had at some point in life that made you to. dont lose that motivation.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

I fall off big time in the summers. By the time I get inside from taking care of the property and/or coming back from fishing trips, I just want to sit there and veg.

[zeegler]

I did the same thing. I went probably 2 years without ever touching my guitars. I had no interest at all. However, it came back, and stronger than ever. I'm probably more into playing now than I ever was.

[emperor_black]

2 years?? Were you smoking weed back then? Maybe that's what brought you back to playin now? If yes, HOORAY for weed!

[wilkinsi]

I sold all my gear in 2002 when I got evicted from my first flat. I didn't own a guitar for about a year. Life was hell without a guitar n' stuff, but all I was focused on was survival. I spent several months unemployed and the so-called benefits don't keep you alive.

Luckily, I got a new permanent job, and my new housemate at the time had 6 guitars and an amp of his own. Then I bought a JS1 and 2/3 months later a Boss GT-6.

The feeling is similar now, in that I own enough guitars, FX etc., but no means to LISTEN to it, because I'm cooped up in a smaller room with only one mains outlet and either parent has moved (or removed) my frikkin headphones!

[zeegler]

2 years?? Were you smoking weed back then? Maybe that's what brought you back to playin now? If yes, HOORAY for weed!

Come to think of it, I don't think I was smoking much at that time either. Eureka!! Weed makes me want to play guitar.

[DonP]

I bought my first guitar in 1985. I've had spells of years where I didn't touch it. But since 2002 when I loaded up on quite a few Les Pauls, and then in 2005 with Jacksons, I've been on a playing tear. I really want to learn how to play this damn thing after years of sucking LOL!

[delt]

I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, which makes finding energy and motivation for everything increasingly difficult as the months/years go by. A few years ago i was able to practice all day and all night until 5 am, but now if i try to concentrate for more than 1 or 2 hours i feel exhausted and drained.

[zeegler]

I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, which makes finding energy and motivation for everything increasingly difficult as the months/years go by. A few years ago i was able to practice all day and all night until 5 am, but now if i try to concentrate for more than 1 or 2 hours i feel exhausted and drained.

Hey man, how were you diagnosed with this? Are there other symptoms other than the feeling of severe fatigue? I swear I might suffer from this.

[VitaminG]

my sister was diagnosed with CFS during university. Working two jobs to support herself while studying fulltime, she expected to feel pretty flogged out. But her exhaustion was on a whole other level. It's still a problem for her, but she manages it now

[delt]

Hey man, how were you diagnosed with this? Are there other symptoms other than the feeling of severe fatigue? I swear I might suffer from this.

Nervous breakdown when i was almost done with college. Which itself was due to other (hereditary) problems. In the following years - until 3-4 years ago, i had a specially bad case of being prescribed the wrong medications, which made matters even worse. Now things are under control, except the CFS/exhaustion thing, which apparently has no cure or remedy

[AlexL]

Hey man, how were you diagnosed with this? Are there other symptoms other than the feeling of severe fatigue? I swear I might suffer from this.

No Zeegs, you are suffering from what's known in the medical world as "Laziness". There's a difference.




- E.