Change what you're doing. We get stuck in a rut when we repeat the same things over and over and over.
1. learn to play in different time signature...5/8, 9/8, ect.
2. experiment with different beat divisions/subdivisions. We usually get stuck doing groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, or 8 notes. Try 5's and 7's.
3. "invent" your own scales/chords. We get stuck playing the same old scales/chords that have been used for centuries. I wrote out ever possible combination of notes in a notebook a few years back. Every so often, I go and work with one of those as a new type of scale. Most guitarists use about 4 different scales. More advanced guitarists might use 40. In my notebook, I have 10,000+:.
4. Play a different style of music. Many good jazz guitarists can outline chord changes in their soloing. Classical guitarists have a completely different right hand technique.
5. Go get some old Guitar Player magazines and go through every one of the lessons. The best years for lessons in Guitar Player were about '75-'90. You'll find a ton of stuff you haven't yet/can't do on guitar.
6. Play a different instrument. It sounds odd. But a lot can be learned about music when you play a different instrument. Anything I've learned form playing percussion, tuba, or keyboards has translated to something new on guitar.
7. Most importantly...try to find something on the guitar that no one else is doing. Look at all the whammy bar and harmonics ideas that came to be thanks to Satriani, Victor Wooten, and Vai looking for some elusive sounds that no one else was making on the guitar/bass. It's very time consuming to look for something new, but it's extremely rewarding when you come across something that you've never heard anyone do before.
The possibilities on the guitar really are endless...different types of bending, vibrato, and other techniques. I noticed, after spending 8 hours in 1 day on 1 pentatonic shape (more than once), that there's a point of diminishing returns...to get a little extra faster, you have to put in a ton more work. Unfortunately, you'll end up ignoring everything else about the guitar. I saw a lot of that in the '80s...guys who could shred a scale like a motherfucker and couldn't play chords for shit. Change what you're doing and quit playing the same thing everyone else is playing.
* All of the above is really advice to myself. You can try it if you want.
Nothing like a stick of inspiration to keep your playing interesting. Seriously.
