Losing interest in guitar...

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leib10

leib10

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Lately I've been playing less and less and pursuing shooting more and more. Anybody else have a hobby take over another one?
 
I've been musically stagnant and not playing for at least a couple years now. I'm starting to feel the urge again, but not quite there yet. Woodworking has taken it's place but now I have to figure out how to do both...
 
I've been burned out a couple of different times over the years. It happens to me when I'm not in a band and playing live. I can only sit around by myself in my bedroom for so long. I've been there
 
never! I play all the time. Love gigging which we do a few times a month. I'll never get tired of it. it's a sickness
 
My problem has always been finding the time to play. Burnout has never really been an issue though there was a time that I took an almost 7 year break and to this day, I dont know what to attribute it to... I just stopped playing one day. The more I think about it, it had alot to do with kicking off my career and being really focused on that.
 
Had this happen to me. I just lost my desire and creativity. I was also done with a few other things in my life like where I lived and worked. I pretty much played my guitar over the next 5 years as much as I used to play in a week. This was my first mid-life crisis. I was 22. :lol: :LOL: Then it started sneaking up on me little by little. Over the last few years I've have been playing much more. I get the urge to plug in and play at all hours even if it's just for a few minutes and I'm playing the same thing. It helps to have an amp that you just love the tone of and a guitar that feels great(this doesn't mean expensive). I do get discouraged on a regular basis though because I want to play in a band and it's difficult to get something started with like minded people. I have a bunch of song parts that I intentionally don't turn into complete songs because I want to collaborate with others to finish them. So the search goes on. Honestly though, I say go with whatever feels right. If that means putting down the guitar for a while then do it. Don't fight what feels natural. If (when) it comes back it will most likely be fun and inspiring again. :rock:
 
bubbastain":3ayuotdb said:
Had this happen to me. I just lost my desire and creativity.
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Same here. It's happened to me a few times over the years with the longest duration being about 7 years ending about 1998, but the inspiration and drive to play just disappears and there's no sense in fighting it, although I've tried.

The upside is I come back highly inspired after each layoff but I have to wait for it.
 
Stopped playing from 1990 to 1995. Life got in the way that's all. I have done a better job of creating balance over the past couple of years. It will never be a career opportunity for me but I love to play. Sometimes stepping away for a while gets the juices going again or making some gear changes inspires creativity. I say do what's best (and most cost effective) for you.
 
That happens to me as well. I'm trying to balance playing guitar and going to the shooting range. There are periods that I prioritize shooting more and my guitar playing takes a back seat and vice versa. This would usually last several months jumping from one hobby to another. You'll be fine.

Whenever I feel uninspired, I usually watch videos of my favorite bands and listen to new riffs and licks. It usually gets me back
playing again.
 
i tend to get bored myself and find myself falling away from it every once in a while. it mainly happens in times like now when the band has downtime. we had a vocalist who wasnt cutting it and our other guitarist just couldnt keep up and had trouble progressing, so they both got cut loose. now that the band is kind of stagnant and just there in limbo waiting for a new vocalist, we dont practice as much and arent playin any gigs, which has caused me to get bored with it really quickly.
 
You're either musically inclined or you're not. If you are, you'll go through spells where maybe the guitar isn't your best friend, but you'll always be thinking about music, riffs, passages, timings and the like. If you're not - well, ya, interests are like seasons man, they come and they go. Inspiration is the key for me to keep at it - and unfortunately, time is my only deficit. I'd love to have 3 to 4 hours a day to play - I really would, I'd cover a lot of territory and it's something I'm trying to make happen. But you know, you may just be at a point right now where you're lacking inspiration - doesn't mean you fail to be a guitarist. Or a musician. Or a musically inclined person. Hell, puttin' her down for a while may be exactly what you need to get fresh with it again.

I ended up buying this ridiculously in-depth and expansive soft synth a while back. Learning it, mapping it, integrating it with my other plug-ins and software has been a complex, complicated and time consuming process - but it needs to get done. However, it's eating into my guitar time. Interestingly enough though, just by working with it loosely, I'm already scratching riffs and thoughts and phrases and the like down in my music book as I come across awesome sounds, beats and textures. It's becoming its own fountain of inspiration.

Gettin' some play is also a good way to revive the musical spirit... A little action, ya know? Go get 'em tiger!
 
Have never quit playing for more than a few months at a time in my 27 yrs of playing....BUT I did go over ten yrs without owning an amplifier. Also seems I'm more intense about playing in the winter months and once spring, summer, and fall are here I'm outside wayyy more often (I live in an area where winters can be brutal cold and snow). My other addiction of fishing and boats is just as strong as guitar so it kind of takes over once the weather gets nice. Don't get frustrated and fight it just do what comes naturally.
 
I haven't lost interest once in the 15+ years i've been playing seriously. I have become depressed, stressed and just about everything else over guitar though. It pretty much runs my life. Sometimes it's good and sometimes bad.

There have been numerous times when I wished that another hobby would give guitar the boot, but it just ain't happening.
 
sjk":3br9i8b0 said:
Also seems I'm more intense about playing in the winter months and once spring, summer, and fall are here I'm outside wayyy more often (I live in an area where winters can be brutal cold and snow).
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This is me. I spend so much time running and cycling that my play time reduces in the summer months. Perhaps that's what keeps me balanced. I need to keep in shape so I can wear my tight t-shirts, right Scott (Digital Jams)? :thumbsup:
 
Strange, I'm playing out so much, wish I had more time to shoot.... :confused: :aww:
 
I really can't relate to that. I've had periods where I quit gigging but I never lost interest in playing.
 
Whenever I find myself losing interest, I sell an amp, or guitar. When that money hits my paypal account, I buy another guitar, and am inspired again!
 
Im kinda in a down spell right now as well. Spending time fixing up the house in various spots. Sellling off some gear. It comes and goes.
 
It always seems to be all consuming. I Just can't seem to find a balance. Its either all I think about or I can't do it at all
 
I'm on a nearly 2 year hiatus. I broke my thumb on my picking hand and took a month or so off and then just completely lost interest out of the blue :confused: My thumb has been fine for a while I just haven't had the desire I guess.

My chops were already turning to shit before the break so now I don't even want to think about where they're at now :doh: :lol: :LOL:
 
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