Somebody PLEASE Tell ME Why

More likely it's not the guitar hating you that day, but you hating the guitar.
It happens to us all the time, best thing to do is to recognize it right away and put the guitar away before you either do irreparable damage to it or lose the fun in it altogether. Forcing yourself is not the way to go.
On the bright side, you can maybe brush up on theory, listen to some great music from other guitarists or write your own songs. That way you will still be putting your mind to guitar, but don't have that "AAAH, WHY WON'T THE FRET BUZZ GO AWAY" day. (I have a love-hate relationship with the E-shape barre chord :/)

When that happens to me I just play more scales and if I am still not in the mood I'll quit. But usually playing scales will get me warmed up.

too much caffeine? too little? not enough sleep? Using cocaine? A bunch of things can affect our ability to concentrate. You must be one with your body before you can be one with your guitar.

Guitars are (BAD PUN ALERT!) highly-strung and temperamental mistresses, and like all mistresses, need care and attention lavishing on them. Maybe you've been neglecting your guitar and spending too much time with your family? Guitars have feelings too, you know!

:D :D :D

Vic

Hi Blueline,

It's really quite simple...

That candle on your head has burned down too low, and the heat has made your ears go out of tune. Fit a fresh candle and you'll be fine again. 8)

Somedays we all just lumber down the runway but never take off. :( There are days when the body chemistry just doesn't seem up to the job. A relaxed shrug of the shoulders and a change of instrument or activity for a while seems to work for me.

Or it could just be the resident household gremlins who got bored with their regular job of of screwing up your computer and decided to have a holiday in the amp... :?

Cheers,

Chris

...Maybe you've been neglecting your guitar and spending too much time with your family? Guitars have feelings too, you know!

:D :D :D

Vic

AhHA! You see?! I knew that it was my family thatwas keeping me from being a rock star. Freakin family. sheesh.
It's really quite simple...

That candle on your head has burned down too low, and the heat has made your ears go out of tune. Fit a fresh candle and you'll be fine again.

Somedays we all just lumber down the runway but never take off. There are days when the body chemistry just doesn't seem up to the job. A relaxed shrug of the shoulders and a change of instrument or activity for a while seems to work for me.

Ya know, I've often challanged the ol' family tradition of the candle thing. Seems to be more bothersome then helpful at times! And yes...I must blame it on the gremlins. I mean...it can't possibly be my skill or talent level. Right?

Thanks everyone... I just needed to vent. I'm trying to nail down the rhythm part to Led Zep's "Bring it on Home" and I just can't seem to get in sync with the song. Not the lick, that's easy...its the rhythm in the verses that's getting me. I just hate when something sounds so easy and then you attempt to play it and you realize that you do not have 1/100 the talent of people like JP.

I dunno about you but on my side of the country it's been rainy for a few days, maybe it's affecting your mood or maybe the humidity is affecting your guitar? Of course we all have days where things just suck but maybe this time it's the weather.

I have that same problem with golf! One day I'll go out and beat Tiger (or at least that's what it feels like), the next I'll be wanting to wrap my fancy 'guaranteed-five-strokes-off-your-score' putter/wedge/driver around someone's neck, throw the other clubs in a convenient water hazard and go drink myself into a stupour. A lot of it is expectation - if I was so good yesterday, why am I not even better today? The same round is not as good, because I expected a better round - if that makes any sense?

Interestingly, I've heard some golfers blame days like that on small nerve groups in the hands - they call it the jitters. You'll see older pros migrate from 'normal' putters to long-shafters that they tuck into the stomach, eliminating the effect of those small nerve groups. I've never heard anyone say that about guitar, although patently guitarists rely heavily on the same small nerve groups in the hands.

Maybe we need to migrate toward lapsteels as we grow older??? :shock: :D

David

Two of my favourite and most enlightening philospheres are Beavis and Butthead. One of their core philosophies is: if momentA doesnt suck so much momentB wouldn't seem so cool anymore. It's like poker: what's the fun if you always get good cards, or like life: what's the value of life if their ain't no death? I'll guarantee you this: as soon as playing guitar becomes effortless you'll quit because of boredom. Be thankfull for the bad days.

Hey Blueline...I have the same problems on certain days and for no apparent reason. On those "bad guitar days" I try not to give up and hope that I'll eventually start sounding at least acceptable. It generally works to at least some extent, but is frustrating while in process! :twisted:

I like Ignar's advice: Be thankful for the bad days. But that's easy for me to say today. I just had a great guitar day! :D (I did try a different type pick today. That could be it, but I can't explain away the bad days...)

No matter what, don't quit! You'll be better soon enough. :)

Don't know if this'll help, but if I'm having a bad guitar day, and nothing's going right, I'll go right back to basics and play a 12-bar blues in A. I'll CRANK the amp, and just play a 12-bar riff - I'll try and make a song up about how my guitars are doin' me wrong. I'll shout, I'll scream, I'll vent, and I'll get it out of my system. I'll just play downstrokes - HARD downstrokes - and because I'm frustrated with the guitar, I'll take my frustrations out on the guitar.

Trust me it does help - loud rock'n'roll is a great answer to all problems!

:D :D :D

Vic

I've found that often on the days when my stuff just doesn't sound good, a lot of my favorite recordings don't sound so good either. I think it is as much with the ear as with the guitar and amp.

Two of my favourite and most enlightening philospheres are Beavis and Butthead. One of their core philosophies is: if momentA doesnt suck so much momentB wouldn't seem so cool anymore. It's like poker: what's the fun if you always get good cards, or like life: what's the value of life if their ain't no death? I'll guarantee you this: as soon as playing guitar becomes effortless you'll quit because of boredom. Be thankfull for the bad days.

Ya know, I try to live my life by the Beavis and Butthead philosophy. I am a true believer. 8) It DOES work!
Don't know if this'll help, but if I'm having a bad guitar day, and nothing's going right, I'll go right back to basics and play a 12-bar blues in A. I'll CRANK the amp, and just play a 12-bar riff - I'll try and make a song up about how my guitars are doin' me wrong. I'll shout, I'll scream, I'll vent, and I'll get it out of my system. I'll just play downstrokes - HARD downstrokes - and because I'm frustrated with the guitar, I'll take my frustrations out on the guitar.

Trust me it does help - loud rock'n'roll is a great answer to all problems!
:D :D :D
Vic

I agree Vic. I've often taken that approach. Just seems lately that even doing that does not help. What I did to resolve this was to restring both my guitars. I cleaned the fretboards on both and detailed the LP.
As luck would have it, I then got invited to play with a person who, to put it in plain English, sucks worse than I do. So THAT helped! :D

I'll guarantee you this: as soon as playing guitar becomes effortless you'll quit because of boredom.

I'd love to be in a position to prove or disprove that theory, but unfortunately I don't see myself being bored for a long time yet!!!

:D :D :D

Vic