lately i have begun to feel very burnt out. i am also coming from largest and deepest non-stop theory/technique study i have ever done that has gone on since april. who here has taken breaks? how long was it and how did it end up working?
One long break...maybe fifteen years with fits of noodling on an old acoustic all by my lonesome...then back into the thick of it. In hindsight...which is always crystal clear...it was a good thing. I did lots of things I never expected to be doing and emerged none too much for the wear!
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Well, you can take some time off.
When you start feeling burnt out while playing you can keep the guitar aside. And just relax.
Sometimes its better not to play for 2-3 days and then pick up the guitar rather then leaving it all together.
And keep coming back to these forums for inspiration !
Good Luck !
I took off about 4 months last year. I had other things to worry about. It seemed to actually recharge my songwriting. I've got about five songs close to completion. Last year at this time I hadn't recorded a new song in about a year.
+1 time off is often a good thing.
-=tension & release=-
I took off about 4 months last year. I had other things to worry about. It seemed to actually recharge my songwriting. I've got about five songs close to completion. Last year at this time I hadn't recorded a new song in about a year.
Ditto...
What's ye olde adaggio??? "Absence makes the heart grow fonder..."
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
sometimes i really need a break from practice. because of work, family etc, i only practice for 1 hour a night, but i do it every night and make sure it is good, focussed practice. As a result every few weeks i get a little bored and fed up, but nothing stops that quicker than putting practice to one side and just "playing" instead - something i seem to neglet to do :D
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Yeah...I'm w/almann with this "too much practise stinks" idea. Ya can't have vanilla/vanilla/vanilla every freakin' day without chocolate every now and then (wives, excepted, of course!!!). So cut loose...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
These are all good thoughts. A good break sounds in order, either from practice specifically or in general...
Stop practicing, just play til your hearts shining again!
i generally only practice if there's something i specifically feel like i need to work on, but i play all the time. i hate going without playing. of course, when i first started, i had to practice to get the skills i needed to play, but even then, it was fun enough, or i'd put effort into it in a way that it felt like play. or at least i tried to. i've grinded before. it's rewarding, but incredibly frustrating.
Okay...it looks like I'm gonna be takin' a hiatus from lots of things...
I've had a "stuffy head" for over a year now...with hearing all but gone on my left...so now I'm being sent to hearing specialist for what my GP thinks may be a grommet put into my left ear. (Ugh!)
Hey, Ric! What am I in for??????????????????
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
My most recent break was 8 months. I just needed time away from guitar after hammering away at learning some songs for two years. Something I hadn't bothered to really learn in the past. Don't be surprised at what you retain and forget. The word practice is never fun either, when you can play instead. Taking time off isn't a bad thing, so don't worry about. You'll probably come wanting to play more then ever.
Good luck! :)
"If I had a time machine, I'd go back and tell me to practise that bloody guitar!" -Vic Lewis
Everything is 42..... again.
