Bouncing back from an unexpected hiatus

atyourlasthourrr

atyourlasthourrr

Inspired
Without going into too many details..

I've not been able to play consistently for the last few months..

This has been due to the combination of a new job, moving, and the tragic and unexpected passing of my father..

Needless to say I was (and still am) in a pretty tough spot.. I'm just picking up the guitar again for the first time in who knows how long. I can definitely feel the decline in my playing.

How do I even begin to recover (my playing) from here?
 
Sorry for your loss :(

Try to work on some exercises where you can just go through things methodically with a metronome. Take things easy and gradually work your way back to higher tempos and more complex exercises. It'll come back.
 
unix-guy said:
Sorry for your loss :(

Try to work on some exercises where you can just go through things methodically with a metronome. Take things easy and gradually work your way back to higher tempos and more complex exercises. It'll come back.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice man.

It's just really discouraging not being able to play stuff that I would normally "fly" through.

This new job is also pretty demanding and does not leave me with a lot of free time to play during the week.

My best bet would be to 'weekend warrior' my way back, but I don't know how effective it would be to only play on weekends.
 
If a job won't allow you to do what you really want to do then ask yourself is this the job that I want to do, or that I need to do (as in provide for others). If the answer is no then maybe you should be looking for a different job. After you work in order to live, not the other way around.
 
Been there done that: there was a time I didn't touch a guitar for six plus months. Was in a job were promises were not being kept and was watching myself in a very slow downhill spiral (money wise) and at the time had no outs. So (blah blah blah) went into a funk.

Just noodle while watching TV or whatever, you will be surprised how fast it comes back! Then you can start in with the metronome and so on.

To my memory within a month, reclaimed something like 90% before I had stopped playing. And that other 10% which was the hardest to reclaim was the type of thing I noticed about myself and not something other people noticed.
 
First, really sorry for your loss - that's very tough.

Second: I took about six years off a while back during grad school. The other advice here is all good, but I wanted to address the "weekend warrior" option specifically. If that's when you have the most time to practice then definitely take advantage of it, but also try to pick up the guitar every day, even if it's just five minutes of noodling. 20 minutes a day would be awesome if you can fit it in, but honestly any amount of time is fine.

Above all, relax and enjoy yourself when you're playing as much as you can. I know how frustrating it can be to be off your game, but try to let that go as best you can. Read David's reply above a few times - I think he's got the right idea.
 
Sorry about the loss of your dad, man. I know how tough that can be. But even though you're in a playing slump now, rest assured you can get back in the saddle.

Through the course of 50+ years of playing guitar, I've dealt with a broken back, a broken elbow, moves, new jobs, and loss of jobs, parents, and motivation. Needless to say, there have been multiple times when my playing suffered, but each time I've been able to get my chops back into a normal range with a bit of dedicated practice. As mentioned above, even a few minutes a day of noodling can help. For me it also has helped to make myself try new things/songs, instead of concentrating on what I used to play. I found that if I learned new stuff, that helped get the chops back up quicker than going through the frustration of trying to play old stuff. And then by the time I had learned the new stuff, the old stuff came back naturally, without the frustration factor.
 
So sorry for your loss. Recovering your skills will happen but you can expect it will take a while. Just know that if y’all persist you will find your chops again.
 
Been offline for a few days since this post (thanks to my job and frantic new schedule). First of all thanks for taking the time to support me here. I know I don't know any of you personally, but I sincerely love you all. THIS is why I only subscribe to this forum almost exclusively on the internet (I don't do social media).

Regarding my playing, I find it to be more of an emotional thing now more than anything. My dad and uncle (my Mom's brother who was also my godfather) passed away together in a tragic single vehicle accident on March 8 of this year.. This is still very fresh to me.

It took me weeks to even listen to music as both my dad and uncle were music lovers in their own right. When I picked up the guitar again, I had this huge urge to learn many of the songs I grew up listening to thanks to my father. I'm of Mexican descent so this consisted of a lot of traditional and contemporary Mexican music. This is not what I'm used to playing. I did that for a bit and kind of grew sad doing so because I knew that the man who would appreciate this the most is no longer physically here.

As I've slowly eased my way to a 'regular' life, I've began listening to music again somewhat, and have made several attempts to pick up where I left off on guitar. My playing has definitely suffered but more than that so has my motivation to play. Reading the posts above make it seem so easy to just pick up where I left off; because it actually is. However, I don't think that's exactly the root of my problem here. I've never been a person who sits in front of the television, I'm usually in my studio working on a project, practicing my chops, or learning a new tune. Yet, I find myself in font of the tube now just wasting time. I feel that I have subconsciously lost the motivation to play and I know it's because of the loss. This is what I need to remedy.

Didn't realize I wrote a short novel here, but I guess I needed to vent this frustration. Again thank you all for the support you have shown me during this difficult time in my life.
 
Maybe some classic musical catharsis is in order?

Start writing some material that allows you to express how you were and are affected.

Good luck... There's good company here, so I'm sure you'll continue to get support ;)
 
It's all stress stress stress for you at the moment - but hopefully at least you're starting to see a little light at the end. Your playing and concentration abilities are just temporary casualties.

I'm thinking you're telling yourself "Damn. Yet another thing that's here to bug me" when picking up your guitar and letting it get to you.

It will all be back when you're ready to let it be back ...... so you really don't have to push it right now, just get yourself sorted and calm however long it takes.

I had a big long lay off and was coaxed out of mothballs again - I'm glad I was head-hunted because if I had been auditioning then the first rehearsal would have had my ass kicked out the door. It came back though pretty quick.
 
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