Stuck in a playing rut. Best practice tips please

M

Matt007

Inspired
Let me know what you’ve got! Trying to tweak less and play more. I have access to drum programs, metronomes, backing tracks, etc. Practice routines, online instructors, goals to set, app recommendations are all appreciated. Been playing a while and I’m solidly intermediate. Can play about anything I sit down and learn but technique and timing leave a lot to be desired. Thanks!
 
Some good ideas for rut-busting:

Practice scales or patterns but do it horizontally (up and down the neck) using only 2 strings. Alternate the string pairs.

Practice scales "backwards". Play the notes on each string in descending order while ascending from low to high on the strings, and vice versa.

Practice improvising over backing tracks but artificially limit your note choices, or create self imposed "rules" about what you can play (like, no more than 3 ascending notes in a row, etc).

Forcing yourself to approach things from a different perspective will get you out of repeating yourself.

I used to create all sorts of exercises like above. Besides getting you out of a rut, they will make your lines more unique.
 
When I’m in a rut, it typically means I’ve been playing the same guitar with the same guitar tone for too long. If I’ve been playing a Les Paul with high gain, I’ll switch to a Strat with a clean amp and let the tone set the mood for a song. Drastically changing your sound will force your brain and fingers to do different things, so embrace a little change and see if that opens up your creativity.
 
Agree with all of the above - I might add doing pentatonic scales ascending and descending with 3 notes at a time - so play first 3 notes, go back to the second note and play 3 notes, go back to the 3rd note and play 3 notes etc...
And yes - backing tracks have been extremely helpful to me - I pick a scale and key/mode - for example - B mixolydian.. youtube that and play away.
Theres also a book I find to be useful - its called guitar aerobics... Its pretty good to give you different useful exercises.
 
York Audio said:
When I’m in a rut, it typically means I’ve been playing the same guitar with the same guitar tone for too long. If I’ve been playing a Les Paul with high gain, I’ll switch to a Strat with a clean amp and let the tone set the mood for a song. Drastically changing your sound will force your brain and fingers to do different things, so embrace a little change and see if that opens up your creativity.
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i want to echo this.

a rut means you're doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. (hmm something else shares that description ;) )

listen to a completely different genre that you don't normally enjoy or listen to. try to find the musicality in it, listen for new things, listen to the drums, listen to the violin, whatever it is. sure listen for guitar too, but listen for something different. you'll be amazed how this positively affects what you typically play.
 
Hello Matt007;

When I'm in a rut, I endeavor to employ Clark Terry's 3 steps to learning: Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate.

For example:
  1. Consult one of the following:
    1. Yusef Lateef's Repository of Scales and Melodic Patterns
    2. David Liebman's A chormatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody
    3. John O'Gallagher's Twelve-Tone Improvisation: A method for Using Tone Rows in Jazz
    4. A transcription
  2. Memorize a phrase/lick/harmonic procession
  3. Play along with a familiar track/loop and make the new phrase/lick/harmonic procession work.
The important points for me are:
  1. The phrase/lick/harmonic procession must be new to me
    Breaking out of a rut means creating a situation where I've "beginner's mind". A rut is the manifestation of habit.
  2. Use the new phrase/lick/harmonic procession over know backing track/loop
    In this way, all I have to worry about is the new phrase/lick/harmonic procession. This allows you to see familiar situations in a new light.
The combination of new and familiar concepts is very fruitful for me.

Vittorio
 
I learn a new song. Something way outside my normal and comfortable zone. Usually that entails something Jazz-Standard-ish.
 
I found this guy on youtube named Pebber Brown. He taught Buckethead and some others. You can really tell from just the first lesson that he's a lot different than most teachers out there. He's almost more of a drill instructor than a guitar teacher. The beginning lesson is deceptively easy at least for the first minute. But after 5-10 minutes you realize he's serious. Some people are going to laugh at this I know, but for me it was just what I needed. If you look at his website, his lesson schedule is extremely in depth.

 
maxdown said:
If you're not already playing with others then try and do so ...... there's nothing like it to bring your playing to new heights
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...Yes playing with a band live as much as you can...and really listen to what everyone else is doing...learning a new song or new technique....
 
All of the above are great advice.
I play acoustic and electric, for many, many years. I actually found that when I started playing electric only I wasn't nearly as creative or enthused as I was before. So I am back to playing both regularly and my creativity, interest and desire came back rather quickly. Could be just specific to me and my life, but sure made a difference for the better.
Leons tip about listening to other instruments is great. Sax (listening, not playing) has helped me greatly with my solos.........
 
I should also add that not playing for a day or two can work wonders too. Lift some weights, catch up with some friends or spend some time with family. It's easy to get too wrapped up in guitar when there's so much more to life.

Justin's tip about changing up the tone and the mood is great too. That's why I love the Axe so much, it's made it easy for me to keep it fresh at the flick of a switch.
 
searching said:
I found this guy on youtube named Pebber Brown. He taught Buckethead and some others. You can really tell from just the first lesson that he's a lot different than most teachers out there. He's almost more of a drill instructor than a guitar teacher. The beginning lesson is deceptively easy at least for the first minute. But after 5-10 minutes you realize he's serious. Some people are going to laugh at this I know, but for me it was just what I needed. If you look at his website, his lesson schedule is extremely in depth.

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Thanks for sharing! I barely made it through the first lesson.
 
How many songs do you know front to back? I was always embarrassed when someone said, "I hear you are a good guitar player, play me something" and I was thinking, well, I can play the solo to this, or a cool lick from that, but never really had a repertoire of songs worked up.

So, one thing to do is learn songs. Bonus points for singing along.

Another thing you could try is thinking / singing a solo or melody over a chord progression and then "learning" it on the guitar. It's one thing to play patterns that you already know, but it's an entirely different thing to be able to play the music in your head.
 
I have some things I do to keep me from ever getting in a rut. But FOR ME none of them have anything to do with playing a new guitar or finding a new amp or setting. I suppose it COULD. But for me it’s totally about playing. Learning new things.
 
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2112 said:
I should also add that not playing for a day or two can work wonders too. Lift some weights, catch up with some friends or spend some time with family. It's easy to get too wrapped up in guitar when there's so much more to life.

.
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This. Daily practice is a wonderful thing, but there are plenty of times when I’ve knocked off for a couple of days, and come back to find that I could play what I’ve been working on better than I could the last time I played.
 
Well, I do daily practice. I feel like crap if I don't get in 2 to 3 hours every day. I have to scale back on Fridays, but mostly it's every day. So variation is built into my routine.
 
Excellent suggestions here!

Something I do to get out of a rut is try different tuning like DADGAD. When in a rut, the mechanical part of music takes over. Your fingers tend to do the same patterns over and thus everything sounds monotonous. Changing up tuning will result in different sounds even though your fingers want to go back to the mechanical rut. It causes your mind to a double take. Spend a night or two playing with the alternate tuning. You're bound to come up with new ideas. Now retune your guitar to standard tuning and learn those ideas with standard tuning. It will force your fingers to break mechanical monotony.
 
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Yeah. Tunings don’t work for me. I gotta know what I’m doing. The kind of player I am the creativity is in connecting the notes together. I like knowing the notes. When I tune the guitar differently the 3rd fret of the 5th string might not be C. That messes me up. Lol. For me that’d be like playing a grand piano in drop D. Yeah, doesn’t work for me. Serendipity. It sounds nice and different but I gotta do it. Not happy mistakes that throw me out of my comfort zone.

I get it. I’m not criticizing you or anyone else who likes to shake up their zone. Im just saying that doesn’t normally work FOR ME.

But I don’t really get into ruts.
 
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