Motivation, inspiration... perspiration; losing, finding and keeping your musical mojo

[crieniecat]

Lynn.... So very sorry to hear you're not coming to camp this year.... :ohmy:
I hope, really really really hope, really really HOPE, you will change your mind..... :unsure:

Shel, Life can be tough at times eh... B)
For me as a non guitarist it's about learning new songs... and that is difficult at times as well.... missing focus....
It's not only about noodling away with a song to become more acquainted with it, it's also about learning a lap of text, intonation and so on... which require a lot of concentration...
At times it's difficult and I fully understand it's worse for a guitar player, and even more when it comes to playing the guitar AND singing, as a lot of you do.

So what does inspire me?
Sunshine, family, friends and laughter. Getting together with like minded people, enjoying a good talk and lovely dinner. Putting away that cell phone, making a walk in nature and seeing the sunset. Feeling blessed for those little things in life that do lift me up. Yes, those things are more worth to me than anything else and will always have me waking up with a smile and ready to at least sing the songs I know by heart

Great thread ~Shel

Corina.

[michelew]

Chris, Lynn, Corina, Tom and Neil,

Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggestions. There’s lots in here to both relate to and to keep in mind. It’s also nice to know that lapses in motivation are quite normal and that it’s possible to get back to having fun and feeling like things are working again.

Chris - boredom ... yep that’s a challenge too for sure. But, lots of good ideas in this thread and in Neil’s latest news podcast.

Lynn - it helps to know that you’ve been experiencing it too lately. I’m looking forward to hearing where your new motivation takes you. And your experience that you’d stopped listening to music is really true for me too. I’m definitely more motivated when I’m listening to lots of music; old and new... and people’s uploads.

Corina - with a voice like yours... I’d be singing at every opportunity.

Tom - you’ll be happy to know I’ve given myself a good lecture and wagged a finger at myself. That will scare me into keeping my skills in shape right!?

Neil - thanks for your suggestions - wow even you experience lulls at times. Your ideas are working for me.

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/145 ... -2018.html

I’ve recently gone back to a few songs that I had never learned completely and to my surprise, they’re coming together pretty well; since I last tried to play them I think I’ve progress a little. It’s a nice feeling.

Now that my callouses are building up nicely and I can play for MUCH longer, I’m enjoying playing again. It’s definitely nice to be back. And I’m remembering how much I enjoy just fingeringpicking in general. It’s so meditative too.

Thanks all. And feel free to share more for those if you’d that would like to.

Cheers.

Shel

[spinland]

Another huge motivator for me has been GAS. What got me back into guitar last year in the first place was my first electric guitar purchase.

As a recovering engineer and confirmed geek I find a great deal of enjoyment in the techie aspects of guitar playing: chasing tone, modding (and now building), experimenting with effects (and finding most of them are not my thing), and all of that. Rather than robbing me of playing time, these quests help keep the spark alight and motivate me to play while I test ideas (and new gear).

The other kick in the pants for me is wanting to "be ready" by IGC2018, and those open mic songs ain't gonna learn themselves! Last year I went with nothing really ready to play, so everything I did was a choice I made that same day and then tried to remember the chords for and practice it enough to pull it off within a few hours. :silly:

Mark

[crieniecat]

Quote - "" Corina - with a voice like yours... I’d be singing at every opportunity. ""


Shel... all musicians/singers/actors etc etc etc in the world lack motivation sometimes, the key is as soon as possible to step back into the groove and move
Saddle the horse en ride.... Yihaa B)

[spinland]

crieniecat wrote:

Saddle the horse en ride.... Yihaa B)

:side:

[michelew]

crieniecat wrote:

Quote - "" Corina - with a voice like yours... I’d be singing at every opportunity. ""


Shel... all musicians/singers/actors etc etc etc in the world lack motivation sometimes, the key is as soon as possible to step back into the groove and move
Saddle the horse en ride.... Yihaa B)

Corina - Too true. thanks for the pep talk sweetie. :silly: :woohoo:


Mark - yes - I love the tech stuff too. Though I haven’t gotten into effect pedals and actual electric mods, as I do that stuff in GarageBand.

And I find that the stable of instruments I have calls me back to playing.

But I also find I need to be careful that I’m not spending too much time on things other than actually playing. so much to learn.

Thanks.

M

[TGNesh]

Hey Shel,

What helps for me is what Lynn pointed out, listening to music. Often I would hear a song on the radio in my car and it would inspire me to try it out. Or it would remind me of another song and i would try that one. And often when i look up songs, on YouTube for example, lots of similar songs would pop up on the side and i start looking at those. And so on and so on. Before i know it I'm working 4/5 songs at the same time.

So whenever i feel not inspired/motivated, then it won't last more than a few days at the most.

Another thing is the challenge of how to arrange a song for one guitar, how to incorporate specific signature bits in there (i of course often need to practice for this as well). This fortunately keeps improving all the time, so it sure is a major motivator there too.

Back in the day, as a TG student. Learning a song and being able to post it here on TG was a huge motivator. It's a shame that nowadays people rarely post a video of their playing. It used to be such an incredible feature, including the reviews.

Oh well...

I'm glad that by now you're building callouses again. In thruth, i need proof.

Ness

[michelew]

Hey Ness, thanks for adding your experience. Listening to music is crucial for me too. Like Lynn, I stopped doing that for a while. I’m doing it more now and yes it’s reminding me and motivating me too.

I agree with you that it would be great if more people posted videos of their playing more often. At one point I felt like I was one of the only people posting. In truth that made me reduce my own frequency as I feared that people would get sick of responding to videos posted by the same person.

There’s a huge amount to be gained by preparing a song with the intention of recording it, preparing a video and posting it. Whether it’s for review or just to share, the advice, support, and fun is a great part of the TG experience. Just the benefits from learning a song to the point where you are OK posting it, are enormous. I defitnisly encourage people to do it more, or to give it a go if you haven’t done it yet.

As for me, I’ll endeavor to post something of my guitar playing relatively soon. I’m still improving a few things and as you know setting up and getting a good recording takes time; especially when it all falls apart due to nerves and you need it practice more.


Thanks sweetie for your support.

Shel

[dennisg]

I guess I'm lucky in the sense that the more years I play, the more motivated I am to learn new songs and techniques. I've taken some steps to keep it that way:

1. I love learning new songs, and always have. And since there's an endless supply of new material out there, I always have lots to learn ... but I take it one song at a time so that I don't get overwhelmed.

2. I now have a music partner (a mandolinist) who I regularly play with. We have much the same taste (acoustic rock) in music. Just knowing that I'm going to be playing with her every week keeps me grounded and excited to play.

3. We play in public a lot, either open mics or full concerts. (Our band name is The Dragonflies.) Playing for people means learning new songs, so that you're not always doing the same stuff at open mics. Too many people rotate the same four songs every week.

4. Listening to the radio has become a huge source of inspiration and material for me. Recent additions to our set list include "Wicked Game," "Crystal Ship," and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" -- all songs I pulled right off of satellite radio.

5. I go to guitar camp here in the Pacific Northwest almost every year, and find the experience to be very motivating.

6. I am now an instructor with an organization called Guitars for Vets. We work with the Veterans Administration to provide guitars and lessons to vets with PTSD. It's very satisfying work, and I find that it helps to motivate me every day. In fact, just being around men and women who have such profound day-to-day struggles reminds me that I'm lucky to have such an effective outlet for my anxieties and sadnesses.

7. I've been a writer for Acoustic Guitar magazine and Taylor's Wood & Steel. Doing that keeps my brain focused on all things related to the guitar.

[michelew]

Hey Den,

Gosh! That is such an impressive list of things you’re doing. The time you’re spending with veterans in particular is such an important and generous thing to be doing. I get you’re likely to be benefiting from it too in some way (the feeling of giving back to the community), but I take my hat off to you.

Thanks for providing your insights and telling us of your experiences, there’s lots of great advice in here.

And I’m chuffed that I’ll be able to tell my grandkids (once I finally have some. ) that I knew the Dragonflies before they even had a name (and the honor of seeing them perform live). ... and performing with them (scary fun times); in my case pretty badly.

Thanks sweet man.

Love

Shel