Feeling Meh

[John Tierney]

A question for all.
Ever in this journey have you just felt like guitar is a chore? Right now I’m kinda feeling meh like I don’t want to practice or do anything. Ultimately, I want to put more into this school but I don’t think I’m doing enough like I can’t play Avenged songs but I have the tools to do so (somewhat). Any advice to break me out of this moment of meh would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Richard O'connor]

dude i’m right there with you. Im sitting here right now with the same feeling. Ive been playing for a while and all i can tell you is it will pass. You will get days like this, and you will get days where you feel like nothing can stop you. Just stick with it. If you’re feeling like this then perhaps just do what you enjoy. I tend to turn to Guns N’ Roses because i’ve always enjoyed playing to them. Studying allll the time can lead to burning out sometimes. Just take a step back. Think about what yo got into the guitar for in the first place.
Stick with it dude!!

 

[Ian Stuart]

This might not work for everybody and definitely isn’t the cheapest option but whenever I felt like this I’d always get a new piece of gear! It could be something small like a new strap or even new plectrums! I came out of the longest break from guitar that I’ve had since starting by buying a brand new guitar and that really got me fired up!
Other things like a new amp/sim or pedals can help too!
It should never feel like a chore though man ultimately you should play the stuff that makes you really happy and never feel guilty for taking a break if that’s what is required.
It’ll find you again

 

[idssdi]

I tend to feel like I actually want to practice more a lot of the time. If you don’t feel like practicig you can also just play songs you really like just to have some fun. Another thing that works is to just take a break from guitar all together. Another thing I sometimes notice when I go to a live show and there’s a really amazing guitar player there I kinda want to practice more.
Hope this helps

 

[Richard O'connor]

i feel sometimes that there is so much to learn you don’t no where to begin. I don’t no what i should focus on first. Especially now as i’ve got older and i have less time to play than i used to.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

Everybody has good and bad days. Just take a break, go watch a movie or do something what you like. It will eventually pass and you’ll start feeling great again the next time you pick up a guitar. It’s what everyone goes through so don’t worry about it

 

[Noah Berends]

If you force it, it’s always going to feel exactly that. Forced. If I’m not feeling like playing guitar at the moment, I won’t get past that feeling if I force myself. Breaks are essential! Take a nap, watch some Netflix, or listen to some music and when you feel ready, pick it up again and keep going. You could even do something really simple such as going up and down scales while you’re doing something else like watching TV. I have a cheap guitar that always lives next to my couch and whenever I’m watching TV I’ll pick it up and noodle absentmindedly or work on scales while I watch and if nothing else it keeps the fingers nimble. Just be sure not to force it, or else it will feel like a chore. Sometimes you need to put in the chore effort to get into the fun part, but if it’s 100% a chore day in and day out you’ll kill the passion. Hope this helps!

 

[Josh Wright]

I tend to burn myself out, because with ADHD I can spend hours doing the same thing over and over again and not even realize how long it’s been and then I don’t want to pick up the guitar for about a week. Sometimes I either just a take a break from practicing and only play at rehearsals and gigs and I do just fine because I have it all down, or I Turn my amp up loud and I don’t care about learning theory or scales for an entire day and I just play off of feeling instead of what should be next that’s one way I discover my own style instead of a book or teachers style.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Here’s the thing, you don’t NEED to play Avenged Sevenfold songs to be in this school. This isn’t the Avenged Sevenfold School For Guitar Players. PG and Syn cover many aspects of the guitar that will help with any style, and PG himself said they’re adding a blues section to this school soon. This is not a competition and not a place for you to compare yourself to others. So please get that out of your mind because all it’s going to do is make you feel you’re never going to be good enough. You’re not here to be the next Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, or Brian Haner. You’re here to be the first John Tierney.
Guitarists have ALL gone through this situation. We have all (even legendary guitarists) have had one point where they think, “Will this ever amount to anything? Will I ever be good?” Understand that this is completely normal for anyone trying to do anything, even if it isn’t the arts. So don’t feel alone in that aspect. When trying to become good at anything DOES require a lot of work. But it isn’t just physical work. I always believe that becoming better at anything whether it’s getting better grades in school, losing weight, climbing the corporate ladder or getting better on guitar is 90% mental effort, 10% physical effort.
Just because you don’t play 6 hours a day, post videos constantly, are blazing through the lessons, doesn’t mean you’re falling behind and not putting in any effort. But ultimately (warning, tough love ahead) it comes down to this…
If you feel you aren’t putting in the proper effort than you already solved your own problem. The more you put the EFFORT in to it, you’ll start getting better and you’ll realize how much it’s paying off.
If I can state my own story quickly… and this IS NOT A BRAGGING SESSION…
For 21 years I tried to play guitar and no one cared about my passion or my talent
I spent hours a day hunched over a radio trying to learn my favorite songs because I didn’t have fancy technology
No one cared. I didn’t have a band, couldn’t get one because I wasn’t “good enough”.
I spent 2 years and 5 hours a day trying to get Hail To The King right. I thought I had it.
No one cared other than my singer.
I gave up because I couldn’t figure it out.
I tried again for another three months.
Someone finally noticed, and that person was Synsyter Gates himself.
As Brian Haner says, you are not behind or ahead of anyone else. This is not a race. You, yourself, for your life, are perfectly on time. Keep it up and don’t quit. I won’t let you quit or think these things about yourself. You can do this. I got your back.

 

[Adin Shepherd]

I find stepping away from the practice and excercises and just playing along to a fave track or two breaks the monotony a little and lets you put what you have learned into practice.
Do you practice the exact same things every day? If so, change things up a bit, as an example find 2 or 3 good alternate picking drills (even a few bars from a solo you want to learn) and drop them in on alternate days.
On that note, don’t try and run before you can walk, pick a few songs that suit your skill level and learn them. There is nothing wrong with pushing the envelope, but if you try and play something that is beyond your ability, it can suck the confidence out of you and make you feel like you will never be good enough.

 

[Josh Wright]

@jak I 100% love this message, I find myself comparing myself to other guitarists, I remind myself that I want to get to that level but I don’t want to be them, I want to be me and my own influences. I am a very bluesy player and so to compare myself to syn is nowhere near the same because of different influences and for a time I was pissed because of that and then I decided that’s how I will be different. Granted there are so many influenced by blues but it’s my own take at it. So I agree 100% with everything you said.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

The amount of material this site provides can definitely over whelm you. Thats why you should take it slow. Like I think I mentioned I’m on the modes right now personally. I’m not even close to finished the intermediate section. Thats also because I only spend a certain bit of time a day on it before I go into my usual jam. I’ve also taken breaks to fix recordings, etc. Now that I’m done that though, its time to getback into the hammer and get those modes down pat.
If you’re bored you probably just need a spark of motivation. I find live DVDs help a lot, as well as making of album dvds. Very inspirational. Anything to really give you the chills really. Usually after watching the long beach DVD I cant help but pick up that guitar.

 

[Bartosz Tkaczyk]

You don’t need to know how to play A7X or be a pro to help this school. Just be here, help other people if you can and that’s all. Even small things matter. If you don’t have energy to practise just give yourself a break and do something else that you like. I also struggle with a lot of thoughts so you are not alone. The best thing we can do is just move forward

 

[John Tierney]

Thanks Guys I feel better now. I usually get this way before a test. I just did some tapping “exercises” and Rocksmith runs and felt MUCH MUCH better. And funny guitar youTube videos help
Cheers and Rock on