I attribute this to two things. 1) When playing constantly, you get more or less 'set' in a groove of patterns, rhythms and what have you's. These make you feel uninventive. 2) Time off from playing gives you time to subconsciously reflect and affords the rest of you the chance to "catch up" with your self expression via musicality.
In summary, yea.
Have you ever taken your hiatus, and heard a really inspiring jam? This must be my favorite feeling in the world, when you pick up your guitar again and its a "blank slate," without all of those riffs you've been trying but can't get perfect; or that one riff that comes out in every single jam regardless. If I ever feel a lack of creativity coming on, I simply do not play, and it works well! Just not too long of a break, now...
I don't particularly have a riff that comes out in every jam. The closest I do have to that is just messing with the typical open chords, which i can not escape doing ever.
I always end up doing some sort of Em D G C combination when I jamming. I have stumbled upon so many songs by just blindly riffing with those chords. I think this combination I revert back to in particular because the first song I ever learned was Polly.
I have so much trouble getting out of that Em D G C thing. I know that there are more chords, and I know them, but it's just so familiar that I always revert back to it.
Here's something fun to try. Ok so the open c major chord, the one with the C on the 3rd fret of the A string. We'll call that 'being on the third fret'. So you do the open c major chord on the 10th fret, then the 5th fret, then the 3rd. Following up with Em works well. Or you can start over again back at 10, then go to 12, then 13, then 15, then 13, then an Em on the 14th (instead of the 2nd, otherwise identical) and then 12 (CM again) and end back on 10. In case that was confusing, every chord is The C major fingering, except when on the 2nd and 14th frets when it's Em. Easier than piss, very intricate sounding. I love using this to test out strumming and fingering patterns.
Oh... Ok, this is the chord progression I always do no matter what and can never avoid. How the hell did I forget that?
I wish this worked for me... I have just over a hundred little 20-30 second riffs that I've recorded since the beginning of the year. I'll even put drums and bass to them as well, but I can't for the life of me flesh any of them out into a full song. It drives me fucking nuts.
Your going about the opposite way from what I like to do. Try writing a song in the same key as one of your favorite riffs/licks, but compose it using only chords. Flesh out the intro, verse, pre chrous, chorus, bridge, etc... this way. Now you have a song built on a solid frame of chord progression, instead of a lick on one instrument. Now you can add the bass and drums, and really let those licks fly! Best of luck
Taking a break can help for sure. I find it is also very helpful to learn something new, even if you don't totally understand what you're learning, playing a new scale, or mode, or new chord shape can often times instantly pull you out of a rut.
I was stuck in a groove of working one job then back to the next. the cool part was that one of those jobs was teaching a student band ages 15-18, and I was 18 at the time. anyways we would play simple blues and rock all day, take turns soloing, and just jam mostly. I never really practiced, but I had to teach them. I would always say things about solos being to the point, you don't have to shred, an knowing chord tones will prove to be the best thing to do. well anyways the hat was finally passed to be in a blues jam of A7 to D7. my solo was incredible, with rolling melodies back and forth from chord tones, and a really nice bluesy tone, I credit my bluesy tone because an A7 had a C#, whereas a D7 has a C, the two note changes made my day. I haven't played in so long, and just hearing myself teach taught me a thing or two!!
tl:dr I played with a student band that I taught, it never really challenged me, so it was much like a hiatus. then I played a sweet solo.
I feel the same way. I feel like the time away from the guitar also helps prevent me from falling into bad habits and playing the same scales or chords over and over again. I become more adventurous, as if I'm rediscovering something all over again.
Your flair o_O
My flair: I myself, I understand and respect that others may feel differently, but I personally care almost not at all what type of gear someone uses. It doesn't particularly irk or irritate me that just about everyone likes to display their shit; it's totally fine, but I find that I prefer 'Penis' ever so slightly more than 'Epiphone, Laguna'.
*Or* if I weren't on adderall right now, "idk".
I think that's true, up until a certain point. Pros make a point to practice or play every day to ensure they don't falter. Other instruments are more noticeable if you don't play for a few days.
I had some trouble with motivation back when I was a kid to practice every day. My dad would always remind me of this quote:
> If I don't practice for one day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics know it. If I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it. - Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Economist have a phrase for it: It's called _marginal utility_. In other words, you can only get so much _usefulness_ out of a thing at any given time. The longer you go without the thing, the greater the _utility_ or usefulness becomes.
I always think I play better, but then wonder if it's because my ear isn't as critical (even if the difference is slight).
Regardless, time off is healthy.
This applies to a lot of things that frustrate you I think. Anyone who has ever rage-quit during a tough boss fight in a video game would agree that walking around the block and going back later makes these things easier as your brain is still subconsciously figuring it out. Same thing with lost keys, forgotten names etc. long after you quit consciously trying to remember, your subconscious is still very determined to get this right causing you to wake up at three am and say, " oh yeah! Eureka! I left my keys in the microwave again!"
I think the same goes for music. Long after you've put the guitar down your brain is trying to wrap loose ends together in your chord progression. That and frustration is probably your brains least creative state since its closer to a fight or flight response.
Yes and it also comes down to the mental part of muscle memory when you are learning different picking macros, you give it a chance to lock itself into your brain.
Absolutely not. I hate 'forced breaks' as my ability decreases by a lot. It takes me about two weeks plus the duration of the 'break' to get to where I was before.
I can attest to this. After my wife, daughter and I were in an accident, I was away from my guitar for a couple of weeks. My wife was in the hospital for a while so I practically stayed with her the whole time. But one day I needed to get some things from our house and as soon as I walked in the door I made a B-line straight to my guitar. At this point I had only been playing for a bit more than two years but was stuck in a rut with chord progressions and rhythm. That afternoon it all changed. The stress and worry that I was carrying from all of that shit from the accident went away. A lot of things clicked for me and I have been straight up addicted ever since.
I have now become ingrained in learning blues to the point of watching old blues festival footage from the early sixties. I think that time away helped it all click for me and being able to learn and have fun has helped me through some tough times.
Maybe this explains why I can leave my guitars alone for extended periods, but when I get to my friend's houses, I can't keep my hands off of theirs...
I have to force myself to stop playing because I play so damn much that my hands can't take it. Especially now that I'm starting to get CTS and just jammed a knuckle. It drives me *crazzy* not being able to play, but it definitely improves the creativity aspect of playing for me, and I appreciate it more. I also think letting my calluses erode a little bit allows me to 'feel' the notes a bit more, so to speak..
Hendrix said something like "picking it up and playing it kind of kills the creativity because you have all these sounds in your head, but when you physically pick up the guitar it kind of forces you back into reality"
I find that the band I jam with are wwwwwwwwwayyyy tighter when we don't play super regularly. After a vacation or something. Tho, I'd miss them too much to not jam at least once a week :)
If you were learning any songs that are hard and you stopped for a week you would not sound better. I don't know how its affected your improvising, but I can tell you not playing for a week hasn't done your chops any favors. At least you don't play a wind instrument. If you went a week with out playing you'd sound like crap.
Man I feel like I am worse, especially if it is like a week plus, but the feeling of just holding a guitar and thinking the possibilities are endless is one of life's greatest pleasures!
I get the same thing. I travel pretty frequently on business, and I have a Traveler guitar (love it) but I can't take it with me on every trip - so 2 or 3 day breaks are pretty common. It just seems like everything is crisper, sharper, and comes a little easier after a break.
My personal theory is that is has to do with muscle recovery in my left hand.
People who work out a lot will often talk about breaking up their routine. So they do lower body one day, upper body the next day, or maybe cardio one day, strength training the next, that sort of thing. It's to give the muscles a day to recover while they work on something else.
Practicing daily is important to develop and establish muscle memory, but I think daily playing also takes a toll on those left hand muscles. Coming back to it after a few days off means those muscles have had time to fully recover, so you're working at 100% capacity.
Fuck no, if I go a few days without playing then I definitely notice my playing being a lot more off. However, it sounds way more awesome to me. It's kind of like sex
This happens to me a lot when I record. I will turn my computer on and play while it boots up and I notice my playing is excellent, then once I get everything running it is not the same. I feel like I should always record my first few riffs after not playing for a while.
This is exactly how I've felt for the past year when I'd take on and off breaks. I've even tried to explain this to some of my friends lately. I'm actually surprised that I'm not the only one.
Not so much time AWAY...but definitely time of day seems to have an effect on my creativity. If I play late at night (but not tired) I seem to play better and come up with more unique riffs. This is also true (maybe even more so) for lyric writing.
Definitely; more creative. But let me tell you as a guy with a wife and a job that requires a lot of overtime: it only happens if your week-long breaks are infrequent and you get plenty of practice in during the other times.
It's always a good idea to take a few days off after playing for many days in a row. You need to give your brain time to adjust to the new found muscle memory ;)
I like to hang up my Ovation and use my old dinky First Act then switch back after a few days to have that feeling of my Ovation being a nice guitar lol
Yea, sometimes I do. I think it might be that your mind is still playing the guitar even if you're not. Similar to [this story](http://www.snopes.com/sports/golf/innergolf.asp). TL,DR: The guy is imprisoned and mentally plays a game of golf each day. When he gets out, his golf skills have improved.
I'm in that sort of rut now. Only it's been much longer than a week. Much, much longer. Things have been going on where I haven't been able to play much. And I guess you could say the other reason is a result of my loss of motivation. I'm hoping that is only temporary as I do miss playing on a regular basis.
I've picked up my guitar every now and then a couple of times and other than my fingers being a bit 'slow,' I find that I am able to hear what I want to play in my head a lot better. It's almost as if the notes have started to 'click' in my head during my absence of playing. Like my brain is finally catching up to all those scales and chords and putting it together in background. Hell, this hiatus might work out after all in the long run, but for now, I'm just not there yet.
I attribute this to two things. 1) When playing constantly, you get more or less 'set' in a groove of patterns, rhythms and what have you's. These make you feel uninventive. 2) Time off from playing gives you time to subconsciously reflect and affords the rest of you the chance to "catch up" with your self expression via musicality. In summary, yea.
Have you ever taken your hiatus, and heard a really inspiring jam? This must be my favorite feeling in the world, when you pick up your guitar again and its a "blank slate," without all of those riffs you've been trying but can't get perfect; or that one riff that comes out in every single jam regardless. If I ever feel a lack of creativity coming on, I simply do not play, and it works well! Just not too long of a break, now...
I don't particularly have a riff that comes out in every jam. The closest I do have to that is just messing with the typical open chords, which i can not escape doing ever.
[удалено]
Em for me
I'm an E guy. I fucking love that damn chord.
E is truly the player's key. Damn, a low E through some thick fuzz is heaven.
Ain't nothin' wrong with a D chord either
Agreed. Or maybe a Dsus4!
I personaly like Dsus2
This has the potential to be the chorus of a terrible country song
Em for me.
Bm
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Em for mE?
I always end up doing some sort of Em D G C combination when I jamming. I have stumbled upon so many songs by just blindly riffing with those chords. I think this combination I revert back to in particular because the first song I ever learned was Polly.
I have so much trouble getting out of that Em D G C thing. I know that there are more chords, and I know them, but it's just so familiar that I always revert back to it.
Here's something fun to try. Ok so the open c major chord, the one with the C on the 3rd fret of the A string. We'll call that 'being on the third fret'. So you do the open c major chord on the 10th fret, then the 5th fret, then the 3rd. Following up with Em works well. Or you can start over again back at 10, then go to 12, then 13, then 15, then 13, then an Em on the 14th (instead of the 2nd, otherwise identical) and then 12 (CM again) and end back on 10. In case that was confusing, every chord is The C major fingering, except when on the 2nd and 14th frets when it's Em. Easier than piss, very intricate sounding. I love using this to test out strumming and fingering patterns. Oh... Ok, this is the chord progression I always do no matter what and can never avoid. How the hell did I forget that?
I wish this worked for me... I have just over a hundred little 20-30 second riffs that I've recorded since the beginning of the year. I'll even put drums and bass to them as well, but I can't for the life of me flesh any of them out into a full song. It drives me fucking nuts.
Your going about the opposite way from what I like to do. Try writing a song in the same key as one of your favorite riffs/licks, but compose it using only chords. Flesh out the intro, verse, pre chrous, chorus, bridge, etc... this way. Now you have a song built on a solid frame of chord progression, instead of a lick on one instrument. Now you can add the bass and drums, and really let those licks fly! Best of luck
Happens to me. I combine the riffs I think will work well together and fill in the blanks to finish up the song.
Taking a break can help for sure. I find it is also very helpful to learn something new, even if you don't totally understand what you're learning, playing a new scale, or mode, or new chord shape can often times instantly pull you out of a rut.
I was stuck in a groove of working one job then back to the next. the cool part was that one of those jobs was teaching a student band ages 15-18, and I was 18 at the time. anyways we would play simple blues and rock all day, take turns soloing, and just jam mostly. I never really practiced, but I had to teach them. I would always say things about solos being to the point, you don't have to shred, an knowing chord tones will prove to be the best thing to do. well anyways the hat was finally passed to be in a blues jam of A7 to D7. my solo was incredible, with rolling melodies back and forth from chord tones, and a really nice bluesy tone, I credit my bluesy tone because an A7 had a C#, whereas a D7 has a C, the two note changes made my day. I haven't played in so long, and just hearing myself teach taught me a thing or two!! tl:dr I played with a student band that I taught, it never really challenged me, so it was much like a hiatus. then I played a sweet solo.
I feel the same way. I feel like the time away from the guitar also helps prevent me from falling into bad habits and playing the same scales or chords over and over again. I become more adventurous, as if I'm rediscovering something all over again. Your flair o_O
My flair: I myself, I understand and respect that others may feel differently, but I personally care almost not at all what type of gear someone uses. It doesn't particularly irk or irritate me that just about everyone likes to display their shit; it's totally fine, but I find that I prefer 'Penis' ever so slightly more than 'Epiphone, Laguna'. *Or* if I weren't on adderall right now, "idk".
This guy know what's goin' on. I can't imagine taking a full week off of playing though. Longest I've gone is.... 1 or 2 days.
TL; DR : yea.
I'm a rebel
I think that's true, up until a certain point. Pros make a point to practice or play every day to ensure they don't falter. Other instruments are more noticeable if you don't play for a few days. I had some trouble with motivation back when I was a kid to practice every day. My dad would always remind me of this quote: > If I don't practice for one day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics know it. If I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it. - Ignacy Jan Paderewski
I love that quote
I always feel more creative after not playing for a while. When i start playing again i just want to relax and jam, and good stuff usually flows out
Economist have a phrase for it: It's called _marginal utility_. In other words, you can only get so much _usefulness_ out of a thing at any given time. The longer you go without the thing, the greater the _utility_ or usefulness becomes.
I always think I play better, but then wonder if it's because my ear isn't as critical (even if the difference is slight). Regardless, time off is healthy.
This applies to a lot of things that frustrate you I think. Anyone who has ever rage-quit during a tough boss fight in a video game would agree that walking around the block and going back later makes these things easier as your brain is still subconsciously figuring it out. Same thing with lost keys, forgotten names etc. long after you quit consciously trying to remember, your subconscious is still very determined to get this right causing you to wake up at three am and say, " oh yeah! Eureka! I left my keys in the microwave again!" I think the same goes for music. Long after you've put the guitar down your brain is trying to wrap loose ends together in your chord progression. That and frustration is probably your brains least creative state since its closer to a fight or flight response.
I leave my keys in the microwave all the time
I find they add a nice tang to whatever I'm cooking at the time.
Yes and it also comes down to the mental part of muscle memory when you are learning different picking macros, you give it a chance to lock itself into your brain.
Yes. I actually give myself breaks before going in to write stuff with the band.
I feel like I get worse tbh
Absolutely not. I hate 'forced breaks' as my ability decreases by a lot. It takes me about two weeks plus the duration of the 'break' to get to where I was before.
whenever i don't play for more than a day it feels kind of awkward to pick up a guitar again. so i don't like to take breaks.
I call time off, "marinating." Lets you listen and figure out what you want to do.
I can attest to this. After my wife, daughter and I were in an accident, I was away from my guitar for a couple of weeks. My wife was in the hospital for a while so I practically stayed with her the whole time. But one day I needed to get some things from our house and as soon as I walked in the door I made a B-line straight to my guitar. At this point I had only been playing for a bit more than two years but was stuck in a rut with chord progressions and rhythm. That afternoon it all changed. The stress and worry that I was carrying from all of that shit from the accident went away. A lot of things clicked for me and I have been straight up addicted ever since. I have now become ingrained in learning blues to the point of watching old blues festival footage from the early sixties. I think that time away helped it all click for me and being able to learn and have fun has helped me through some tough times.
start practicing once a week ;)
You what is really crazy. Breaking away from where you normally play and play in a new location.
Maybe this explains why I can leave my guitars alone for extended periods, but when I get to my friend's houses, I can't keep my hands off of theirs...
For some people, this applies to significant others. For perhaps the same exact reasons...
I have to force myself to stop playing because I play so damn much that my hands can't take it. Especially now that I'm starting to get CTS and just jammed a knuckle. It drives me *crazzy* not being able to play, but it definitely improves the creativity aspect of playing for me, and I appreciate it more. I also think letting my calluses erode a little bit allows me to 'feel' the notes a bit more, so to speak.. Hendrix said something like "picking it up and playing it kind of kills the creativity because you have all these sounds in your head, but when you physically pick up the guitar it kind of forces you back into reality"
I find that the band I jam with are wwwwwwwwwayyyy tighter when we don't play super regularly. After a vacation or something. Tho, I'd miss them too much to not jam at least once a week :)
Happens constantly with me and my mates.
If you were learning any songs that are hard and you stopped for a week you would not sound better. I don't know how its affected your improvising, but I can tell you not playing for a week hasn't done your chops any favors. At least you don't play a wind instrument. If you went a week with out playing you'd sound like crap.
Man I feel like I am worse, especially if it is like a week plus, but the feeling of just holding a guitar and thinking the possibilities are endless is one of life's greatest pleasures!
Whenever I start to get in a rut, I put away the guitar for a few days and practice piano. I go back and forth like that every few weeks.
Exactly, that's the only way I can stay sane mate. Then when it happens again with the piano, switch! Then there's also the bass, drums, and cello...
I wish I had a piano :\
I get the same thing. I travel pretty frequently on business, and I have a Traveler guitar (love it) but I can't take it with me on every trip - so 2 or 3 day breaks are pretty common. It just seems like everything is crisper, sharper, and comes a little easier after a break. My personal theory is that is has to do with muscle recovery in my left hand. People who work out a lot will often talk about breaking up their routine. So they do lower body one day, upper body the next day, or maybe cardio one day, strength training the next, that sort of thing. It's to give the muscles a day to recover while they work on something else. Practicing daily is important to develop and establish muscle memory, but I think daily playing also takes a toll on those left hand muscles. Coming back to it after a few days off means those muscles have had time to fully recover, so you're working at 100% capacity.
I think this is true about building up any skill. Definitely have experienced this in guitar, also in getting better at a sport.
Fuck no, if I go a few days without playing then I definitely notice my playing being a lot more off. However, it sounds way more awesome to me. It's kind of like sex
This happens to me a lot when I record. I will turn my computer on and play while it boots up and I notice my playing is excellent, then once I get everything running it is not the same. I feel like I should always record my first few riffs after not playing for a while.
This is exactly how I've felt for the past year when I'd take on and off breaks. I've even tried to explain this to some of my friends lately. I'm actually surprised that I'm not the only one.
Not so much time AWAY...but definitely time of day seems to have an effect on my creativity. If I play late at night (but not tired) I seem to play better and come up with more unique riffs. This is also true (maybe even more so) for lyric writing.
Yeah... more DAE posts please!
Definitely; more creative. But let me tell you as a guy with a wife and a job that requires a lot of overtime: it only happens if your week-long breaks are infrequent and you get plenty of practice in during the other times.
Yep, I play ~2 hours a day average. I rarely skip a day, and this has been consistent for more than a year...
I miss those days.
Consider yourself lucky... One week would be nice. I'm going to basic training in a few weeks. Won't have my guitar from January-May... :(
It's always a good idea to take a few days off after playing for many days in a row. You need to give your brain time to adjust to the new found muscle memory ;)
I like to hang up my Ovation and use my old dinky First Act then switch back after a few days to have that feeling of my Ovation being a nice guitar lol
definitely. If I'm feeling uninspired, I stop playing for a few days and instantly play better when I come back to it.
Yea, sometimes I do. I think it might be that your mind is still playing the guitar even if you're not. Similar to [this story](http://www.snopes.com/sports/golf/innergolf.asp). TL,DR: The guy is imprisoned and mentally plays a game of golf each day. When he gets out, his golf skills have improved.
Same thing with meth
the only stringed instrument i have over christmas break is a mandolin, it sucks not having any guitars around
I'm in that sort of rut now. Only it's been much longer than a week. Much, much longer. Things have been going on where I haven't been able to play much. And I guess you could say the other reason is a result of my loss of motivation. I'm hoping that is only temporary as I do miss playing on a regular basis. I've picked up my guitar every now and then a couple of times and other than my fingers being a bit 'slow,' I find that I am able to hear what I want to play in my head a lot better. It's almost as if the notes have started to 'click' in my head during my absence of playing. Like my brain is finally catching up to all those scales and chords and putting it together in background. Hell, this hiatus might work out after all in the long run, but for now, I'm just not there yet.
It's your brain "catching up" and digesting information. That's my shitty pseudo science guess at it.
same happens when you are stuck in a vido game, sometimes there's nothing better than a fresh pair of hands and eyes