losing the 'mojo'

[bedroom rocker]

when i first started playing 4 years ago on my valencia classical, i would pick up the guitar and just practise and play for around 3 hours a day non stop, nowadays it seems i only pick up the axe when im drinking, and even then it may be for an hour or so. i seem to have lost a bit of interest in playing, which i definately DONT want. ive got a new amp and guitar, but that didnt really rekindle anything to the extent that i wanted to. i just seem to be stuck in a rift, playing the same stuff over and over again. silly question, but do any of you guys have any ideas for techniques, scales, warm ups etc that you reckon could probably rekindle my love for the axe again?: any help appreciated
cheers

[Zip]

Yes - a friend. Play with someone better than you, worse than you, different musical tastes/same groove, whatever. Just jam with someone else...as often as you can. Nothing will get your juices flowing as quickly. And you'll love it, and look forward to 'practice day'. I promise, it'll cure you for good!

[Spudman***]

Yes - a friend. Play with someone better than you, worse than you, different musical tastes/same groove, whatever. Just jam with someone else...as often as you can. Nothing will get your juices flowing as quickly. And you'll love it, and look forward to 'practice day'. I promise, it'll cure you for good!

Great advice. +1

[ibanezjunkie]

did you ever have guitar lessons? i only started when i got bored of playng on my own, its a great way to learn new stuff and play with someone else at the same time.

[marnold***]

You're running into the same problem that most every bedroom player does at one time or another. Zip's advice is great. Either that or just learn a new song that you always wanted to learn. Playing the same thing over and over just gets tedious.

[jpfeifer]

I run into this same rut when I stop working on new things. (it's happened to me lots of times over the years) If I quit finding new things to work on then I eventually get very bored with my own playing.

There's a lot of ways to re-ignite that spark, but the key thing is to find something new to focus on. This could be a new style that you want to learn, a new song, playing together in a new band, etc.

One thing that I always do, when I start to get bored, is focus on being a listener first. Find some musicians that you really like and soak up their playing. Listen to their music and think about some things that you can draw from to help your own playing. Pandora.com is a great way to find some new music.

Another good source of inspiration is to go out and see some live music in your area. One good live show and provide tons of inspiration.

I've also bought lots of great instructional DVD's over the years that seem to help me out of a rut when I get bored with my playing.

-- Jim

[bigG]

I run into this same rut when I stop working on new things. (it's happened to me lots of times over the years) If I quit finding new things to work on then I eventually get very bored with my own playing.

There's a lot of ways to re-ignite that spark, but the key thing is to find something new to focus on. This could be a new style that you want to learn, a new song, playing together in a new band, etc.

One thing that I always do, when I start to get bored, is focus on being a listener first. Find some musicians that you really like and soak up their playing. Listen to their music and think about some things that you can draw from to help your own playing. Pandora.com is a great way to find some new music.

Another good source of inspiration is to go out and see some live music in your area. One good live show and provide tons of inspiration.

I've also bought lots of great instructional DVD's over the years that seem to help me out of a rut when I get bored with my playing.

-- Jim

+1 on that! Good advice there, Jim!

[sumitomo]

Whatever you do,do not tell your girlfriend you lost your mojo! She'll be gone in 60 seconds.So get with others to play with it will get those mojo juices flowin so says Dr.Ruth. Sumi

[Monkus]

Sometimes a song can rekindle the passion. You hear it and cant get it out of your mind. I absolutely have to transcribe it to guitar. It really doesn't have to be a great song, just something that tickles your fancy. Some songs that I've had to transcribe to fingerstyle guitar were:

Sailing - Chris Cross
Arthur's theme - Chris Cross
How deep is your love - Bee Gees
Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
dock of the bay - Otis Redding
Free falling - John Mayer cover
Girl from Ipanema - Jobim, (I learnt that so I could get my Dad psyched to play)
Why Georgia - John Mayer, and this weekend,
Alright - Darius Rucker, formerly Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish.

With the latest one I want to do a cover, somethng I haven't done in years, so I'm re-recording the tracks to sing and play guitar over but more pop than country. YMMV.

[bedroom rocker]

: cheers for the info guys, ill check out those songs too