Am I the only one who has "off days" with my instrument? Or "off times" would be a better description...like basically, you'll be coming up with mad riffs and stuff one day...then the next you can barely even come up with anything innovative and make lots of mistakes and stuff. This seems to happen to me all the time...like every few days sometimes. And it just sucks because it's like for no apparent reason my skill level just drops dramatically all of a sudden. I think it has something to do with the mindset that I happen to be in at the time. Anyone have any good tips for getting through those times?
When I'm feeling sad, I usually dont even touch my guitar or harmonica and just write instead. Dont really lose anything though.. I seem to be better each time I play, no matter how many days off I take (however I've never gone more than 2 or 3 days)
I have those days when I can't hit the low notes I can usually hit (I'm a singer). It usually is tied to my emotions. If I'm really sad, I'm not putting in all my effort, and if I'm really hyper and angry, I'm too jumpy to get out a quality tone. Find something that makes you calm--a peice of music to listen to or a poem to read, or a favourit picture. This usually works for me as far as calming down enough to concentrate. <3 Jo
Yes, but you'll need a towel and lots of lubricant. As a musician, if you can't afford towels just use your hair, it helps it to dread.
Of course you're the only one. Don't we all wish... Even Phil Lesh said there were times when he couldn't play a wrong note for trying and others when everything sucked. So... put it down and do something else. Or don't put it down and work on something else - something you know - maybe you just to move into it gradually. And if that doesn't work then just do something else. It's not your day to play.
Happens to me all the time. Some practices and gigs I just can't remember arrangements or stuff.... I'm the one who writes our songs so I should really know them better, but it's all about finding a right mixture of freedom and boundaries in the songs. I'm probably offtopic....
i think it happens to everyone, think its just your brain taking all the info from the previous days and stuff. i get them days also when i can play well, and the others really crappy...
I don't really have days where my playing is limited... I'll just have days when everything sounds wrong and it just won't stay in tune.
Not alone in having off days at all........somedays just nothing seems to "click" when i'm on me guitar...can be disheartening... the next day is usually better tho'
Yeah - happens to all of us. Although generally it's not really that tyed to how I'm feeling. Sometimes if I'm feeling upset I will completely kick-ass musically, or I can suck. If I'm having an off day, I leave the guitar alone a little bit and take a walk instead, or write, or go cycling, or spin poi, or procrastinate. Blessings Sebbi
Thats another thing, I find doing other activities, such as exercising, listening to music, and stuff basically recharges the musical and creative batteries. If you feel stuck in a rut, just take a break and try something else for a little while.
