Lost My Creativity! Options

[Ryan]

Well guys, I have a major problem. See in the past few months. I have worked on technique really hardcore, and eveyrhtign is amazing. I mean i can pick triplets at over 200 easily, and 16ths around 130. My sweeps are much cleaner, but still need some work, and my legato. Well I dont use the pick much anymore when switching strings, and I havent tested how fast that is. Everything is nice and clean, and muted properly.

But in all this time of working on legato, speedpicking, sweeps, vibrato, harmonics, muting, and tapping. I cant seem to make up a great lick anymore. I just worked all on technique, and well my creativity is gone. I had loads of it in the beginning right when picking up the guitar, and now i have like none. Well I do, but i just cant seem to bring nothing out. All this technique perfection i have been tryign to do. Speeding it all up. Keeping it clean. Doesnt mean nothing if i have no creative, and imagination left.

I know I can just practice hardcore now on improvising, and putting what is in my head on to the guitar, but i was just wondering. Do any of you have any special things you do to help you with this problem?? I have never came across this problem on GMC before. So I have no special things i can do to help it other than pracitce. So that practice thing is out of the way. What else is there??

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This post has been edited by Ryan: Sep 2 2007, 09:26 AM

[Hardtail]

I know I can just practice hardcore now on improvising, and putting what is in my head on to the guitar, but i was just wondering. Do any of you have any special things you do to help you with this problem?? I have never came across this problem on GMC before. So I have no special things i can do to help it other than pracitce. So that practice thing is out of the way. What else is there??

Find other guitarists and Jam with them. #1 best thing for spurring creativity and pushing yourself to new limits.

AND, I tend to learn more in a 1 hour Jam session then I do in 1 hour of practice sometimes.

Hardtail

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[Ryan]

Find other guitarists and Jam with them. #1 best thing for spurring creativity and pushing yourself to new limits.

AND, I tend to learn more in a 1 hour Jam session then I do in 1 hour of practice sometimes.

Hardtail

Yes, but see thats the problem. I cant find no guitarists around Hutch that are into it like me. I mean sure they can play a few licks, but actually JAM. I dont know about that. Ill still give it a try and everything. Thanks

Any other ideas guys?

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[The Uncreator]

This is nothing to worry about, ive had this beofre, when for like a month i didnt come up with any cool licks, its like "Guitarists Block", dont worry, you'll be sitting around one day and something will just come out and it will be awesome.

Also, return to the simple stuff, and learn some lessons you havent learned yet on GMC, Listen to a new band or song, anything like that and ideas will come with time.

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[Ryan]

This is nothing to worry about, ive had this beofre, when for like a month i didnt come up with any cool licks, its like "Guitarists Block", dont worry, you'll be sitting around one day and something will just come out and it will be awesome.

Also, return to the simple stuff, and learn some lessons you havent learned yet on GMC, Listen to a new band or song, anything like that and ideas will come with time.

Awesome, finding other inspiration. Good thing I have atleast a half decent ear, so i can transcribe it to the guitar. Hm thanks!!

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[The Uncreator]

Go to the Metal Recomendations thread, and pick 5 random bands, thats what i like to do

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[Rob_g]

This is what I do I sit down and watch a lot of crazy guitar players on youtube and just zone out for an hour watching diffrent guitar players.

Like im talking watch a SRV video and then right after that watch a Buckethead video. and do it witch a lot of guitarist you like.

I dunno thats what i do lol

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[Ryan]

Awesome guys thanks!!

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[chast]

The only reason is that you have spend too much time on practicing technquie.
Do you know why i dont know practing sweeps or soemthing else ?!
Because I dont want to lose my "sense" of melody.
If you are just practing sclaes and so on, it is sure, that you will lose a sense for the melody.
For sure you get to know the sclaes and so on. But the melody is starting in your head.
I cant really discribe it, but I am sure the msot of you know what im trying to excplain.

For me it is:
1) Practicing to create melodys
2) Learning scales, how the work etc.
3) Technqiue.

In my opinione the technqiue is the last one that you have to learn.
e.g.:
you found a melody. (first step)
Now you have to detecht which key etc. it is in.
And the last step is that you have to play it clean etc.

So, the most important step (sorry, that I say the same all the time), is to to create something on your own.
And I think that you just spent to much on practiing technique.
You just focused on it.

My advice is to really listening to some stuff and try to replay it on your own, with your own style. Dont copy it to 100 %
Try to place your own style in the song.
Play some licks you have learned before, just jam around a bit.

I am sure it will help you.

/edit: Soemthing to the techniques.
It is just me, but for me the only techniques that you really need are:
Picking and Legato.

IF I should master these techniques I can worry about others like sweeping.
But I dont want to disappoint somebody.
If you like sweeping, tapping (I also like tapping) just play it.
If you can do something out of it, do it.

Man, I am writing too long, but did Hendrix use sweeping or tapping ?
I just want you to think about it.

I think I will translate a post out of a german board tomorrow and see how do you think about it, gonna be interessting.

But now, have a good night

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This post has been edited by chast: Sep 2 2007, 11:05 AM

[Hardtail]

A little off topic but the previous reply on melody does have some merit. ALL the exercises on GMC that I have seen so far are great for developing speed, control, and technique but, don't get lost in exercises and forget that at the heart of EVERY song is a melody. If you can't train your fingers to follow a melody then your useless on stage.

Hardtail

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[Ryan]

The only reason is that you have spend too much time on practicing technquie.
Do you know why i dont know practing sweeps or soemthing else ?!
Because I dont want to lose my "sense" of melody.
If you are just practing sclaes and so on, it is sure, that you will lose a sense for the melody.
For sure you get to know the sclaes and so on. But the melody is starting in your head.
I cant really discribe it, but I am sure the msot of you know what im trying to excplain.

For me it is:
1) Practicing to create melodys
2) Learning scales, how the work etc.
3) Technqiue.

In my opinione the technqiue is the last one that you have to learn.
e.g.:
you found a melody. (first step)
Now you have to detecht which key etc. it is in.
And the last step is that you have to play it clean etc.

So, the most important step (sorry, that I say the same all the time), is to to create something on your own.
And I think that you just spent to much on practiing technique.
You just focused on it.

My advice is to really listening to some stuff and try to replay it on your own, with your own style. Dont copy it to 100 %
Try to place your own style in the song.
Play some licks you have learned before, just jam around a bit.

I am sure it will help you.

/edit: Soemthing to the techniques.
It is just me, but for me the only techniques that you really need are:
Picking and Legato.

IF I should master these techniques I can worry about others like sweeping.
But I dont want to disappoint somebody.
If you like sweeping, tapping (I also like tapping) just play it.
If you can do something out of it, do it.

Man, I am writing too long, but did Hendrix use sweeping or tapping ?
I just want you to think about it.

I think I will translate a post out of a german board tomorrow and see how do you think about it, gonna be interessting.

But now, have a good night

Hmm I dont know what it is, but i seem not to agree with you. And man, im not trying to be mean, but im not trying to be like Hendrix, and yea i grant him that he was a great player, and everything with the little he used. Now can you imagine what he could have done if he had MORE technqiues?? How much more can you do when instead of just having legato, and picking?? Tons more stuff. And honest to god guys. I dont pratice scales up and down (shocker isnt it??).

I do see where your coming from though. But this is how i see it. How can you play that melodic run thats going through your head, if you dont have the proper technique. Better technqiue, the melodic world starts opening up(So thats why i practice a lot on technique). I just think i need to jam with some others for now. And see what i can get from that, and actually maybe learn some real songs from bands. Eventually naturally the creative side will just kind of flow back to me. I just need some ways, that will help it come back or atleast when it leaves. It doesnt leave me a total bum!!!

I think its just one of them stages every guitarist goes through. The times when your just blank, and everythign you try create, is just well all the same. Its a stage, I just need to lubricate it up more so it just passes a lot easier .


You cant be melodic if you dont have nothing running through your head (So how do you practice it then)!!!

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[JOhn]

Hmm I dont know what it is, but i seem not to agree with you. And man, im not trying to be mean, but im not trying to be like Hendrix, and yea i grant him that he was a great player, and everything with the little he used. Now can you imagine what he could have done if he had MORE technqiues?? How much more can you do when instead of just having legato, and picking?? Tons more stuff. And honest to god guys. I dont pratice scales up and down (shocker isnt it??).

I do see where your coming from though. But this is how i see it. How can you play that melodic run thats going through your head, if you dont have the proper technique. Better technqiue, the melodic world starts opening up(So thats why i practice a lot on technique). I just think i need to jam with some others for now. And see what i can get from that, and actually maybe learn some real songs from bands. Eventually naturally the creative side will just kind of flow back to me. I just need some ways, that will help it come back or atleast when it leaves. It doesnt leave me a total bum!!!

I think its just one of them stages every guitarist goes through. The times when your just blank, and everythign you try create, is just well all the same. Its a stage, I just need to lubricate it up more so it just passes a lot easier .
You cant be melodic if you dont have nothing running through your head (So how do you practice it then)!!!

How much worse would jimmy had have been if he had no creativity? No one cares if you have Technique and cant use it. Would you rather watch some guy shred up and down the fret board or some one playing music? truth is if you don't want to spend time on scales, writing and playing music you will go no where with your guitar. Your letting your letting music serve Technique it should be the other way around.

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[Ryan]

How much worse would jimmy had have been if he had no creativity? No one cares if you have Technique and cant use it. Would you rather watch some guy shred up and down the fret board or some one playing music? truth is if you don't want to spend time on scales, writing and playing music you will go no where with your guitar. Your letting your letting music serve Technique it should be the other way around.

Yes that is true, there is many ways to think of this, but no. I do not use music to serve technique. Music is music no matter which way you look at it. To make music, you can use a simple click, or a clapping your hands, or for us. The guitar, if you cant clap your hands correctly, then there will be no music, if you cant click correctly. There WILL be no music. It will be a simple click, or clap. If you cannot properly play guitar. And i dont mean. Playing really fast, and sweep amazingly fast, all around the fretboard.

What I am trying to get out here is. If you cant do it, then there will be no music. Thats where technique comes in handy. If you have great technique, or atleast good technique. There will be music. You cant determine how good the music will be by the technique, but how they use it. If you cant use it. Then there WILL be no music. Working on technique. Allows you to use it. It can open new things up for you. Gives you more opprtunities, to create not jsut good music, but GREAT music. Now notice i said more opprtunities.

It doesnt mean that you have to have great technquie to make great music. It just gives you more options, so you CAN make great music. Music comes from the heart, not the techqniue. But if there is not techqnue, there is no music, atleast no music people would want to hear. It is like Yin, and Yang. There cant be good, without evil.

Now here is test for all of you who do not agree with me. Take a lesson from GMC say, The new Rhapsody of Fire rhythem style lesson. Its set for full speed at 160 BPM. Now lets see. Some test subjects. The Uncreator. Learn the lesson. Now i want you to play it at 60 BPM, and say you ahve bad techqniue, so thats why you have to do it so slowly. So you dont screw up, and so you can keep it clean and in time. Man i would hate to be that person listening. Now The uncreator. NOW you magically have great technqiue. Play it at full speed cleanly, and everything. Your gonna get a lot of listeners, wanting more great music.

Now lets take one of the great guitarists in the world. Say SHAWN LANE (WOOT!!), and he magically is alive, but anyways. He now has TERRIBLE technqiue, if not none. Let him play some of the great music he made. LOL that would not be great anymore. It would be sloppy, and out of time to keep it at the same BPM. Now since he has terrible technqiue. Hes stuck playing umm lets say the 12 bar blues at 100 BPM, still struggling to keep it in time and clean. Man that sucks for him. To bad he didnt work on his technqiue because he woudl have been great with ALL of the ideas he had.

None of the greats wouldnt have been well "great". If they had alright techqnie, and just a head full of ideas, but they just couldnt seem to put them on to the guitar. If they had better techqnie they could have handled it, but they jsut worked on creating them instead of have the skill to also play them.

Also guys. Yes i do know. You can make a great, and probably the greatest song in the world at 30 BPM, but umm how likely is that?? I would say it is more likely around say 100-150. You need to have proper techqniue to do these kinds of things. Now it isnt hard to also keep things clean and in time under 150. It just takes some practice. But also. Isnt guitar about having fun?? I mean how much fun would it be to sit there, and play a really fast. Thats pretty fun. Pull off soem fast blues licks, and everything. And isnt cool just to watch them guitarists play really fast?? Maybe thats just me, but guitar is more than just serious pratice, and song making. I like to take some time out of composing and have some fun with it. sure its fun to play slow, but until you get bored with it.

It all works in a circle. This is a down period for me. I just need to know different methods, to overcome this down period faster. Thats all!!

Ryan,

P.S. HOLY JESUS BOOBS BATMAN THATS THE LONGEST POST IN THE WORLD. Sorry guys. Sometimes i tend to talk a lot in a debate!!

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This post has been edited by Ryan: Sep 2 2007, 03:47 PM

[shredmandan]

Dude that was a long post
I am having a problem kinda like your original post on here.I have played guitar for 11 years.I started with simple alternative music till i built some nirvana style skill then i went to metallica and learned all there songs from the first album to black album..Through that time i also worked on Pantera then Megadeth ect.

I have been here since Feb 07.I feel like just practicing solo's and leads, techniques ect has got me worse then i was before. I'm sure im not practicing that good but when i used to just do the jam sessions with Metallica for example atleast i was playing in time with someone.Now the little things i have noticed are slipping away like just playing songs i used to nail are now falling short and my own song writting is horrible now.Im in a big rut and very unhappy with my playing right now.

I just wonder if i made a mistake devoting all my practice to one thing like soloing ect because i have lost alot more than i have gained.I feel i was a better player at 5 years than i am now at 11 and thats sad.

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[Ayen]

The only advice I can give you is to go out and try out a bunch of new bands, maybe that'll get you thinking. Try and learn something new, whether that's a solo, or just a normal riff.

Can you provide any links to what you used in:

. I have worked on technique really hardcore, and eveyrhtign is amazing. I mean i can pick triplets at over 200 easily, and 16ths around 130. My sweeps are much cleaner, but still need some work, and my legato. ... Everything is nice and clean, and muted properly.

I realize its a bit selfish of me to ask this in a post where you're asking the question, but I've got a bunch to work on as well, and any links that helped you would probably work the same for me.

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[Ryan]

Dude that was a long post
I am having a problem kinda like your original post on here.I have played guitar for 11 years.I started with simple alternative music till i built some nirvana style skill then i went to metallica and learned all there songs from the first album to black album..Through that time i also worked on Pantera then Megadeth ect.

I have been here since Feb 07.I feel like just practicing solo's and leads, techniques ect has got me worse then i was before. I'm sure im not practicing that good but when i used to just do the jam sessions with Metallica for example atleast i was playing in time with someone.Now the little things i have noticed are slipping away like just playing songs i used to nail are now falling short and my own song writting is horrible now.Im in a big rut and very unhappy with my playing right now.

I just wonder if i made a mistake devoting all my practice to one thing like soloing ect because i have lost alot more than i have gained.I feel i was a better player at 5 years than i am now at 11 and thats sad.

Alright i know what your saying here, but maybe this will help. Go back and just relook over the beginner stuff. Go back over the songs, and everything. Its not that you just started to practice soloing, and technqiue. You just dont have the feel for it. Its the downtime im talking about. You didnt lose it, for good. Its just locked away for now. No one can sit there, and make great riffs, and songs every day (or week) of there life. Just go back and practice stuff, and relook over it. And the timing. That comes with proper technqiue if you have it. That is developed by using the metrenome.

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[Ryan]

The only advice I can give you is to go out and try out a bunch of new bands, maybe that'll get you thinking. Try and learn something new, whether that's a solo, or just a normal riff.

Can you provide any links to what you used in:
I realize its a bit selfish of me to ask this in a post where you're asking the question, but I've got a bunch to work on as well, and any links that helped you would probably work the same for me.

Im not sure on what you quite mean. Do you mean to start picking that fast, and everything?? If so I know in the beginning i played a lot of pavel's picking excerises, and still do just not as much now. Mostly the Ionian speedpicking lesson to warm-up. Grab the metrenome, and do some runs, raising bpms.

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[shredmandan]

Alright i know what your saying here, but maybe this will help. Go back and just relook over the beginner stuff. Go back over the songs, and everything. Its not that you just started to practice soloing, and technqiue. You just dont have the feel for it. Its the downtime im talking about. You didnt lose it, for good. Its just locked away for now. No one can sit there, and make great riffs, and songs every day (or week) of there life. Just go back and practice stuff, and relook over it. And the timing. That comes with proper technqiue if you have it. That is developed by using the metrenome.

Yep
That is what im starting to do is just go back to square one and practice stuff even that i feel is simple just to refresh my memoy.One back thing though is i have a hard time playing with metronome,not because i cant do it but because it bores me alot.It is a very helpful tool on acuracy though.

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[Ryan]

Yep
That is what im starting to do is just go back to square one and practice stuff even that i feel is simple just to refresh my memoy.One back thing though is i have a hard time playing with metronome,not because i cant do it but because it bores me alot.It is a very helpful tool on acuracy though.

Well what i have found out is. Its simple to use it going up and down scales. but thats the boring part. Make your own runs up that are fun to you. Then put it to the metrenome . That should surly help.

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[shredmandan]

Well what i have found out is. Its simple to use it going up and down scales. but thats the boring part. Make your own runs up that are fun to you. Then put it to the metrenome . That should surly help.

Thanks man
I will work on that.So you ever get on the chat ?

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