SonnyD4885
167 posts
Nov 22, 2011
10:12 AM
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i haven't been playing as much as i did because i have been jamming on my guitar so i ask if any one else have lost passion and how to get it back i feel that i have done all the jamming on my harmonicas as possable and going to club and playing is just the same songs over and over every week it feels like there is no new or old blues other there for people to play with?
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RyanMortos
1194 posts
Nov 22, 2011
11:22 AM
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If I feel this way I look up some of my favorite players & listen to them play & become charged with inspiration. Nothing better then watching your favorites do it & remember that you want to get there too.
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
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Honkin On Bobo
842 posts
Nov 22, 2011
11:31 AM
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I feel ya Sonny, the same thing has happened to me more or less.
When I first stumbled upon Kudzu's site after buying Jon Gindick's book Rock and Blues Harmonica, I felt like Indiana Jones finding the Lost Ark, a kid waking up on Christmas morning, an explorer striking the motherlode. I remember thinking "holy fucking shit, it's all here!!! Everything you need to know to become an excellent player is out there, no secrets, all you need to do is put in the time. I think I watched kudzu's first fifteen or twenty videos back-to-back (all he had out at the time), every single thing he imparted was like a little nugget of gold.
Then, somewhere along the line, I'm not sure exactly when, maybe 12 months in, I started to feel the drudgery of practice creeping in, the frustration of not improving as much as I'd like, and little by little some of the passion/thrill left me.
I even started a thread about it, I think I asked "how do you keep it fun" or something along those lines. I got plenty of answers, none of which were satisfactory, I think that's because it's a me problem. That is, everybody has to figure out their own way to stay motivated, stay passionate. You said you feel as if there is no new/old blues out there and that getting up at jam nights means playing the same old songs riffs. I think the problem is that you're just not an accomplished enough player to be able to expand your catalogue.
I suspect this feeling happens to a lot of musicians in training. Getting past it is partly what separates the dabblers from those who go on to become established musicians. I haven't solved it for myself yet...but good luck with it.
Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2011 11:53 AM
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Tommy the Hat
437 posts
Nov 22, 2011
12:07 PM
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Honkin On Bobo wrote:
"I suspect this feeling happens to a lot of musicians in training. Getting past it is partly was seperates the dabblers from those who go on to become established musicians."
I agree with this. As a 55 year old who has been involved in many things over the years, I find this applies to many things. Some things that I am passionate about seem to ebb and flow. But there are things that I excel and those are those that I truly apply myself to the point of sacrifice in other areas of my life.
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Tommy
My Videos
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MrVerylongusername
2074 posts
Nov 22, 2011
12:17 PM
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Walk away from it for a little while, but make a deliberate effort to do something else that will benefit your musical journey: learn some theory, read something harp or blues related, listen to a different genre of music or an artist you aren't familiar with.
Most important of all come back to it with a goal - by Christmas I'll be able to...
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bluemoose
633 posts
Nov 22, 2011
1:38 PM
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Take a singing class! All the breathing, relaxing, posture and theory stuff is directly applicable back to harp. And if you don't front jam tunes yet it will make that first step much easier (said he :).
(I had my end of beginner class concert last Sunday and we totally killed 'Lion Sleeps Tonight' in three part harmony.)
It's got me rev'ed up.
MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids
FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
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shadoe42
72 posts
Nov 22, 2011
3:39 PM
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When I feel burnout on a particular instrument is when I turn to other instruments and other styles of music. For instance I will pick my guitar back up and strum a bit, learn a new technique there. Or did into the realm of cinematic electronic stuff. I find this will energize me and invariably this will recharge my desire to push forward on the harmonica.
And sometimes just listening to other players, Old masters, new players, different style of players... recently it has been by stumbling across a Sonny Terry track which led to another..then another. And a forgotten realization of how much a particular player influences what you do...
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The Musical Blades
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OzarkRich
480 posts
Nov 22, 2011
8:59 PM
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I've been through hell the last few months and have lost the passion for everything, including harp. There have been a few days here and there where I've regained an interest in harp, and when those days come I drop everything and dive in wholeheartedly.
I've also occasionally regained interest by spending time with the peripherals; all kinds of effects pedals (not just the typical ones), playing along with music that just doesn't sound good on harp (just for the fun of it), making frankenstein harps out of odd parts (and sometimes odd tunings), and making up songs about bad drivers, bad bosses, bad kids, bad medical insurance, and PMS (calling that bad would be redundant).
Guitar Center has a special color white Pignose 7-100 amp that I'm going to brave the crowds on black Friday and buy (15% off), so things should be re-kindled for a few days.
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Ozark Rich
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Ozark Rich's YouTube
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Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2011 9:03 PM
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Ant138
1140 posts
Nov 22, 2011
11:18 PM
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Ive been feeling like this since just before BYBO.
I have forced myself to put a couple of videos up for the comp but its been hard.
I think the trick is to have a rest and do something else but like Ryan says, listen to lots of harp or go and seek a new artist out that will re-light the passion. I go back to old videos that gave me inspiration on youtube and that usually works.
I forced myself to practice an hour last night(i felt better for it). I practiced Juke and a couple of things i havnt worked on for a while.
It might be worth getting a subscription to Dave Barrets bluesharmonica.com for a month or so, there is a ton of lessons and artist studies on there to help re kindle the love.
The main thing is dont stress about it, that just makes it worse, just chill and im sure you will come back to it:o)
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http://www.youtube.com/user/fiendant?feature=mhum
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jbone
690 posts
Nov 23, 2011
4:27 AM
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do not be afraid to completely walk away from the instrument. do other things that have NO relation to harp for a while. this can help you decide if you want to continue. if the harps call very quietly to you from the top shelf of the closet you will know it's time to try some more. if they do NOT call to you, what's the harm in letting them sit there?
i have seen similar threads on probably every forum i have ever visited. that tells me one thing: we are all on the carousel and we all have highs and lows.
i took me, not years but DECADES, to get a grasp of this whole harp and music thing. and as much experience as i have gathered in almost 40 years of playing, i was at a club last night and it was jazz night and i totally fell down. i mean just got instantly lost. i had to remember what my roots are and that's blues for the most part.
i've had some issues with personalities here and there over the years and gotten disgusted and quit the whole thing. but i hope nobody minds my saying so- i have a gift and it's a mistake to ignore that gift. i believe if we have a gift like this we are supposed to share it with as many people as we can. which brings me to this idea. if the jam thing is not working for you, why not find a soup kitchen, farmers' market, or retirement home that will let you play on a given day? maybe find a partner on guitar or keys and just go another direction.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
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Baker
179 posts
Nov 23, 2011
5:16 AM
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I think everyone either has, or will experience this at some point. Here are a few things which have helped me.
Learn a new position. Being able to play things which "feel" different really helped to re-inspire me.
Stop playing at jams so much and try and find musicians to play with regularly. I have found that you can only go so far at jams before they start getting repetitive, especially if you get the same regulars playing the same handful of songs.
Part of the point of jam nights is to "train", to get used to playing with other people, in a live situation, and also to improvise. This is really useful "training" and I have learned a huge amount from it. However you can only learn so much, getting up and playing three songs with people you don't really know.
I have also learned a huge amount playing regularly with other musicians. Having time to sit down together and work things out forces you to make considered decisions. This is a totally different learning experience to the jam situation and often forces you outside of your comfort zone, most jam nights, on the other hand, generally force you into your comfort zone. You also learn a lot from other musicians while playing regularly together.
Try working on "non-blues" stuff. It doesn't have to be massively removed from the blues but stuff out side of the 12bar i,iv,v structure. I play in a kind of blue grass/americana band – a bit like Old Crow Medicine Show – a lot of the learning I have taken from blues playing can be applied to this type of music too.
Hope some of this helps.
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7LimitJI
580 posts
Nov 23, 2011
5:37 AM
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Get your favourite harp track and learn it.
I don't mean just the notes, but every nuance.
If its too difficult. Play it half speed on Windows Media Player or buy some other slow down software.
It might take weeks. Break it down and learn it a bar at a time.
Do not move on until you've mastered each bar.
There's so much good stuff out there to learn.
You'll never get bored. ;o)
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The Pentatonics Reverbnation
Youtube
"Why don't you leave some holes when you play, and maybe some music will fall out".
"It's music,not just complicated noise".
Last Edited by on Nov 23, 2011 5:37 AM
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stones
70 posts
Nov 23, 2011
7:46 AM
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I feel ya' I here right now. I usually practice an hour a day, but for the last few weeks it's hard for me to put in my hour. I still mess around on a song I might hear on the radio that I know but beyond that no way. Ive got a set of gongas that I like to to mess around on and it seems that lately I'm putting in more time there. I agree with HONKIN this is the time when the dabblers put it down and the established musicians keep going and work through it. I guess that if it really bothered me I would persevere and go to the next level, but I don't take it seriously enough.. I'm in it for the fun Ive put it down for awhile do something else for awhile then come back to it.
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SonnyD4885
168 posts
Nov 23, 2011
12:15 PM
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thank i will rest for a little and mabey pick it back up but i dtuck on piedmount blues guitar style and loving it hopfully i won't lose and skill from the harp
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Rockerduck
29 posts
Nov 23, 2011
4:29 PM
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That's the way it is for musician's. It's like writer's block. However, for guitars players, I go buy another pedal and get interested again playing with it. With my harp, I pick up the key I'm playing in and,after recording my guitar, I play along. By the way, I only get interested in Christmas songs once a year.
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Tommy the Hat
452 posts
Nov 23, 2011
4:52 PM
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Beer usually works for me
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Tommy
My Videos
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jonsparrow
2668 posts
Nov 23, 2011
5:55 PM
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i lost my passion for awhile. mainly cause iv been extremely busy. i think you get it back when life starts to suck again.
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NH Steve
5 posts
Nov 24, 2011
6:41 PM
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That happened to me about 30 years ago -- just lately got re-inspired. I hope you get it back sooner, lol.
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HawkeyeKane
479 posts
Nov 25, 2011
8:34 AM
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I gave up the harp for about 6 years and got back into it with encouragement from several local musicians. But I do feel you on the repetative routine of it all. Just doing the same songs over and over again can get you stuck in a rut. I myself sometimes feel like I'm limited and I'm not getting to be any better of a harp player. When I get to feeling that way, I usually get together with some friends and just jam in the living room a couple nights a week. It's good to step out and play along with some material that's out of the norm to you. Helps you develop new licks and chops that can be applied later on songs you play on a regular basis.
Just my 2 cents...
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Hawkeye Kane
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