Ever since Mom has prohibited me from taking any more guitar lessons, I've gradually become less and less inclined to pick up one of my guitars and play. Even my most prized guitar, my Brian May Signature, I have no desire whatsoever to play.
And EVEN with the multi-effects processor that I got recently....nothing. I feel absolutely NO motivation at all to play. It's really scaring me.

I mean, ever since I first started, guitar has been my life. It really, truly has. Now I have to force myself just to play something each day so I don't just lose the skill that I've worked so hard at trying to gain.

I want to get back into it, but it feels like I'm....I don't know....burned out or something.

Life ain't too peachy, either, so that might have something to do with it.
But you would think I'd seek my guitar for comfort if I was having a crappy day, like I was having today, right?
AHHHH.
I just need some help.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

And I also feel like I'm not progressing with my playing at all. Well, before I became "burned out".

I just play my scales and arpeggios, and then a few bits of some Queen songs, but that's really pretty much it. I mean, I can play, but I just don't have much creativity at this point in time.

I'm sorry.
I'll stop ranting....

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

try telling your parents that you see guitar as more than a fun time waster or hobby and see if they let you take lessons again ...... also, ive found when im most depressed i cant bring myself to touch one of my guitars or even listen to music so i could be that you had a crap day

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

Well, the thing is is that we have a deal. I have to maintain any form of a B grade or higher in all of my classes in order for me to have guitar lessons. They know how important it is to me. That's why they took it away--as a sort of an extra push to have me concentrate on school.

I hate it when they do stuff like this. Makes me feel like a dog or something.


And I've been having crap days EVERY day, so....

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Life is filled with flat spots, necessary for growth. That's when the connections are made.

But, forget all that. HOW ARE YOUR GRADES?

you know not the meaning of crap day.... the other day i had a girl i REALLY like tell me i would be cute if i was taller..... the next day i found out she lost her umm... well lets just say she had a REALLY good time..... with a wannabe gangsta a year younger than me

_________________
Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

oh lets not leave out that one of my closest friends is turning into a total junkhead

_________________
Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

you have a strong connection with your guitar, that is why you aren't going to lose any skill while your mind and body are making an adjustment
when you said those different things are effecting your normal guitar activity the time will come in the near future when not only will you be back to normal but my guess is you will also have a couple of new playing techniques in your arsenal that you didn't even remember that you had, it is these moments of adjustment that stimulate creativity awareness and bring you back to center.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

My grades are alright, I think. And I say that only because I don't KNOW how they are. The site that has them up-to-date is currently locked due to mid-term and 3rd marking period updates. If I would have to guess, though, my grades are pretty dangin' good, and that's probably only because we just started the 3rd marking period.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Oh, God.
I'm so sorry.
You're an awesome guy--don't let that chick get you down.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

But just last night, I noticed my skill had deteriorated with playing my scales as I haven't been practicing them every night like I used to when I was still into it.

Yeah, I really hope I can come back from this point and just make some awesome music. Hopefully I'll be bursting with creative juices when I get back to where I was before.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

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As much of drag it seems to be, I guess a deal is a deal. Though getting a 'B' in English, Social Studies, etc. might not seem to important, the good grades could help you get into a good college as a music major.

If that is on the radar and you impress them with your music skills followed by good consistent grades, a scholarship could be on the horizon.

Otherwise, if you enter the professional world of music directly out of school, the present school stuff will seem pretty trivial, but they could be a good supplementary &/or back-up plan for other college plans. Granted in the field of professional music, nobody is going to care about your secondary school GPA, but now or later college might. So hang in there.

If the guitar is burning you out, slow down or take break. You will soon feel the urge to get back on the horse. Your chops should not deteriorate that quickly. Also, with new founded inspiration, you will motivated to work/play harder than just going through the motions. At this point you will probably gain some insight in your own playing. Please keep your head up and try to move forward, your musicianship will follow.

Actually, this could be a good thing for you in the long run. You'll have to learn to teach yourself, motivate yourself, and sometimes force yourself to play guitar. Teaching yourself to teach yourself can be as hard as actually learning to play guitar. I homeschool, and I was self taught for my first year on guitar so I've gotten fairly good at it. Although my guitar teacher did have a lot to teach me about practicing and I certainly wouldn't be near where I am now if not for him. So try and get those lessons back as soon as you can.

Here are some things that help me,

-Vary your practice. Practice as many things as you can. Playing scales and arpeggios for an hour and a half can drain the life out of you, but if you play them for twenty minutes, jam on a song you're writing, and then play them again for ten minutes you won't get as bored and you'll get more done. Learn songs by ear, learn new chords, write songs, learn entire songs all the way through, jam with backing tracks. Learning songs all the way through is something often neglected by guitarists, but it's one of the most rewarding things you can do.

-Find new bands and new songs when you don't feel like playing. It'll get you way more excited about the music you like when you find out where that music came from and who influenced who.

-Try to play things that you think are too hard for you. When I was self taught I played it very safe. I only stuck to things I knew I could play. Alternative, Punk, Surf, Ska, and I was scared to death to try to play something that would take a lot of work. My teacher was the one who started making me push myself harder and play things I thought I couldn't, and that's how you improve. It's very frustrating sometimes, so know when to stop and take a break from it.

-Youtube lessons. There are lessons on youtube for everything, any style you want, any level you want. Spend some time browsing youtube and learning licks and techniques from people. Some aren't that great, but one good lesson can do you a world of good. Don't listen to the people who tell you not to learn off the internet, the people who think that the only way to learn guitar is by listening to some dusty record and figuring everything out on your own. If you have a question, post it. We're all here to learn, and to help. Don't you think that if Hendrix had the internet, he'd use it? It's just another tool for expanding your knowledge of guitar, so take advantage of it.

By the way, if you're at all into blues check out the free lessons at http://www.steviesnacks.com/. They helped me a lot, and they're fun.

-Don't be afraid to take a little break. A day, a week, whatever. Hopefully you'll start missing it bad enough to want to play again. Just don't give up, because this is just a stage in your life that will pass.

"You have to stick with it. Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you'll want to give up on guitar. You'll hate guitar. But all of this is just part of learning, because if you stick with it, you're going to be rewarded."
-Jimi Hendrix

I don't know what's gotten into me lately with all of these insanely long posts.

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Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

Haha, yeah, my goal for the longest time was to get into a music college, preferably Berklee(whoo.... ) or Peabody. Now, I really just don't give a crap about anything.
....
Depression?

Oh, GOD no. Taking a break is like not finishing a race or something because my feet hurt. If I take a break, it's like giving up for me. I'm too afraid about what would happen to my skill....or whatever I have left of it.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Life throws walls up all the time and you have to knock them down. If good grades is what it takes to keep up your guitar then get good grades. You can't control many things in life but you can control your state of mind. I don't agree with being an eternal optimist but you can't dwell on what's happened already either. Take a day or a week, be pissed off and then rise above it. I've personally had some really bad times in my life and at one point I had a year or so when it all came tumbling down. It was one thing after another and I like everyone else I questioned everything from myself to my family and friends to the heavens themselves and I was all alone. Then for whatever reason I woke up one day and thought "well if no one else is going to help me then I've wasted enough time already so I'd better do this myself." A new attitude helped me slowly crawl out and become a way better person than I ever was when things were good. As horrible as that time was I absolutely cherish it now because I became me during that time. I'm not going to sit and try and tell you that everyone loves you and it will get better because we all know that's true but what you need to know is what to do right now. Right now you have to pick up that guitar and pull yourself out of this rut because you deserve to be happy. Once you take care of yourself then everything will fall into place. Once you get out of this rut and know your inner strength do you think that some tool at school or some teenage girl is going to be able to affect you? Not a chance bro. Sorry for the sermon and excuse me if I overstepped my bounds but I just want you to know that you will overcome this and you will be better for it.