most great music comes out of 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.....don't sweat it, bet you'll pick that sexy piece of wood up sometime in the next 24 hours and realize how good it feels in your hands. nuff said!

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

Another one that totally slipped my mind when I originally responded is SRV's performance of "Tightrope" at Austin City Limits - the passion he puts into playing that song at that time just blows me away!! Im gonna watch it right now!!

Watching great guitarists play is what inspres me,and I usually get past the feeling of being stuck.
I watched Jack Pearson play incredible music for several hours and he seemed to never play the same riff or lick twice,I asked him later if he ever got to a place where he felt like he was stuck and he said "yeah man!",I was surprised,I guess I felt like somebody of his ability never felt that way.
So I'm sure it's a normal thing for guitarists of all degrees of talent and experience.

There can be many reasons why some of us may loose inspiration and interest in playing.I lost interest for 4 or 5 years at one time due to being affected by excrutiating chronic pain but 1 month in Chedoke Chronic Pain Centre in Hamilton,ON,Canada took care of that.A lot of people just get into a rut due to boredom largely from playing the same thing.The best thing to do in a case like this is to listen and play genres far removed from what you usually play but have always interested you.Take a stab at chicken pickin' country style for instance of some jazz fusion like that of Robert Fripp and John McLaughlin or even classical such as John Williams,Andres Segovia and Eliot Fisk.You can even put the guitar down and not touch it at all for a few days but still continue to expose yourself to other types of music.Give a good objective listen to what others can do and that should pretty well inspire you to play more.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I rarely lose inspiration. This is in part from playing a variety of guitars from classical to metal. A complete change of course from Latin to Hendrix or whatever usually recharges the creative juices.

I also like to have my gear around me ...guitars...effect pedals, etc. Everything within easy reach. I've never kept guitars in cases or pedals in the closet, etc. If I can plug in a jack or turn a knob, then I'm more likely to use them and 'keep on going'. Guitars are all stringed and ready to go.

When the creative juices start to dry up I go to YouTube and put in something like 'Bossanova guitar lesson'..or 'Piedmont blues lesson'...etc. a whole bunch of 'stuff' appears for me to try my hand at.

I never actually practice but just noodle and play. If it's not fun, I don't do it. I enjoy the challenge of a difficult piece but after a half hour or so that's it for me and I move on to something else. I might or might pick it up again. I've found over the years that dabbling is my style and greatly expands the arsenal of guitar skills. the first few years of playing, learning a song was a bit like homework. Over the decades since it is more creating a collage of riffs, techniques, etc. to bring out the feel of a song.

sounds pretty normal, no problem it happens to all guitarists. I'm guessing that just by expressing those feelings you've come back to wanting to play. All of the suggestions so far are good ones. Pick up that Strat and rock on Bro!

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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.

sure. and when i do, i learn a new chord,a nd try to incorporate it with what i allready know. amazing, sometimes what pops up, and i'm off to the races again!

Well after a day at my best friends house, I come back sooo ready to play again

Last night i watched some Sungha Jung videos and that got me jealous of his skills so again I picked up my guitar and rocked out some Yesterday fingerstlye. Thanks for all the advice guys!

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"I'll get up there and do my guitar solos in one of those space outfits." ~ Ace Frehley
My YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/fenderflamestrat?

There's always something new to do outside of your regular schedule or jam. I lose inspiration all the time, but you just gotta keep truckin and do like regular. If you seriously lose inspiration look up some good ole blues artists and try to figure out the licks or learn a few cool riffs to songs you dont already know. Pick up a slide and mess around, play fun stuff like Satisfaction or Highway to Hell. If you have some kind of modeling pedal or amp, play around with effects.

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Sometimes using jam tracks can get you out of a rut. Everytime I play along with one I find it takes me to places on the fretboard I wouldn't have gone on my own. Pretty cool actually.

I practice all these scales but my mind just can't seem to wrap around the idea of picking the notes out to make a "phrase"

That's the constant plateau I live on.

all the time. i write a song about it.

i notice i play a bunch of songs for a couple of months and i get bored of em, start writting new types of songs, never touch the previous phase again. hopefully that doesn't happen again. right now i'm taking a break from writting, and learning some pearl jam songs

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riley

i can't really say i do. The way I usually practice is get the main riffs and stuff down then I make up my own solo, after all that's the point of playing guitar. Of course one would get tired of playing the same stuff over and over! Keep it interesting and fun and make up your cool solos, doesn't have to be insane, just make sure you're in the right key

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I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk...

i find that if i impro all over the neck it sounds like a wall of noise....awesome. i think that ways alot better

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riley

I know exactly what you mean.

what i do is flick through the countless effects on my ME-25(multi effects), and try and play in the style that best suits each effect. It gets me out of that annoying rut

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"reach for the sky and aim for the moon, for if you miss you will end up among the stars"

Zoom MS50G
72 tele dlx RI
2011 standard strat
Blackstar HT-5R
Taylor Big Baby

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