For now, just play. There's something about simply spending one on one time with a well tuned guitar. Start with new strings on the guitar. New strings always sound good. Tune up, strum a chord, and just listen to the beauty of the sound... the chords.... the notes.... the resonance of the guitar..... it's not hard to fall back in love with that once you have known it and loved it in the past. I think the biggest thing is fear and the high expectations we put on ourselves. Forget all that... fall in love again. Just play. Enjoy the moment, the sound, the feeling, the smell of the guitar, the beauty of the music.

Don't worry about the DAW or writing or recording.... just play the guitar. As you play, you will naturally want to write, and once you have written, then turn on the DAW to record. But for now.... just play. Just play.


Make a post-it note that says NO GAMES and put it on the monitor. Then abide by it.

Play games on any other computer but not the DAW.

The DAW computer is for music that you listen to, write, and record.



Once you get some inspiration and are ready to get to work....Here's how I do things when it comes to getting ideas and playing music.

I grab my acoustic guitar... tune it up, and open Band In A Box. I open a new project and select a style.... and a key other than the default "C". Sometimes I do keep the same key. Vary the style and the tempo and the key as needed.

I simply hit PLAY and start strumming. Normally something hits me and I start entering the chords as I hear them in my head. At the very least, this is a fun exercise in getting a new idea out.... and sometimes it goes nowhere and I delete it. Quite often I will start over again and go in a different direction. When things come together the right way, not only do the music and chords come easily, but something will trigger an idea and the words flow as well, and I have the makings of a new song.

This is the "waiting on a magic moment of inspiration" method.

More often than not, I will write with intention. This is where I am working actively on something that has occurred to me previously and I'm now making it happen. I write most of my music in this way.

I find, that when I have "been away" from music for a time..... to recharge my batteries or just because I was in a rut and bored with it, when I do come back to play, I have lots of new and exciting ideas and a real desire to hear the beauty of the music and the instruments.

Just writing this to you has made me realize that I need to change the strings on my Taylor acoustic today. So very likely, once I get that done, I will have a "love fest" with the Taylor and who knows what will come of that joyous moment.

Force yourself to pick up the guitar and in short order it will not be a forced situation.

But for now.... Just play.



EDIT:
Quote:
I remarried two years ago and am in a loving, supportive relationship. (Some of you may recall that she was a tenor saxophonist.)
and yes, there is a LOT to be said for finding someone else, a musician, who wants to play, and have a very informal jam session.




Last edited by Guitarhacker; 11/12/15 03:27 AM.
You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.