The Steel Guitar Forum

Ever suddenly reached a point, after months of intense practicing, where you feel completely empty and don't want to sit down with the steel at all? Well, I have...

Spent 3-5 hours almost every day with the 8-string (often after teaching guitar students for 5 hours), exploring various tunings and practicing technique (plus having general fun with it) for 2-3 months, and really felt I was "getting somewhere",- didn't know exactly where I was getting but at least I felt I was developing and I sure was enjoying the ride..

Then I had to take a break because of a 2-week tour playing late 60s power trio stuff at schools - the "History Of Rock" is part of the curriculum for 8-10th graders, how cool is that?
So anyway... when I returned I intended to pick up the steel where I'd left it, and the strangest thing happened,- all the stuff I had worked on left me completely cold and I just sat there going "Duh.... what am I doing this for?"
Been a couple of weeks now and I still can't play the lap steel for more than a few minutes before I put it away and pick up my Strat or Tele instead...

Now I've always meant that the music is more important than the instrument, and am perfectly happy hitting a tambourine if that's what it takes to make the music sound good, so it's not the end of the world or anything, but it does worry me.

Seems to me like I've hit a wall, probably because of "practice overdose", what would you guys recommend? Simply "ride the wave" and wait for the interest to return, or 'discipline' myself to go back to my regular lap steel workouts?

Steinar, the stuff you worked on is all in there already, but if you do not incorporate it into your routine, it tends to find some vacant area of your brain to reside in. Being that you were taken away by other duties, the guitar stuff took the priority spot in your cerebrum. I think that is quite normal. You can see how you are at the point where you are compartmentalizing your steel guitar and regular guitar approaches and that is a good thing. It means that you are at a point where you are seeing the instrument in a different way--there's a breakthrough coming, I promise.

I find that one of the helpful things to get past these times is to keep notes of things you worked on, even using some tab or notation, and making sure to make it a point to exploit that stuff at every playing opportunity.

I feel very fortunate at this time that I am now merging my steel playing and guitar playing approaches. I would not have been able to do so if I hadn't put in all the time that I have learning to play steel guitar. Hopefully, I'll be able to take my steel playing to new places that I haven't heard before--that's the goal.

Steinar, you feel the same way when you pick up your Asher or Oahu and play with dirt pedals ?

Mike Neer wrote:keep notes of things you worked on

I even need to record some things so the notes make sense when I get back into it. But short layoffs can really help, sometimes the stuff you were struggling with flows out effortlessly upon your return. Everybody goes thru these things unless they're severely driven and able to consistantly ignore such intrusions.

I'd say, "Follow Your Muse". If she's leading you to standard guitar right now (as mine is), who are you to argue? There are larger things afoot here...

Steinar, I changed over from pedal steel to the lap steel because of some physical reasons with my left leg and I know what you are going through. I am retired and was playing about the same hours at it as you were. I remember I was having a problem with a slant on a song I was working on and just couldn't get or find what I wanted it to sound like. I woke up for some reason at around 2 am one night and it hit me like a rock had hit me in my head. I got up, put a pot of coffee on and went to the bar slant right away. I guess I was just trying to cram so much in at one time it was like hitting a brick wall. Then there are days I just practice for about an hour and put it down for a while. I am not a pro at it but it sure keeps the spiderwebs very active in my brain.
Hang in there and just do what makes you the happiest. Try not to give up on it but it looks like your plate is pretty full if you are teaching also.
I haven't disciplined my practice time but just worked on some slants and timing then got up and did something else for a short time.
We are here for support and encouragement if you need it and look forward to hearing how you are doing and which way you went with it. "GO FOR IT" has allways been my attitude toward anything I try to do.
Later
Larry

Do not undervalue the simplistic support of a fine ale in times like these;-) Find some humor in what you do (or can't do now) and whatever comes out on the other side enjoy! You are a player and a musician that any of us mortals could only dream to be. Play what YOU enjoy, laugh at the irony of it all. Be humble.

Eric

Keep listening to really great steel guitar music while riding the wave out, and it will all come back!
Surfs up.

Clete

Playing/practicing steel is no different than being involved in sports. Yes, you most assuredly can overtrain and/or burn-out.

You can either cross-train.....like what you are doing on regular guitar or just stop and give yourself a couple week break from playing music. Some time away can be good for the mind and soul.

Thanks all,- I'll get back with some thoughts after I've finished with my students tonight..

Hey Steinar, been a while. Months of intense practicing on the 8 string and you're teaching as well ? Sounds like your mind is saying take a brake. Seriously teaching any subject will take a toll on the strongest of us. Take as much of a break as your life will allow. Your fire will burn again.

Hey buddy, just thought id pipe in, i find whatever musical discipline im doing I worry that the others I love are not getting my attention, for me things happen in cycles and the wheel is always turning, if its not happening right now the worst thing you can do is allow it to bug you and 'cloud' other events in your life. Think nice things, like when we played together, its all there buddy you just have to wait for that particular spoke on the wheel to come around again and it will , you know that. The perfectionist in you can be a hard cross to bear some times but it makes you the great player you are, regards Kev

I once attended one of Joe Wright's seminars. He said that he'll practice constantly(I forget how many hours a day) for 2 weeks, and then not touch a guitar for 2 weeks.

John Neff wrote:I once attended one of Joe Wright's seminars. He said that he'll practice constantly(I forget how many hours a day) for 2 weeks, and then not touch a guitar for 2 weeks.

Seems fair to me.

Binge-Practicing.

I've written so many blog posts about this same thing because I've been through it. I almost quit playing entirely. I forced myself to go forward because I know what kind of procrastinator I can be. Another big part of it is because I am proficient on the guitar and I expected to be able to play at a certain level on the steel and when that wasn't happening as quickly as I wanted, it became an albatross to me.

I don't believe you should take time off--I think you continue to move forward. You may end up doing a lot of things that you never intended to do in the first place (stylistically) and, ultimately, you may end up playing the way you've been playing up to now (which is not too shabby), but you will be a much greater player with a deeper understanding of the instrument and its possibilities.

i think its a lot easier to "fry" your brain on this stuff than you can imagine, what i mean is you already can play instrument A very well and so you dive into instrument B which is new and you have to separate the two in your head like mike says.

its interesting, i bet you know a few languages - i heard a NPR piece about bi-lingual kids and how the brain can and does separate language, often 2-3 - but it takes years to differenciate that and its usually done starting at a young age so it becomes natural.

i had this SAME thing happen to me a few months ago after really putting a lot into the C6 tuning - i had a gig and picked up my long neglected guitar and within a few days i went back to the steel and there was NOTHING happening - i know what you're talking about. what i did was just go to another tuning (e13) for a break and start over again with that and some of the "steelisms" started to come back.

I studied trombone in college. Have walked away numerous times, sometimes for 2-3 years, and come back to it with little difficulty. I think it is healthy to drop an instrument for a while when you get your fill of it. Of course, I have never made my living with music so that might change my outlook.

A big thank you to everybody who's taken the time to reply, lots of interesting comments here!

So, I've done a bit of playing and 'soul searching', and come to the conclusion that what I need to do is to stop thinking for a while and simply have fun with the steel,- dig out my favorite CDs and LPs and play along, allowing the subconsciousness(?) to digest what I've learned these past months. My technique has improved a lot, especially my picking technique, and I've become much more "harmonically aware" - something that's also 'leaked' over to my guitar playing.

This is not the first time I've reached a point like this, but the difference now was the level of almost aggression I felt towards the instrument. That was new to me, and a bit scary...
While I don't make my living playing the steel, it's the guitar that puts the bread on the table, the response I have received for my playing - especially the reviews my latest CD received in places like Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar - tells me that whatever 'artistic' future I might have, the steel is an integral part of it. I'm a technically much better guitar player, but more unique as a steel player. So hitting the wall like this has been extremely frustrating, even frightening, and sad..

So I'll spend some "quality time" simply wailing away and try to rediscover what made me start playing steel in the first place, and hopefully something good will come from it.

Thanks again all, for allowing me to air my frustrations, and taking the time to comment.

It will be summer soon, Steinar, and then it will all make sense.

Steinar Gregertsen wrote:... what I need to do is to stop thinking for a while and simply have fun with the steel,- dig out my favorite CDs and LPs and play along, allowing the subconsciousness(?) to digest what I've learned these past months.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest. You have to let some fresh air into the woodshed once in a while...

-- Mark

I have a pocket trumpet and a fiddle that I play terribly.
I practice those for a while, till Im sure I will never play either proficiently.
Then I move on to steel guitar which I can play just a little better.
My guitar now just sits there in the corner and laughs at me frequently.
Then again, it might be gently weeping.

Clete

Maybe it's just a part of our individual make-up. I usually play my steel guitars a little every day, but not always, since it also depends on the mood I'm in.
I've found that if I just stay away for a few days, it works good and playing sounds good. Don't have a clue why that is.....

We can get burned out from anything if we're at it all the time. Just like working on airplanes 24/7 for 40+ years....need a break sometimes...

So you're getting bored with your old intimate and accustomed partners? It's not fun anymore? Ever thought about having an affair? Why not get something started with cheap little ukulele, a charango, a tres cubano or any kind of exotic stringed instrument? Maybe even a banjo will do!
And see what happens the day you'll get back to your lap steels...

"Play to express, not to impress"

I think your back to having some fun plan will bring the wheel back around ... its just a bump in the road. There will be plenty of time later to work on your 8 string chops.