Took a break to focus on university, now I suck.

[CaptainD00M]

I'm going to throw something right out there which may go against the grain:

I stopped playing guitar in 2010. All together except for playing Bass at a couple of functions. Sure I played some other instruments in there, percussion and some key instruments etc…

But I didn't touch a guitar for about 3.5 years.

In 2014 I came back to playing guitar and my hand was stiff and so on, and it took some time for me to get the basics back together. BUT after a few months of regular playing to get my dexterity back I found I could do everything I used to do and in a much more mature way. I would say that Im actually a better guitar player now than when I was before.

When I came back I couldn't physically do the things I used to, which is a given, its like anything physical it requires training. But intellectually everything was still in my head, so don't get down. You will remember it, you just might not be able to play it all yet.

Be a little kind to yourself, because if you don't keep positive you may loose all desire to play guitar which I think most people on this forum would agree would be more of a tragedy than suck playing.

PLus the other thing you might want to look at is what do you want to get out of your playing. Not everyone is going to be (or needs to be) [Insert Shred Lord Guitar player name here] you're playing should be at a level where you can express yourself musically in the way that you want, if thats your goal/meditation then its really just a matter of time before it becomes reality. If that makes sense.

Good luck man, keep positive and you will rip.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I've had a similar experience. I started playing when I was 17, and was lame and only wanting to shred like every other kid. I continued in college, and got pretty good doing the Vai marathon workouts and other stuff (grades suffered a bit!). But I also developed some bad habits. Then I got into the military and have had many, many gaps in playing, especially while deployed. I took a shred neck last time and it helped, but I was just to busy to make serious improvement. And the last couple of years have been more of the same. I get hot practicing for a couple months, or sometimes only a couple weeks, and then something comes up that pulls me away from it and I revert to bad chops.

But What I have done is correct a lot of the mechanical issues I had developed, and I play a lot slower now, use a metronome, and focus on clean technique instead of sloppy speed. I still am no where near where I should be, but the muscle memory makes things come back quicker every time. It's just about being disciplined and not trying to make it all up over too short a period of time. Hell I'm even getting sweeping down, which eluded me for years. Now that I'm pacing myself properly and using proper technique, learning full peices of music instead of just riffs and licks, I'm better than I was in college when I did gig. Wanting to record ideas is also motivation for doing things right. Also, I feel ashamed owning some pretty ridiculously spec'd guitars and not being a consistent and diverse player.

It'll take time but stick with it, stay organized (another big issue I used to have), and it'll come around.

 

[CaptainD00M]

MAJ I hear you on a lot of your points.

I also picked guitar up at 17 (some people said too late, I call shenanigans )

When I came back I was able to connect with sweeping a lot more and really fast alternate picking. I suspect it was less to do with practice and more to do with mindset, maturity plays a big part I've found in my new lease on guitar playing.

For me it's no longer about being fast, as I said its about being able to do the stuff I hear in my head.

Patience is a lot easer as you get older too

Ps: If you want MAJ, you can always give me some of your guitars or amps

 

[Rolanthas]

Now my finger is infected, guess I'm taking another break.

Oh damn, that sounds frustrating.

 

[ArtDecade]