Longest guitar break? Help me.

[RobB]

1 hour ago, LucSulla said:

God, I hate playing that song. But I like money. 

Am I a whore?

I was going to say, “mercenary”, but that’s not it. Mercenaries get paid to fight other people’s battles. Whores fight their hatred of their Johns (or, in your case, “Freebird”) to get paid. 

So, yeah, “whore”, it is!

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2024 by RobB

[Biz Prof]

6 hours ago, LucSulla said:

...spend the rest of the time seeing where you can wedge in diminished scales or shit like phrygian dominant scales, often to horrifying effect.

At this point in my playing life, I would find that infinitely more interesting than what's on the original record. 

[Biz Prof]

6 hours ago, LucSulla said:

Am I a whore?

Yes, you are. We all are to some degree if we play covers in bars.

[Biz Prof]

6 hours ago, LucSulla said:

God, I hate playing that song. But I like money

Ironically, I really don't mind the first part of the song--the verses and chorus. Playing slide cleanly can be a fun challenge.  It's the interminable, repetitive nature of the solo I've come to despise.

[cynic]

With some increasing physical limitations I was ready to walk away, and I mostly did for a time but for the last several years I'm playing more than I did in the preceding twenty.  The seed was kinda planted by the @Dasein project to cover Stairway to Heaven (I think it was Stairway but I can't find it now).  Whatever the song was, his goal was to nail every single note, and he achieved it in spades.  It was really something.

I knew I didn't have the chops to do what he did but it led me down a path of thinking I'd arrange covers of songs I'd always liked with an eye towards straying as far from the original as pleased me.  Between my diminishing abilities and my fumbling through figuring out some basic functions in recording software it's been frustrating at times but I've enjoyed learning a little about that side of things while also reframing an interest I'd basically lost.

Edited to add: Found it!  Here's a link to The Stairway Project site by Dasein, and here is the HFC thread.

Edited July 17, 2024 by cynic

[burningyen]

I've never taken a break from guitar longer than month or so since I bought my 1st back in '89. But if it makes you feel any better, I did take a 25-year break from violin. Picked it back up a few years ago for my Radiohead tribute band. You think missing things on guitar sounds bad....?

[Dasein]

Thanks @cynic for remembering the cover. I'm mid way through my 3rd Zeppelin project for project Stairway (Kashmir)... it's still in play, but I've put it on the back burner for a bit.

My own break from playing came in the early 90's when I had to walk away from a music career mid-stream (while in University as a Classical Guitar & Vocal performance major) after suffering nerve damage to my hands (really bad in my left) after a car accident and some surgeries. I dipped my toes in and out through the 90's only to hit the limitations of my injuries every time - a very depressing thing.

My real break though came after the collapse of my first marriage - I not only had to take a break from my guitar, but also music itself (from about 1997-2012). Listening to music was just too painful and unpredictably powerful emotionally for me and was too dangerous. I was not in a good place at all and I knew I had to keep that door closed.

But it was really my participation here - and you guys - who inspired me to play again. I still have physical limitations, and I am not the professional I used to be - but I love playing and being creative - and recording opened up a whole new world of possibilities which I'm still exploring. I'm even playing with a Dad band.

 

[Biz Prof]

13 minutes ago, Dasein said:

Thanks @cynic for remembering the cover. I'm mid way through my 3rd Zeppelin project for project Stairway (Kashmir)... it's still in play, but I've put it on the back burner for a bit.

My own break from playing came in the early 90's when I had to walk away from a music career mid-stream (while in University as a Classical Guitar & Vocal performance major) after suffering nerve damage to my hands (really bad in my left) after a car accident and some surgeries. I dipped my toes in and out through the 90's only to hit the limitations of my injuries every time - a very depressing thing.

My real break though came after the collapse of my first marriage - I not only had to take a break from my guitar, but also music itself (from about 1997-2012). Listening to music was just too painful and unpredictably powerful emotionally for me and was too dangerous. I was not in a good place at all and I knew I had to keep that door closed.

But it was really my participation here - and you guys - who inspired me to play again. I still have physical limitations, and I am not the professional I used to be - but I love playing and being creative - and recording opened up a whole new world of possibilities which I'm still exploring. I'm even playing with a Dad band.

 

That's a sobering, profound account. Kudos for making it through the personal struggles and injuries to return to making music.

Of course, the most important question is:  Is your Boogie road case still "Peavey Powered"? 

[Dasein]

29 minutes ago, Biz Prof said:

Of course, the most important question is:  Is your Boogie road case still "Peavey Powered"? 

lol - indeed it is. The greatest anti-theft protective measure I've ever taken!!!!

[crunchee]

Saw Bikini Kill on Late Night With Steven Colbert a couple of nights ago.  Straightforward, unadorned Rawk.  Basic stage setup.  I liked it a lot.  I want more of that!  I wonder if overthinking things is the greatest impediment to getting anywhere?  Sgt. Pepper's already been done, maybe the answer is in not reinventing the wheel?  

 

Edited July 17, 2024 by crunchee

[RobB]

2 hours ago, burningyen said:

But if it makes you feel any better, I did take a 25-year break from violin.

It does. 

[Disturber]

When I started in the music biz in 93 I stopped playing guitar, pretty much. In 2002 I had the flu, down for over a week. That damn Hamer Centaura that I kept all these years, more like interior decor than anything else, started eye balling me. As I was bored so I picked it up and started playing. I sucked. Fingers did not do what I wanted them to do. But I was to bored to care so I kept at it, every day for the coming months. When my wife was out I would put on a good record on the stereo and jam to it (I am sure the neighours loved it). That is how I got back in to the game, jaming to records. The good thing was I could not hear myself as good as if I was playing on my own. I could find some notes that worked in a song, or try to learn a riff or parts of the song. Or I would just jam without a clue to what I was doing. I just tried to have fun. After a couple of weeks and months I had worked up the muscles in my left hand again to the point that it felt like it used to. From there I kept on going. 

So my advice, just try to have fun. Don't let it be a pressure. @murkat wrote "paint". That is my advice too. But put on a good album, and paint notes with your hands to the music you hear. No pressure, just feel the music. Ad notes, phrases and things that come in to your mind. It can be anything that goes with what you hear. Let it be easy and don't force it. Just use your hands, paint notes and build up your hand motor skills again.

WAIT with going to a guitar teacher, you are not ready, as you don't feel comfortable about it yet. Just play for some time without feeling the need to achieve anything more than joy. It's a hobby. Then when you feel that you have built up the "guitar hands" again, that is when you go to the guitar teacher. You will feel wonerable and stupid when you go there anyway - trust me, I went to my first guitar teaching class for electric guitar two years ago. To a player that is super skilled and a grammy nominated rock producer. But he is great. We talked music, we played, he gave me compliments for what I could do and gave me advice on the things I need to get better at. After a couple of lessons I did not feel dumb for not nailing what he showed me on the first try. It is called lessons for a reason, you go home with what he shows you and you practice at it.

But remember: playing music should be fun. My x-wife started playing drums two years ago. She even started playing indie music with some friends. She bangs one drum, it sounds like The Cramps early days (actually worse), but she has fun. That is what it is about. You are doing this for you, no one else.

[Brooks]

On 7/17/2024 at 8:27 AM, Biz Prof said:

Ironically, I really don't mind the first part of the song--the verses and chorus. Playing slide cleanly can be a fun challenge.  It's the interminable, repetitive nature of the solo I've come to despise.

I was gonna post the same thing. The 1st half is beautiful, soulful, timeless. The outro solo is mediocre and waaaay too long.

[LucSulla]

On 7/20/2024 at 12:05 PM, Brooks said:

I was gonna post the same thing. The 1st half is beautiful, soulful, timeless. The outro solo is mediocre and waaaay too long.

I'll add a third vote for this take. 

Edited July 21, 2024 by LucSulla

[cmatthes]

Fourth, here!