It's so f-ing hard to come back after 15 years!

NickInMesa · #1 02-02-2009, 10:57 PM

Yes, I made it. One month. I swore to myself I would play for one month every day at least one hour, if not two.

So far so good, the left hand is in pain and I may take one day break.

I have been doing all sorts of exercises and learning a few tabs for the fun of it.

It's starting to come back but slooowly.

I have to fight keep the rhythm while fighting a cramp after an hour. When you start falling behind, then you have to stop for a while.

Ok, another month. I promised to myself if I keep it up for 6 months, I will look for a band.

I need to be sure I can follow the rhythm and find my key (or my keys, whichever).

An-other-month...

Kuchar · #2 02-02-2009, 11:00 PM

Don't strain yourself too hard, that could cause future problems. It will come back in time.

Surprise Panda! · #3 02-02-2009, 11:01 PM

+1 you accomplish nothing unless you are relaxed and want to do it. You gain nothing from strain.

NickInMesa · #4 02-02-2009, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprise Panda!

+1 you accomplish nothing unless you are relaxed and want to do it. You gain nothing from strain.

I know, I take breaks, I relax, but sometimes I try to force it and all I do is frustrate myself and I fall behind and then sound like crap.

That's what so aggravating. I know I can do it, just the fretting hand is having a hard time.

I am making progress, though. I start improvising some good lines on the beat box, I have to start improvising over loops.

Learning tabs may be a bit too soon.

Surprise Panda! · #5 02-02-2009, 11:10 PM

Playing with other people is also a great tool.

NickInMesa · #6 02-02-2009, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprise Panda!

Playing with other people is also a great tool.

Yes, but I suck.

Surprise Panda! · #7 02-02-2009, 11:13 PM

Find other people that suck (right word?), you can learn off of each other.

My name is Mudd · #8 02-02-2009, 11:31 PM

OK, this is weird...replace NickInMesa's 15 years off with my almost-20 years off and this is me, except my hands don't hurt. I started playing again just after Thanksgiving, and bought myself a new Schecter and an Acoustic B20 for Christmas. My timing sucks, my fingering sucks more, and I'm having way too much fun being frustrated with my progress.

Dfinch · #9 02-03-2009, 12:08 AM

Same here. I took 18 years off.

I've been keeping it fun and taking it slow. Progress comes in bursts. I don't sweat the plateaus. I play when I want, and since taking that approach my practice time has greatly increased compared to trying to stick to a schedule.

Stumbo · #10 02-03-2009, 01:05 AM

IME, I wouldn't keep playing with pain. Better to play short stints multiple times per day to build up stamina otherwise you'll end up with some muscle/tendon problems.

If you're dedicated to playing again, you have the rest of your life to improve.
Keep on keepin' on. Just take it a bit more slowly.

Good luck.

Jake of Bass · #11 02-03-2009, 04:08 AM

You're actually in a good position to do this little exercise, especially because your progress is actually going to be quite rapid.

Just record yourself playing at one month intervals. Choose something similar or the same, as well as some new stuff. At the end of the next recording, listen back to the previous one. It's a great way to get an idea of how far you've come and in the past has been a great motivational tool for me. At 6 months you'll notice huge improvements, way more than you'd realise.