Slump.

[BOOG]

Is it just me or is there something in the planetary alignment that is killing my motivation?

Seriously, all things music related, I am not finding much motivation to learn new material or work on improving known material.

Ah-well, I guess I’ll go practice scales or something…

Anyone else going through this?

 

[Oddly]

Often...and certainly more often during a hot summer, when it's just too damn hot to be sat indoors playing a bass.
If I'm not in a band, and/or we've nothing planned, it's tough to buckle down.
No harm in taking a break, though.
(Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway.)

 

[ronknor]

Same here, but I just figured I'm depressed.

 

[Michedelic]

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Depression leads to not playing. Not playing leads to depression. It's a loop!
Remember: Busy hands are happy hands!

 

[garp]

is there something in the planetary alignment that is killing my motivation?

No, but there's a pretty hefty asteroid coming to visit on Thursday...not much time left to master Geddy's part on "YYZ."

 

[mrcbass]

I get that way when none of my projects are challenging me. I also feel into a bit of that loop during covid madness.

I enjoy playing. I've found that my most rewarding rehearsal time is working up new songs. I'm typically a slave to whatever a project is doing and rarely just go learn songs because I want to. After being sick of my lack of desire, I did few things to get my blood pumping again during covid:
1. sometimes I'll just put on a streaming service and let it play (usually Pandora for me). I'll grab a channel and just try to play the songs the pop up. While I'm not really burning in new songs, I do usually decode them as I go and this in fact has actually helped when these songs come across a playlist. And I'll do this every once in a while even if I'm not in search of new songs to learn. It's just fun.
2. I decided to try to work on some basslines that I love from a band that doesn't get touched much by average cover bands. I've always loved Boston's bass lines, so I just started working through one of their albums trying to cop a decent feel of what he's doing. This was rewarding enough to keep me motivated until the next shiny ting popped in the cover band world.

And sometimes, just putting things down for a week or two is good. Find something else to do. Eventually, it'll feel fresh again.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I feel like I’m always in a slump.
I’m good enough to play what’s required of me, but what’s required of me maxed out with what I’m playing.

the dreams of high-level virtuosic playing have been tempered with the realization that I’d need to dedicate myself fully to achieve the next level. Realistically I just don’t feel inspired enough to do that in light of missing out on more time spend with my 4 year old.

so I’m learning to live in slump land.

 

[pepj]

A form of burn out is real. i dont think you can or should work through it

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Remember: Busy hands are happy hands!

There's a joke hiding in there, but I don't like beating around the bush so I'll just move along

 

[LBS-bass]

I enjoy learning new material and don't enjoy rehashing things I know very much. So I am generally in a slump unless there is a challenge to learn something new on my radar. Unfortunately this means I don't practice as much as I should.

I also echo the sentiment that depression can cause this. Hopefully that's not the case here but it's something to watch for.

 

[dalkowski]

Is it just me or is there something in the planetary alignment that is killing my motivation?

Seriously, all things music related, I am not finding much motivation to learn new material or work on improving known material.

Ah-well, I guess I’ll go practice scales or something…

Anyone else going through this?

Yep. Since Feb 2020. Waiting for the desire to return (having gigs would help). Biding my time here until it does.

 

[FilterFunk]

I do a lot of home studio recording, and as much as I love doing it, producing a good recording is hard, not to mention very time-consuming. There are times when I just can't get psyched up enough to get started, and I end up in a slump.

When that happens, I think of some kind of fun project to do. Recently, I finally finished a fun rap tune I conceived way back in the '80s. That got the creative juices flowing again; now I'm back into recording new stuff and remastering old recordings.

 

[Killing Floor]

Not sure about planets but the Aquarids meteor shower was lame this year. I even went out at 3am and only saw one.

So my advice is buy a weird pedal like a warbly delay or dirty envelope. Come to think of it that’s my go-to for every off day.

Also when I feel like my bass motivation is waning I pick up my guitar and it helps me think about the bass in a fresh way.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

There's a joke hiding in there, but I don't like beating around the bush so I'll just move along

There's a joke hiding in there, but I don't like beating around the bush so I'll just move along

 

[Spidey2112]

Anyone else going through this?

No, but I have noticed some unusual cicada looking creatures on the east coast, lately... smaller than the ones back home, darkish on top, with bright red and white marks under their wings.

They're everywhere.

Found it... spotted lanternfly, or Mothman's illegitimate offspring.

 

[rickwebb]

There's a lot of that going around. I was talking to a drummer friend of mine recently and he said he's feeling unmotivated at this time.

I, on the other hand am actually considering a side project.

 

[BAG]

I enjoy playing. I've found that my most rewarding rehearsal time is working up new songs. I'm typically a slave to whatever a project is doing and rarely just go learn songs because I want to.

Sounds very much like me. I really like learning new songs for projects.
Over the last few years since I got my own detached studio I would play at least an hour every day, more often than not it would be closer to two hours.
In April I got Covid and it knocked me around pretty hard and I didn't feel like playing much. Since then each of us in the band has either been away, had covid or had work commitments and our weekly jam has been lucky to be once a month. There's been little in the way of learning new songs and so I've found myself preferring to race motorbikes on the PC/big screen setup in the studio than play bass.

Recently I picked up a cheap beater bass simply to try out a pickup I had laying around. That didn't work out but since then I've been learning more about rattle can spray painting and am actually enjoying the tinkering side. One upside has been that each time I've had that bass back together it's encouraged me to play it, and then pick up other basses for a play. Another upside is that that cheap bass actually has a pretty decent neck so rather than flip it i'll be hanging onto it an tinkering more in the future. I'll still have days where I don't pick up a bass, but they are less than they were, and i'm learning new skills.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Is it just me or is there something in the planetary alignment that is killing my motivation?

Seriously, all things music related, I am not finding much motivation to learn new material or work on improving known material.

Ah-well, I guess I’ll go practice scales or something…

Anyone else going through this?

I've been a musician/player since the 1960s. There have been times where I just put it away. What I find is with some time off, resumption usually results in more focus and better results.

If you are stagnant, find some other players to work with. Over the years I've managed to be playing with other players for most of my life. That in itself keep me motivated. My competitive nature takes over.

However if you are in a situation where having other players to work with is impossible or not practical, there are some online activities where you can hook up with 20,000 some other players.

 

[Kevin Hailey]

An ounce of discipline is worth a ton of motivation