Ever just feel lost?

[Faith Nicole]

NM

now I'm curious .....

Not lost, just done.

You're always welcome to come up to Melbourne and jam with us geezers.

I love to jam, not much locally that I'm interested in. I'm assuming Melbourne, FL? ~3.5hr drive .. how is the overnight accommodations? hee

Q: Ever just feel lost?

A: Always. 24/7/12/365.

oh, that leaves the leap year rollover to look forward to. One day to feel everything come together before all all goes to .. um .. falls apart.

Ok, something to think about:

As much as you love reading, you never have to practice reading lol, right? I think your "lost" feeling might partly be a subconscious desire to feel the same ease when playing music as you enjoy when reading.

But your conscious mind knows the difference -- the obvious singular vs plural nature of both, and the way each activity rewards you emotionally.

Maybe a thing to try would be going back to playing something by yourself ---just like reading--- that is musically on par with a YA novel... something you don't have to practice, something you can play for pure joy!

As much as you enjoy playing with the band, you really should enjoy playing by yourself too (not just practicing). I play guitar 99% of the time, but when I pretend to play bass even just jamming on something like that riff in the Doors "Don't You Love Her Madly" makes me smile.

No matter my scatter-shooting, I'm genuinely hoping your lost feeling turns to easy-peasy soon!

Well, despite objections by my bandmates, I am not a grand/great bass player. I'm solid and simple. Yes, I tend to feel inadequate while around them. Some of the songs on our to-do list have bass patterns outside my comfort zone. Any with bass-centric intros or rely heavily on bass overall scare the bejeebies out of me and give me anxiety.

I have a "Bass Players United" t-shirt that sums me up: "World's Okayest Bassist". Keyboard player gets mad at me whenever I wear it. (during setup, I change for the show)

 

[Stormy Monday]

I love to jam, not much locally that I'm interested in. I'm assuming Melbourne, FL? ~3.5hr drive .. how is the overnight accommodations? hee

Melbourne is about 3.5 hours away. The couch in the music room might be available if the missus approves. Otherwise hotels beach side or on I95.

 

[Faith Nicole]

Melbourne is about 3.5 hours away. The couch in the music room might be available if the missus approves. Otherwise hotels beach side or on I95.

I appreciate the invite, the follow-through may not be feasible. I work M-F and have gigs most every weekend. busy busy busy. And we wouldn't want the missus to be giving you side-looks. I may be 'safe' but misconceptions are best avoided.

 

[Scott Baxendale]

It sounds like low level depression. I spend weeks just looking at my guitar thinking I should pick it up, but don’t. However, if I force myself to play something everyday then the depression eventually subsides and I can get back into it.

 

[Stormy Monday]

I appreciate the invite, the follow-through may not be feasible. I work M-F and have gigs most every weekend. busy busy busy. And we wouldn't want the missus to be giving you side-looks. I may be 'safe' but misconceptions are best avoided.

I'm an old fart. I don't get side looks.....

 

[Faith Nicole]

I'm an old fart. I don't get side looks.....

strange, I consider myself an old-fart and I get side-looks all the time

 

[Faith Nicole]

It sounds like low level depression. I spend weeks just looking at my guitar thinking I should pick it up, but don’t. However, if I force myself to play something everyday then the depression eventually subsides and I can get back into it.

no disagreement there, I definitely suffer from the depression angle.

 

[Willmunny]

Too many people treat practice like a marathon. That makes for a lousy practice/study session.

It isn't. Do fifteen minutes of focused study.

Read this thread. And be good to yourself. You deserve it.

Food for thought...

On Learning Music By Howard Roberts If you are like most people, you are either self-taught or you learned how to play a musical instrument in the public schools. If so, then be aware that you may have been programmed to learn in an inefficient and largely unrewarding way. As a result, many...

www.strat-talk.com

Thanks for sharing, sometimes there is a plus to staying out of the cornfield
Peace

 

[telepraise]

I've been thinking, what I can, that it's likely not music related. More like mentally overwhelmed so I escape into a book instead. It is frustrating though

I'm glad the forum was able to help you nail it down. The last few years have put a lot of us into similar spaces. If you're feeling mentally overwhelmed you really should talk to a mental health professional. Can you afford a counselor? Heck, some of the counselors I know have their own counselor- it's nothing to be ashamed of.

If you can't swing professional help, there are plenty of arm chair psychos here that are willing to listen.

Best to you Faith- you're not in the bay area per chance?

PS- forgot to mention that exercise was my saving grace when my career was affecting my mental well being. And as for "escaping into a book", I do that for 1-2 hours every day (I'm retired), there are a lot worse things you can do to your body/mind.

Last thought, do you have recordings of the new material to play along with? That should make it more enjoyable.

 

[Faith Nicole]

I'm glad the forum was able to help you nail it down. The last few years have put a lot of us into similar spaces. If you're feeling mentally overwhelmed you really should talk to a mental health professional. Can you afford a counselor? Heck, some of the counselors I know have their own counselor- it's nothing to be ashamed of.

If you can swing professional help, there are plenty of arm chair psychos here that are willing to listen.

Best to you Faith- you're not in the bay area per chance?

I prefer the comradery of forum compatriots <<-- oo, big words. No one knows a psycho better than other psychos.

Not in the Bay area, SW, just north of Fort Myers. Not that far really, all things considered

 

[telepraise]

now I'm curious .....

I love to jam, not much locally that I'm interested in. I'm assuming Melbourne, FL? ~3.5hr drive .. how is the overnight accommodations? hee

oh, that leaves the leap year rollover to look forward to. One day to feel everything come together before all all goes to .. um .. falls apart.

Well, despite objections by my bandmates, I am not a grand/great bass player. I'm solid and simple. Yes, I tend to feel inadequate while around them. Some of the songs on our to-do list have bass patterns outside my comfort zone. Any with bass-centric intros or rely heavily on bass overall scare the bejeebies out of me and give me anxiety.

I have a "Bass Players United" t-shirt that sums me up: "World's Okayest Bassist". Keyboard player gets mad at me whenever I wear it. (during setup, I change for the show)

Your bandmates think better of your playing than you do. I can relate. I've recently taken up swing dance and constantly get paired up with dancers that are way out of my league. Invariably, the very best dancers have all told me the same thing: "You've got the feel for it, you just have to get out there and dance".
"Easy for you to say", is what goes through my head.

For those new frontier pieces (like dance for me) an obvious strategy is to take lessons. If there's not a good bass teacher around you, you probably can find some good tutorials on technique on YouTube.

You can do this. It sounds like you're with some good guys.

 

[circles]

OP: Yes.

 

[Faith Nicole]

OP: Yes.

sad now I feel bad for both of us

 

[circles]

sad now I feel bad for both of us

I suppose we all go through phases.

 

[Exhead]

Have not felt that way in a long time but I do know it subsides and a new day dawns.

 

[rolandson]

wtf am I doing

I said it earlier...
The space you currently find yourself in is not unfamiliar to most everyone in the creative arts.

Bankers and surgeons experience the "mid-life crisis" perhaps once or twice...artists hit the trifecta! We get to experience them with a "greater" frequency.

Many of us eventually discover that they can actually be useful. Direction changes and rededication to one's craft often manifest in these "periods of reflection".

And always, there comes the time when one's head snaps up and eyes pop wide, and the realization that this "thing" that had been crushing them has been gone for quite awhile.

Hang in there, this is but temporary.

 

[AncientAx]

 

[Slacker G]

I quit playing for over 25 years. After I left playing in bands I didn't pick up my guitar even at home. Then a friend tricked me into playing again. I am happy that he did.
After all that time people I knew had no idea that I played guitar until I picked one up and started finger picking a few songs.
It was worth it to see the looks on their faces.
There is a time for everything.

 

[Stormy Monday]

I suppose we all go through phases.

I'm usually out of phase

 

[Faith Nicole]

I'm usually out of phase

I feel like this a lot .. just a little bit out ..