Guitar players?

Question

how de you keep things fresh? what i mean bye that is, i have been playing for about tweanty years and i think i am going backwards. i know practice makes perfect but how do you learn new techniques to broden your skills? i think it would be cool to learn how to do sweeps

Answer 1

jam with some friends.

Answer 2

Try your hand at a new genre. Jazz is super challening... and my boyfriend who has played guitar for 30+ yrs found some jazz lessons on youtube and was so fired up for the guitar again!!

Answer 3

What I do is, I go to one teacher for a while, let him show me mostly everything he knows, then find a new one.

Answer 4

Listen to lots of music.  Obviously listening to guitarists and what they do is important.  But all music and instruments are valid.  A car skidding could inspire someone.

I get tired of guitar practice, too.  But I'm always looking for inspiration and have recently found it in:

Bill Frisell

Wayne Krantz

Chris Potter Underground (how I learned of Krantz)

Wes Montgomery

Sometimes it takes a while for someone new to inspire me or for me to hear something from a musician that I hadn't heard or really noticed before.

Teachers are good.  If you like one go for it until you tire of the lessons.  Bad teachers are all over the place, too.  Take a lesson, think about if the guy was good for you or not and walk away if you think that's the right thing.

There are tons of theory, method and books on particular players styles out there that can be wonderful as well as overwhelming.  Sometimes just checking out a chapter is enough to jump start your engine.  Other times it's just to much information or not organized in a way you are ready for or can understand.  

Mostly try to keep having fun, that's why we play in the first place, right?  Besides the fame, glory, women and cash:)