Suffering from lockdown ??

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

It Has been close to two years. The band I had played with for many years had decided to quit at this time two years ago and then covid lockdowns happened a couple of months later. Myself and two other members of the aforementioned band managed to attract a couple of new members to join us with a view to doing the gigs which had been in the diary and see how it went.It has turned out that I have done a few rehearsals and four gigs in the two year period.Gigs in our neck of the woods are few and hard to secure for a five piece band,it seems that Joe Public are quite happy to be entertained by solo and duo acts with tracks. I have begun to lose a lot of enthusiasm for playing and although I do play every day it s sometimes for as little a five minutes and sometimes for about thirty minutes.
I always loved playing in a "Live" situation whether it was a rehearsed gig or A jam or even depping, It seemed to float My boat and I had plenty reason to put in seat time at home to keep Myself in trim. I have never suffered from depression having managed to get on with it in a positive way. I am now wondering if have "Steel" related depression. My equipment is all high end and has been sitting redundant for too long.
I was wondering how other members are handling the lockdown restrctions.

[hickenjr]

If anything motivated me to play during lockdown it was hearing my steel on the radio and getting CDs sent through the post. I was fortunate to having some half decent recording equipment and lucky opportunities but you should definitely consider remote recording. Of course, live is great and there is no replacement for it but there are other things that gave me a rewarding feeling and also something to look forward to.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Billy, Keep your chops up to date or I will get Bob to come around and give you a slap! we are all in the same boat here (and getting older) but no room for depression or slacking, if you need inspiration go watch Mike Johnson for an hour that should do it! either way keep your chin up and wait for things to ease up a bit, we will be a collection of Happy Pluckers at some point in the future.

[Danny Mitchell]

Billy, I've been thinking about your post, and I'm sorry to hear about, and completely sympathise with, the 'steel doldrums'. I wonder if you'd considered the likes of an online, one to one lesson, from the likes of Buck Reid or Doug Jernigan, for that extra wee kick of motivation? I'd also have included Joe Wright here, but I'm not sure if he does the one to one thing.

In my, extremely humble opinion, these guys are the upper echelon, but come across as very genuine and good communicators. So, maybe worth a gander.
http://buckreid.com/
https://dougjernigan.ecrater.com/p/14963239/one-on-skype-lessons
Maybe this could get a bit of wind back in your sails, although I also completely agree with you, nothing beats playing music with others.
Keep the faith, but mainly.......... keep the gear

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Thanks for the replies and words of encouragement Gents.
It has taken Me many years to reach this type of thinking. When I first started My attempt at playing I often played for an hour before going to work and every evening I played for at least four hours,on weekends if I was not working I could easily have eight or more hours at the guitar,and then I managed to get it out of the case !!. I have never lacked enthusiasm and the guitar was never a "nine days wonder" I eventually was able to become a band member and have since played with several bands sometimes on small stages and sometimes on big stages,I have backed a few international artistes and had great pleasure in doing so.My day job got in the way a lot but it did pay the mortgage and other necessities so I was probably a Local player which was not a problem since local bands had plenty of work and some were playing every night in the week.Gigs became less plentiful in the 90's when solo and Duo acts were,and still are getting the lions share of the work.Our band gigs became less frequent and sometimes We went as much as ten weeks between gigs. Despite narrowing My horizons I did not want to travel great distances for a gig. I placed many adverts over the years and I had a great many singer/songwriters who were lovers of the steel guitar sound and wanted it on their material. Without exception,every one of them wanted Me to do several rehearsals,then perhaps record and definately do several promotional appearances with them. There was never a mention of fuel expenses or a free drink let alone any sort of payment for My input !! I am not motivated by money but I may need a bankloan to get gigging again.Remote recording does not really interest Me and shelling out money for advanced lessons will not guarantee any work.I hasten to point out I am not depressed in the true context of the word I cannot see an improvement on the "Live" scene.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Billy, I guess we all come at this from a different angle, sure we all like the buzz of playing live with a band but for me, if that's not available i will just play for my own amazement and love of the instrument, wish you all the best Billy whatever you decide to do.

[jonshack]

Billy, I think everyone can sympathise with your plight. I felt very down about everything music related in mid 2020 and it took a long time to pick myself up.

It sounds like you need a new goal - you can always go back to the band thing if and when the live scene returns.

How about advertising for one of these local singer-songwriters to do a mix of your choice of material and their own, as a duo? Maybe you could aim to do at least 70% of gigs for charity. That might give you some control and take the sting out of being somewhat taken for granted.

My band situation has more or less dried up too. It took a while and a change of mindset but I got out of a similar period of complete inertia and ‘musical depression’ by finding some things to really focus my practice on. Some fundamentals, drills, some harder stuff. I really try to make each practice session count so I feel like I’m moving forward. Planning and note taking really helps.

A few things I’ve found to help alleviate the doldrums:
- Taking a few online courses, plenty of them out there on every topic under the sun, not always expensive.
- Treating myself to new gear/selling some old - I’m getting a lot of mileage out of a loop pedal at the moment for instant practice feedback and self-accompaniment (Digitech Trio+).
- Doing a bit of recording and songwriting (I’ll admit the motivation for this has been crushingly low but I’ve managed to finish a couple of things).
- Being a lot less self critical, especially when I see really good players online(!)
- Spending some time reflecting on the positive experiences I’ve had learning & playing music and being in bands - writing out a list of musical highlights, big and small, can be eye opening and genuinely uplifting.

With the few opportunities I have had to gig, I’ve made sure I appreciate the moment more, being a bit more appreciative of my band mates too. I don’t bother going over all the things I played wrong… it’s more about finding the enjoyment now. Before the lockdown gigging had got to be a bit of a grind in my case, now I look forward to whatever gigs we can manage to pull together.

Don’t give up but consider taking two or three weeks off if you haven’t already. Sometimes a complete break is a good thing.

I hope there is something in these ideas for you or anyone who is feeling the same way. It’s been a tough couple of years for sure but I know it is possible to find new perspectives that bring back your joy of playing.

All the best
Jonathan

[bob adams]

A very comprehensive reply there Jonathan, well done, some thought put into that!

Billy it's not a paying gig but you are more than welcome here anytime for a jam! and you are 15 mins away!

[Davie Holland]

A very comprehensive reply there Jonathan, well done, some thought put into that!

Billy it's not a paying gig but you are more than welcome here anytime for a jam! and you are 15 mins away!

Can I come too please? I`ll bring the biscuit tin with me!

[bob adams]

I'm sure you know the answer to that Mr Holland, I'll give you a ring tomorrow and we'll sort something out.