As just about every musician has experienced, playing guitar comes with moments of creative highs and lows and at times you can get stuck in a rut. Feel like you’re playing the same songs over and over and struggling for new musical ideas and inspiration? Have no fear. Here are a few simple ways to break out of a rut:
Play with friends
One of the best things that any musician can do to improve their skills, come up with new ideas, and — most importantly — have fun is to collaborate with other musicians! During Covid times, this has been hard to do, but as vaccines are more prevalent and the weather is warming up, you might feel more comfortable meeting up with friends and making live music. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a pro, it’s sure to liven up your playing and remind you why you love playing guitar.
Not ready to meet in person or you don’t have any guitar playing friends in the neighborhood? Worry not! We’ve all seen the power of Skype, Zoom and other streaming video solutions to bring people together. While streaming video doesn’t allow you to play at exactly the same time, having a guitar hang and trading licks back and forth is a great way to feed the creative process.
Try an alternate tuning
Alternate tunings are a great way to make some changes in your playing. Simply changing the tuning of one string — such as drop D tuning (D A D G B D) — can help you find new inspiration, while open tunings such as open G (D G D G B D) or popular alternate tunings such as D A D G A D can help you explore your guitar in totally new ways. Whatever tunings you decide to check out, take your time and look for new sounds up and down the neck and you may find some inspiring rewards.
Check out online tutorial platforms
There are more online resources for guitar learning than ever! Guitar Tricks and Guitar Tips Pro are two lesson subscriptions that offer videos and other content to help you develop your playing while magazines such as Premier Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, and Guitar Player offer tons lessons for free on their web sites.
Many players publish a tremendous amount of guitar content on YouTube. From new takes on your favorite cover songs to breakdowns on how to achieve a favorite tone, going down the rabbit hole on YouTube with a guitar in your hands can feel more rewarding than watching an hour’s worth of cat videos! Dig in and learn some new songs, licks, riffs, and more!
Take a lesson
Is there a guitar player whose music you love but whose playing you just can’t figure out on your own? Many guitarists are using their downtime from touring to teach students these days, so it’s never been easier to reach one of your favorite musicians and take a personalized lesson via Zoom or Skype. It’s a great way to dig a bit deeper and get some specialized advice to develop your sound.
Effect pedals
We’re living in the golden age of guitar pedals. It seems like there are more and more options for exciting sounds that are released every day and there is plenty of fun to be had for acoustic players. Whether you perform live and are used to plugging in, you record into a DAW at home, or you play out of an acoustic amp sometimes, a new pedal can be an inspiring thing.
If you feel like you need new sounds, check out the range of acoustic-friendly options available from one of the many companies making pedals today and try a pedal that you’ve never played before. A few favorites from players at the Breedlove Custom Shop include the LR Baggs Align Series Chorus, Fender Smolder Acoustic, and the Red Panda Tensor. Overall, trying a new pedal may give you a whole new perspective on what kind of sounds you can make with your guitar!
Change up your guitar
Nothing really beats the excitement of a new guitar, right? So, one surefire way to get yourself to play more guitar is to get a new one! You may want to consider a new body shape or tonewood combination to help you find new sounds. Or maybe you’ll want to shake things up even more by trying a 12-string or another fretted instrument, like a ukulele or mandolin, to see if you can extend your playing ideas beyond six strings. Whatever the case, there are so many options that you may find something that helps you open up a whole new chapter in your musical life! You can learn more about Breedlove’s variety of revolutionary body shapes or tonewood options on the Breedlove website.
