uuuf. well, it happens to everyone at some point. this past month I've been experiencing burn out. after my last lesson I basically didn't play for 2 weeks and when I did it was brief and not substantial.
during my lesson Todd had said he feels like I'm in on a plateau, which I'd agree with. I've been putting a lot of work in with little upwards movement. I've seen it before where nothing happens for quite a while and then something pops into place and there is a noticeable jump in skill.
i'm in the nothing-happens period. i'm not worried about it because I know something will happen at some point but for now I'm just doing the slow hard work that is repetitive and boring. I've been hammering the same material daily working on phrases and different devices for moving through chord changes and I think I over-worked it.
just one day I was like "meh" and couldn't pick up my bass. i just couldn't bring myself to put in the work for the day... and then one day turned into two, then three. i didn't pick up my bass for about 2 weeks and it felt like an eternity. each day i'd give it brief consideration before deciding to pass and each day i'd feel guilty about it. then at work i'd think about stuff... bass stuff, in general. i'd think of what i had been working on, i'd listen to tunes i was familiar with and call out the chords as they played. i'd think about what i'd do when i practiced, but i knew i wasn't into it. well fuff.
i decided i was just burnt out on that material, in particular. i know from past experience that when diving into a new song there is so much to digest that it's impossible to be bored, so i'd look for a new tune. i settled on blue bossa, which has been an easy entry into bossa and is overall an easy tune to digest. i downloaded a chart and started to pick it apart and analyzing it before i ever even sat down with my bass. i listened to a few different versions of it to get the sound in my ear and when i sat down the next day to practice i was able to jump right in.things felt awkward because it had been a few weeks and i needed a serious refresher on what i had been doing, but still... i was back in the saddle... well, drum throne, that's what i sit on. i had fun. i was excited to work on something new and fresh. the bossa thing is literally foreign to me so i spent time just getting used to the rhythm. i drilled some stuff and then sort of just played along for a while just spending time with the instrument. it was good.
when my next lesson rolled around i told todd of the burnout and he obviously knew all about it. i'm not worried about it and neither was he. it happens and there are always ways around it. the important thing is that i'm back playing and enjoying every minute of it.
