ruts

french · Post by **french** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:12 pm

how many of you get into them? how do you get out of them?

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:23 pm

A musical rut or a lifestyle rut

?

Trisha

french · Post by **french** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:33 pm

more musical. get the instrument out, play the same old stuff, get bored, too tired on weekdays/busy on weekends to learn new stuff. too many commitment/distractions (work, family, internet). frustrated over own boredom with old stuff/lack of progress with new stuff.

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:42 pm

Any chance of joining a community band playing the sort of music you enjoy? It's so easy to put the things you seriously enjoy to the bottom of the heap unless you have an appointment elsewhere to do just that.

I am by far the busiest person I know (not kidding), but playing in a band and seeing the happy faces after a three hour ceilidh or whatever is just great even if I don't like every piece of music that comes my way :roll:

I hate Frenchies Reel, I hate Frenchies Reel.....

Trisha

JamesF · Post by **JamesF** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:45 pm

I get out of them by listening to Mary Bergin. Coincidentally, that's how I usually get into them.
Also, I have a D harmonica to learn the whistle stuff on so it's a 'productive rut.'

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:46 pm

I am in a musical rut right now. Very annoying.

Basically I've been really busy and have had little or no time to practice. Then I am not well prepared for my lessons with Bill Ochs, and that depresses me becuase it's a waste of time and a learning opportunity. And I feel myself slipping, my rolls are going to hell, and tunes I had solid are becoming unhinged. That depresses me even more, which takes the fun out of it and doesn't even make me want to practice. Tonight I think I'll make it to a session for the first time in two months. Playing with other always gives me a lift, but I am look forward to it with mixed feelings: I know I won't play as well as I'd like. Takes the joy out of it. A rut, alright.

french · Post by **french** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 2:52 pm

i think a session would kill me tonight (as it would be my first). my instinct tells me it's something about going to bed, getting up the next day. slowing down, concentrating, listening, playing, inspiring, enjoying, usw.

good night!. it's been a long week, and lucky for us in the european time zone, we can now go to bed.

- tom

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:28 pm

Lucky you Tom..I've got around four Eurohours to go...yawn.

Trisha

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:40 pm

The bad news is, virtually every musician alive gets into ruts. The good news is, the longer you play and the better you become, the shorter and more infrequent the ruts.

There are several ways I combat them. If you play another instrument, put down the whistle for awhile and pick up your other instrument. Or, rather than playing, listen. That can do just as much for your playing, and it can inspire, give you new tunes, etc. If you can't relax by not playing, then you really need to play through it. Doesn't work for me, but it does for others.

Most important, relax. It's supposed to be fun.

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:43 pm

Go to a week long school and get fired up (or decide to throw your pipes in the trash can).

I just wish my rut was wider and deeper...

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:55 pm

i agree with chas,

while in my last rut, i decided to buy a button box. it plays very much like a whistle. i listened to sharon shannon a while before deciding to order a castagnari hascy. the tommy castagnari sharon played on the cd would have been to small for me.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 4:00 pm

chas wrote:There are several ways I combat them. If you play another instrument, put down the whistle for awhile and pick up your other instrument. Or, rather than playing, listen.

Or learn another instrument. Pick up the zaphoon, the occarina, the kazoo or the jew's harp. Anything. Just for fun.

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 4:49 pm

I can approach this from the point of view of a songwriter. Ruts and writer's block are the norm, pure inspiration rare. There is an art and a craft aspect to songwriting. The analogies may not translate 100% to the playing of an instrument, but in my mind a good deal does apply.

For a person in a rut, a short time each day set aside for the activity is often still a good idea. If a person waits for pure inspiration and joy to return, that, unfortunately may be a long wait, and skills will often diminish in the interim.

There are any number of techniques for getting out a rut. Many have been suggested. Most involve doing something different. If all a person plays is ITM, try something else. If a person always learns songs by ear, try sightreading, and vice-versa.

Improvisation is a good way for me. I will sometimes try to duplicate a song that I am unfamiliar with, only allowing a brief time listening to the song or looking at the sheet music. Most of the time it comes out quite different from the original and I get an original experience out of it. This may or may not be of value to someone reading, but it is another idea.
+ Bill

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 4:58 pm

the end of the winter and the return of spring is also the time of year for ruts and chaos.
like every beginning, that grows out of chaos into something beautiful!

be creative

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 5:06 pm

Very true Lixnaw

Trisha