Quit my band... what next?

[vino_buono]

Last week I quit my band; no hard feelings at all -- we have become good friends over the years. I have been playing guitar with these guys for 7 years now (your usual rock cover band); we all have day jobs and would gig just a few times a year. Main reason for quitting is that I have recently gotten more responsibilities in my job and have also been travelling a bit more; on top of that, lately it was not as much fun as it used to be. I no longer enjoyed getting home at 1.30 AM on rehearsal nights, and being away from 3PM to 2AM on gig nights (though I did love the 1.30-2 hour gig). It partially has to do with lack of perspective... playing the same songs over and over, limited musical creativity, the "sound" of the band not getting better... although playing in this band has helped me improve significantly as a player and I would probably have stayed with them if it had not been for my job.

So I am wondering what to do with guitar now. For context, I'm 53, an intermediate-level player who is pretty good at rhythm guitar and decent at lead guitar. I have had basic music formation when I was younger, and I have good ear. I'd like to identify something that I can do with the guitar in my spare time, say a few hours a week. A few options I thought:
- Taking guitar lessons: I'd love to do it but I am afraid it is not feasible -- I can not guarantee to put in the required time and organization would be difficult. Although I would definitely benefit from working on my technique, especially fluidity and being loose.
- Studying a guitar method: definitely feasible and I would have control over when and how much I do it. TBH, I do have "speed mechanics" on my night table -- but it hasn't been touched since I joined this band 7 years ago.
- Recording some music: definitely feasible. I have done a bit of that during covid and learned the basic tools. No ambition here... I would start recording some cover or instrumental and maybe move on to write some music -- I had done a bit of that that when I was younger. I have no expectation that I'd write anything really original and I do not mind. I guess I'd have to get me a bass guitar and learn to play it -- I like the idea.

I guess my current situation is not new at all to many of you. Can you share your experience? What you would suggest to do? Any ideas beyond what I mentioned?

 

[FuzzyAce]

I guess my current situation is not new at all to many of you. Can you share your experience? What you would suggest to do? Any ideas beyond what I mentioned?

I would say just keep at it the best you can -- as long as you enjoy it and feel like you're growing as a musician. That can mean different things to different people. Whatever brings a smile to your face is the way I go about it. I've not been in a band now for a number of years and it's been ok. It takes a lot of dedication to keep one going and unfortunately not everyone has the same expectations. It can be a huge drain when that happens and then creativity usually suffers. I feel much more creative and musically productive outside of a band atm.

So for me, it's about staying engaged in making music (or discussing it and gear here) as much as I can with the time I'm able to do so. I have to be writing something to be ultimately content though. Learning new techniques and theory is fun and potentially inspiring, but it needs to be inline with the writing part. I like to record, mostly to keep the ideas flowing and not backing up too much creatively. I'm much happier now because of it. Keep on moving forward.

 

[Frodebro]

When I quit my semi-full time band back in the 90s, I took about a two year break from the guitar. When I finally picked it up again, I headed down the rabbit hole of home recording. The hours are flexible, it’s a great way to decompress and unwind, and the only person you have to worry about puking on your gear is you.

 

[DrewJD82]

I just quit my band this past week, too!

In 2015 or so I quit playing in bands because I wanted to focus on recording/mixing and that was the absolute best step I've ever taken musically. Throw out any ideas about writing something "original" and just write. If every musician just focused on what they believe is truly original, nothing would ever get written or recorded! There's a few layers of crap to dig through before you start getting the good shit out of your self. Recording can be daunting and I know when I started and heard my first mixes back, or even just trying to learn Logic, it was easy to get down about it because there's a lot to learn and what you think is getting recorded isn't what you hear back all the time.

I never would have known what kind of musician I could be had I not developed some studio skills. It's been the most liberating thing I've ever experienced and because of that, no matter if I'm in a band or not, I know I always have an outlet for creativity which negates a TON of tension/concern when I DO jump in a band about not being able to have that outlet because the way bands end up working.

There's so many VST's to make the job easier for a one-man-band thing, grab EZDrummer, a bass and a MIDI keyboard and you're pretty much good to write full songs, regardless of your abilities on said instruments, you learn as you go!

 

[vino_buono]

In 2015 or so I quit playing in bands because I wanted to focus on recording/mixing and that was the absolute best step I've ever taken musically.

Happy to hear that! The idea of writing/recording is very intriguing, and certainly creative enough to keep me motivated!

 

[Frankencat]

I just quit my band this past week, too!

In 2015 or so I quit playing in bands because I wanted to focus on recording/mixing and that was the absolute best step I've ever taken musically. Throw out any ideas about writing something "original" and just write. If every musician just focused on what they believe is truly original, nothing would ever get written or recorded! There's a few layers of crap to dig through before you start getting the good shit out of your self. Recording can be daunting and I know when I started and heard my first mixes back, or even just trying to learn Logic, it was easy to get down about it because there's a lot to learn and what you think is getting recorded isn't what you hear back all the time.

I never would have known what kind of musician I could be had I not developed some studio skills. It's been the most liberating thing I've ever experienced and because of that, no matter if I'm in a band or not, I know I always have an outlet for creativity which negates a TON of tension/concern when I DO jump in a band about not being able to have that outlet because the way bands end up working.

There's so many VST's to make the job easier for a one-man-band thing, grab EZDrummer, a bass and a MIDI keyboard and you're pretty much good to write full songs, regardless of your abilities on said instruments, you learn as you go!

That's exactly how I do my demos. Sometimes it can't be topped but I like to have live players play the parts on most things, although I have written a few techno-style things. Most of my jams are in the classic rock vein.

 

[sleewell]

Id start an originals band or even just find ppl who just wanna get together and play without gigging. But that's just me. I gotta have music and being loud on my schedule as something to look forward to. Id go nuts without it.

 

[Orvillain]

Start a new one. Try to remember the good times, try to forget the bad times. Try to forgive, and not harbour resentment at what could have been.

 

[Byrdman]

Go check out a local Jam Night, you may run into a few others in the same rut, and see what happens.

 

[Holden Afart]

Quit your job?

 

[Mikael Dez]

Last week I quit my band; no hard feelings at all -- we have become good friends over the years. I have been playing guitar with these guys for 7 years now (your usual rock cover band); we all have day jobs and would gig just a few times a year. Main reason for quitting is that I have recently gotten more responsibilities in my job and have also been travelling a bit more; on top of that, lately it was not as much fun as it used to be. I no longer enjoyed getting home at 1.30 AM on rehearsal nights, and being away from 3PM to 2AM on gig nights (though I did love the 1.30-2 hour gig). It partially has to do with lack of perspective... playing the same songs over and over, limited musical creativity, the "sound" of the band not getting better... although playing in this band has helped me improve significantly as a player and I would probably have stayed with them if it had not been for my job.

So I am wondering what to do with guitar now. For context, I'm 53, an intermediate-level player who is pretty good at rhythm guitar and decent at lead guitar. I have had basic music formation when I was younger, and I have good ear. I'd like to identify something that I can do with the guitar in my spare time, say a few hours a week. A few options I thought:
- Taking guitar lessons: I'd love to do it but I am afraid it is not feasible -- I can not guarantee to put in the required time and organization would be difficult. Although I would definitely benefit from working on my technique, especially fluidity and being loose.
- Studying a guitar method: definitely feasible and I would have control over when and how much I do it. TBH, I do have "speed mechanics" on my night table -- but it hasn't been touched since I joined this band 7 years ago.
- Recording some music: definitely feasible. I have done a bit of that during covid and learned the basic tools. No ambition here... I would start recording some cover or instrumental and maybe move on to write some music -- I had done a bit of that that when I was younger. I have no expectation that I'd write anything really original and I do not mind. I guess I'd have to get me a bass guitar and learn to play it -- I like the idea.

I guess my current situation is not new at all to many of you. Can you share your experience? What you would suggest to do? Any ideas beyond what I mentioned?

I will say that I took guitar lessons this spring after 20 years playing and while I actually think I was better than the guy in a lot of “technical” ways, he was WAY better at just being musical, and understanding the fretboard. It really helped me a lot. The guy was kinda weird so I didn’t keep up with it after my lessons were “done” but now I have the bug to find someone that is as musical as he was and can push me with technical precision.