Stuck in a rut with your guitar practice?

Are you lacking the motivation to practice the guitar? Do you feel that nothing is going right or that you're not progressing? Or are you doubting whether the guitar is worth it at all?

Well, you're not alone – we all get stuck in ruts with the guitar. I've been playing for 30 years, and it happens to me too! They show up whenever we dedicate long periods to something, like work, hobbies, or relationships. With my top 10 Rut Busters, we'll address how to get out of guitar ruts and rekindle your motivation to practice. :)

But before we do that, let's clear up the difference between ruts and plateaus. I don't want you to get confused!

Lacking the Motivation to Practice Guitar: Is It A Rut Or A Plateau?

No matter what we learn, our progression is unlikely linear. In other words, you won't see a constant, steady improvement over time. It just doesn't work that way!

Instead, we tend to progress quickly the first time we learn something. We get all excited, and our skills improve quickly. But at some point, our progress starts to level off. This is a plateau.

💡 Plateaus are really normal! Don’t expect to be constantly improving on the guitar journey – it simply doesn’t happen. :) Your body and brain need time to assimilate new skills and put them into practice.

You might also find your overall progress hits a plateau because you're catching up with other elements that underpin later skills. Hand strength is a good example. Beginners often progress rapidly with chords, chord changes, and strumming, but then they hit a wall with barre chords. That might be due to hand strength. With enough practice, barre chords feel easy. :)

That's a plateau. Meanwhile, ruts are times when you feel uninspired and emotionally disconnected from the guitar. Think about your journey. Do you still feel inspired even though you don't see much improvement? Then it's probably just a plateau. In that case, the key is to keep practicing, though Rut Busters can do the trick. :)

If you've decided you are in a rut and need to regain the motivation to learn guitar, these 10 Rut Busters are perfect for you.

Rut Buster 1: Buy a New Guitar

This is my most popular Rut Buster! If you're in a rut, get a new guitar. I'm not even kidding. :)

Not everyone can afford to spend money on a new guitar flippantly, so I apologize for putting this first in the queue. There are plenty more Rut Busters that are free!

But seriously, new guitars are inspiring. You find a new instrument you've always wanted, get it, and discover a whole new world! If you find yourself in a deep funk and are about to give up the guitar, a new guitar can lift you out of it and give you new inspiration and motivation! It's a great Rut Buster.

🎸 Confession Time: I have never, ever bought a new guitar as a Rut Buster. I only buy them for work. Promise. ;)

Rut Buster 2: Get a New Sound

If the new guitar doesn't work, get a new amplifier or FX pedal! Okay, I'm only kidding. But getting a new sound can be super inspiring. :) I love getting new pedals! I spend hours and hours experimenting with my sound and exploring the new sonic landscape I've discovered.

If this resonates with you, watch the videos on Anderton's, Andy Martin, That Pedal Show, Pete Thorn, or any other gear review channels you love. See what you can find!

You don't have to spend a lot. Sure, the latest trendy FX pedals seem to cost the same as guitars and amplifiers. But you don't have to spend all that money. There are plenty of second-hand pedals out there. :) You can also try new presets. If you have a digital modeler, buy a new preset and explore it.

🚨 Watch For Gear Obsession: On a serious note, it’s important you don’t rely solely on new gear to inspire you. I know lots of guys – yes, they’re usually guys, not girls! – that spend much more time researching gear and watching reviews than practicing! That’s a bad idea for guitar longevity.

So if you find yourself in a funk, by all means, research new gear and explore a new pedal, but don't let it take over your life. As a guitar player, you shouldn't spend so much time researching gear and sounds that you never get your hands on the instrument.

Rut Buster 3: Rethink Your Motivation and Goals

This one is particularly useful for people who don't think about their ultimate destination. But remember: if you don't know where you're going, you'll probably never get there. Here are some questions to help you. :)

What is it that first made you pick up the guitar? What is your current goal? If you don't have a goal, set one! Think about what you'd like to achieve with guitar – what would you like to be able to do? What songs and styles would you like to be able to play? What would excite you to get your bum on the seat and play music again?

💣 Set Your Guitar Goals: I’ve got a whole lesson on setting goals and how to plot a pathway to them. Check it out if you need to clarity your guitar vision. :)

If you've got a goal and are still uninspired, maybe it's not the right goal. You could change it or put it on hold. If you've been working towards one goal for a long time, you might need to take a holiday. Go and visit a different goal for a while! :)

Justin's Journey – there have been times when I've sat down to play guitar and have felt disinterested. On those days, I push through. I've always wanted to make a living from it, and this big-picture goal took me through the struggle. I had a goal, so I had to put the hours in!

Guitar playing shouldn't be a slog. When music and guitar become hard work, keeping it going for long is difficult. Having a clear sense of purpose is great for your practice and motivation levels, especially when you have to slog.

Now it's time for my favorite Rut Buster. :)

Rut Buster 4: Rekindle Your Motivation To Practice With A New Style

Simple, but effective! If you're in a rut, pick a style of music that you've never played, and explore it.

If you're a blues guitarist lacking enthusiasm, check out some country, classical guitar, slide guitar, metal guitar, or any style. The genre doesn't matter! Just make sure it's something you've never explored before and were always curious about.

It's amazing how the freshness of music can inspire you. Funnily, the new genre will likely show you a new perspective on the guitar and give you excitement for your actual practice.

Just be curious about how a certain music style works, and explore it. Again, it doesn't matter what it is, so long as it's completely new. :)

Rut Buster 5: Try An Alternate Tuning

Alternate tunings probably won't get you out of a major funk. Those call for a new guitar! But it's a fun Rut Buster and works well when you're feeling flat one day. :) If you've always played in standard tuning, even drop D (DADGBE) will reveal some awesome new sounds.

🎵 Songwriting: As a songwriter, I love putting the guitar in strange tunings and trying to find some nice sounds. I often find chords I’d never be able to play in standard tuning. Check out my Songwriting course to get going. :)

DADGAD tuning is also a wonderful tuning for fiddling around. Just retune to DADGAD and try things. Many things sound amazing, like strumming all the strings and playing a little melody on the thinnest string. You've created a new sound palette to explore, which will excite and motivate you.

You can also try Open G (DGDGBD), Open E (EBEG#BE), or even make up your own! Just retune your strings to any random notes and see what happens. Sometimes it will not sound very good, but all you need to do is retune and try again. :)

Rut Buster 6: Take a Deep Dive

Let's say you're into the blues, the genre you play most, but lately, you feel uninspired. This is when you can do a deep dive: think about which part of the blues you like.

Let's say it's lead guitar. Then narrow it down further – what do you love most in blues lead guitar and improvising? Then you realize you like Eric Clapton's music.

Now, you can decide to do a deep dive into Eric Clapton's lead guitar playing in the Beano era. See how specific that is?

But it doesn't have to be Eric Clapton. Find an area of music you love and practice regularly, then focus on a specific part. We're often so busy learning new techniques and songs that we don't have the opportunity for deep dives.

💡 My Journey: Your deep dive can go beyond the instrument! I’ve read books on the history of blues guitar and found it very exciting to learn how the different blues players related to one another, how the licks travelled from place to place.

You can do this on a practical level by looking at skills and techniques, or you can study the history of the guitar, the backstory of your favorite musicians, and more. In any case, your goal is to focus on a narrow part of the styles you love.

Rut Buster 7: Lacking the Motivation to Play Guitar? Try New Music

Many guitarists suffer from not listening to music enough. We spend more time playing it than listening to it! And not only that – we don't explore new music.

I fall into this trap too. I like older music and shun modern stuff unless it's Harry Styles! To overcome this, I ask my friends what new music they're listening to. Spotify also suggests new stuff. Occasionally it throws up a real gem that I wasn't familiar with!

Try another era if you only listen to music from the 60s and 70s. Though I tend to avoid the latest music, it has more to offer than it gets credit for.

Many talented guitarists are making great music, like Ariel Posen, Josh Smith, Mateus Asato, and many more. Listening to them might motivate you to explore other genres and get some new sounds in your head. All this will rekindle your love for guitar. :)

Rut Buster 8: Try Another Instrument

Playing another instrument gives you new sonic palettes to explore, can change your relationship with music for the better, and, ultimately, get you excited to play guitar. :)

I'm not suggesting you go and buy a piano, but mucking around on a cheap keyboard can be super inspiring. If you want to stick with stringed instruments, ukuleles are fascinating and easy to pick up – the tuning is the same as a guitar with a capo on fret 5 and the two thickest strings missing. :)

Ukulele chord shapes are also pretty familiar. They're the same as guitar chords but without the lowest notes – it's like your fingers fall off the top of the fretboard.

🎸 My Ukulele Love: I really dig the ukulele! It's pretty innocent. When you grab one and start playing it, people don’t expect anything fancy. You can relax, have fun, start a sing-along and there’s no pressure. Check out my Ukulele course to give it a try. :)

Piano and keyboard are also amazing options. If you have some knowledge of music theory, like chord degrees and the construction of scales, then it's pretty easy to have a go at the piano. Learning new chord inversions on the piano is super inspiring – you can take your new sounds to the guitar.

On top of that, the piano is linear, meaning the theory is very clear. Seeing the notes and chords in this linear form can be valuable for guitarists. You could also try slide guitar, pedal-steel guitar, violin, cello, recorder – whatever!

Rut Buster 9: Explore Songwriting and Composition

Songwriting can be inspiring if you've never done it before. I find that it's very tangible. Though I feel satisfied after spending a few hours practicing licks, scales, and transcribing, I've got nothing tangible to show for my efforts.

Songwriting is different. You create something that lasts. You can say: "Hey, I did this! I wrote this song!" That's great for your inspiration and gives your music time a clear purpose. Then you can enhance your track with your guitar skills. :)

You don't have to go down the singer-songwriter route. You can stick with instruments or write lyrics for someone else to sing. It doesn't matter – the most important is that you're excited to create. Having something tangible at the end is great for your inspiration.

Rut Buster 10: Zero Motivation To Practice Guitar? Take A Complete Break

When you feel like: "Jeez, I'm just not enjoying the guitar at the moment," it's good to take a couple of weeks off. Don't think about the guitar, don't worry about lack of practice, and don't let it stress you out. This Rut Buster has worked for me a few times, and I know many professional guitarists who often use it.

If you start thinking: "Oh jeez, I'm not practicing! All my skills will disappear!" relax. It doesn't matter. That doesn't happen! After a month-long break, your fingers will surely feel sluggish, and your calluses will have worn away, but your skills will come back quickly. It's like riding a bike – once you've developed the skills, they're always there.

I know a couple of famous guitarists who take months and months off between tours. They don't touch the instrument. Then they return, and all their skills return after a few days of rustiness.

💡 I know a famous guitarist who once took three months off. He went straight into a live performance after his break! He didn’t even do a sound check. :) I could tell it wasn’t his best playing, but it was still way better than what I could ever do!

The lesson? It all comes back quite quickly. So if you're just not feeling the guitar now, try leaving it for a set period and see how you feel afterward. If you're a hobbyist, start with two weeks – a month is quite a long time. And if the break doesn't work, try another Rut Buster. :)

I've certainly had periods when it's been an effort and a struggle. It's my living, so I can't just let it fold. I get on with it if I'm not in the mood. But I love playing guitar, and I'm so thankful that it's what I do for a living. If I ever feel bored, I remind myself how lucky I am. That usually does the trick!

🔥 Secret Rut Buster! Time for an unofficial Rut Buster number 11. :) Try reminding yourself of how lucky you are to have this skill and hobby that you really love! This gets me out of my ruts.

Finally, remember you're not the only one stuck in guitar ruts. I don't know any guitar players who are constantly inspired to play, create, practice, and be fully immersed in music! I hope these Rut Busters inspire you to get your bum back on the seat in times of low motivation. Laters. :)

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