A bit of a rant

[Ronniejm]

So why is it on some occasions when I am strumming my beloved six string, everything seems to flow with some elegance and grace. Every note is perfectly hit in time, every time and the sound produced has the clarity, pureness and sweetness normally only found in the teardrops of an angel. I allow myself the indulgent thought, "you know what? I'm actually not too bad at this stuff"....

While on other all too frequent occasions, I am left holding what at this point can only be described as lumps of shaped wood, loosely held together by glue, plastic and pieces of industrial gauge wire. And the noise produced causes even the dog, who loves me more than anything else in the world, to silently leave the room, with only a pitiful glance in my direction. And the only thought invading my mind is "What in the name of all that is holy was I thinking?......Just who exactly am I trying to kid here?.

OK I may have gone a bit overboard in the description of both scenarios, but you get my drift....how come sometimes it all seems to come together and work, and on other occasions....well, it doesn't do either very well?. Nothing I can see has changed, it's still me playing, it's the same old tunes, it's the same guitar, I don't think I feel anymore or less stressed/relaxed/drunk/sober/happy/sad than before.

"Ah" I hear you say..."it's your mojo Ronnie.....you have lost your mojo".

I hear you my friend, and can't begin to argue against that, experience has taught me that on some occasions "something" is indeed missing, and luckily the same experience has also taught me DONT PANIC it will return.

My problem is however, on these mojo free evenings when the "shaped lump of wood" has been returned to its stand, I have time to ponder.

What exactly is this mojo thingy?, and more importantly why do I occasionally lose it?.

Is it something I do, or don't do?, and why are there no warning signs of when it is planning to leave, and when it will return?.

If you have read this far, (your patience is appreciated) you will probably have guessed by now that my mojo has gone out for the evening, which is fair enough I guess, what peeves me though, is it left without so much as a cheery wave, and a "see you tomorrow" before it slammed the door.

It's probably in a bar somewhere, drinking beer and eyeing up women, (sounds like a plan) if you should come across it on your travels please send it home, it's sorely missed.

Better go now I am running late for next appointment with my therapist.

Rant over

[Geir]

I think the mojo might be in the 5th bar of a song you probably didn't think of playing tonight .... but should !!!!!

[Tony W]

Funny yet packed with truth Gier. So many times I roll my eyes, playing the same thing over and over trying to find that groove. On the rare occasion I give up on finding it, I start playing something completely off the wall, and begin to have fun again.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVKUap1HgU

[OsCKilO]

The guitar tell you how you feel sometimes.... Even if you don't know it yourself..


It's like painting....... Whatever is in your Subconscious seems to come out.

It is either that, or you are feeling overly self critical on some days......

Dont make every time you pick up a guitar a performance......
Let it be time to chill out..... and hey....If you just happen to press record when your chilling out, so be it!


Your stuff is great!

Enjoy your time playing!




Peace

T(Osckilo)


P.s


Have you seen my Mojo Laying about anywhere....?


Can't find it today......


Oh yeah.....


It was under that mountian of work commitments....

[Flash Harry]

Last Sunday, I was riding my bike down a track I have riden a hundred times before, when I lost it and crashed heavily onto my shoulder. Five minutes of lying in a heap wondering if I'd broken anything, funny how I know there was something wrong before I set off down that bit.

Why?  Mojo?

Tonight, still with a knackered shoulder I rode like a daemon, up the hills in double quick time, it felt good skittering down the loose tracks, scrabbling for grip and arriving with the adrenaline pumping at the bottom, grinning stupidly. It was magic.

Was it Mojo?

I think that it's the same thing with music. Some times I pick up my guitar and it's a stick with strings, other times I can't fail (well at least to my ears).

It goes and it comes back. It's fickle and you only notice it when it's gone. Then it's back and all is right.

One thing I do know is that it will go, and up to now it has always come back. 

[OsCKilO]

It doesn't go......


It just gets hidden by other Shite........ I think........

[Geir]

And sometimes it's not really gone .... I've done some recordings when I felt the MOJO was gone and sometimes (by far always) it turns out it wasn't half bad at all ......

[OsCKilO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Acigj8isc

[64Guitars]

I think sometimes it's less about the quality of our playing, and more about our perception of the quality of our playing. We get into a rut and everything sounds bad at the time. Try recording yourself while the mojo seems to be absent, then put it aside and don't listen to it for several weeks or months. When you finally listen to it again, you might discover that there's some interesting stuff in that recording. The mojo was there, but you couldn't appreciate it at the time you recorded it. At least, that's what I've found with my own playing many times. I've given up on recordings I was making because I thought they were crap. But, when I listen to them again months later, I think they're not too bad and contain some really good ideas. Sure, there are some mistakes. But, after a long break from the song, I tend to ignore the mistakes and hear the good stuff. I couldn't do that while I was making the recording. All I could hear was the mistakes.

[Geir]

If I'd been as eloquent (sp?) as Mr Guitars, I'd said excactly what he said !!!