Ever feel like you lost your chops?

[VOLVO)))]

I used to play death metal, black metal, and a bunch of shit that required a bunch of fast hand/fretwork, and since I started playing doom/sludge/whatever, I haven't played a single lick of that shit in almost two years. Today, I pulled the 5150II out from in front of the door (it's been holding it open since 2009,) and plugged it in. I started playing goofy swedish DM songs, and dicking around... I thought after two years of playing below 100bpm, that shooting straight back up to 220+ was going to be hard. After about 20 minutes, I can still play Necrophagist songs, and old Decrepit Birth tunes. I guess you never really "lose" your chops, they just go into hiding until you prod them back into action.

[eyeprod]

more often than not, you get better after a break. for me anyways

[VOLVO)))]

more often than not, you get better after a break. for me anyways

I feel tighter, and I catch myself tossing in neat little stoner-y sounding nuances, bends where I wouldn't do them before...

I like it. I may have to start a death metal band, again.

[neighbor664]

I have in the past. I actually feel like I very well could be at the top of my game. Certainly vocally and maybe guitar too. However since I'm an old fart only playing for my own amusement these days it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

[chille01]

Losing my chops would imply having at one point in time HAD chops... So no, not a problem for me.

[mortlock]

its not the chops you loose, its the stamina. i dont think i could rock the way i could in my 20s. maybe thats why most doom band members are middle aged..

[Isabellacat]

Nah, but as far as feeling a little rusty after not jamming for so long ,yea..... which is why I like practicing and warming up on my acoustic before any serious jams.

i don't think you can lose your chops unless you have amnesia. when i first started playing and taking lessons, Alex Skolnick from Testament put up an ad in the old BAM paper for lessons. I never ended up getting lessons from him (which I now regret but back then it was expensive),but I did call him up one day and he told me something over the phone that has stayed with me to this day. He told me that playing guitar is like riding a bicycle ,and even if you don't play for so long,once you get back on that bike of playing it's like you never forget where you left off.

[spookstrickland]

I lost a lot of my stamina and dexterity about two years ago do to a bout with Tendinitis.  It's getting better but once you get that you have to be very careful not to over do it or it can come raging back in a hurry!

[mawso]

Yes. I'm definitely WAY below my best as far as chops go..

I used to be able to do lots of sweep picking, fast alternate picking passages, whatever

The music I play atm honestly has no room for that sort of stuff, so I don't practice it.

Whenever I travel and don't get to play for more than a few days I always come back feeling like I'm playing with ten thumbs

[yesca]

nah i always feel like im getting better as time goes on. i don't really take breaks from playing instruments or anything that shits like my therapy. but again i doubt ive played nearly as long as a lot of people on here

[liquidsmoke]

I've never had actual chops and if I ever lost what little whatever it is that I now have I'd be down to about nothing. This would really suck. I mean back to missing strings and frets suck.

[Hemisaurus]

Don't know if it's true but I think bass playing is more physically demanding, which is one of the reasons I love playing in punk bands, as it keeps me excercised, and I know when we're out gigging and practising all the time, I'm a much more capable player than if I've sat around for weeks.

I'm also basing this on Mike Watt talking about how he has to play every day, to keep the strength up in his fingers, when he came back to playing after his hospitalization it took him a few months to get back into playing shape.

NB I don't play with a pick.

[zachoff]

I feel like I'm stuck in my chops right now.  Writing new songs in very similar patterns & structures as previous songs & it's a bit of a bummer because they end up sounding pretty much the same & I don't really want that.  How have you guys gotten out of this in the past?

[Danny G]

I play bass so often I rarely get to play guitar anymore, usually during February for RPM challenge.

Def feel like losing guitar chops, especially lead playing.

[Instant Dan]

I have never had great stamina which limits me as far playing in thrash/speed metal bands.

The good news I felt like I have finally improve clarity and stamina by loosening up as I always have my shoulders and arms and improving my picking hand IE: Wrist only and not my entire arm at times.

[VOLVO)))]

All of my shit is still there, but yeah, stamina is WAY down. I played through Cryptopsy's "Slit your Guts" yesterday and I was completely wrecked after.

Quite literally one of the best death metal riffs of all time resides at 1:50 - 2:30, also one of the best vocal parts of all time, and something COMPLETELY un-fucking-heard-of at it's time.

This album fucking DESTROYS.

[neighbor664]

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem, but I find that the only time I either find myself in a chops or even a creative slump is while I am actively playing in and writing for a band. I can theorize that for songwriting it is because not having to "write by committee" is freeing. Not being bound to stylistic expectations would be too. However, I can't think of a good reason for this effect on my chops.

[Metal and Beer]

I naturally lose and regain dexterity/speed over time, sure, but the "other" part (path to the soul, "mojo", the creative juice, whatever ya wanna call it) doesn't diminish at all

"None So Vile" is a total classic, hell yeah mayne

[Jor el]

I feel chopless at the moment.

[EddieMullet]

They come and go, I've just switched back to bass after two years of being the guitar player and rarely picking up a bass and now I have to learn how to think and play like a bass player again a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do easily on bass I have to work at now.

[Discö Rice]

I find a break of a few weeks can't totally shift my ideas in a new direction. Thus, new chops are born in place of the tired old shit you were doing before the break.

[Lumpy]

Even if your skills deteriorate, your ideas about music continue to develop and grow. Hopefully. Theoretically, anyway.

[LogicalFrank]

The only time I acquire additional chops is when I am extraordinarily bored and just sit in front of the tube running scales, tapping and whatever the fuck... That goes away once I dig in and start really playing though. It is just not my natural focus. I have been playing guitar in Sun Splitter for three or for years solid now so as such I am good at playing in Sun Splitter and not much else.

[Hemisaurus]

The only time I acquire additional chops is when I am extraordinarily bored and just sit in front of the tube running scales, tapping and whatever the fuck... That goes away once I dig in and start really playing though. It is just not my natural focus. I have been playing guitar in Sun Splitter for three or for years solid now so as such I am good at playing in Sun Splitter and not much else.

Applaud +1 

[Chovie D]

Its been a long slow decline since I was 16. 

no I kid. on otther instruments, pedal steel , mando, dobro,  I need to do maintenance or rust will set in bad, but on guitar...i can come and go and pickup right where i left off, or as others have pointed out..refreshed and with new purpose after a break even.

I haven touched the mando in a year maybe, doubt I could play much anymore on that.