I'm bored

Nickie

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I don't know what to do. I'll admit it.
I didn't pick up my beautiful cocobolo uke today, because I am
B-O-R-E-D.
I'm very weary of playing/practicing the same old same ol' every day.
It seems to take me forever to learn a tune, I'm a very slow learner.
I play a bunch of songs 3 times a day, and I feel like I suck at all of them.
We have some songbooks I haven't tried yet, but I spend so much time warming up that I don't get to them before my hands get tired.
I don't have the money for lessons.
And a new uke isn't in the picture, either, which I doubt would help.

I love teaching Beginner workshops, I wish I could do one every day.
I'm getting together a fake book of kid's songs so that I can start playing for sick kids in a Children's hospital soon.
Being a TBUS Board member is like having a fun job.

But I just wanna be a uker that people really enjoy listening to.
Maybe I'm feeling sorry for myself, going through "amateur musician slump".

Maybe I should just go paint the dining room.
 
Find a local uke Jam. I drive 150 miles round trip to attend one in Maryland. It takes six hours out of my day but I feel it is worth it. I am growing as a musician, meeting other musicians and most importantly I am having FUN!
 
Thanks Vic,
I lead a jam for 3 years. I got very bored and frustrated with that too.
I don't enjoy the jams like I used to. Oh well.
I do enjoy open mics, but there are only 2 a month we can get to.
I could do that at least once a week!

At least I have UU to come to!
 
Nickie, maybe it's time to start noodling and improvising...

Just throw some chords together, and strum or pluck differently...

Maybe you'll end up writing a song, and then you'll at first be obsessed with learning about, and then confused with all of the options for recording your songs...

...lots of folks here (including me) can help with that as this topic is raised at least weekly here on UU...

and then another hobby (home recording) might come out of it all. :)
 
Maybe it's just the time of year - Winter is hard for me, as I lose interest in lots of things, just don't have the inclination to get on with playing/practicing, & usually end up messing with my computers.

You need a change, as the saying goes - A change is as good as a rest.

Go buy yourself a harmonica, or a flute - something different for when you're not loving the uke - you'll still be playing & learning music. :)
 
I'll second Keith - when I get a bit weary of my ukes I play harmonica for a few weeks, or tin whistle. I find my music theory improves from doing it was well.

Also, if your warm up leaves you too tired to play for any length of time then it's probably too extensive. It should just get you limber, not tire you out!
 
Are ukuleles your life? Nicki, what else do you do? I think that sometimes people get obsessed with something and dedicate almost every waking hour thinking about it. That gets old over time. Maybe a balance would be nice. Maybe making a conscious effort to keep playing the uke, but sharing your passions with a couple of other interests at the same time. Something like sketching, watercolors, or writing, or photography, or exercise, yoga, woodworking, sewing, I'm just going on and on here. There's just lots of things you can do. Anyway, think about it. My experience is that being centered on one thing is a sure way to grow tired of it. At least in my own case, I have several interests, and I try to touch several of them in the course of the day. It is always sort of refreshing to wrap one interest up for the day and switch my focus to another.
 
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My advice is simple - just stop playing for a while. There have been times I've tried to play my ukes and I just wasn't feeling it. I've sometimes gone weeks without playing then one day I'll pick one up again and play for an hour and a half or more. If you're practicing songs 3 times a day that's a lot of playing and you're probably burning yourself out.

I probably play differently than most people. When I play I just play songs, I don't learn them. It's kind of weird now that I think about it. I've been playing for years but if you handed me a uke and told me to play a song I couldn't do it. I've never sat down and memorized a song, I just play through my song books with whatever song strikes me at the moment as I page through it. Sometimes when I get a little bored I intentionally play the songs I haven't played in a long time just for some change. I know I picked the song for a reason at one time and sometimes I'll rediscover what I liked about it.
 
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Yes, I agree with those who say to stop grinding away with your uke studies when you’re bored with ‘em.

I usually play one of the instruments with which I’m very familiar, or do some chores that need doing, or read some Louis L’Amour, or just anything different than strum and pick drudgery.

Drs. Laura Shlesinger and Tony Grant usta say that people are bored because they’re boring. Keep busy . . . :eek:ld:
 
Oh, god, I hope I'm not boring!
That's a fate worse than dying.
In fact, it's a form of death.
I did get a trio of cheapie harmonicas from Sam Ash the other day.
I want to at least play the intro of the Beatles Please Please Me.
Not playing ukulele isn't an option, our band has gigs, but I do take a day off now and then. (We have 4 gigs the week of St Patties Day)
I do look forward to our Saturday rehearsals, but I make a lot of mistakes (that's where they get corrected) because I don't practice the songs at home enough. Too boring. Yesterday I couldn't play a short run of notes I'm supposed to know. I blamed it on a very bad pounding headache.
I did buy the book "Music Theory for Practical People" which I pick up when I'm tired of playing. It's fascinating!
Our club's 1st celebration of World Ukulele Day last Friday was a welcome distraction. I worked my butt off from 3PM till 10PM in the park.
Yes, ukulele has pretty much been my life since I quit nursing. Nursing pays better (haha) but I don't enjoy it. I do help one of our members out who is ill some days.
I also attend church and a weekly class of a study of A Course In Miracles, not a hobby, but an attitude adjustment.

I still need to paint the dining room....
 
Nicky, do like the music that your groups are playing? Is it stuff you don't really care for or stuff you're sick of? I don't tire easily of playing tunes I really like, they don't really get old to me. But I found that in many of the group's I was participating in were playing songs I really didn't care for much or at least not that much.
 
Ya know, bunny, that's a good point.
Some of the songs, I couldn't care less if I ever hear/play again.
Most of them I really love though.
There are some other songs I'd really like to do, but the other members don't like em.
I do those myself in open mic.
 
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