If you couldn't play guitar anymore...

Logie

lovestrat74

Logie said:

I'd go back to cartooning and portrait painting ( if my fading eyesight would allow me ) 

Was only watching Bob Ross the other day! Would love to be able paint. Pretty therapeutic I reckon.

I hasten to add I'm no Bob Ross

skunkwerx

mrkb said:

skunkwerx said:

If I couldnt play guitar anymore I’d probably get a girlfriend and do that for a bit. 

They‘re very expensive to run, and you can normally only try one out at a time. I’d look at doing something less stressful.

Sod that then for a game of soldiers. 

Ok, if guitar isnt an option I’ll probably start an Airline.

Kittyfrisk

If it ever happens, you will be more than likely be monumentally pissed off, frustrated & depressed.
I'm battling (& losing) against Heberden's & Bouchard's nodes in both hands as well as slowly progressing Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand, plus arthritis at the base of both thumbs (old car vs bike accident).
I can still play slide & some chords in a kind of modified Django Reinhardt style, so it isn't quite over yet.
I really do miss being able to pick up a guitar & just play, without physically wrangling fingers into places on the fretboard where they can no longer fit.
Anyway, there are people here in far more challenging situations, both physical & mental, so you just have to get on with things, don't you?
Hope that yours is a minor or fixable situation  

stratman3142

Composing and recording with VSTi instruments for me. And, if I couldn't play keyboards either, it would come down populating and tweaking boxes in a midi grid, which is probably what I spend most of my time doing now anyway.

Voxman

Kittyfrisk said:

If it ever happens, you will be more than likely be monumentally pissed off, frustrated & depressed.
I'm battling (& losing) against Heberden's & Bouchard's nodes in both hands as well as slowly progressing Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand, plus arthritis at the base of both thumbs (old car vs bike accident).
I can still play slide & some chords in a kind of modified Django Reinhardt style, so it isn't quite over yet.
I really do miss being able to pick up a guitar & just play, without physically wrangling fingers into places on the fretboard where they can no longer fit.
Anyway, there are people here in far more challenging situations, both physical & mental, so you just have to get on with things, don't you?
Hope that yours is a minor or fixable situation  

Really sorry to hear about your hand problems Graeme - what a bummer!    Glad you're still battling though, and look after yourself.   

Voxman

skunkwerx said:

mrkb said:

skunkwerx said:

If I couldnt play guitar anymore I’d probably get a girlfriend and do that for a bit. 

They‘re very expensive to run, and you can normally only try one out at a time. I’d look at doing something less stressful.

Sod that then for a game of soldiers. 

Ok, if guitar isnt an option I’ll probably start an Airline.

Nah, come on - that's a real flight of fancy!

Voxman

Lestratcaster said:

I'd probably learn another instrument

I'm still trying to learn this one!

Voxman

fretmeister said:

I am wondering this too.

I've properly ruptured the tendons in my right hand middle finger. I play bass fingerstyle.

I have the next 3 months in a split and then loads of hand therapy to look forward to.

I can sing, but it's been a long time and it's not the same as jamming at home.

Ouch! How did you do that - was it just from playing bass? 

Kittyfrisk

Really sorry to hear about your hand problems Graeme - what a bummer!    Glad you're still battling though, and look after yourself.   

@Voxman  Cheers Rich, much appreciated. It wasn't a lifestyle choice (no, really) so you just have to work with the hand (ouch!) that you are dealt 
To coin a phrase, worse things happen at sea 

Roland

Not being able to play is something which I’ve wondered about because playing guitar has been a fundamental part of my life for 50+ years. Several years ago I cut back on practicing to avoid irritating arthritic joints, reserving my effort for learning what I need for our set list. Then came coronavirus, and with no gigs or rehearsals I virtually stopped playing. At the moment I pick up a guitar maybe once or twice per week. There’s plenty of other things going on in life, so I’m not feeling bereft. In fact I’ve not had time to get out in the workshop, which is my other favoured occupation.

If gigs come back then you’ll find me back out there. If fingers fail then I might run the PA whilst the band settles in a new guitarist. If my ears go then I’ll focus on making and mending guitars, and other workshop projects.

Fishboy7

Concentrate on my banjo chops probably

axisus

I'd play other instruments. We have loads of different ones in our house.

fretmeister

Voxman said:

fretmeister said:

I am wondering this too.

I've properly ruptured the tendons in my right hand middle finger. I play bass fingerstyle.

I have the next 3 months in a split and then loads of hand therapy to look forward to.

I can sing, but it's been a long time and it's not the same as jamming at home.

Ouch! How did you do that - was it just from playing bass? 

No - just taking off a sock.
Heard it snap. Loads of pain.

Getting a custom splint made tomorrow.

Voxman

fretmeister said:

Voxman said:

fretmeister said:

I am wondering this too.

I've properly ruptured the tendons in my right hand middle finger. I play bass fingerstyle.

I have the next 3 months in a split and then loads of hand therapy to look forward to.

I can sing, but it's been a long time and it's not the same as jamming at home.

Ouch! How did you do that - was it just from playing bass? 

No - just taking off a sock.
Heard it snap. Loads of pain.

Getting a custom splint made tomorrow.

Damn...of all things, a ruddy sock!   

So the custom shop splint build...did you opt for rosewood, mahogany, ash or alder?  Make sure they give you one with a nice grain and a satin finish for smoother movement! 

Greatape

I have another long-term pastime that I'm just as committed to, if not moreso: Japanese martial arts. That would happily take up the slack. 

sammysaber

Kittyfrisk said:

If it ever happens, you will be more than likely be monumentally pissed off, frustrated & depressed.
I'm battling (& losing) against Heberden's & Bouchard's nodes in both hands as well as slowly progressing Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand, plus arthritis at the base of both thumbs (old car vs bike accident).
I can still play slide & some chords in a kind of modified Django Reinhardt style, so it isn't quite over yet.
I really do miss being able to pick up a guitar & just play, without physically wrangling fingers into places on the fretboard where they can no longer fit.
Anyway, there are people here in far more challenging situations, both physical & mental, so you just have to get on with things, don't you?
Hope that yours is a minor or fixable situation  

^^^This.

To clarify, I'm not a gigging/recording musician so playing does not affect my income.
  
Without boring you to death with my life story, my business has been severely affected by Covid and even though I can play, I haven't dared to get a guitar out in the last few weeks as the wife and I are facing a 100% reduction in income and I can't touch the guitar without looking insensitive towards our predicament. It'll be ok soon.

So while I can't actually play right now, I can certainly remember what got me to start playing all those years ago -listening to so many guitarists giving me goosebumps, and now thanks to tech we can hear myriads of different renditions of their works.

Think I'd be happy spending my time listening to the masters at work and plotting the notes/positions in my head if no other option.

ICBM

fretmeister said:
 
I've properly ruptured the tendons in my right hand middle finger. I play bass fingerstyle.

I have the next 3 months in a split and then loads of hand therapy to look forward to.

It’s probably worth trying a pick. A whole different world of bass technique... I use both, mostly pick on fretted and always fingers on fretless.

I have a problem with my right hand at the moment which makes fingerstyle hard - a bad skin condition which makes my fingers very stiff and fragile. This is the second one - a couple of years ago I broke my left elbow badly... had to use a short-scale bass for a few months. I was determined not to let it stop me - I actually played a band practice after only three weeks with a child’s-size 24”-scale bass and my arm in a sling... it wasn’t very well intonated, but usable .

JAYJO

sammysaber said:

Kittyfrisk said:

If it ever happens, you will be more than likely be monumentally pissed off, frustrated & depressed.
I'm battling (& losing) against Heberden's & Bouchard's nodes in both hands as well as slowly progressing Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand, plus arthritis at the base of both thumbs (old car vs bike accident).
I can still play slide & some chords in a kind of modified Django Reinhardt style, so it isn't quite over yet.
I really do miss being able to pick up a guitar & just play, without physically wrangling fingers into places on the fretboard where they can no longer fit.
Anyway, there are people here in far more challenging situations, both physical & mental, so you just have to get on with things, don't you?
Hope that yours is a minor or fixable situation  

^^^This.

To clarify, I'm not a gigging/recording musician so playing does not affect my income.
  
Without boring you to death with my life story, my business has been severely affected by Covid and even though I can play, I haven't dared to get a guitar out in the last few weeks as the wife and I are facing a 100% reduction in income and I can't touch the guitar without looking insensitive towards our predicament. It'll be ok soon.

So while I can't actually play right now, I can certainly remember what got me to start playing all those years ago -listening to so many guitarists giving me goosebumps, and now thanks to tech we can hear myriads of different renditions of their works.

Think I'd be happy spending my time listening to the masters at work and plotting the notes/positions in my head if no other option.

I would play your guitar now more than ever. write and record. when you are back up and running you can look back at where you where and how you were feeling etc.Write the Wife a song.

sammysaber

JAYJO said:

I would play your guitar now more than ever. write and record. when you are back up and running you can look back at where you where and how you were feeling etc.Write the Wife a song.

Thanks a lot mate for the positive vibes mate - much appreciated !
Best, Sammy