how often do you guys hit a wall in your musicianship? do you ever get busy and put down the instrument for a while? ever feel like your development is being hampered?

Musicians block, man that **** sucks.. For me its usually brought on by stress.

Go to a good show, usually inspiration can get you back in your groove.

I hit a wall fairly often. Either I stop thinking of stuff to play or my talent level fails me and I can't play what I want to. Eventually I decide to start playing again when I hear a song or think of a riff that I want to try. If I figure it out, my spirits are renewed, otherwise the funk continues.

Best bet is to try learning a song you're really enjoying lately. At least, that almost always works for me. If can play even a small part of it, I feel like I'm getting better again, even if it was fairly easy to figure out.

I always feel stupid having two guitars and an amp in my tiny on-campus room whenever I'm not playing much, so I also get a guilt complex to start playing again whenever I hit a wall and take a break.

For me, since I can't practice my drums at home, I get stuck into playing things the same way I have been for years, even if I know I am playing it somewhat wrong.

Case in point.

A certian fill that I know needs to be played differently. When I sit at home and go over these fills in my head, I try to remember it for the next time I have practice with my band. Sometimes, I do, but when I try to incorporate it into the song, I just go and play it the same way I have been. Kinda pisses me off. Really wish I had some money that I could convert a room to a soundproof room and keep a set of drums here for practicing.

Other than that, I really can't say much as I don't try to hard to come up with my own stuff. I have a few ideas in my head that I relay to my guitarist, and he plays them out.

I usually break mental blocks by going back to practicing the basics or learning something new altogether. When the blocks are really bad I will spring for a new guitar just to get those juices flowing again.

It happens to me all the time. I usually end up playing less because I get so frustrated. I tend to focus on my imperfections and it annoys me when I cant play stuff that I believe I should be able to. To get around it, I try to play other stuff. I play a lot of metal usually, so maybe I'll go learn a bluesy song. About a month ago I started learning Red House by Jimi Hendrix for this very reason.