When you start out playing guitar everything is new, fun and exiting. Your playing improves, expands and grows further each time you grab the guitar. Every day feels like another chance to improve and learn new ideas...

Then all of a sudden life gets busier. Your job, school or other activities are taking their toll. You meet the love of your life, get married, have children or you need to move to another city.  When can you fit in guitar?

When this happens, (when life gets busy), it means you have to divide your attention away from guitar study and your playing can get stuck in a rut. You obviously don’t want this to happen, but it ends up happening anyway.



So, if it’s been a while since you’ve picked up your guitar and dedicated some serious learning time to it, you probably need some fuel to cultivate that burning desire to practice again. If you don't find a way to better organize time, it may be difficult to move forward with learning and growing on the guitar.

Check out these "deeper guitar commitment" ideas to help get you back in the saddle:

1 – Read and study guitar magazines
Grab a copy of Acoustic guitar, Guitar world or Total Guitar. These magazines are full of inspirational stories, tablature, reviews and interviews. Put them on the table in the living room so you can’t miss reading them.

2 – Watch awesome guitar videos
Search your favorite guitar players and songwriters on Youtube. Watch lessons, interviews, concerts, documentaries and behind the scenes.I'm addicted to interviews these days and they've definitely helped inspire me a lot.

3 – Find a guitar tablature book of your favorite guitar player.
Get a copy of your favorite guitar tablature book. Put the book on a music stand in the living room. Don’t put it on the bookshelf. You need to see the book right in front of you every time you pass by.



4 – Meet up with fellow musicians online
Search online for a guitar buddy or a group. Everybody is in search of people that want to play together. Playing with other musicians is a great motivator. Meet-up is great place to get started.

5 – Read guitar blogs
Guitar blogs will give you lessons and inspiration on a regular basis. Sign up for a blog to get you started, motivated and supplied with all the tools you need to improve your playing. Follow me on Twitter and FaceBook to see my daily posts here on this blog.

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel "Guitar Blog Up-Date." And, my other channel "Creative Guitar Studio." I have posts going up all through the week, (each and every week). It's a great way to stay fresh with your playing, join me in learning plenty of new guitar playing ideas all month long.



6 – Get tickets
Go see a concert of your favorite guitar player or band to fuel your inspiration.

7 – Watch guitar instruction DVD’s
There are lots of great guitar instruction DVDs from various great guitar players. They will make you start playing again. If you’re into fingerpicking Chet Atkins / Tommy Emmanuel style then check out guitar of Chet Atkins.

8 – Clean and maintain your guitar.
Take your guitar out of the bag or case. Start cleaning and polishing the top, sides, back, fingerboard and frets. Put some fresh new strings on your guitar so it sounds and feels good again. Once you start taking care of your guitar the urge to practice will be there again.

9 – Join a band or start your own.
A band is a real motivator for making musical things happen and to keep growing. If you don’t know any people to play with, check out bandmix.com and find people in your area. Just start with a bass player or keyboard player. Start practicing and keep searching for new members in the meantime. Before you know it you’ll be playing with a complete band.



10 – Guitar apps
Download some guitar apps that will help you play /understand guitar better.

11 – Join a guitar community online
Search online for guitar communities like Ultimate-Guitar. Join the conversation. Start talkin’ and let people's advice and encouragement help you to start practicing more and more. You will gain new ideas and new ways to make guitar playing more fun.

12 – Visit your local guitar shop
Try some different guitars at a guitar store in your area and you will discover new beauties that will make your blood start pumpin’ again. If you aren’t planning to get out of your comfy seat, then check out high quality affordable guitars online.

13 – Where to start
Find a good guitar teacher in your area, book a trial lesson and see where it will take you. Before you know it you’ll be on a roll. If you don’t like face to face teachers /instruction, you can also check out the Creative Guitar Studio online course.



14 – Design your practice room
Design your room in a way that inspires you to practice and play guitar all day every day.

15 – Sign up for a guitar workshop
Workshops or seminars are a great trigger to get you motivated again. You can learn, ask questions and be fueled by new inspiration.

16 – Download a guitar course
Once you start a course you will get excited and the practice juices will start flowing again. If you’re into blues or rock soloing, or want a Beginner or Intermediate system to follow, check out the various courses I have on my site.

Do you have any more ideas to get the fire burning? Please share in the comments.