I used to play a lot in HS in a band and with buddies. I probably played 3 plus hours a day. I went to school in 2009 and quit playing (I didn't have the time) fast forward to now and I picked up my guitars again about 2 months ago. The issue I have is that without a band I have no set direction to guide my playing and personal improvement as a musician.

Time to start your solo career! Now you go wherever the wind blows, no one to hold you back.

I get bored playing alone. I started by just trying to memorize scales.

Well that can be a pretty boring part of practice. Scales obviously have their place though, and are necessary if you're going to be good at jamming/improvising. I usually  spend a lot of time listening to my favorite music with my bass in my hand and just try to play along. I'll rewind over and over again and just try to hit the same riff until I nail it.  I just figure it out as I go, no tabs or anything like that.

I'm no longer in a band, myself, and have no practice regimen. Although I do learn things from time to time.

Instead I'm working towards getting set up to record demos. I already have Reaper on my computer (a great DAW at a great price that I highly recommend), along with a Line6 UX2 interface, and Pod Farm.

My next step is to buy Toontrack EZ Drummer 2. It's a great sounding and flexible drum virtual instrument program. I have a feeling that when I get it up and running, the songs will come easier.

All of this will allow me to quickly and easily record ideas and demos without messing around with micing stuff up. It should be quick, intuitive, and help me stay in the groove when I'm writing.

I'm with Andrew.  I'll go to YouTube and pick a song to play with.  Once I've played it a few times and roughly have it I'll select another song from the YouTube recomended list and continue the process.  If I really like one of the songs I'll add it to my rotation and try to learn the entire song.

When I'm practicing for my band I'll learn each song on the set list and then string the set list together as I learn them.  When I'm done I'll just play the entire set through once for a practice session.  (I rarely practice more than an hour at one time.)

That said I should practice more scales and new chords.  But that doesn't hold my attention very long.

The only way to get better is to play with better musicians.

Getting my ass kicked by a better guitarist always inspired me to play better.



Unfortunately, I haven't found one that can push me.

My playing ability peaked back in '98 and went down hill.....sorry thing is, my current level is still light years ahead of those I have jammed with in the last 10 years.



That being said...my limits are confined to rock-n-roll and metal....never had the desire to learn any other genres and probably never will. I appreciate the many styles/genres as they all contain some technical prowess....I just don't get into jazz, country, or anything else.

See, for me I am all about the metal, lately its more prog type stuff, and I am thinking about re-trying the jump to 7 string. I also dig hot bluegrass and country. My chops are nowhere  near what they used to be 6 years ago.

This.

 






 

Get some software based sequencing and recording program and make your own music, you then have to keep up with yourself on drums, bass, guitars, synths and leads or whatever you make.. hell even if you just made covers for the sake of practice, you can keep challenging yourself with more complex songs and styles.

I like this idea. I need a home "studio" so I can start building my own material.