Posted by Jay Bertolet on March 05, 2002 at 09:09:10:
In Reply to: What now? posted by Brian on March 05, 2002 at 00:15:42:
Congrats on finishing your degree! I especially like Sean's advice and I would add something of my own. Whenever I'm feeling a little burnt I try and find things to work on, specific things in my playing that I feel I have problems with or that I've never really done well. Everybody has these things in their playing and you can always do something better than you do it now. I try to find these specific things in my playing and work on improving them. This directs my practice sessions so that I always have goals to achieve. For me, I always have to be concentrated on something or I lose focus and tend not to get anything done while practicing.
It is pointless to directly compare yourself to professional players like the ones you've listed. These players are at the height of their game and you've just graduated college. Give yourself time to mature and develop your skills. It can be a daunting experience to hear these incredible players and then wonder how you could ever sound like that. Don't forget that they all took the time to work and improve until they arrived at the level of performance you hear today. Taken one step at a time, you might reach those levels yourself. It just takes time and hard work. Best of luck to you!
My opinion for what it's worth...