Ha!
Common problem with learning to play any instrument. You gotta just hang in there and enjoy the practicing you have time to do. If you're taking lessons with Ben talk to him about this--He'll know what to tell you to do.....Jack

"But I can't stay inspired to practice as much as I should. "

Do you like actually playing the banjo?  Or, is the enjoyment rather only in the end point of being able to play the banjo well?

When I need to be inspired, I usually find a song I want to learn and start figuriing it out. That usually gets me in the mood to practice more and longer, if possible.

Also, if there are any jams in your area, go to a jam, listen, watch, find tunes that you never heard before but would like to learn.

As Jack mentioned: ask your teacher, he may have more ideas.

Hi Sherry,

Yes, Ben will know what to suggest to him. Your way sounds great to me also...Jack

Continue with your lessons, dive deep into scales, keys, exercises, etudes & sight reading. But, in order to keep your interest sharp, always include a post practice period of creating personal compositions with whatever limited playing ability you have. There is no better feeling than praxis & reification.

Nothing to do with inspiration, but "...  increasing my repertoire," has me thinking of a bit of an inside joke (?) in our household.  Sometimes when I hear a catchy (?) song  I'll ask/suggest: "Maybe I should add that to my repertoire ... (pause) .... you didn't even know I had a repertiore, did you?"  Typically my wife will roll her eyeballs or sometimes agree that, "It's a good one, alright."

some simple suggestions:

first, practice extensively rather than intensively. Six ten minute sessions spread out over a day will be way more productive than a single hour of practicing. Keep you instrument handy and ready to grab on a whim.

second, play with others! This is where the real fun of playing, and the real learning, comes in. Take one of Pete Wernick's jamming class, for example. Find a guitarist to play along with you. Seek out open jams and learn to play along with the tunes. (Old time jams might a better start than bluegrass jams, at least at first) And always try to play with musicians who are better than you.

third, when you hit the inevitable plateau and think about giving it all up, hang in with it. Everybody hits various plateaus in their music journey.

fourth: used a bunch of different teachers. Each one will teach you something different

I think it’s important to have an agenda for practice time. There’s a time and a place for sitting with the banjo and playing whatever comes to mind, aimlessly, but if I have somewhat of a plan heading into ‘practice’, I’m much more efficient. You could try breaking it down into 10-15 minute segments. New tunes, old tunes, metronome work, scales, licks etc etc are all things. This helps me not get burnt out in a single session, and before you check the clock you’ll find you’ve gotten some good time in on the instrument.

I just noticed calicoplayer’s post. To me, this is the way

Form a band. Especially with players better than you.

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

Form a band. Especially with players better than you.

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This is what worked for me. Find some friend to jam regularly with. Start a song book. Now you've got motovation to sharpen up on those songs for the next jam, as well as agreeing on new songs. My friends and I started playing out, and that REALLY motivated me to put in tons of practice. That was over 23 years ago, and we are still at it. 

Laurence and Dean hit it. Playing with others is challenging and inspiring. And since bluegrass is band music, it’s presumably the end for which you play.