Leaderboard

Although I have the impression I have played less guitar last year than the years before, I feel like I have improved. Playing the blues project with my friend had given me more confidence. Spring, I attended a bossanova work shop for the first time. Although I sucked in recalling simple chords, I took my lessons home. Another guitar has been designed and will be built. So, what can I say? Oh yes, I even had Zorrows Mayday V in the house.

Lately, I've been exploring other musical genres than metal, which hopefully is making me a better overall musician. I play now with a sax player and with a conga player, whose tastes and default musical reflexes are very different than what I was used to. For example, the sax player (being the sax a melodic instrument) is by nature a soloist, so now I must focus more on chords and rhythm in general. I try to provide a safe canvas for him to paint over -though I still do get some solo spots, but way fewer than before. This implies I need to play more chord inversions and also develop more stamina in order to keep a steady-but-not-so-boring rhythm for very very long periods of time. On the other hand, with the congas I now trade some percussive riffs. This moves away from the typical lead guitar/singer melodic "call-response" clichés. I've been listening to Afro-cuban and Brazilian drumming patterns to get prepared for this, thrashing my way through them and putting them in practice with our conga player. He goes TAM-TAM and I go CHUG-CHUG, and many cool things happen there. It's a true blast! So, while I still practice some licks and metal runs when I have time, I'm also trying to do some different stuff to keep my right brain active. It does pay off, even in the very short term. PS: I must mention Brooks was one of the factors that motivated me to get into this eclectic band. I thank him for the inspiration. And I'll never regret the move because yes, I'm getting better, definitively.

One that hits a little closer to home for me: "Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'"

Mitch, you have to have the proper perspective. Remember the jocks in high school who could run and throw and catch and jump like a m**herf**ker and were going pro and all that? Well, how many of them can do any of that anymore? They get maybe 10 years of potential peak performance. Meanwhile (if you haven't just flat out quit), your ability has steadily grown - whether it's physically or mentally - and you've improved in one way or another. It may not be much, maybe barely noticeable, but you still don't have to be the 'glory days' guy. You have a passion for something that can grow as you see fit. If you're physically diminished, maybe develop another technique. If you're mentally diminished, well, join the club. Take a breath, look at it from another angle, relax and enjoy. That's what it's about.

worse. It's not me, Just my age, nerve, muscle tissue damage. I got to quit huffin....

IITB.