be a virtuoso on guitar

I’ve got my calluses back now, so no more sore fingers. I’ve recently adopted a new regime in which I start my practice session with 30 minutes of exercises. I’ve never been very good about doing exercises in the past because they can be a bit boring, but this seems to be working. I tell myself that if I do the exercises then I can reward myself with working on pieces for as long as I like afterwards. So I don’t have to do more than 30 minutes of exercises a day, unless I feel like doing more.

I’m working on 6 pieces which I want to get up to performance standard this year. Maybe if I get them polished up ahead of time I’ll take on a few more, but I don’t want to be over ambitious just yet. It’s still takes me a long time to get all the kinks out.

No callouses. But they shall return, like my groove. They might even be groovy callouses. Yea!

And guitar used to be one of the biggest things in my life! What happened? I guess I got discouraged and disillusioned. Or perhaps I found out how much time and effort is required to get really good, and realised I was unlikely to reach the standard I aspire too. But I’ve always kept my nails in playing condition (as best I can), which must mean that in my heart, I still want to play.

Perhaps I need to give it one more chance? I’ve now got a room with excellent acoustics, which always makes a difference. I’ll have little play tomorrow and see how it feels.

is the virtuosic precision and artistry of David Russell combined with the audacious flair and inventiveness of Antonio Forcione. Not too much to ask for surely?

Better get that guitar out of its case. This could take a week or two.