Scary,,,practise + practise Lest we forget

[simon_f3]

I have to say I have really (and I mean REALLY) struggled to stay motivated with anything musical over the last year - I never realised how important gigs were to keep me practising and improving! I'm still getting bits and pieces on the steel so it's not all bad, but my normal guitar playing has suffered quite a bit and my Tele has a good layer of dust on it which has never happened before

I am certainly looking forward to gigs starting up again, if only to motivate me to do some practice and learn how to play the damn thing properly!! No sign of a vaccine for me yet (I'm not even all that young...) so I don't think I'll be braving the pubs and clubs for a little while

[Nick Bidmade]

Good point you raise, John.
I can't remember some of the titles of tunes I used to be able to play, let alone how to play them.
I did write out a few, in tablature, and they, at least, eventually come back. I know tab doesn't work for you.
I'm currently enjoying 'Killing Me Softly With His Song', which I tabbed out some years ago. Simple, yet very effective.

[Rigby]

I brought my steel home from the studio at the start of the year and sheer lockdown boredom has meant I've played it most days, but I haven't exactly had a disciplined practice routine! I'm getting better at the basics but have reached a bit of a wall in terms of adding more complex or melodic licks.

[Danny Mitchell]

Hi Rigby,
Good to hear you're getting in seat time, there is no substitute.
What I'd do when stuck, rehashing the same old licks, was to transpose them up (or down) the neck and figure out how to get them using different pedal/lever manoeuvres. This always proved inspirational and opened up new ideas. Although most of my sad, little collection of licks were only based around chord inversions.
What a bogglingly, beautiful instrument this is.

[Rigby]

Yes, there have been a few times when I've worked out a simple lick and realised there are probably three or four ways to play it which all sound slightly different.

I don't think the last few months have expanded my range much but my intonation and volume pedal control have improved, and my palm blocking is slightly less crap. Still need to fight the tendency to come off the volume pedal when I use the right knee lever.