Long long overdue progress report
Well, my fingers still go a little bit numb after practicing, but even though I was a particularly naughty girl and didn’t pick up Strange for at least three weeks (yipes! I had to apologize to her for loosing track of time) – my fingertips no longer feel like they’re about to start bleeding, and while my high-E string still leaves a welt after a twenty minute session, it is much less so than it was at the beginning of this adventure.
I was determined to have one song mastered by Christmas, and it looks like I am actually going to accomplish that – One Tin Solider may not be performed on stage any time soon, but it’s steady enough that I should be able to at least play it for my Mum without completely embarrassing myself. So that’s a good thing, for once I actually set a goal and did it, which makes me immensely happy.
Finally remembering the dangers of only focusing on one song (which is as bad as only focusing on one dance step, it means that one step gets strong and all the others go weak) – I picked up my instruction book again today and went back to working on my other chord changes and strum techniques. As I feared they have slipped a little, but at the same time, reading chords that a few months ago were complete greek to me is now actually coming …easily? Okay maybe not easily , I’m still at the stage where my brain understands them but my fingers don’t quite remember how to do them every time (D is still an evil chord), but I have relaxed enough on the pressure I put on myself that I am actually able to enjoy relearning things, even my mistakes. That’s kind of huge for me.
One thing I don’t think is going to change anytime soon: I love this guitar. I have gotten totally attached to her – I perhaps never really understood how musicians got attached to their instruments. The only instrument I ever played before this (other than an ill-fated stint at piano) was trumpet, and I was never really…protective of my horn. I was more protective of my father’s instruments than my own. But there is something different about Strange…
Maybe it’s just because this time it really actually is just mine.