One thing I’ve always had difficulty with is the concept that my hobbies are worth the time I want to give them. I want to practice, therefore somehow I end up not practicing because it feels like there should be better things that I’m doing with my time.
I’m attempting to work on changing that.
So this morning I sat down and took Strange out of her case, tuned her up (at which she grumbled a bit) and started through the painful process of retraining my fingers to find the B-minor chord that Amras helped me stumbled through several weeks ago. Okay, perhaps at least a month ago would be a more honest answer.
The bad news is that my fingers still detest the B-minor, the good news is they detest it substantially less than they did when first learned it, and my ears are also getting much much better at hearing it properly. Which is making the whole process much much easier. The other good news is that I can now play a D-chord with very little trouble, and I am slowly working my way to being able to play that Peter, Paul & Mary song I’ve been hammering away at without having to look at my fretboard! At this stage, even a few bars of being able to relax and trust my muscle memory is pretty massive.
I am remembering that learning an instrument is as much about training your ears as it is about training your hands. That may, perhaps, be what makes it so easy for me to get frustrated with myself – I have very good ears. You sing something to me once, I can sing it back to you almost immediately; the thing is, I have coasted on those ears for a long time. Being able to play or sing by ear is a blessing, but it’s also a curse – it meant that as a singer I seldom had to run a single scale, because I always knew the notes would come out right as long as I could hear them. Not so with guitar, guitar I have to work.
Which I love actually. It feels really good to work at something and see the results.
I can’t quite get my fingers to agree with that sentiment but at least my heart is in the right place.
Hobbies and relaxation are necessities in life, as much as breathing and eating; take it from someone who eliminated them over time and then burned out. I’m glad some things are coming easier, even if you still have to work at them. The work part is what brings the satisfaction and pride in getting closer to your goal.