New year guitar resolutions

[TBman]

For this year I'm determined to memorize some songs. The best way to achieve that, (duh) is to play them everyday if possible. So I created a subfolder in my "Guitar" desktop folder called "A Set list" and made short-cuts to the pdf tabs of the songs within that folder. I did this instead of copying them to the folder and then having duplicates all over the place and accidentally moving them instead of copying, etc. Deleting a shortcut later on is worry free as the original file remains intact.

[Mystery123]

My goal is to at least become a beginner from a complete noob.
That means, I should be able to play simple songs and friends should enjoy them instead of covering their ears.

[harmonics101]

My goal will be to try to make my melody lines sound more jazzy and less bluesy,

H

[rosborn]

No new guitars. I'm standing pat with what I have (a Martin D-18 and a Martin 000-18) and will play the heck out of them.

I'm gonna try the "no new guitars" resolution again. I think I actually made it February last year.

I'm also going to resolve to grow some fingernails on my right hand, and to devote more hours to pedal steel.

[mc1]

here's mine from a couple of years ago:

[SFCRetired]

I would like to thin my herd and sell some I'm not playing all that much. It's just deciding which ones is the problem.

But I'm just going to continue on with what I'm focused on now as far as playing.

[harmonics101]

mc1, love that ' updated list ',

H

[drjond56]

Two goals, somewhat disparate in nature. I am going to work hard on advancing my finger style blues skills. Did a recent workshop and have some newer books and DVD's in my library. This in advance of delivery of a Martin 0-15S custom on the way in April. Second goal is to spend more time on the classical--trying hard to advance my repertoire.

Jon

[TEK]

Originally Posted by mc1

here's mine from a couple of years ago:

This made me laugh out loud !!
Travis

[tbeltrans]

This is my own story, but the general idea is applicable to anybody ready for self-reflection. Hopefully this longer read will have some value to somebody else pausing to really reflect on his or her musical goals.

There seems to be a really fine balance when arranging for solo fingerstyle guitar between making simple arrangements that are not a struggle to learn and play (so they just flow) and still retaining the beauty that the guitar is capable of, rather than being just silly in their simple-mindedness.

In thinking back over the time I have been working at arranging/learning/playing tunes, I have come to realize that the biggest problem for me has been to tackle more than I can truly play. What I mean by that is that I am sure, given the time and focus, I could learn some impressive arrangement by Tommy Emmanuel or Laurence Juber, or ... (I have done that a time or two already), but all I would be doing is learning to "wiggle my fingers" as Rick Ruskin would say, rather than deeply understanding what I am doing because the arrangements are so complex and polished beyond my understanding, that I could not create something like that myself. I can end up with an impressive array of solos to play, but nothing that I put myself into, more like reciting a memorized poem than actually communicating something of myself.

So, what I am working on and will continue to do over the coming year, is back off to the point where my own understanding and abilities to create reside, and move forward from there instead of continually getting ahead of myself with all that complexity. My goal is "simple beauty" on the guitar instead of "busy and flashy". Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for the players I mentioned, and enjoy their music. But it isn't MY music - it is theirs, and I have come to realize that I am not desiring to go along their respective paths. I have to find my own. Every once in a while, I hear somebody play (usually not somebody famous) and realize at a gut level that THIS is where I am going too. Get enough of those realizations, and a mental picture or vision starts to form of what it is I really want to do musically.

I want to bring out the simple beauty of the guitar, the ringing sustained notes that accompany the melody, making the tune literally float to the ears in a relaxed and easy manner. I am not talking new age or even open tunings necessarily. As an example, I have learned an arrangement of "Moon River" by Kirk Lorange in standard tuning that typifies where I want to go. Kirk has a very simple way of mapping the fretboard in his "Plane Talk" that facilitates the kind of thinking that is behind such arrangements. He has been very willing and open to answering some questions about his approach to arranging within the context of "Plane Talk" that I posed. Because I already know the theory and the fretboard pretty well, it only took a few nudges in the right direction from him to get started.

So, for the next year (and hopefully far longer than that), I simply want to continue to follow my chosen musical path. I recently got a guitar that really enables that style for me with its wide fretboard, so I am well equipped with the diatonic theory, the fretboard knowledge, the technical facility from years of playing, and now the definite sense of direction I needed to begin putting all that together in my own way.

Tony

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by mc1

here's mine from a couple of years ago:

Perfect....

And that is why I don't write down my resolutions.

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by mc1

here's mine from a couple of years ago:

That may be what my list will look like later in the year.

[FLTarheel]

My New Years resolution is to invest the time and form the band I have been wanting to assemble for the last few years.

[muscmp]

really not a resolution, but, i need to sell some items. i've purchased two amps in two weeks--a new vox ac15 and a 1975 fender champ, so i need to get rid of some stuff this coming year. i'll keep the guitars tho! ha!

play music!