Imitation

 "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay greatness." -Oscar Wilde

I'm making it a point to learn more covers this year. 

And yes, I currently reside in the realm of mediocrity, but the goal is to always be in the process of progressing towards greatness. 

Put the time in. 

"2 minutes everyday is worth more than 2 hours on Saturday." -David Meltzer

Things I Need to Work On: Guitar Edition

Finger endurance, strength, and flexibility. 

Learning more covers. 

Writing (documenting) more, but also not forcing it. Just turn on the faucet and catch the water, adult. 

Chord transitions but also the transitions within the transitions. Sometimes the fingering doesn't need to be fully formed at the beginning of the phrase. There are micro adjustments and movements and placements that exist among each transition. Figure out these moments and fit them in to the musicality of the phrasing. Yes, there is a script. But there's also room for tone, inflection, dynamics, nuance. The what should be enhanced by the how. 

Pick up a guitar everyday, even if it's only for 120 seconds. 

Have fun. If it's not fun, put it down after the prescribed 120 seconds. 

My fingers hurt

 ... in the best way possible. 

Because I'm practicing guitar. 

And just like getting into shape for a marathon or exercising to lose weight, there is pain associated with strengthening my guitar finger muscles. 

It really is freaking fun to play music. 

I am not that person...

 ... the one who can't watch themselves on video. 

... the one who hears the finished song in their head before it's done. 

... the one who practices a lot. 

... the one who maintains their instrument. 

... the one who writes lyrics before the music/melody. 

... the one who actually finishes most of the projects he starts. 

Some of these are innocuous. 

Others need to be changed ASAP. 

Self-awareness is a good thing if it leads to action. 

Practice

I never did. 

I started playing guitar the summer of 2000. Right after I had graduated high school and a couple months before I moved into the dorms at college. 

I bought my first acoustic guitar in June, and by September, I had 2 more guitars. 

But... I didn't practice. 

I still don't practice very much. 

Which is a shame. 

Practice is when you realize you have so much to strive for. And also when you figure out that you get out what you put in. 

Long story short. It's time for me to start practicing more. I'll be a better person for it. 

Busy

 ... sure as shit don't mean productive. 

GOAL: Spend 5 minutes a day on productive guitar work. Technique, learning covers, playing (learning and drilling) songs I've written. 

Get busy being productive. 

Free Write

I have nothing to say about the time when I woke up and my dad was getting arrested but he was in the right because he had parked on the street facing the wrong way is never the right way and if it was easier it would just be called t he way only at target i can't believe that i switched over to target is the spot makrs the x marks the spot and typs suck but are a necessity i guess when you free write it could be good or it oulcd be bad and maybe i don't know how to spell but it's always a good thing to slow down and take your time instead of trying to win the lottery you could just show up to work and collect a key to your own self absorbed and permittied maze of a a cage of a disapointment...

Wow.

Two minutes of free writing was really hard.

And I don't think that I performed the exercise correctly.

But practice makes permanent, they say...

Is Mediocre Enough?

This post is going to be mediocre. Yes, I have set the bar low enough to be vaulted with little to no effort. Already, I have exceeded expectations...

Maybe we expect too much? Maybe our goals are too lofty, our standards are too high, our scorecards are too strict...

Or maybe we just want spectacular. We want to feel the backs of our necks tingle, the hairs on our arms stand up... we want to feel goosebumps and have trouble catching our breath because what we've witnessed is so amazing, beautiful, life-changing...

It starts with aiming high on paper, hitting low in reality, and eventually matching paper to reality.

Mediocre now becomes amazing later... but only if you push yourself through the times you feel mediocre. Only if you learn from your mistakes. Attempt, evaluate, adjust, rinse, repeat.

But even mediocre is better than nothing. Nothing might as well be... well, it really isn't anything so nothing can go fuck itself...