Guitar Practice. And Scaling Olympus.
In preparation for the upcoming 80s Invasion gigs I’ve been spending about 2 hours each day practicing my guitar parts. Yesterday I watched the Seahawks game on television with a guitar on my lap, playing scales and arpeggios during the entire game. It’s amazing to me that after all these years of playing the guitar, I never get tired of just holding the instrument and noodling around on it. Apparently I was wired for this… guitar is my drug.
I play guitar reasonably well. I know my music theory, can transcribe and play from recordings, and improvise convincingly in a number of styles. It’s not enough to be good. I want to claw my way up the mountain into that marble temple where the gods dwell.
Back when I first began to play guitar, I took it seriously and had a strong drive to be good at it. I had a good guitar teacher who helped me learn the fundamentals of music theory. By the time I graduated from high school, I had developed a decent command of the instrument and started to play professionally.
Since then I’ve progressed to the point where I’m comfortable enough on the instrument to play almost anything. So, how does one get from “good” to “insanely good”? It’s a challenge I’ve been facing for a number of years. I’ve had glimpses of guitar valhalla; many time on stage the clouds have parted and I’ve been in the zone. But the players who dwell there at all times… those guys are guitar deities. Frisell. McLaughlin. Belew. Fripp. Vaughan. Page. Hendrix. Kimock. Jorgensen. Torn. Buckethead. Gatton. Williams.
It’s analagous to being an amateur athlete; there is “good” and there is “olympics good”.
Seems like a big chasm to cross. It will take a massive investment of time to get there. Maybe more time than I have. Either way, the climb is worthwhile for its own sake.