February 24, 2013 (happy birthday, Nick!)

Once again, this is for the previous day (February 23), but it's 2:30 in the morning.

The shed.  The shed is a term that I love and some musicians find aggravating.  Shedding.  For those unfamiliar with the shed (or shedding) in this context, it basically means practicing.

When I was at Berklee, I went through phases of shedding intensely.  I should have shedded more because like Derek Sivers said, it's the best place to shed.

But as human beings, we're programmed to socialize, and I found myself socializing a lot.  I made a lot of friends, met a lot of people, and maintain great relationships with many of my former teachers.  I'm glad I did all that I did because I wouldn't be who I am today without the people I've surrounded myself with by not practicing as much as I should have.

Your craft is just as important as your connections.  You have to be able to deliver the goods.  I've returned to dutifully shedding guitar, other instruments (voice, drums, piano), and writing because I didn't do it at 18.  Same with writing, although I probably spent more time writing when I was 18 than I did shedding guitar.  Actually, no.  It changed weekly, but I did more then than I am now.

There are things that keep me from the shed.  Canary doesn't run itself and even with Scott (our manager) there is still an infinite number of things I have to do.

February 20, 2013

I was working on Big Love by Fleetwood Mac today.  Not the album version - the live version from The Dance.  It's a workout to say the least.

I used to be good at practicing.  And sometimes I still am.  But if I want to be a better guitarist, then I need to be good at practicing all the time.  I don't mean being good about practicing.  I mean actually being good at practicing.  I can sit with my guitar on my lap all day and say that I played it all day.  Or practiced all day.  But did I really?  No.  Will I get better that way?  No.

So it's back to keeping a practice log and writing down what I'm going to practice.  I've been waking up earlier for whatever reason.  I think it's a sign: practice.  My soul knows what's happening, and I know I feel better when I play guitar more.  And practice more.

My callouses have gone down.  If nothing else, I have to remedy that.

Oh, and this also applies to singing and writing.  I'm the most diligent about writing and the least diligent about singing.