Lately, perhaps the past three months, I’ve been playing guitar more than usual. On an average day I’m playing for at least forty-five minutes — it has become a part of my day in the same way working out has. I know I’m not playing on the order of a virtuoso, but my improvement is noticeable.
What I often find myself dissatisfied with is not knowing where to go next, in that I’ve gotten caught in a rut of complacency with a technique or playing style — or even certain songs. Once you’ve mastered playing Wonderwall, unless you’re tinkering with the arrangement, I’d imagine every time you play this tune thereafter will be less and less exciting. More so though, I begin to feel I’m wasting my time playing something I’ve conquered, when I could be learning something new. I suppose people play things they know well because it’s fun.. it’s affirming to hear yourself do something creatively notable. But at what cost? I might not end up a master, but I could definitely be in the top 1%.
My solution to this is being tested. I’ve been sticking to a plan where I play a few tunes that haven’t seen the light of day recently for the purpose of keeping them fresh in my mind. After a good warm up with this, I can move on to new songs, new scales, new ideas. It satisfies my human need to hear myself do something well, and warms up my fingers, while making sure I’m not letting time waste away playing the same old riffs every day.