New Year's Resolutions 2019

Feels like I've only just got the hang of putting “18” at the end of dates, and here we are again – new year, new practice plan! Why? Well, because I want to keep getting better of course – why else?

This is also a pretty significant year for me – come November, I'll have been playing guitar 25 years (seriously, I am that old) and I wanted to mark that anniversary with a challenge for myself. As I mentioned, my big challenge for last year was the Bach Toccata & Fugue in D minor, and I'm happy to admit that drove me to the edge of my technical and cognitive abilities.. but I did it! Eventually, anyway...

So I'm marking this year by taking up a piece that was transcribed in the first guitar magazine I ever got, Guitar For The Practicing Musician March 1995 – featuring transcriptions of (among others) Nirvana's version of “The Man Who Sold The World” from their Unplugged album (my reason for buying it) alongside tab for a song called “Bad Horsie” by a chap called Steve Vai.

Now, it's important to realise quite how stupid I was at that age, and I had yet to comprehend the concept that one song could be more difficult than another one, let alone comprehend the quantum leap in technique and understanding needed to tackle that track – I sat down with the tab and was woefully confused.... two years later, convinced of my own abilities, I decided to have another crack and was once again massively out of my depth. So I reckon it's about time I ticked this box and got this one in the can. I did “For The Love Of God” - I can do this... I hope..

Meanwhile, there's a schedule to keep to! So my plan, as always balancing, diatonic and pentatonic scales, arpeggios and chords along with new pieces to learn – here's 2019 mapped out:

January – Major scale and modes. 3 octaves, played in 3rds, sequenced in 3s and 4s. Pieces – Eric Johnson “SRV”, Paganini Caprice #24

February – Arpeggios (triads). 3 octaves, played in 3rds, sequenced etc.

March – Chords (triads and inversions, closed and open voicings). Piece – TBC

April – Minor Pentatonic & Modes. Piece TBC

May – Byzanine Scale R b2 3 4 5 b6 7

June – Arpeggios – 7b5s. Piece TBC

July – Chords (7b5s and inversions, closed and open voicings). Piece TBC

August – Pentatonics (Lydian R 3 #4 5 7). Piece TBC

September – Oriental Scale R b2 3 4 b5 6 b7. Piece TBC

October – Arpeggios – 7#5s. Piece TBC

November - Chords (7#5s and inversions, closed and open voicings). Piece TBC

December – Pentatonics (Mixolydian R 2 3 5 b7). Piece TBC.