Saturday 15 January 2011

Who's counting?

Playing today was good fun - I focussed first on the half-dozen newest ones so I had a handle on them. Then I put the ipod playlist of the current pool on shuffle so that I didn't get stuck in only knowing them in the sequence I rehearsed in.

I've played through the 29 songs that are the current candidates. I have played each of them at least three times today, with several getting repeats as I try to work out/sharpen up sections. This is the most guitar playing I've done in years. Probably the last time I played every day for more than a few days was when I was playing in a band which did Thelonious Monk tunes. That really sharpened up my playing.

I've still got a list for more work - 2 of the newest ones will require some more work with all the band, but at least I've got some ideas of what I could do. I probably won't play much tomorrow, as we've got a house full of guests, which will be lovely. Chances are I'll make half an hour in the morning to go over the stickier tunes before getting the preparations started. I also need to start a list of notes for each song - who starts, who solos, any odd bits to remember, how it ends, slide or not, any particular guitar sound. I'll start that before Monday's rehearsal then update it as we go. Last week we were just trying to get through the tunes without bumping into each other. This week we need to start tightening and improving. Which we will.

I've not had proper guitarist's pads for a long long time - my fingertips are toughening up nicely. Now time to relax with Match Of The Day and a cup of tea.

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