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Day One (Year Two)

So, my initial plan for tonight's post was to go sifting back through the first few weeks of last year, and see what I had laid out to be accomplished, and then compare it to where things sit a year later.  A crazy evening later, that may well have to wait until tomorrow, or perhaps my couple of days off after that.  Here's what I do recall: 

1)  I admitted that I had become a critic, and wrestled with the issues of being a critic without adding anything to the canon.

2)  I didn't want to be a rock n' roll never was... I hoped instead to be a rock n' roll hasn't yet.
3)  I wanted to practice every day, keep a record of it, and use the blog to hold myself accountable.
4)  I wanted to improve my lead playing, specifically, and my overall musicianship on the instrument.
5)  The end goal was to apply to Berklee School of Music in Boston.

I haven't accomplished all of the list, by any stretch, but I do feel like I've made some strides in the last 365 days.  I'm a lot closer to accomplishing the forst two things on that list than I was a year ago... and doing so with the project I hoped would come back around when I started this last year. 

I've played (almost) every day for the past year, and the blog has definitely held me accountable for the work I've put in.  I haven't kept as good of records of what I practiced, though.  While the blog has sort of helped me keep track of some things, I know I can do better.  My lead playing has improved at least a bit this year, and I feel like my musicianship is coming back, although neither of those things are where I'd like them to be.

The overall goal of Berklee was not met this past year, nor did I really expect it to be.  I always kind of assumed that the first year would be spent feeling out where I stood, and that the real progress would begin in year two.

More assessment is to come in the following days, with some loose ends from last year being tied up, and some things (hell, a lot of things) improved upon.  It only gets better from here.

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