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Day One Hundred Sixty Two (Year Four)

Over the years, I've talked about doing a lot of things in this space.  I've mentioned (a lot) the desire to even out the time I spend with the electric guitar vs. the time I spend with an acoustic in my hands.  I've talked about wanting to make records.  I've talked about wanting to put together a set list and play some gigs.  I've talked about wanting to be a more well-rounded musician.

Here's what dawned on me tonight: absolutely everything on this list centers on the acoustic.  When I sit down to write music, it's not the electric I reach for first.  When I sit down to record, sure, I may lay down an electric riff as it goes through my head, but I'm always trying to block the song out on acoustic.  When I think about playing live, 99% of solo singer-songwriters play acoustic (and as much as I love the idea of making a solo-electric singer-songwriter record, I'm not there right now).

Don't get me wrong, there will be plenty of days this year where I reach for the electric first, but I just feel that starting the year by making a bigger point of the acoustic ties in really well to all of my other goals this year.  It'll definitely strengthen my hands, and I suspect it will also make my electric playing more fluid almost by default.

I've found some pretty good books with solid acoustic-based lessons in them, and I know I've got a pile of old Guitar World Acoustic issues at my Mom's place.  If I can find a way to grab those the next time we're up north, I know there will be a ton of stuff in them that I didn't appreciate enough the first time around.

Tonight was a good night for playing.  My fingers are just the tiniest bit sore as I head off to bed.

Oh, and I picked up American Weekend by Waxahatchee tonight.

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