I am now starting to set more goals for myself and reflecting on how much I have progressed so far since picking up my guitar again. It has been a fun and challenging journey so far and I look forward to continuing on with it.

Goals:

Moving forward I would like to continue my regular practice with chord transitions and really get comfortable doing so without having to look down at the strings so much. This is something that I will have to do on a daily basis if I really want to gain proficiency.  By the end of the year I would like to be able to smoothly transition between all the chords I am playing – this means no hesitation between chords and smoothly strumming the next one when appropriate for the song.

I also think it is time that I start to look more into reading music again. My main focus stayed on getting familiar with the strings, chords, picking, and strumming during this semester, but now I think it would be beneficial to try reading some music and learning to play songs that way (as opposed to following along on youtube videos). I would like to pick 2-3 songs to learn in full by the end of the year.

Reflection:

I have really enjoyed my time playing the guitar again. I can definitely feel improvement even if it may not sound a whole lot better yet. It is a very slow process for me and I am fine with that. As long as I incorporate some sections of well known songs that help me practice, I feel like I can stay interested for a long time to come.

My practice routine hasn’t always been as consistent as I like, and that is just a matter of making it more of a habit and making sure I view it as something I “get to do” instead of something I “have to do”. As long as I’m enjoying it, I think it will be a lot easier to continue making it a more regular habit. I also think that it will be a great break from me to get away from screens for a while, which has been very difficult to do this year with classes, reading, and homework mostly all on screen.

I hope that playing guitar can really become a relaxing experience for me, where I can pick it up and start playing to get rid of some stress or just have fun with learning new songs.