i've slowly started working my way back into guitar and although it's a big serving of humility it's also quite exciting. don't get me wrong, it absolutely sucks having to start many steps back after working so hard to get wherever i was, but at the same time i know how to get there much faster and get to experience the all of the rewards all over again. sure, i'd rather just pick up where i left off but i'll accept it and enjoy the process. 

 i've been doing mostly exercises this week just to get my strength up and my callouses back. i didn't notice it at the time but it has a huge affect on playing. just like going to the gym you have to exercise daily to see them gains and it really is no different. i have some exercises i do that have little musicality but are all resistance (bending) and high reps (uh... reps). focus on the muscle groups to maximize efficiency.

i've also fallen out of step with my fretboard visualization. i mean, i do understand it, but i haven't been thinking in those terms for quite a while. when i was focusing on harmony i was very much seeing chords and scales but have slipped into bad habit and seeing strictly whatever riff i'm currently playing with no context. unfortunately, like everything else, it's fleeting. you have to constantly think in those terms. i know when it was a focus of my practices i felt like i had a really good handle on harmony. changes made sense and i could handle them. i'd even figure out songs in the car driving to work and check them when i got home. i was usually right. go me.

getting my brain back into gear again feels good. it just feels good to think about something critically, learn something new, expand on current knowledge, and apply it to something. yeah sure, playing music is "fun" and whatever that comes with, but it very much is an intellectual pursuit, if you choose it to be. i very much find enjoyment in the process and if that's all it ever will be, i'm completely fine with it.