They’re saying time is our worst enemy and we usually think of it in terms of time we have on this Earth, but it is also very real in everything else! Definitely on a hobbies front… glad you are clear with your goals JK, I think we have a common approach here and I wish to do more and learn more, but… time 
Less OM performances from you suck big time, but if you compensate us over with more recordings then all will be forgiven 
I did totally understand you… I meant that I spend much much much more time here then I should 
and then I also look up many things all day long in between and learn all kinds of things about… everything related to animals and plants and … pfffff
But I really have to hold back a little … so I hope to follow your example a bit 
But I’ve said that before 
Greetings and have fun 
You’re very welcome 
Well that was a really well written thought provoking update to your LL. You’ve given me food for thought with that post as I can relate with it and have found myself drifting the past 6 months.
Having followed your progress on this forum from day one I don’t think it’s a matter of hope. I think it’s just a matter of time.
Look forward to watching them and learning from them when you post them.
A jam sounds good David, except for that pesky distance ! I bet Guitar Aerobics is pretty popular. It satisfies my itch for technique exercises and playing something a bit new. Although so weird that basic strumming and sweep picking are right at the beginning.
Hey Jeff, sometimes even the songs we’re learning are the same! Although your skills are much greater than mine, I was learning Paranoid without the solo then you posted it with the solo! Looking forward to reading that LL update.
Hey Toby! I hope the read was a bit entertaining. Stepping back from performing at the OMs isn’t to develop my skills, performing is one of the things I love most about guitar, and they’re a good reason to learn new songs! I didn’t say it above, but Nicole picked up on it in another thread - I’m moving house, and I won’t have an acoustic protected guitar room for 6-12 months, so I won’t be able to make a whole bunch of noise at 5am without waking everyone up. I’ve been pretty lucky in our current house my guitar/computer/kids playroom has a door and it’s away from the bedrooms.
Ideal for now 
. I’m sure it will change at one stage.
Isn’t that true, it’s so hard to find a direction? It was really easy at the start - learn to play, follow the course, oh here’s a song with 3 chords I know. You seem to have a pretty solid direction, at least from what it looks like over here - rock songs from the 60s through to now in a band with Dan! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my originals, hopefully anything else that I end up posting is OK 
Well I have to say that you’ve been one of the people that were encouraging the “just songs” focus in your replies to some of my earlier posts - both in my LL and on lesson threads. So I have to say I was inspired .
Time is always a challenge, there is so much else in life besides guitar.
Sounds like your youtube history is probably a blend of mine and my wife’s, I’m guitars and she is plants and animals.
Hey James! Ah, I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and tell people about it, so my LL has both the lost-in-the-wilderness post and the ok-doing-this-now post If there are nuggets for you, great. I get ideas from everyone.
The sound proofing makes sense for stupid o’clock performances but guess it won’t be a priority in the general scheme of things. When you are ready we’ll be waiting. 
It’s really good to have a plan. I would just add that learning progressions (including chords in a key), which are the building blocks of songs, is a better way to focus your learning and practice. If you learn a song that someone else is playing in a different key, it might not be that easy to shift gears and play along. What do you do if someone is playing an original song? If you get with a really good singer, chances are they are going to be playing in a key that suits their voice, and not necessarily like the original.
I would also add that knowing your triads and power chords are a huge help when comping. You can also get a lot of mileage from knowing the pentatonic scale backwards and forward for playing lead and fills.
Thanks for stopping by CT. I appreciate your advice and perspective. I know about chords in a key. The major, minor, minor, major, major, minor (diminished) thing. So I can work out keys. It ain’t automatic though, and I haven’t memorised keys (aside from C major). But if playing barre chords or jamming I can easily move up for down a couple of frets. Progressions, like 1-4-5 or something, yeah. I experiment with that stuff a lot on the guitar and learning barre chords unlocked it. Much more mental overhead doing it with open chords. I’m definitely no theory master though, more like an apprentice.
With scales I know minor pentatonic positions 1 & 2, and major scale positions 1, 2 and 3. So I can make up a solo or some licks. I figured learning songs trains my fingers for new patterns within the scales though, rather than the ones I’ve made up.
I’ll circle back to more theory and scales later. Eventually I want to learn as much as I can. Just the songs thing (yeah, written by other people!) is where I think I’ll get the most mileage atm.
No worries. Find your own voice and your own path. 
Hey JK, thanks for your update, thoroughly enjoyed catch up with where you’re at on your recent guitar-journey introspection. It seems clear to me (and others by reading through the comments above), that the great deal of thought you’ve put in to this has helped to sharpen your focus and give direction… “Until you change it” - as you said to Brian, which is a great perspective imo 
Songs are my inspiration too (as I’m sure with many), hearing a tune that excites or interests me is the reason I keep picking a guitar. The process of learning it, then playing along, is incredibly rewarding and lots of fun too!
Interesting to read this. The first point is totally understandable given your move up the coast and second sounds like a positive step towards addressing the “addiction” 
You may (or may not) have noticed my reduced participation here recently, this isn’t because I have lost interest, can’t be further from that, I love this community and and fascinated to see what people have been up to on their journey as well as learn from other’s insights. However, I had a couple of weeks of not following things closely and subsequently felt “left behind” a little. The prospect of catching up just seemed too daunting for the amount of time I would need to commit (I’m a slow reader! 
), therefore it was then that I decided to limit my consumption a touch but still dip in to read and respond when time & opportunity allowed. I feel I have lost touch a bit with where things are at but the extra time I have gained has been put to good use with guitar in hand. I will be interested to hear down the track how you find it, although you are likely a much faster reader than myself, so will probably stay on top with greater ease! 
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, JK, it was a refreshing read and inspired reflection on my own path.
Cheers 
Yeah, I noticed! I also have already seen you go through periods where you had less community time because of busy periods at work and I figured it was at least one of those for you. Ever hopeful you come back each time you disappear for a short bit.
I’m not sure how my reading speed compares to yours, but I think you often write longer comments than I do, although I do occasionally write mini-novels it seems. I find it’s the writing and replying that seems to take the most time!
Internet addiction/dopamine hits/etc are real and not particularly good. I’m weak, it gets me. Back in 2009 I deleted my facebook account but recreated it around 2017 as it became impossible to do kid & club stuff without it. I’ve recently deleted my reddit account, removed all the games from my PC, etc - to try to remove temptation to waste time. Guitar is a hobby, aimless gaming or websurfing is just a waste.
Hello 2024!
It’s that time of the year to reflect and think about the year ahead.
Life
I’ve had a pretty busy last few months as far as real-life goes. A lot of change. We’ve moved house. Moved from Brisbane to a beach town called Noosa, on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. It took a few years of planning & patience to make that happen. And school holidays, Christmas, there is no routine. School starts again in a couple of weeks, which means life will get to a new normal.
We also got a puppy. People that read the Christmas thread would have seen her. Here she is again, looking like such a good dog. In a rare moment of composure. The cat tolerates her well even though pup doesn’t respect her boundaries.
Most of the time she’s more like this, though. A crazy puppy. She’s a smart dog, responding really well to training but also a puppy full of mischief.
This full-on puppy is really cutting into guitar practice time 
.
Daily structured practice has fallen by the wayside with puppy, and the rest of life is a bit messy right now. I’m still doing structured practice but not daily. Probably 4 days a week. I’m still playing daily, learning songs, playing songs, and making up tunes. So my guitar time varies between 30 minutes and 1 1/2 hours each day at the moment.
Guitar
Here’s my new guitar practice & tech space:
Decent sized space but waaay more cramped than the old space for those that saw that. It also has no door, it’s a study nook, which means I can’t practice easily late at night or early in the morning. It’s right outside one of my kid’s room, and even playing electric with headphones causes enough noise to disturb her. I’ve quickly learnt how much having a good practice space (or not) can impact guitar. Being able to close a door and isolate yourself is so valuable. I’ve taken to using a really long lead and wireless headphones (low latency) to try to get to a spot she can’t hear me at night.
All that means most of my guitar playing is before the kids are in bed at the moment.
There are two guitars in the pic… and two guitars in their cases in cupboards 
. Makes me wonder why I even have more than 2 guitars.
Practice. At this point I’ve been playing guitar for just over 2 years (about 2 1/4) and have mostly settled into an intermediate style routine. The bones of it are in a previous post. When it’s structured.
I am loving learning lots of songs and guitar aerobics metronome practice. Mostly intermediate-type songs with specific arpeggio patterns or riffs. Every now and again there’s a new chord shape to learn.
I haven’t been inclined to record much recently as I haven’t spent the time setting up the camera etc. I keep thinking about it and will probably start recording again by the end of January.
The Fender Tone Master Pro is on the floor in the pic. That was also in the Christmas thread. WOW is this thing awesome. It sounds so good, and has so many features I’ve barely scratched the surface of. It has two outputs, one I’ve connected to my Mustang GTX50 - with the GTX50 set up as closely to a FRFR as possible - and one is direct to the Focusrite.
Every time I start playing with it, playing songs and experimenting I get immersed in it until something happens - puppy, kids, whatever… and then I get sucked back into the real world 
.
The piano, btw, is not mine. My oldest kid has been playing for a couple of years. My youngest has also started learning and has had two lessons, hence “hot cross buns” and “jingle bells” in full view.
The year ahead
The year ahead from a guitar perspective is pretty simple.
And have fun doing it.
Man so jealous love it there stayed several times .
will read the rest later!
OOoooooooo my 
that doggy is soooo sweet…
have fun …and when the puppy drives you crazy…have fun
Greetings
Wish you and the family well in the new space, JK. I can imagine quite a change in life style, rhythms etc to move from Brisbane to Noosa.
And why not make it harder (or will in extreme flux max that out) and add a dog to the family. Loved the pictures.
You have made inspirational progress in your 2.25 years. Look forward to following your continued progress in '24.
I started about the same time and I’ve never yet had a practice routine got to admire the dedication!
Yeah Noosa’s pretty popular… in fact the whole Sunshine Coast is awesome, we were looking at anywhere from Coolum to Noosa - Northern SC basically.
Haven’t tasted yet. Yes she is very cute. She’s a Field Golden Retriever - the “Field” means from working dog bloodlines. She will be leaner & a more orange colour than a regular golden retriever. Our last dogs were border collies, very active & smart so we wanted a smart breed but less active than border collies.
Huge change David, and many years in the making. We’ve been planning a move like this since about 2018. Had to get a lot of big rocks in life in order to make it happen (e.g. work situation). The dog, well, we’re dog people, and we’d put off getting a pup for almost a year since our last dogs passed. But had been on the breeder’s waiting list, and when this one came up, we had to say yes.
Hey JK great update and resolutions set! I can see your music room is similar sized to mine, although I do have doors opened all the time (as wife doesnt mind and no kiddos around the house) 
hopefully you can figure out the way to make most out of practice time with conditions being far from perfect. Can’t wait until you record something new again!
Songs songs mantra is really well known to me and always when I plan to start something else, a new song pops into my ears and I get back to learning something new and looking at how much I have learnt so far with this approach - I would say definitely stick to it!
Yep Adrian you are definitely a great example of the songs mantra! A good inspiration for me to follow in your footsteps.
That door makes a big difference I reckon! And not waking kids up 
I’ll definitely figure out a new way to practice effectively.
Headphone amp in the kitchen or head down to noosa heads play on the beach, I mean I would.
Great read, JK!
What a cutie your puppy is!! 
Lucky you couldn’t hear me “squeeeee” when I saw the pics. Pups steal my heart in a sec everytime.
There has been quite a lot going on in the last weeks, but glad you could still play a little guitar each day. Even better you keep it goind with songs.
Fingers crossed you find a more comfortable way to get back to structured practice. Know the struggle all to well, we have quite less doors in our home. My partner probably really hates scales by now, but well. It is what it is. 
But not waking up your daughter is next level then. Too bad the headphone solution is not working out properly.
You’re plans for 2024 sound definitely achievable and are quite good goals to meet. And fun ones, given the songs, jams and open mics (even as audience only).
Looking forward for your upcoming recordings.
