I really enjoyed that. Especially the struggle. The struggle is real.

I've always believed that being a solid rhythm player was way more important than being a flashy lead player. Having played in a trio for a large part of my gigging years, that was the only way to make it work. More than one venue owner/manager told us we sounded really full for being a 3 piece band. That was due to rhythm playing. My favorite rhythm player in the world: Malcom Young. Solid and always in the groove. Full concert>>


When it comes to playing the lead parts, the main thing there, at least to me, is playing tastefully. Flashy is cool and I know a few things that make people think I'm better than what I actually am, again, at least in my eyes. Shredding and tapping never really interested me much. I can do a little bit of it but prefer the tasty, soulful, from the heart kind of playing.

Add to the pentatonic boxes and patterns some scales to hit those notes that make it sound fluid.

Sore fingers.... that doesn't last too long. Gotta push through it and get some callouses going. Playing is the only way to get that and to get better. If you play, you will get noticeably better in a relatively short period of time because it sounds like you have a fairly solid base from which to work.

Nice job.... Those "vacations" are great opportunities to focus on musical things.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.