Hello everybody,
I can't believe how many views this thread has got ! I received some requests (on youtube actually) to update it. Really didn't expect this, but I am honored to see that it still causes some interest. Don't even know where to start.. it's been a long time and so many things happened.
I live in Bucharest for a year now (I moved in September last year) and I love it. Sometimes I regret not doing it sooner. Looking back to my life, I can't believe how much I have changed in so many ways. From the way I dress, to the way I talk, to the way I think, to the way I react in situations to everything
I can't believe how little I knew and it has been just a year.
The thread title doesn't suite anymore my current situation because I have been working all this time, but as a freelancer from home which gave me enough time to practice. It could have been more, but I got pretty tired "of living in the cave" and I invested more time social activities. Well, there is really a lot to do here than back in Sibiu so without going in details let's just say I enjoyed everything as much as I could.
Now regarding guitar.
As said above, I had enough time for practicing and I continued to do it, but changed completely the approach. I was sick and tired of technique and dropped it for other things like:
- studying songs
- studying solos and trying to understand where the go
- ear training, I can finally tune the guitar without a tuner no matter how out of tune it is
- vocal training (quite a lot)
- gear (finally own an American Strat and Les Paul)
- harmony and modulations, understanding all kind of chord changes and how they fit and also how solos fit over different progressions, especially in blues
- and LOTS and LOTS of improvisation (using a looper, which I recommend everybody to do, it helped me improve more that anything)
- the only technique I have been practicing was using the slide because I want to play Death Letter from White Stripes (actually from Son House), but I still suck at it
)
But my greatest achievement in this year was playing at jam sessions. Going to pretty much all the places I could find in Bucharest (every week and sometimes alone) and taking the courage to go on stage and play. Sometimes it sounded bad, but most of the time I could not believe the feedback I got. The authentic applause, the ones that start before you finish playing or while you are still playing not the mechanical ones that start when it gets silent (because I had those too
). Not to mention encores. I played with musicians that I knew and admired before coming here and their feedback was also pretty good.
It was a kind of self challenge, to go on stage without having any idea what I/we are going to play and see what happens, try to follow the rest of the band, listen to them and also make yourself heard in the band. It is amazing what can come out.
The only thing I regret is that, since these kind of gigs are somehow spontaneous, I don't have any recordings. Just some photos.
I also tried out 2-3 bands, but didn't get along well with the other members and after some time of practicing together with each of then I quit. Still looking though.
Now I feel like I am at a turning point. It's been exactly one year now of messing around I can say. Because I didn't have a solid plan, just wanted to taste life in the big city and well... improvise. I did if and it was pretty good now I want to do something more concrete. Don't know.. First of all I want to record something, anything, covers, RECs, me with the acoustic guitar and voice.. something to sound good and that I can show.
I also am held back now because I had a surgery on my right knee last week and I'm still recovering. Have to walk with crutches for the next 2 weeks and can't really focus on anything well enough. Its an injury I had years ago and couldn't wait any longer. But I should be back on my feed again by the middle of October.
As a start, I'll try to keep this thread alive. First of all because its kind of a responsibility to do, since it causes interest. I am really honored to be an inspiration for somebody, no matter how far he/she is (thanks J Tom from youtube, I don't know what is your GMC username
. Also I think this will also help me figure out sooner what I want to do.
Anyway, looking forward for you comments and hopefully we'll make this even more interesting. It's good to be back here
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