Last year was a challenging year when it comes to my banjo and fiddle playing goals. After hitting what I think was a significant milestone in reaching 500 days in a row of playing my instruments, I took a break. That break turned into a hiatus.
Ending my daily habit went from celebrating a major achievement to lamenting my demotivation. My positive turned into a negative. For 2022, my goal is to reverse that trend and get back into good musical habits.
The good news is December ended with an eight-day playing streak and by tying my highest monthly practice time for 2021. Now the challenge is to continue those positive vibes for this year and get back on track with my banjo and fiddle goals.
The March to 10,000 Hours
Since 2008, my highest total playing time has been 250 hours combined, with an average of about 195 hours per year. It's probably foolhardy to shoot for 125 hours each on banjo and fiddle, but that's my goal. As the cliché goes: Aim for the moon, because even if you fall short, you'll still be among the stars.
Reaching my hourly playing goal this year would get me to about 15 percent of 10,000 hours.
Striking Out Stagnation
Since starting to play fiddle back in 2013, my banjo playing has sort of stagnated. I had reached a point where I had a bit of a repertoire and felt like I could play decently well with almost any tune while playing with others.
However, since the pandemic has severely limited my opportunities to play with others over the past two years, my banjo playing isn't getting any better.
While I have spent the last few years learning to sing while I play, I haven't learned much else in the way of new tunes. I'm not sure how I'll proceed, but I'd like to change that trend with a mix of learning by ear and seeking out some tab to hopefully learn some new banjo tricks.
Following the Fiddle Course
In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, I decided to subscribe to Michael Ismerio's All-Access Fiddle Course as a means to improve my fiddling. I made it about a quarter of the way through the online video lessons before my hiatus last year.
Most of my recent playing has been focused on reviewing the tunes I've already learned, but soon I'll be working on learning new tunes again. I'd like to knock out another 6-10 lessons in 2022.
Consistency Clause
Above and beyond any of what I've already stated, my biggest goal for the time being is getting back to consistent playing, as well as a consistent posting schedule here on this blog. It all starts today.
So, Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for the year ahead, and I hope you'll continue following along with my exploits in the world of banjo, fiddle and old-time music.
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