I’ve been looking at Spread-Voiced Triads for the past couple weeks. They are a little trickier than regular triad inversions, but they have such a delightful sound that the extra work is worth it. Right now, I feel comfortable with root & 1st inversion voicings based off the E, A & D strings. I know everything “in position,” but that doesn’t always have practical use. To further connect these voicings into my playing, I’m sight-reading tunes using these big inversions. This evening, I applied them to the Beatles’ Good Night. It sounded so nice, if I do say so myself.

I’ve also been working on good old fashioned rock studies for the guitar. I’ve been reviewing some old exercises for arpeggios, sweep picking & tapping (of all things). It’s been great fun. I’ve been listening to a lot of Pat Metheny on Rhapsody lately, and his rock chops are so pristine and fantastic, that it’s given me a good reason to go back & work on this stuff myself. Plus, rock is an important part of my musical upbringing. So much so, that I’m conjuring up some of my teenage youthfulness when I play. Yet now, I have a little more musical wisdom than I did back then.

The work that I’ve been doing over the past 18 months is really beginning to show in the speed and accuracy of my playing. Not only am I processing information faster and in bigger “gulps,” but I can actually play my ideas faster. And everyone knows fast=cool.

Finally, the whole idea of the Walbum is making this work more meaningful. When I’m practicing for something that is going to have a creative output to it, work becomes very satisfying.