Every time I update at the moment I say I'm busier haha! But it's true, the more I can do the busier I get but as my wicked teacher says ...."it's all good"!

So song wise they're coming together faster. They're definatrly more varied and far better with timing. My bass playing & drums in particular are improving but I'm still really making the same song because I can't tap into my influences music genre wise.

So I've asked Tom if we can go back to learning, well technically I want to do both learn & write but learning is now too priority. I say learning, obviously I always am but I mean with more teaching from him and more directional. I've chosen Funk as a genre because it's going to be tough but if I can learn funk on drums and bass that will set me up nicely to learn others.

That and I love funk on drums & bass most!!!

I'm now starting to learn some funk with Zak on guitar too - yay! But all this means a lot more homework - plus the songs need to keep coming - plus everything I was already working on - plus god knows what but I'm sure there's more.

I love it though. Love it, love it, love it! Sometimes I get stressed, I often doubt myself, I get very overwhelmed & frustrated but never do I stop loving it 😊

I love my two teachers so much and I love that they're so different. Tom is always upwards and forwards and Zak is stick with it till you nail it. Neither are rigid but generally speaking that's the difference in them & it's a great balance (and push) for me.

So I'm still working on blues stuff at the moment and my new challenge is to spend 1/2 hour every day getting my arm moving constantly - even when I'm picking to think of it in time and to get the flow. It's so hard and is NOT coming naturally to me but we've been here before when I used to spend an hour a day getting used to 16th note picking. I'm generally very good at doing my homework because I respect that it's for my own good.

Tom has given me that start of a song which I have to learn & record all parts for then do the chorus. It's terrifying!!! But it will be interesting to do, because I'm carrying on his thinking it will take longer but I'm determined to do this.

I got The Eye Of The Tiger cover done for my birthday - yay! That was so much harder than I thought it would be & has so many flaws but I'm proud as anything. It's on Instagram if you want to check that out. And I wrote my first strum/fingerpicked song on acoustic which as you know is a HUGE achievement for me. That's been so so so much work to get to. I need to write many more, it's just the first step BUT it is a step. FINALLY!!!!!

So good week! Now I'm past the basics and we're pushing technically it's getting really hard and is requiring me to dig in but I knew this was always going to be the case and I love every single second of this life.

Update over 😉

The last few months have really been a whirlwind and with various ups and downs overall a giant step forward. In the scheme we're talking a puddle in the ocean but to me that puddle represents 2 years of incredible hard work. More tears than I care to admit and yet never ever did I consider giving up. Not for a single day.

That's the key - it's not about belief (although that really helps), it's not about success (yep that helps too!) it's about moving forward no matter what. Every time I've looked ahead that's when I struggle but it's inevitable, every now and then we all want to see where we are and get our bearings and that's when I deflate.

But even then I never ever stop moving forward. No matter how slow, no matter how small the steps - forward is forward.

Being able to write songs, even small ones that aren't great is incredible. My dream has already come true but I'm not yet writing the music I want to. I think that's what is hard to understand about me. It comes across as me being defeatest or something but it's not that at all. Since day one I had a dream of the kind of music I would write and we're not talking Jimmie Hendrix (although I wouldn't say no haha!!). We're talking in terms of a basic level - the type of music NOT the quality. Quality will come after I get to the level I'm looking to reach.

Think of it as a basic food recipe. I don't want to make Michelin Star quality pancakes just simple eggs & flour edible ones THEN I'll learn how to make them amazing. Crap analogy but I just want to try and explain. Right now I'm making stodgy I'll eat it if I'm starving pancakes 😆. But it's closer, so much closer.

The next 6 months are going to be incredibly challenging as I try to reach that level. That's my new goal and I've dug my heals in - and you know what that means. Frustration, wins, losses, joy, tears but in the end I'll be posting how wonderful it is to get through it the same way I've been so pleased to get where I am now. But that level although it will be from the last I aim for will be a game changer for me.

To work then!!!