I remember when U2’s “The Edge” was interviewed in Guitar Player magazine back after their first album, and they asked him how he came up with his unusual style. He answered that he really didn’t know how to play all that well so he just made it up and it seemed to work.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that when you are involved in the RPG hobby, it takes some work to develop and maintain your edge. Some will disagree, but in my experience it’s not something you can practice without actually playing.

Way back in the day, they used to try to teach people with disabilities to tie their shoes by setting up a shoe on a wooden foot attached to a board. At some point very day they would plunk this contraption down in front of the person and have them practice tying the laces.

One day a visionary said “Hey, why don’t we have them tie their shoes when they are putting them on?” It seemed like madness, but that’s how they do it now.

I have found that the more I play RPGs and the more I observe and talk to the people I am playing with, the more I am able to maintain and sharpen my edge. Very often I know what I intend, but when I’m not playing enough, my execution is a bit dull. However, the more I play, the more I hone that edge and I’m able to translate my intentions into actions.

I hear that “The Edge” leaned how to plat guitar eventually. I preferred his original style.