First Lesson



How about these hipster glasses?

 I had my first lesson with John Smith yesterday morning.  Man!  I knew I didn't know much, but my eyes were opened to a whole new world of guitar playing.  Now let's see if I can put those things into practice.

I played (and sang, much to the chagrin of both of us, probably) "Shanty" by Jonathon Edwards, that fun 70's-era song that's about . . . a-hem . . . well, we'll just leave it at the title and author for now.  The point is, it's pretty easy, but it includes a couple of chords, one of which I just recently learned to do efficiently and the other I haven't.  Plus it gave him some idea of my lack of rhythm.

He asked if I'd ever played what he called "partial chords."  I had never heard of them.  Then he said, "power chords" and I thought I knew what he was talking about.  Turns out I didn't know that either.  So he set me out on four or five of those that are giving the callous on my index, or number one finger, a run for its money.  Good thing I had built it up somewhat beforehand. 

He gave me "Wild Thing" to practice A, D and E in this partial form, which one would think would be easier because they don't involve all three fingers.  But no-o-o-o.  Hahaha!!  I think his seven year old students have an easier time with this because they've never learned any other method.  Okay, I'm an old fart.  So sue me.  I also got AC/DC's "TNT" to practice using those three chords plus G.

For rhythm practice he gave me Bob Dylan's "Wagon Wheel" most recently done by Old Crow Medicine Show.  I looked it up on YouTube and thought, "Wow!  That song has both kinds of music; country and western."  As most of you know--not my thing.  But, it will give me valuable practice with both my rhythm and something else he wants me to work on--my fingers placed on the strings correctly, all at once, instead of one at a time, regardless of how perfectly adequate I think it may be.  Hahaha!!  John said he'd found that to be pretty common in folks who were mostly "self taught."  I definitely don't feel like the only one who's had to relearn "form."

What I found during practice yesterday evening was that placing those fingers on all three strings at once is not as easy as it sounds.  Especially after thirty-five years (off and on) of finding the strings individually.  I laughed and laughed when I realized my chord changes chomped down like an alligator in my attempts to do this correctly.  I'm sure "you had to be there" but trust me--it was pretty hilarious. 

I'm not giving up after one hour of practice.  Even I know I can only go up from here.  I may not have it down perfectly for a while, but I'll keep plugging away.  And for those of you out there who play guitar--watch out!  I plan to pick your brains whenever I see you.  I need all the help I can get! 

 

Gettin' Ready to Rock!

"Gettin' Ready to Rock!"

Hahaha!!  Well, I have been practicing about an hour a day and, I must say, my callouses are coming back nicely.  They're visible to the human eye. 

The instructor, John Smith, and I finally stopped playing phone tag and connected yesterday afternoon.  I scheduled my first lesson for next Monday, January 24th, at 11:00 a.m.  I'm really excited now!

I thought today I'd talk about my guitars.  I've been practicing on all three of the playable ones and each one has its pros and cons.  Of course the easiest one--the one with the best action is the electric.  Jeff bought it for me shortly after the attack on the Twin Towers in September, 2001.  I had been fooling around on a Peavey solid body that weighed a good twenty-five, thirty pounds.  Man, that thing was heavy! It belonged to our neighbor, Tom, who was kind enough to loan it to me.

We were fortunate enough to have a new Sam Ash music store open on Lee Road in Orlando not too far down I-4 from our home in Seminole County.  That place is awesome!  It brings a smile to my face even now.  It's like a huge toy store for musicians.  I forget now what we had originally gone there for, but we always looked at the electric guitars.  I never really thought I'd have one of my own,  and that day, for whatever reason, Jeff said, "I think we oughta buy you an electric guitar."



Gibson Epiphone SG

 My jaw literally dropped which was followed by the grin of a lifetime which lasted about a month.  Hahaha!!  We picked out a red, Gibson Epiphone SG, a small Peavey amp (please don't ask for specs, I have no idea--it's small) and a hard carrying case.  I'm tellin' you, I was a grinnin' fool!

As you can see, I'm not adept at amp operation.  Jeff, who worked sound for events and football games while he was at Clemson, tried to show me some things about it, but I didn't really get it.  He would have to set it up for me whenever I wanted the music amplified.  I like distortion.  :)  Hahaha!! 

The first song I played was The Star Spangled Banner  which I had been practicing already on the neighbor's hefty Peavey after 9/11.  I played the song tentatively following a few beers at Halloween; better, but not great after fireworks in the cul-de-sac on New Year's Eve, but by the time we came to South Carolina for Independence Day at my mother-in-law's house on Folly Beach, I was ready.  Jeff and our friend, Will, snaked the extension cord out the walkover and I played a slow, but flawless National Anthem. 

Unfortunately, the brisk wind came at us from offshore so the people on the beach couldn't hear it.  Hahaha!!  And then my mother-in-law told us to turn it down.  Hahahaha!!  (Shrug)  It wasn't Jimi Hendrix (or anywhere near) but I was glad I was able to do it.

One of my goals with John Smith is to learn how to operate my amp and be comfortable with it.



Tetomas

 I also play an old Tetomas acoustic which I got for free from another neighbor, Marty, before he and his family moved.  I want to say it's my favorite because it's smaller than the other acoustic, a Fender, but I'm not getting the sound out of it that I get with the Fender.  Go figure.  The neck's a little narrower, so it's easier to reach across and it's got good action.  Sometimes I get ukelele sounds out of it and I'm not happy with that.  I trimmed my nails.  Hopefully that helps.

I think I'll take the Fender to my first lesson.  It's bigger and the action is just slightly not-as-good as the Tetomas.  It's really helped in the rebuilding of the callouses though.  And the sound is so much fuller.  I got it from a pawn shop in Fern Park.  There was a rattlesnake rattle inside it which I didn't notice till I'd bought it.  Someone told me that's a common tool for bluegrass musicians.  (Shrug)  What the heck did I know?  I took it out.  That was good practice for when I drop my picks inside it.  Talk about aggravating!



Pawnshop Fender

 Something else I didn't notice was a small crack in the neck.  I took it down to the guys at Lyrical Lumber, a guitar repair shop in Maitland, and they fixed me right up.  All these guitars hold a tune incredibly well.  Even my nephew has been impressed.

And so I've been practicing.  Mostly three-chord songs; a lot of John Prine--C, G, D, A with a little Em slipped in for good measure.  I have trouble with the F in That's the Way That the World Goes Round, but on a good day I've mostly got Dear Abby, Please Don't Bury Me, and Illegal Smile.  Hahaha!  Those crazy '70s, eh?  Even Jeff says I do a pretty good Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd--including the picked part.

There are a bunch of others I practice.  But I'm not kidding myself.  I stink!  I need these lessons.  Not for any kind of professional aspirations.  That's insane.  I would like to be able to pick up a guitar at a party, though, and have some fun with it.  And just be able to play for myself.  I find it to be a real stress reliever.  Especially when I screw up and start laughing at myself.  And that's a lot.

Besides the operation of my amp, here are the goals I have written down for my lessons:

• Picking
• Rhythm (as in, I need some)
• Blues progressions
• Bar chords

Six days.  Ready or not.  Gonna be fun!

Year of Guitar

Eric Johnson and Me

Okay, I've decided this blog has sat idle long enough.  And I need something to keep me writing since my fiction muse has gone on an extended vacation.

What I'm most excited about, here in the beginning of 2011, is that my sweet nephew and brother-in-law gave me guitar lessons for Christmas!! My teacher will be the same man who teaches both of them, John Smith at Music Unlimited in Mt. Pleasant.  I haven't scheduled my first lesson yet, but I'm getting reacquainted with my guitars and rebuilding my callouses.  They're coming along nicely, I must say.  I'm very excited!

I began my on-again/off-again relationship with the guitar when I was at Marshall University, way "back in the day" when I started hanging out with musicians.  Through them, I developed a love of live music that is still with me. 

I can't say exactly when my personal music tastes changed from the pop music of my youth to more guitar driven music, but I clearly remember delaying a road trip so I could listen, one last time before we left, to Duane Allman playing "Jessica" on Brothers and Sisters.  Eric Clapton's "Layla" captivated me for not only the guitar, but also that great piano ending.  I did have four years of piano from fourth to eighth grade.  I was never very good at it.

My musician friends helped me get a fairly decent guitar--certainly one good enough for my feeble talents and I learned several chords from them.  I got pretty good at some of the chord changes and 3-chord songs.  I seemed to have better rhythm with the guitar than I did on the piano.

But in 1990 (I know that's a lifetime ago to some people) I became somewhat obsessed with guitar music.  That was the year of Joe Satriani's Surfing with the Alien and Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom.  Not only were they released, but they got actual airplay on FM radio!  Thank you to the powers-that-be!  This music was like nothing I'd ever heard before and it I knew I'd been waiting for it my whole life.  Without lyrics, it spoke to me.  It soothed and calmed me.  It defies my description even today.

John Smith, my teacher, has done an incredible job with my nephew, Conner.  He started taking lessons at . . . I think age ten.  Five years in and he rocks!!  I'm so proud of him!  Now, his father is taking lessons from John and soon I will be too.  John also taught the late Wesley Burlingham who, at a party a few years ago inspired me to pick my guitar back up and learn some more on my own. 

(Sigh)  Gosh.  Wesley is so sorely missed.

But I know he'll be right there with me as I begin this adventure in guitar to which I'm so looking forward!  And I hope some of you will follow along as well.  I'm sure there will be successes just as I'm sure there will be struggles.  But I bet I'll have a good time no matter what. 

It's a good thing I can laugh at myself, 'cause there's bound to be a lot of that!