My blogger pal Scott is thinking about taking up the guitar. I’ve lent him some advice based on my extensive experience as a perpetual beginning guitarist.
However, my experience is probably not applicable to anyone else in the world, as I am undoubtedly the strangest guitar player wannabe in the history of plucked instruments.
First, I’m left-handed, and I have a left-handed guitar (not a re-strung rightie like Jimi played). Nobody really wants to give me lessons because they think it would be too weird. I don’t understand that, because it seems like having a student who sees the teacher’s guitar in a non-mirror-image fashion would be a quicker study. But, what do I know?
Second, I read music…but not chords. Thanks to high school and college band experiences, I’m a fiend when it comes to interpreting and playing a melody line. But it’s really REALLY hard to play simultaneous notes on a clarinet or sax, so the concept of chording is foreign to me.
The result is that I am a self-taught, melody-playing, chord-challenged novice guitarist. I can sight-read the melody line of practically any piece of music, but I can’t decode a tab to save my life.
I keep thinking, “well, how hard can chords be? I’ll get to it someday.” I’m going on three years of thinking that.
Nevertheless, taking up a musical instrument is a good thing for anyone to do, regardless of age or skill. Making music is one of the most heavenly of earthly pursuits, even if it’s only music to the ears of the one making it.
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See, there’s my problem. What the heck’s a melody? A chord? That stuff? You musical weirdos…
Hi there…
Thanks for popping over to my blog, it was nice to ‘meet’ you. 🙂
A question — what church in Midland do you attend? I was a member of New Life PCA for 2 years. Living in Midland was a strange experience, after growing up on the coast of Florida. But the people were very nice.
John, I’m a member of First Baptist Church. When did you live in Midland?
How fun… My oldest son went to VBS there one year. We lived in the north of the city, on Caldera. Our church was meeting in the chapel of a funeral home for awhile, which was great in light of us Presbyterians being the “Frozen Chosen” anyway. 😉 Thanks for the kind words up above. I’ve been planning to add a link to you as well.
BTW- I had trained as a Russian linguist before I came to Midland. I was so excited that there was a town named Odessa there, I thought I might get some speaking practice. I was later told it was named for Slavic railroad workers who didn’t exactly stick around afterward.
Also, my second son is named Tennyson. Everyone in west TX always asked us, “So is he named for the town?” 🙂
John, it’s a small world, isn’t it? And, I was tempted to throw out the “frozen chosen” line in my later post, but decided I didn’t know you well enough (and vice versa) to presume that you might find it amusing. But I am fascinated to find that my perceptions of who’s doing missions is being expanded, and I look forwarded to reading more about your experiences.
“Tennyson”? “Denison”? That’s hilarious! Not only do we talk funny, but we listen funny, too.
I have a good friend (music evangelist) in east Texas who, as a child, picked up a twelve string guitar and taught himself to play. The amazing thing is that he is left-handed. It is the strangest looking thing but he can really get some music out of it.
Me … well, I played ‘honky-tonk’ piano at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor to earn my way through business college. Can’t play Amazing Grace, but I sure can knock out Baby Elephant Walk and the 12th Street Rag!
Hey, Paul, thanks for making me REALLY feel like a slug! 😉
Just kidding. I know people who are naturally gifted at music. My grandfather, for example, played piano by ear. He could replicate any song after hearing it once. I inherited none of that.
I was a pretty good clarinet player in high school: all-district and all-region. But I had to work really hard at it; nothing came easy…it was a case of discipline making up for a lack of talent. I’m afraid the same goes for guitar playing, only I no longer have the discipline to achieve the same results.
And, I’ll bet you can play a mean “Amazing Grace,” even if it’s to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun”!