The long and winding road…

One of the teachers I was with at Belmont High School is an excellent musician. At lunch time, he and another teacher would get together and jam. They were so good!! It was great to spend a lunch hour listening to them play. When I asked him how long he had been playing, he let me know he started when he was in high school, and he is about the same age as me. So he has been playing for a long long time! This made me think about how long it takes to master something. And even now, at his high level, he and his friend are practicing time and time again the same songs and really trying to get them down. (Funny enough, they are some of the songs that I have been trying to play – but of course theirs was in a much higher version and quality!!!). Since it takes so long to master something like guitar (and one could argue most things) it really does need to be about the process of learning or it is one big slog!!!

Funny, I didn’t really think about this until I started to write this blog and the connection of the whole idea about it being about the process and the learning and the name of my blog site – The Journey.  It was there right from the start, but I forgot for a moment in my desire to want to be good at something NOW!!  It will take time to get good at the guitar, a lot of time!!  But the key is that I enjoy it along the way, the journey!

I have tried to take this approach to most things in my life. I think having my fit and healthy father die very quickly of cancer when he was 53 and I was 13, made a lasting impression on me on the fragility of life and the importance to be present now and get the most out of now, to live authentically now as there is no guarantee of any tomorrow. Wow, this all took a rather serious philosophical turn.. now back to the free inquiry and guitar playing.

I have enjoyed playing and I have gotten a bit better. I am looking forward to continuing to play and when I have the time (or make the time), I’d like to take some lessons. I already know of a good guitar teacher who lives just around the block.

Thanks Rich for this opportunity to make some time for playing the guitar!

I was going to provide you a good sampling of a number of songs that I was hoping would sound okay, but that has not happened.  Five days ago, I started to record me playing about 6 songs that I thought would sound okay using Garage Band, a free and supposedly easy to use program that came with my Mac. It appeared to be easy, but alas I had challenges.  I finally got a track that I thought was okay but I didn’t save it properly and it was lost.  ARGH!!!  Well after countless more attempt, I have thrown up my hands and this is it. Unfortunately, the count in sound that does not play in Garage Band when I listen to it, does play on the recordings here. I searched for how to remove it but could not find a way.  I am tired of doing this and it has not made playing guitar very fun.. so I am feeling grumpy and just want it done!

Sorry, but this is what you get. And thank goodness I am not wanting to teach guitar!!!