before the first
For Christmas I got a lovely Ibanez guitar, I got it because Princess loves me and she knows that it’s something that I wanted to do for some time but with everything else that has been going on its been sitting on the back burner for 20 years.
If I am to be honest with myself it’s been on the back burner because while music has always been a big part of my life I have been afraid to really try it. I have started a large number of things in my life and have seen precious few of them to their end, which is a nice way of saying I have failed at almost everything I have tried. I would list them all here but that would be depressing.
Tonight is my first official lesson. I am taking official lessons because I feel like I learn better in a structured environment. I’ll go to class if I have it, and I’ll do my home work, but if it’s just on me to pick it up and learn or hammer on it till it makes a noise I think sounds right it will fail. Case in point I have had the guitar since the first of the year and I know 6 notes. Not cords, notes. I can read them, and I know where they are. I know E, F, G, B, C and D. If I play with it I can play a little Mexican sounding tune that uses E F and G but it’s not what one would refer to as music.
I finally found a shop where I felt pretty much at home, and I think will make a good learning environment for me. We see how right I was after tonight.
The poor guy, Eugene, who is teaching me asked me what I would like to learn. So I very blankly said “well . . . .to play the guitar, I thought we had gone over that” and he gave me this look that I have a feeling I am going to get a lot which said “Dear God I am dealing with an idiot”, what actually came out was “no I mean what kind of music do you want to play” My answer wasn’t any better than my first one “Oh! Old guy music” as if there was a section in every cd store that says “old guy” I told him I’d think about it and jot down a list because he wanted some songs that I could learn as I learned the basics. I came up with a list, I have no idea if its hard or easy or its stuff I should be working on and sent it to him:
4 + 20 - Crosby, Stills, Nash
You Don't Have to Cry - Crosby, Stills, Nash
Old Man - Neil Young
You got A friend - James taylor
In my Life - The Beatles
Across the Universe - The Beatles
Taxi - Harry Chapin
Don Quixote - Gordon Lightfoot
Photographs and memories - Jim Croce
Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
December - Collective Soul
For What It’s Worth - Buffalo Springfield
Time of your life - Green Day
Turn The Page - Bob Seger
Well I did warn him it was old guy music. He admitted that he did not know all of it, so made a back up of a lot of the music for him to listen to that had some other tunes on it. when I dropped it off for him I told him that if songs could fight one another that the disc I was giving him would tear itself apart. It had:
4 + 20 Crosby, Stills, Nash
You Don't Have to Cry Crosby, Stills, Nash
Old Man Neil Young
You got A friend James taylor
Something in the way she moves James taylor
In my Life The Beatles
Across the Universe The Beatles
Taxi Harry Chapin
WOLD Harry Chapin
Don Quixote Gordon Lightfoot
If you could read my mind Gordon Lightfoot
Photographs and memories Jim Croce
Operator Jim Croce
Give Me One Reason Tracy Chapman
Fast Car Tracy Chapman
December Collective Soul
For What It’s Worth Buffalo Springfield
Time of your life Green Day
Turn The Page Bob Seger
Landside Fleetwood Mac
Please Come To Boston Dave Loggins
Helplessly Hoping Crosby, Stills, Nash
Suite Judy Blue Eyes Crosby, Stills, Nash
River Joni Mitchell
Big Yellow Taxi Joni Mitchell
Fool on the Hill The Beatles
She’s Leaving Home The Beatles
The Road Jackson Browne
The Pretender Jackson Browne
Alive Pearl Jam
Black Pearl Jam
Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd
One of My Tunes Pink Floyd
Yesterday The Beatles
Crazy on You Heart
Over the hills and far away Led Zeppelin
Kashmir Led Zeppelin
Black Hole Sun Soundgarden
All Apologies Nirvana
Plush Stone Temple Pilots
Big Empty Stone Temple Pilots
Rooster Alice in Chains
Harmony Elton John
Run Around Blues Traveler
These Days Jackson Browne
On it. what can I say I am all over the place.
I don’t have dream of becoming a rock star, or even of becoming a bard, I can’t think of anything that would be as cool for me as sitting outside the coffee shop that is next door to the place that I am learning and drinking tea and playing old guy music on a nice evening even just to myself.
So I guess my loft aspiration is to become a unpaid busker. That’s me aim for the stars.