Live Strings

I changed the strings on my guitar last night. What a difference they make.

So now I can play any Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Heart, that I want.

:-)

Seriously, I like to think I just might sound better than I did on my Youtube videos. I am taking nic4strings' advice to heart.

***
I am still on the hunt for a guitar. Meanwhile, I will enjoy my old guitar's new lease on life.

A Pink Guitar

Last night, I checked out a pink acoustic electric guitar I saw for sale on KSL. I tried to see by phone if it might be a good match for me. The lady said it had been hers, used only twice. A Dean that didn't show up on Google.

So I went to the house and I could tell right away that apart from the blindingly pink color, it didn't have a lot to recommend it. I tried it anyway. It wouldn't hold a tune and it sounded worse than mine. So I thanked her and left quickly.

I would have loved a pink guitar, but I guess I am back to looking at the "normal" ones.

***
I borrowed a friend's daughter's amp to plug the guitar in just in case I was serious (I didn't.) At her house, my friend showed me her daughter's room. It was decorated with a couple of old-fashioned records on one wall, green and black motif room. Very spotless, with a white electric guitar in the corner. This girl is so lucky! She has the electric, a black acoustic, and for Christmas will most likely get an acoustic electric.

And then I got thinking of all the money we spend on horses, and how by now I could have a Taylor.

Life doesn't work that way though. Horses in our life are a given. But I still want a nice guitar. I'm getting there!

Tears and Cheers

Songs I am working on:

Tears in Heaven - How do they do it? I see people on Youtube play this song so beautifully. I think I have the first three tabs down, ha ha. How long before I will be playing like them, I wonder? All I know is the day I get this song down with more than just chords, I will be very pleased with myself.

Moon River - My kids request this song for a lullaby all the time, I decided I might as well learn it.

Someone's Waiting For You - This is also a requested lullaby.

Getting My Head On Straight

I am emerging from a fog. A fog of guitar-playing, Youtube posting, and wanting to launch a local solo performing career, a notion that bit me, oh, about three weeks ago, when I quit my rock band.

As fun as music is, I need to get my head on straight. I have been writing for far longer, with far more success than I have been performing or playing the guitar. And I can't let all that go by the wayside. I remind myself that I have aspirations of crafting good stories, having a novel good enough to attract an agent, and ultimately, publication.

What will it take for me to make this happen?

Write. Write. Write.

I still aim to perform this December at a couple of small, local events, but other than that, I have to put my writer hat back on.

Because it is the "write" thing for me to do. And published novelists rock!

Guitar Shopping

This past Saturday, I stopped at a guitar store with my girls on the way home to check out acoustic electric guitars. We passed a crowd of spiky hair, tattooed, be-ringed goth-types to get into a smaller room of acoustic guitars.

I wish I could spring for one of the ones in an even smaller room, the thousand dollar ones and then some, but I couldn't so I focused on the 200-500 dollar range ones. Relieved to see that more isn't necessarily better. I tried a 600 dollar one and I didn't like its sound. I also decided I don't like the smaller Ovations. Too weird to cradle almost-nothing in my lap.

I really liked the Fender All Dao. The salesman also tried to tempt me with a used 100 W amp for 175, which has 3 inputs and 1 output. I giggled at the irony if I would have gone home with an amp but without the guitar to plug in it. I would absolutely love to have both at the same time, but I really should focus on the guitar first...I can always borrow an amp if I need to.

So with superdiscipline, I said thank you and left the store empty-handed to sleep on it.

***
At church today, I told our choir director that if she ever needed an alto for a special number at the Christmas program, I would be willing to sing.

A first for me, saying that I am willing to sing at a church program. Whether or not they ask me, we'll see, but at least I said I would.

***
I filmed myself singing Teardrops on My Guitar because a friend requested it. After several aborted attempts, posted it on a certain social network. Then I checked out other Youtube covers of the song; considered posting it there. Ah, never mind. There are some really great singers - it's a popular song to cover - and I do not want to open myself up to ridicule by strangers.

Listening to some Youtube videos of guitarists, I cringe at my amateurish attempts. Who am I kidding? I have a long, long way to go.

I suppose I could just stop right here and say, I should stick to writing, but a part of me still wants to perform. What I need is some time and patience with myself. And a nicer guitar.

Enough

"The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either." - Mick Jagger

"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer." - Denis Waitley

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

I Have It. Bad.

There has got to be an OCD term for wanting to play guitar all the time because I have it. Bad.

Deep breath, Jewel. You need some balance.

But you know, Taylor Swift had it, too. That obsession, I mean. When she discovered guitar, she played until her fingers bled and her mother taped them for her before she went to school.

My fingers are just hard-callused, so I don't have it as bad. I wonder what my life would be like now if I had discovered guitar as a teenager.

***
Speaking of Taylor Swift, I googled Teardrops On My Guitar yesterday and found a GCDEm version which was heaven to play and sing. If my teenage daughter, who loves Taylor Swift songs, was impressed, she didn't show it. Maybe she was just trying to be ultra-cool.

I also found Ain't No Sunshine. Oooh. Very nice.

The fun thing about accompanying myself is I can sing songs at my range right off. And even the strumming pattern can be part of expressing the song. I thought karaoke was the cat's meow, but now I know better.

***
I don't know how my kids feel about my latest diversion/obsession. I sing lullabies to them now with the guitar; I've come a long way from my muddy chords three months ago. I think my son is intrigued by the instrument, and we've talked about me teaching him how to shred, I mean, play the guitar; maybe when I replace my current guitar, I'll have him learn on it. My oldest is always playing the piano when there is down time, so I suspect she can relate to my love of guitar.

***
Last night, I was going to have guitar class, but it would have just been me, so the teacher gave me the option of just attending next week's.

(I am such a flake about this class thing. I want to learn through class, but honestly, I feel like I am learning just by playing songs. What I really want is to perform with the class, so maybe I could just focus on lining up opportunities for me to perform solo in public? Sigh. I cannot make up my mind.)

So I opted to not go, and instead as a family on a rare open week-night, we went out to eat to celebrate my hubby's birthday.

I loved being with my family. I loved not having such a late Thursday. I know it's for the best, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Thursday night band practice. Maybe not so much the politics, which is just part of being in a group. But the musical give-and-take and that rush from a weekly "performance". I admit to being disappointed that they have moved on and I am, well, dispensable. But really, what did I expect? Maybe I will have to google the David Lee Roth support group.

After practicing pretty much weekly for the last six months, I suppose my system has to adjust to this loss of routine. Thank goodness for my own singing and guitar playing, or I'd probably have a harder time of it.

***
More songs on my "can play" list:

Bubbly - Colbie Caillat
Teardrops On My Guitar - Taylor Swift
Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
Poems, Prayers and Promises - John Denver