My New Baby

I brought home my new Crafter acoustic-electric guitar yesterday. Beautiful, mellow sound and the action is low, which is nice.

My son inherits my Ibanez guitar. I told him he can play it whenever he wants. He says, "I will, but probably not all the time."

It'll be interesting to see if he becomes interested in the guitar. I hope so.

Partying With Songwriters

A writer/musician friend of mine invited me to a holiday party for Utah-based Nashville songwriters, producers, etc. I just had to go, if nothing else, out of curiosity. And it sounded like fun.

They said to bring a holiday song to share.

For several days, I tried to come up with something brilliant, but couldn't. Finally, I realized my song Wishing On a Star could be changed to Wishing on A Christmas Star.

Voila, a holiday song.

***
I don't know what I expected, I guess a mansion on a hill somewhere, not the modest two-story I came to.

The already assembled crowd of about 20 people was gregarious, welcoming. Songwriters are an interesting breed. They have the sensibility of writers - introverted and poetic - and yet always looking for a public forum to showcase their work.

I love mingling with other writers, don't get me wrong. But the combination of music and writing is just so much more multi-dimensional, I'd have to say songwriters seem a more dynamic bunch. Not so angsty.

***
Our host's living room was set up for a mini-concert hall. Chairs facing the fireplace and a multitude of instruments. After two men performed their compositions, I stood up and asked the last person if I could borrow his bowl-backed Ovation.

Changing the lyrics the last minute was crazy. I kind of messed up on a few and didn't exactly rhyme my verses. But my chorus was strong. And I got through the song. Polite applause at the end, with a compliment about my voice.

What I learned:

Don't tweak lyrics at the last minute. If you do, offer your performance as part of a comedy routine.

Relax. I felt tense, hunched over my borrowed guitar and I'm sure that didn't do my voice a favor.

Polish. A group of songwriters is no karaoke bar. Their expectations are slightly higher than the average adoring family party.

Have fun. At the same time, music is for everyone, not just some exclusive group. So what if your song isn't a certain style? Who says one style is correct?

Play anyway. I re-learned the guitar just to write this song. I could've been like the girl in front of me who said she had a song but didn't have music for it. She could have played her song with tambourines.

Bring your own instrument, if possible. That's the operative word: if possible. I am still saving up for a nicer guitar. I could have brought mine, but at least if I sucked I could only blame it on my singing, not my guitar.

Study. Create. Learn. Repeat. I have a lot to learn still, but meanwhile, I will perform at the level I can.

***
I don't know if I'll stay involved with the group, but I know I will continue to write songs. Maybe even collaborate with my friend.

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.

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