Friday, May 16, 2014

I just got back from my second music lesson. Against my better judgement I suppose, I'm clunkishly attempting to learn to play the acoustic guitar. As I expected right now I'm feeling both 'excited' as much as I am 'nervous'. Today's lesson wasn't as long as last week's as my teacher, Dan, decided to take it easy on me (a sheer testament to his extreme patience with me in my honest opinion - you'd have to see me practice live to know what I mean by that) and just gave me some basic lessons to learn considering I only had half a week to practice last lesson.

I had to have the misfortune of taking my first lesson last Wednesday. I got home all eager to start practicing, and the second I start attempting to tune in open E. One of my strin gs BUSTS right in my face, I had to have Dan fix it a few days later. Gosh I felt like such and idiot!!! -Those few days from Wednesday evening to Monday afternoon felt like an eternity to me!

So he gave me some basic homework for this week, nothing too strenuous. I'm lucky he's such a laid back dude, I'm almost tempted to call him one of my less immediate soulmates in this lifetime cause I've come to observe, through what brief interaction we've had with each other so far, just how much truly our personalities seem to complement each other. :) -But again, as I was anticipating, despite being relatively 'sounding' to someone who's not even DOING IT themselves, it may 'sound' simple enough, but I found rather quickly in the first few minutes of our lesson together - here's where the COMPLICATED stuff comes in to play. He was taking it up a notch on me, and MAN, I had not idea just how brutally tough, basic strumming can be, at first approach?

Quick background - I've had this guitar in the back of my closet for some 15 years now. My mom got it for me when I was 14. I got it from a local music shop here in town on Main Street. EVERYBODY in my class was getting in to playing the guitar, boys/girls, you name it. Typical impatient snotty teen that I was I wanted to go straight to electric right away, but it was too expensive. So my mom had me buy an acoustic first, then if I really took it seriously we would 'talk' later about the idea of "upgrading". So the dude sold me a really bitchin' custom made Epiphone - which in just the few short weeks I've been practicing I'm coming to find is a pretty decent brand. Everywhere I go in town I've been getting compliments on my piece considering I feel awkward carrying it, not having a case or even a strap to hold it up.

Little did I know that not only was such a RARE find as an 'acoustic' Epiphone, RIDICULOUSLY low priced, especially for a beaut such as mine - but there was a 'reason' the retailer chose to sell it this way? -The day I showed up, and got my lil' teenage angst ridden hopes up waiting for my first lesson from the guy, the store was no longer there. The guy apparently was just trying to move merchandise so he could close up and set up shop someplace else? (Another town.) I was heartbroken - yet years later, I've come to more observantly reflect on my experience as perhaps being kind of synchronistic in nature? Such a rare find such as mind and at a reasonable price - perhaps me and Stan (I named my guitar 'Stan') were meant to come together??? (Don't laugh please.)

Anyway, to cut to the chase, about a decade and a half of aggravated brief attempts to get self taught through mail order videos, ironically this was JUST SHORT of the internet become major popular so there were no YouTube videos i could simply look up to help me get started, and even then, I've chosen to go the route of a hands on teach cause I've found in my experience a video screen just can't compete with a live flesh and blood person to show you where you're messin' up! So after a while, I sorta gave up. And without a case to cover it with, there it sat for fifteen years in my dust ridden back closet, perhaps succumbing to spider infestation in all that time - who knows. Later, when looking to make some space in my quickly overcrowding room, I attempted to sell it in a yard sale we hosted. I always assumed we had sold it along the way yet a few more years went by and I found myself pausing outside my closet periodically every occasion just staring at the upper shelf, surprised to find the elusive instrument was indeed still with me???

I've even gone so far as to question my mom "why is this still 'here' mom?" She doesn't know. --Later still, when going to my tarot reader one evening, having booked a reason to get some much needed answers about the direction my life is heading and how do I get it to turn the way I want it to, some introspective work she was helping me to do on myself. The subject of music came up in my tarot shuffle. One of the cards had a character playing the harp and she told me she the whole time she's known me she keeps getting this flash of me strumming this stringed instrument - and it's like it ALL CAME TOGETHER for me??!!

I told about how I've been having these experiences where I find myself pausing outside my closet and staring up at my guitar on the top shelf (neglecting to mention the several dreams I've had since then where I find myself up on a stage playing the guitar as well) and I poured out the whole story to her and after I was finished she looked me dead in the eye and told me "-there's a 'reason' that guitar's still in your closet! I truly believe we, as people, tend to hang on to specific possessions for a particular reason in our lifetime - cause they're gonna serve a particular purpose later on." And so I really have to credit her, she's the one that's encouraged me to give it a try and as a result of simply sending it out into the Universe, my intention to learn this summer and wishing for somebody to teach me. I've now been directed to Dan, who happens to live just the next street over so it's not far from my house.

And God willing, I intend to get the hang of learning to play this thing or spend the summer lookin' like a complete fucking idiot, trying. I'm a really clumsy learner, but I have a real passionate reason for wanting to learn this. And I'll update y'all on my progress as I go along - assuming there even is something to update y'all on, once I get the time - holy cow, my teacher expects me practice like 9 hours a day?!!! That's the part that's giving me the most immediate concern?

Anyway, my purpose in the first place for sharing this all with y'all is that I originally was having a hell of a time the past couple of days ago. For the past few days I haven't been feeling my typical self, for truly stupid reasons I'm sure. Been having a head clouded with negative thoughts and have witnessed first hand just how truly infectious and damaging this phenomenon can have on a person and their environment. I've even been experiencing processing dreams as a result of it, trying to help me get to the bottom of a lot of my crap, but I'm just too dense to pick out the meaning at first glance.

Then again - Dan has reassured me, this is common for most newcomer players. I guess for me, I didn't even realize just how much this particular problem was affecting me, bust in the first few weeks of any new player they find extreme discouragement in the result of being unable to get the hang of basic techniques. Such as, for example, my teacher, first lesson he has me simply learning the basic notes, where they are, how to Open E tune, and simply learn to get all the strings down flat to get a clear sound.

It took me a while to realize what I was doing wrong and it was something so obvious I felt like bashing myself in the head with a hammer for not realizing this in the first place. I just simply wasn't pressing down hard enough and thus the reason I was getting all the muffled noises. Dan is right about the techniques hurting. His advice is very borderline and simple. 9 hours a day, and strum and prick till your fingers BLEED! There's no other way around it! Anyway, tonight I'm learning simple basic strumming - which again is a lot harder than it sounds. I'm out of practice when it comes to doing two things at once trying to conduct my hands.

I hope I have something worthwhile to show him for next week's lesson (he wants to see the finger blisters?!) everyone wait for my post till then!-