The Guitar: Third Time's the Charm

Ah, the guitar.  My old nemesis.  We meet again.

I remember the first time we met.  You were so alluring, so promising.  You seduced me away from my beloved drum set with your promises of fancy solos and recognizable tunes.  Together, we played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," the intro of "Stairway to Heaven," and "Take it Easy."  You were polite; you didn't even comment on how cliche and boring my tastes were.  But you sensed I lacked commitment, always gravitating back to the old steady, Drum Set.  It was only a matter of time before I pushed you away for some cheap John Bonham fills.

You of course remember the last time I dusted you off.  It was two years ago.  We had some good times learning some open chords, half a Tom Waits song, and "Goodnight Irene."  But you defeated me with an F chord and delayed gratification. You're a cruel and demanding mistress. 

Well I'm back.  And I will master you for real this time.  Maybe.  I hope.

On 8/6/12 I dusted my old Epiphone - a gift from my sister, likewise defeated by the guitar - off and dragged you to a real guitar lesson with a real teacher.  At the Queens guitar school, just down the block.  I asked them for the biggest theory dork they had and bought a pack of five lessons.

This was a while coming:  The Queen's Guitar School?  I'd walked past it every day for almost a year, and I'd spent months entertaining lessons.  My inability to get a drum set into Queens meant I'd not played music seriously in a year.  I had always identified myself as a musician, but I recently had the startling epiphany that I was now at best a dancer first and a musician second.  At worst?  A former musician.  I had gone to college for music, but I sensed that all the amazing theory I'd learned was slowly draining from my head.  Use it or lose it.  I needed a melodic instrument to play, stat.  And Phyllis - that's the Epiphone's name, as of four seconds ago - was right there in my living room.

This blog was started in part to motivate me to really give this a solid go this time.  I'm going to track my progress here and, hopefully, use this place to keep me honest.

My short term goals:

• Basic instrument proficiency.  Duh.  I want to be a solid rhythm guitarist, able to jam with friends asap.
• Ear training.  I want to be able to hear all the things I learned in Jazz Theory class, not just conceptualize them.
• Expansion and recovery of my theory knowledge.  I have too much knowledge to lose, and not enough to use.  It's an awkward position.

My long term goals:

• Expert proficiency in rhythm guitar.  I want to be able to play with anyone, and I want them to want to play with me.
• Extensive harmonic theory knowledge. We're talking Paul McCartney / Bernie Worrell level here.
• Freddie Green, Slim Gaillard, David Gregory, Nick Drake, Marc Ribot, Eddie Hazel, Django, George Harrison, Prince, etc.  Well at least I don't have a problem aiming high.

I will log my general progress at least once between each lesson and once after each lesson.  I also think it will be interesting to record some of my musical opinions now, at the beginning of my journey, and track how they change after a year or two of guitaring.

Stay tuned for my first lesson and practice report.