Sep 11 2007
Sore Fingers!
Well, not really. But they feel funny as they build calluses.
Why calluses do you ask? Because I am trying to learn how to play guitar.
I don’t know why I’ve never learned an instrument. Every time I encounter music I enjoy it. I love to sing (though voice lessons have left me untrained, I am told I am not painful to listen to), I’ve always had a substantial music collection, I even took a music theory course back in my early days of college which was a blast even though I had no practical application for it. Now I am married to a wife who sings, I have a piano in my house, and I still have no training.
About 6 months ago, my wife and I bought ourselves guitars to learn to play together. We started making some progress (she faster than I), then got busy and never got back to it. Her musical background meant that she started identifying chords and reading music better whereas I struggled with memorizing stuff. Plus I got frustrated with a couple of problem chords and I felt like I wasn’t learning any actual songs. It is harder to learn when you can’t see the practical application.
However, a few weeks ago I stumbled across a couple of worship songs with simple chords - some that I even knew! I started working on them, and now that I am actually feeling like I am getting somewhere, I am encouraged. Being encouraged always helps a person find the time to practice.
My enthusiasm is contagious, it turns out. My son, nearly 7, has become very interested as well. I wanted to pick up some easy nursery rhymes and kids’ songs to play for the boys, but could find nothing online. This led me to the Long and McQuade.
Of course, they didn’t have any children’s songbooks. Lots of Metallica, Led Zeppelin. Not so much for kids. I did however find a “learn to play guitar” book written for ages 5 and up. This got me thinking, why not let the kid learn? I can always steal the songs out of that for the other two.
Which led me to looking at guitars for the little guy. They make 1/2, 3/4, and full size guitars. The 3/4 looked a little large for him, and they were fresh out of 1/2 given the rush that happened last week. Apparently a lot of people buy kid sized guitars at the beginning of the school year. However, I knew that Toys R Us had $30 half size, so I hopped over there and set the boy up. It remains to be seen whether the guitar will hold a tune for more than a few minutes… but hey, until he makes clear that this is something he will be serious about, I think it’s a good investment.
After 30 minutes or so of practice yesterday, he seems pretty serious. He didn’t complain about the strings hurting his fingers so that’s a good sign (considering it hurts mine, I feel bad my 6 year old is tougher than me).
Heh. Good times.
