New Guitar Love Crush Panic

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I went wild this past weekend and bought a new-to-me classical guitar.

For ax fans, it’s a Kenny Hill custom-built cut-away with a spruce top and rosewood back and sides – all solid wood. It has a built-in pick-up, internal mike and control box on the top side. It’s an adorable parlor size – only 630 mm. It was built in 2000 and is in excellent shape.

I think I’m in love.

This kind of behavior is why I’m not too, too worried about my chronic depression. Who invests this much time, money and love in her music if she doesn’t really want to stick around and enjoy whatever comes next? Bring it on.

As long as I’m buying guitars and not selling them all off, I think that’s a good sign that there’s a dance left in the old dame yet.

(P.S. – fans of “Weeds” may recognize the homage in my post’s title.)

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Cool! Let’s see a pic of this bad boy.

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Ooops, Gerri. What was I thinking? ;0)

Here is a pic of a very similar one from their catalog. I’ll have to do a photo shoot of mine very soon.

fa357da78cf721a6.jpg356×946 103 KB

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Oooo, beautiful!

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Yeah, it’s gorgeous – even prettier in person. ;0)

You should hear it sing when my teacher plays it. HEAVENLY. I can only hope to live up to this lovely guitar’s potential. It’s very inspirational.

You know the old joke, right:

“Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?”

“Sure, sure: practice, practice, practice!”

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Yep, practice. Sure you’ll do it justice.

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Go Jean, Go!

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Boy she sure is beautiful.

Music is good for us in so many ways. First its an endless challenge that never gets old, then there is the magic that happens when you play with someone else and you are listening and reacting to what each other is playing, and finally best of all playing for an audience and connecting. Certainly great motivation to keep those numbers in line.

I’ve always liked having the right tool for the job and a fine instrument definitely fits in that category, at least that’s what I tell myself every time I add to my herd.

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@BadMoonT2 - I was having a bit of buyer’s panic (it was pricey) but I’ve recovered pretty much by telling myself the same thing: “a carpenter is only as good as his tools”.

One thing I love about guitar: I can’t eat while I play. There’s no greater diet tool – outside of a gym membership or exercise equipment – than a beautiful, delicate, beloved instrument. When I’m feeling like binging, I can redirect my attention and go an hour with my mind completely distracted by playing – several hours if I’m with musician friends. Even if they are snacking, I lose all interest in anything but the music.

There’s a lesson there, for sure.

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I used to be a trim carpenter/cabinet maker and can confirm good tools make a difference.

Another saying I heard to discourage the thought that a piece of equipment will solve your guitar problems is that Eric Clapton(or any other great player, he’s just my favorite) can pick up a cheap guitar and still sound like Eric Clapton. In truth most of what makes you sound like you is your left hand technique at least on the electric guitar.

Speaking of the right tool, my first guitar way back in the 60’s was a 12 string with big heavy strings and a horrible action. Learning on that was painful to say the least, it’s a wonder I stuck it out. Now days cheap guitars have much better actions. Today one of my herd is a fairly inexpensive 12 string that plays wonderfully, great for early Beatles, Byrds etc.

I feel confident you made the right move especially considering all the ancillary benefits you mentioned, what’s money for anyway.

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Wow! That looks like a nice axe!! Re the tool dilemma, I have a couple MIM Fenders and a nice Les Paul. I was listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and was inspired to haul out my MIM Jazz Bass to jam along with it and it is in dire need of getting set up, intonated, whatever, the E string is way out of whack. I think that it’s been like 15 years since it’s been anywhere near anyone who is any good at that stuff and I am going to lug it over to the shop this weekend to get that done so it will be back in business.

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Yeah, we’ve got to pamper our babies every now and then.

This is a pretty steep upgrade for me – for the last oh-so-many years I’ve been using a free-to-me Yamaha laminate that was made in Taiwan about thirty years ago.

I spent some time a few months ago researching its value on-line:

Drum roll please…

$35.

Yep. Thirty-five smackers. I love it for bringing me this far, but I just couldn’t take the boing-oing-oing in the G string any more. There was no way to tune it, string it, wrap it or tie it to get out the boing.

My new guitar has a rock-solid G string that almost brings me to nirvana every time I tune-up.

YAY!

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It’s nice to be able to just lay down the cash as Jean did and start playing a really fine instrument, you get a return on your investment every time you pick it up.

In the electric guitar realm it’s possible to buy a fairly inexpensive guitar and upgrade it, a little at a time, if need be and wind up with something good. My Tele is a MIM (made in Mexico) Fender also. I replace all the electronics with quality stuff(Lindy Fralin pickups, orange drop capacitors etc.) and I get complements all the time about how good it sounds.

So Jean, what type of music do you play? Straight classical?

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Hi, BadMoonT2 – I’m still a student, but classical is what I’m studying right now. I like all kinds of music and played folk and folk-rock (finger-picking) for years, but fourteen months ago I asked my new teacher to “pretend like I’ve never seen a guitar – tear me down to the foundation and build me up from scratch” because I wanted to learn to read music and to play in the excruciatingly correct (smile) classical style.

So I went from playing under my right arm to playing across my left knee, with a complete shift in my left hand technique, right hand technique, guitar angle, etc. I recently tried to go back to the other side just to see and I can’t play a note over there. ;0)

I’m able to read simple songs in the first position and I’m finally getting out of just etudes/studies and am learning to read and play my first baby pieces (e.g. a one-page andante piece by Sor.)

I have heard that with hard work and lots of practice, it takes about five years to be ready to perform classical guitar for a “real” audience, but at my age, with my physical limitations, I may never perform for the general public – I’m just happy as a clam playing and learning and playing and learning. It fills me up.

Here’s an incredibly talented young man playing one of my favorite pieces:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skz8CS9QlT8

For fun, compare to this equally-sublime but slightly different interpretation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVYyJXU8o98

My absolute favorite piece (right now) is the first movement of the Bach cello suite number 6. I couldn’t find a really good version on-line. I have it played by two different guitarists on CD: Jason Williams or Jorge Caballero. I wasn’t all that fond of Bach until I started studying classical guitar and really listening to the same pieces over and over by different artists. Now I’m in awe.

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Wow Jean, I'm really impressed you have undertaken this challenge. So many old habits/bad habits to learn/unlearn. At least the videos you linked were slow.

About a year ago I saw the Quebe Sisters Band on the Marty Stuart Show I've always loved swing so I decided to try to learn this style. It involves new chord forms and techniques. Although the basic harmony can be fairly simple the guitar uses lots of substitutions to keep things moving. I bought a few instructional videos but never really got too far. Your persistence is inspirational.

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I couldn’t do it without my teacher – I thank my lucky stars over and over that I found him.

I’ve wanted to give up a hundred times, but I can’t bear to disappoint him. ;0)

Some weeks, the only way I get any practice in – between working, commuting and sleeping (whew!) – is to think, “Oh gosh, I can’t show up for my lesson no better on this piece than I was last week.”

His patient, calm, respectful manner keeps me going where I would have buckled and given up before.

He’s worth his weight in gold. This is corny, but I got tears in my eyes the other day thinking, “I would be so proud to have him as my son.” He’s a young married man with a three-year-old and when I’m with him, I feel for one hour what it would be like to have an adult child of my own, one that I would be very proud to have. He never gives up on me, pushes me gently to do a little better each week, doesn’t let me slack off, calmly argues me out of wrong-headed ways of looking at things – we have had some marvelous discussions about musical interpretation, phrasing, technique, respect for the composer and for the era and style of each piece, how to practice, how to do everything from file my nails to place my left thumb as I move down the neck.

He’s my secret weapon against the inertia and discouragement that attacks so many older musicians – in fact, he coined a really funny term for this period in every guitarist’s life: Interminable Intermediate Hell. ;0)

That’s that wide chasm where you’re no longer a beginner but you’re also not one of the elite, either. You’re in that place where the only thing you can do is keep challenging yourself each and every day to grow another millimeter towards perfection, knowing full-well that you’ll never get there, but by God, you’ll enjoy the climb.

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Oh, and I love that Quebe Sisters number. I love swing!

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A teacher like that is indeed priceless, to keep you going when you get discouraged. My theory is that keeping learning helps keep you young. Glad you liked the Quebe Sisters ther're sort of the Andrews Sisters meets Western Swing. Here's another good one.

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The left knee thing is huge! A buddy of mine tipped me off to that a while ago and it makes it way easier to get around on the guitar and a lot more comfortable to play. I mostly am playing electric, standing up, flying tattoos everywhere so my form probably sucks these days but w/ an acoustic, I always sit w/ it under my armpit, fiddle and feel uncomfortable and then kick it over to the knee and it fits great!

20

Had such a fun lesson today!!!

We set up my new guitar with a special amp designed for classical guitars – my guitar has both an internal mic and a pick-up, and we played with balance between the two (more finger-nail scratchiness with more pickup, more boomy bass with more mic). It sounded FABULOUS once we got the balance and volume right. Then we started playing with a little bit of reverb. It sounded sort of gritty and jazzy. Very, very fun.

I have plans over the next few months to add the gear I need to record to my computer – I’m thinking a ZOOM box and then maybe a small guitar amp just for playing “coffee-shop” sized spaces, maybe nursing homes or churches? Large living rooms? In the yard?

(scurries off to practice, practice, practice)

Wheee…!!!