From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V3 #73 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Tuesday, March 6 2001 Volume 03 : Number 073 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] sorry, not real rs related- mostly about guitarplaying and consider yourself DULY CHASTISED AGAIN [] [RS] RE: shindell-list-digest V3 #72 ["Timothy Bruce" ] [RS] RE: DULY CHASTISED AGAIN [Elwestrand ] [RS] I-80 ["Norman A. Johnson" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 08:32:20 -0500 From: jcolb Subject: [RS] sorry, not real rs related- mostly about guitarplaying and consider yourself DULY CHASTISED AGAIN > And now I guess I feel too old. Yeah yeah I know but I do. You are NEVER too old. Say it with me, chillun! At 39, I consider myself still virtually a beginner on guitar, but you know what? Don't matter if you enjoy it and play for your own satisfaction. I didn't start playing until my late twenties, right before my extended (to steal a phrase) period of character development (aka marriage.) My ex hated when i played... absolutely hated it... so i didn't. Twice I sold my guitars and had none; when I did play it was at ten-fifteen minute clips at a time. It was more of a pain in the ass than a pleasure, y'know? I never really wanted to be, say, Dan Crary or Nils Lofgren or (name your favorite guitar hero)...my interest in guitar was primarily based on wanting to put chords to the songs i could hear in my head. (I've never had trouble coming up with lyrics.) So i had been sort of languishing through the whole three chords and the truth thing for way to long- and there is a STAGGERING amount of songs you can play in first position chords, especially if you fudge a bit and play with a capo. I reached a comfort level and stayed there. It's only within the last month or so that I feel I've really been moving forward, where i've wanted to become better- it stated with looking at the chords to cold missouri waters after seeing the outpost show and saying 'i can play that.' And i could, and i did. I started listening, really listening to my guitar, and realizing i needed a better one. Lately, it's all i've wanted to do, and thanks to darkness darkness, i'm even working toward conquering my fear of alternate tunings (my rationale always was, geez, I'm bad enough in EADGBE...why push it?) Saturday, my most excellent girlfriend Cynthia and I (she is a classically trained singer) were working on an arrangement for Guinevere... And it actually sounded okay! Well, her part of it sounded wonderful... my part sounded, well, okay! But i mean that very positvely, not okay like 'well, that's an okay album." Will I ever be public performance quality? Not likely. Does that bother me much? No, because I also realized that that isn't why i enjoy playing. I love guitars- always have- they really butter my biscuit, so to speak. And playing is something i have come to enjoy doing for my own satisfaction. I think that's the big question- why do you want to do it? If you're in your mid fifties, fostering an illusion of becoming a rock star if you learn a few chords then it likely (hell, anything's possible) is too late to get started if that is your sole goal. If you want to learn to play for your own enjoyment, feel what it feels like to run your fingers through the chords of a song one of your heros has written, play music for the enjoyment of yourself and your loved ones or even just bash through a few songs at an open mic night, good heavens, man, go for it! Did the sixties and seventies not teach us the phrase "If it feels good, do it!" (Uh, I guess we have added some disclaimers to that through the years though. But the core point still remains valid.) POINT IS... You are never too old to be a beginner, if it is something you enjoy doing and will feel enriched by learning or trying, whether it's guitar, or writing short stories, or pen and ink drawing, or tai chi, or acting, or woodworking, or whatever. Jim Colbert (guess that, er, interesting drive on I-80 from Bayonne NJ to State College PA yesterday turned me philosophical..) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 09:44:55 -0600 From: "Timothy Bruce" Subject: [RS] RE: shindell-list-digest V3 #72 >>Add a fourth chord (A) and you can play Neil Young's entire portfolio! And with a capo and learning just one minor chord (Am, Bm, Dm, it don't matter) you can play every folk song ever written<<< Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! You're giving away my whole act! I might add that before the CAPO became acceptable to display in public performance, there were things called barre chords in which you could play any chord from C to shining C without changing the fingering positions by merely moving the whole group together up or down on the fretboard. One would usually have to start with these chords when playing along to a recorded song for the first time to see what key it was in. And it was those barre chords especially that were easiest to learn on an ELECTRIC guitar because the strings are lower and lighter (read less painful to the fingertips). Electric guitars have the additional appeal of being able to be played almost silently with the benefit of a little $20 practice amp and headphones, which may be a factor if you share your living space and the muse come calling primarily after everyone else is tucked away snug in their beds. I'll admit that there is NOTHING quite like an acoustic guitar on the front steps on a humid summer night, but playing fast and loud into headphones without bothering anyone is a good way to build your confidence. I KNOW there will be others here that disagree (because of the adage that you're more likely to continue with a new instrument if it's of high quality and sounds great) but I would sooner spend $400-500 on TWO guitars (a nice entry-level electric and the rest on an entry-level acoustic) than blow the whole wad on ONE nice acoustic guitar. That way you have a choice whenever the spirit moves you to (ugh! I don't want to say it!) ....practice. Besides, "effects" have become really cheap lately for electric guitars and they can make essential introductory stuff like playing scales almost cosmic experiences. Just my 2 cents.... ETimothy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 08:45:12 -0800 From: "Clary, John (CLRY)" Subject: [RS] Brian's song... >> And with a capo and learning just one minor chord (Am, Bm, Dm, it don't matter) you can play every folk song ever written. That is, if we can ever figure out what a "folk" song is. << I'm convinced that with a capo and the C, Am F & G7 progression, you can play every do-wop song of the 50's, all the happy, flower songs of the 60's and the jesus-movement songs of the 70's. Never mind the folk tunes. (to shake it up, start on the F for a whole new key) - -- john andrew clary home mailto:john.cleirigh@juno.com work mailto:clry@chevron.com "the music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. there's also a negative side." ~ hunter s. thompson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 15:11:35 -0500 From: Elwestrand Subject: [RS] RE: DULY CHASTISED AGAIN > POINT IS... > > You are never too old to be a beginner, if it is something you enjoy > doing and > will feel enriched by learning or trying, whether it's guitar, or > writing short > stories, or pen and ink drawing, or tai chi, or acting, or woodworking, > or > whatever. Agreed. This is very important! Scientists now believe that the best way to stave off senility and other types of mental and physical deterioration is to keep learning new things. Especially totally new and challenging things. You must keep your brain supple at all costs. My boss bought a sailboat and learned to sail, chart and navigate at 56 and she's a woman (and a tiny one at that) so the physical part of sailing is extra-tough for her. I really respect her for that. What a role model. But anyways, just go for it. It doesn't even matter if you stink. I am pretty sure I do, but so what, its still fun! I have to say however, that I wouldn't exactly call it easy. And I don't know where you get the songbooks with the GCD songs, but everything I want to play seems to be a whole lot more complicated than that. Which isn't to discourage you, but I find it discouraging being told how easy something is and then doing alot of struggling. So I am saying some of it is hard right up front. And you can start to play on a cheap or borrowed guitar. The first one I played, paid for by green stamps in the sixties, was warped and didn't really work past the ninth fret. My second was borrowed. If you have the luxury of buying a spendy one, fine. No need to let this dream pass any of you by. It is neatly within reach. :-) E ________________________________________________ Get your own "800" number Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more http://www.ureach.com/reg/tag ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 17:55:45 -0500 From: "Norman A. Johnson" Subject: [RS] I-80 Jim wrote: >>(guess that, er, interesting drive on I-80 from Bayonne NJ to State College PA yesterday turned me philosophical..)>> See any nuns changing tires (or attire)?, any families in minivans?, Reagan republicans?.... Norman ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V3 #73 **********************************