Guitars and Honkey Tonks... OK, Not Really. But Guitars, Anyway.

A lifetime ago, in the time BC (before children), I bought a guitar.  I think I was unemployed when I bought it - the only three months in the last nine years that I've been in that state, and that was 100% by choice.  I've been very lucky. 

I was in the middle of taking some time off, though, and for some reason, I got the itch to play the guitar.  I did a lot of research, spent a considerable amount of time visiting different stores and trying out different guitars, and finally settled on one that I liked.  I was a little concerned about finding one that worked, mainly because my hands match the rest of me - below average in size, so I took my time and did a lot of research.  (If you know me at all, you know that is NOT how I approach most purchases.) 

So I bought it in the spring of 2004.  I started tinkering around with it some, not really sure what I was doing, but enjoying the idea of learning to play maybe more than actually playing - my fingers hurt!  And a few months later I started a new job, we moved to a new house, and figured out I was pregnant with our first.  And that was just one week.  And not too long after, the guitar did not fit in my lap worth a damn, and I assumed it would be many years before I would probably attempt it again.

And it was.  It sat next to the piano in both our old house in Houston and again in the house here in Maumelle.  Occasionally my brother-in-law would take it out and tune it, but other than that, it sat.

It started catching my eye a bit more after a recent conversation with my brother-in-law.  It might have been New Years Eve, I'm not sure; I have the feeling that there was whiskey involved in the conversation but I could be wrong.  It's a good guess, though...  He made the comment that all it would take to be able to play reasonably well was 15 minutes a day for about three months.

15 minutes a day.  Hell, I should be able to make that work.  With all the screwing around I do, it might be nice to actually have something to show for that time.  It's a nice guitar, in fantastic shape, my lap can once again accommodate a guitar, and I have 15 minutes at night now if I plan correctly. 

I started working on it again sometime in January.  Consistent with my less dogmatic approach to life these days, I didn't even try to play every night.  But I did try to play every other night if at all possible.  And only until my fingers hurt so badly that I had to stop.  Which, contrary to what one of my friends told me, did not involve actual blood on my fingers.  Thank God.  So that meant I played 2 minutes the first night, 3 minutes the second, and 5 minutes the third.

Somewhere towards the end of the second week, though, I played long enough one night that my hand got tired before my fingers made me quit.  Now that was progress.

So I gave it a few more weeks, eeking out some information from the interwebs on chords and how to play, and seeing if I thought it was going to "stick" this time around.  I bought a couple of books, pelted a friend with some (ok, a LOT of) questions and have been playing pretty consistently, looking up tabs on the internet and fumbling around a bit less obnoxiously than I was at first.

I'm sure my technique sucks, and my transitions and many chords are still mushy (some chords still unplayable).  But some of my songs are actually recognizable, so it's not all bad.  And I'm starting to get the hang of some transitions and may even embark on strumming techniques soon...  Again, progress.

I played the piano in a former life.  Sometimes an hour's worth of playing was incredibly soothing to the mind - sort of like a long run.  I'm hoping that eventually I get that way with the guitar; where the music is largely muscle memory, I don't have to think quite so much about it, and I can just let my mind roam while my fingers play.  Or, I can challenge myself when I feel like learning something new. 

I forgot how much fun it is to learn something new; seeing progress from week to week is incredibly satisfying.  Here's to hoping I don't lose interest this time around...  And maybe, if I'm really lucky, one of the kiddos will enjoy the music and get interested in it.  And for the love of God, please let it be the piano or the guitar.  And not the drums.