Years ago, more than most people here have been on earth, my Dad, a good guitarist, taught me some chords on his guitar (which he once shot with a .22 rifle, but that's another story). Anyway, I tried to practice, and I did do some good sessions of "getting it," but then my fingers began to get really sore. Like bloody sore. Like, "If I have to touch another fret or a string, I'm going to scream," sore. I quit playing. I know he was pretty disappointed in me. (That's not why he shot the guitar). Something weird has come over me lately and I've had this big yen to get hold of a guitar again. My daughter still had her guitar from high school in her basement, untouched for years. She brought it to me this morning. I cleaned it up and played around a bit on it, but it's badly out of tune. I think I may take it to the local guitar shop tomorrow and get it tuned, because I failed miserably to do it. Maybe you'll be hearing me on Austin City Limits soon! Yeah, when Tatiana becomes the American Idol and pigs fly out of my butt. Still, there was something magic feeling about holding a guitar again.
In the past week I've also had an overwhelming feeling to knit again. I've crocheted pretty recently, but it's been a long, long time since I've knitted. I've forgotten more than I realized. I ended up getting The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting at the library yesterday. When I checked it out, it turned out one of the librarians is an avid knitter and invited me to the Monday night knitting club meeting here in town next week. I'm going. I'd love to get confident and make beautiful things. I think both crocheting and knitting may keep my fingers limber and free from the creeping arthritis that's stalking me.
If you used to paint (I did that, too), crochet, sew, carve... whatever, if you get the urge to try it again, I encourage you to do so. You're never too old to learn something, especially something you used to know how to do! Leave some pieces of your talent and your heart for the coming generations.
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Comments: 16
One day I will learn to knit but it may be some day waaaayyy far off.
I'm glad you're picking on those interests, though! Good for you!
I'd need a proper guitar and a teacher to get past the 5-6 chords stage.
And, like you, I have been bitten by the knitting bug. I'm bringing a hat to the child of a mutual friend this evening! :-)
Now that I've cheered you on, consider me standing alongside Doyle and Aniko, waiting for the shootin' story.
Kevin is actually rather new to the guitar. He knows of several different websites that are really helpful when you're learning. He's always sitting in front of his computer, just a strummin' away.
And this is the story I wanna hear. Tell it, please, Auntie Vicky? Pretty Please?! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?!
But I really, really want to learn how to knit. It just looks like so much fun. There's a frou-frou uppity yarn shop in Downtown Old Overland Park (that makes it sound like so much more of a place than it actually is,) but they want something like $35 for each lesson. No way!
I also took guitar lessons back in the day to supplement my piano lessons (I don't remember if I had this plan of being my own, One-Man Band or what I was thinking.) I can play "Tom Dooley" in a slow, haunting choppy fashion, with plenty of muttered, "Sh!t"s and "Hang On"s, but that's pretty much the extent of my Guitar Heroism. *sigh*
Corina - When Birdie was here on Gather and needed guitars for her class, I almost asked me daughter if we could send hers, since she had no interest in it anymore. Now I'm sort of glad I didn't, and Birdie ended up with enough instruments, anyway.
Doyle - It's not all that exciting of a story, the shooting of the guitar, but I'll publish it with pictures of the actual entrance and exit wounds!
Joy - This book I've got for Dummies to learn to knit is pretty good, then Monday I'm going to that knitting class, and Cindy, the librarian who invited me, says they love nothing better than showing newbies. If I get half way good at it, I'll send you a hat or leg warmers or something.
Sue - I really admire someone who teaches themselves an instrument! My Dad taught himself guitar, but he had years of classical violin helping him.
Aniko ? , Mar 6, 2009, 3:14am EST
Aniko- You can play HUNDREDS of songs with 6 chords.
Vicky- Perhaps the "action" (the amount of space between the string and the frets) needs to be adjusted.
It will hurt for a while anyway, but eventually you develop callouses on the tips of the fingers of your left hand unless you happen to be a freak, er, I mean a left-handed person (in which case you will develop the callouses on your right hand fingertips).
and probably thousands of songs with just 3 chords.