Things have slowed down for me musically. Much much more than I want them to. Between family and work I'm finding myself trying to carve out a half hour here and there to really dive in. Some days I have the time, but I've so stressed or worn out that it doesn't much matter.
I'm thankful that I have a routine that I can push through as a minimum goal. It consists of major scales in five positions on the neck played linearly, in thirds, and five notes up four down. Add to that an arpeggio exercise that I learned a couple years ago plus working on a triad pairs lesson from Matt Warnock and I can get about fifteen minutes in. I'll usually fill in another fifteen on a song or two just to get it a solid half hour.
I'm hoping to get some free time in the next couple weeks where I can record a video or two and get that up. Just something to remind the world I'm still here and I'm still creating. I did one on vacation and it was great. I want to chase that a bit.
~Danny
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Collectors
A few days ago before a lesson I was standing at the uke wall in Guitar Syndicate plucking away and tuning up the ukes like I tend to do. Eventually, and older fella walked over and commented that he had about that many ukes at home himself.
"Oh," I said, "Have you even considered joining our ukulele club?"
"No, I don't really play them that much," he retorted.
Since I was a lot younger I've noticed that there are tons of instruments wasting away in collections all over the world. Now, museum pieces and items beyond repair aside, I have always felt a little guilty about this. Instruments have a purpose, and that is to make music. So many of these instruments haven't seen the light of day or felt the touch of a musicians capable hands because they are in such collections.
I'm not exempt from this crime. I have at a small collection of wind instruments that get brought out on rare occasions that I just don't seem to be able to part with. Sentimental as my feelings are (one is my trombone that was my best friend in high school, and the other is my dad's coronet he played in high school), it would be nice if they got played once in a while.
So it is that I find myself talking more frequently to collectors as I spend more time at the local shop. They always have a story on the guitar they let go, and can play a few Eagles or Hendrix licks better than even the most astute starving artist. And they keep the guitar shops and manufacturers in business.
That's right, we the penniless musicians owe them a lot. For every rare archtop or Les Paul they keep out of our hands they encourage a hundred more inexpensive models to be produced, bought, sold, and re-sold used to slip into the market. If not for them, we would not have such wonderful guitar lines such as the Ibanez Artcores or countless Strat and Tele copies.
So, I keep talking to them. I pick their brain as they tend to also be the heralds of much guitar (and ukulele) history. And, occasionally, I work on that invite back to their museum/garage where their little studio is full of 30 guitars and 12 ukuleles.
~DB
"Oh," I said, "Have you even considered joining our ukulele club?"
"No, I don't really play them that much," he retorted.
Since I was a lot younger I've noticed that there are tons of instruments wasting away in collections all over the world. Now, museum pieces and items beyond repair aside, I have always felt a little guilty about this. Instruments have a purpose, and that is to make music. So many of these instruments haven't seen the light of day or felt the touch of a musicians capable hands because they are in such collections.
I'm not exempt from this crime. I have at a small collection of wind instruments that get brought out on rare occasions that I just don't seem to be able to part with. Sentimental as my feelings are (one is my trombone that was my best friend in high school, and the other is my dad's coronet he played in high school), it would be nice if they got played once in a while.
So it is that I find myself talking more frequently to collectors as I spend more time at the local shop. They always have a story on the guitar they let go, and can play a few Eagles or Hendrix licks better than even the most astute starving artist. And they keep the guitar shops and manufacturers in business.
That's right, we the penniless musicians owe them a lot. For every rare archtop or Les Paul they keep out of our hands they encourage a hundred more inexpensive models to be produced, bought, sold, and re-sold used to slip into the market. If not for them, we would not have such wonderful guitar lines such as the Ibanez Artcores or countless Strat and Tele copies.
So, I keep talking to them. I pick their brain as they tend to also be the heralds of much guitar (and ukulele) history. And, occasionally, I work on that invite back to their museum/garage where their little studio is full of 30 guitars and 12 ukuleles.
~DB
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