I wandered into Crazy Music today, purchased a blue capo, and played exclusively Radiohead and Bonnie Prince Billy the entire afternoon. And by played, I mean “tried to play.” Not even “learned to play,” as that would indicate that I retained any of it.
I’m not a musician. A mood strikes every few months (or years), and I dedicate hours to a piano, guitar or toy xylophone. This period usually runs concurrent with idle time like now, just before class, when practical matters don’t gnaw at the back of my brain every minute. I’ve tried learning, but never stuck with it. In a bout of motherly graciousness I’m only beginning to appreciate, my grandmother bought an electric organ when I was 12 and paid for one year of piano lessons. When I was 14 I took a quarter-term’s worth of junior high guitar.
That’s when I bought Betty. Gramma still held a grudge for not continuing piano, so she wasn’t very willing to shell out any more money for an instrument likely to shake the house down with music she didn’t even like. Grampa took me on the clandestine mi
ssions to pawn shops, Danny Rhoades’, Two Guys, and finally Morgan Music, where my friend’s dad Mike walked us through the package deals and let me pick out any color of the Peavey Raptors that I wanted. I chose royal blue.
Fast forward through my high school boyfriend being a musical and artistic genius, my subsequent periods of self-doubt, my late-teens absorption with art and academics, and my first year of dorm life without a guitar as even a decoration.
But hey, we’re here now. It’s January. I’m 20.
And I’m playing my guitar again. Depending on the the semester’s demands, this will either be the last time I’ll spend with Betty for another six months, or I’ll actually learn a few songs. Maybe I’ll even figure out how to craft a song. And if that’s the case, knowing my spending habits, I’ll probably justify to myself an upgrade to a better guitar . . . or a mandolin . . . or at least a bunch of nice picks.
Special thanks to the following websites for enabling today’s diversion:
Comments 1
nice.
i’m the same way with playing. fun though.
Posted 17 Jan 2010 at 4:32 pm ¶Post a Comment