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Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar
Dec. 13th, 2008 07:35 pmThere are times you wonder just what kind of guitarist you are... or whether you deserve to be called one, given the amount of time & effort that goes into other parts of your life in order to just keep that going, leaving precious little time to do the things you love doing ~ like playing guitar.
The pessimist in my artistic soul keeps coming back to a quote I posted from Robert Fripp a couple of months ago... he said: If you don't practise what you do for at least an hour each day, you're not really doing it. There are indeed days... sometimes quite a few days when I don't pick up a guitar at all, no matter what music may be running through my head ~ mine or someone else's.
But then there are days... & especially nights, where I'll have the opportunity to play guitar for friggin' hours!! Most often with other people, but occasionally I'll turn off the stereo/TV/iTunes/whatever & just play 'til I'm bored... & when the mood's right, that can be quite a while.
Whether that redresses the imbalance of the days with my guitars languishing in their cases unplayed is a matter of conjecture.
Thursday this week was one of those times, I was at a dinner thrown by my unofficial guitar pupil, where another guitarist turned up, a harmonica player... & for a short while, the neighbour's daughter & her clarinet ~ which meant that everything was played in Bflat for an hour. Lots of fun & a late night was had... especially by me, but that's another consequence & entry.
Anyway, this week, I also picked up a DVD copy of John Williams' Seville Concert & I can't recommend it highly enough, not only for guitarists, but anyone who simply enjoys music well played. Even non-classical fans will find something to drop their jaws in its too-brief duration. And the bonus accompanying documentary is simply inspiring. Have a taste...
( And another... )
I think I need to listen to Robert in order to play like John...
The pessimist in my artistic soul keeps coming back to a quote I posted from Robert Fripp a couple of months ago... he said: If you don't practise what you do for at least an hour each day, you're not really doing it. There are indeed days... sometimes quite a few days when I don't pick up a guitar at all, no matter what music may be running through my head ~ mine or someone else's.
But then there are days... & especially nights, where I'll have the opportunity to play guitar for friggin' hours!! Most often with other people, but occasionally I'll turn off the stereo/TV/iTunes/whatever & just play 'til I'm bored... & when the mood's right, that can be quite a while.
Whether that redresses the imbalance of the days with my guitars languishing in their cases unplayed is a matter of conjecture.
Thursday this week was one of those times, I was at a dinner thrown by my unofficial guitar pupil, where another guitarist turned up, a harmonica player... & for a short while, the neighbour's daughter & her clarinet ~ which meant that everything was played in Bflat for an hour. Lots of fun & a late night was had... especially by me, but that's another consequence & entry.
Anyway, this week, I also picked up a DVD copy of John Williams' Seville Concert & I can't recommend it highly enough, not only for guitarists, but anyone who simply enjoys music well played. Even non-classical fans will find something to drop their jaws in its too-brief duration. And the bonus accompanying documentary is simply inspiring. Have a taste...
( And another... )
I think I need to listen to Robert in order to play like John...
