Suffering for my Art

So they told me all about how I'd get callouses on my fretting fingers when I started to play the guitar. What they didn't tell me was how much it would hurt - and continue to hurt. I just got finished playing a few minutes ago, and decided to start typing, which wasn't such a good idea. Each stroke of a key my left hand is responsible for sends a zinger up my finger.

I figured, well once the callouses are there, it won't hurt anymore, right? Wrong. I've been playing every day now since December. Every day after practice, my fingers hurt. And not just some surface pain, it goes pretty deep within my fingertips. It hurts for several hours after I'm finished, and then they continue to be numb.

Always numb. I can't even pick up paper or small things with my left hand anymore. So I'm thinking - are all guitarists out there, all the ones in bands and ones that jam at home, and all the classical players - are they all walking around without feeling in their fretting-hand fingertips? How long has it been since Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, or Jeff Beck had non-numb fingertips? And how does it affect their daily lives?

For me, it makes it difficult to work my office job sometimes. But at least I'm beginning to understand why "they" picked the non-dominant hand to play the frets. I always wondered about that - I mean, why wouldn't you use your "stronger" hand to do the hard part? Well, it's because your fretting hand is rendered semi-useless in the process, so best go with the non-dominant hand. For that, I am thankful.

And I have a whole new appreciation for Bryan Adams' lyric, "...played it 'til my fingers bled..."

Now I'm off to soak my fingertips in Palmolive...

My Inner Guitar Hero

So, I used to be one of those "musician-types" who scoffed at those that took Guitar Hero and Rock Band seriously. I mean, I thought, cute - if you want to pretend to play instruments and be in a band, fine; it's just not for me. The music is good, and it's fun at a party. But I had people actually tell me, "oh, my boy Timmy is so awesome at Guitar Hero, that we're going to get him guitar lessons!" Um...well, that's not always going to be a direct translation from one to the other. Guitars have frets and strings, need to be tuned, are bigger than guitar controllers, the list goes on.

Nine times out of ten "Timmy" gave up quickly, especially when they realized how much time away from Guitar Hero guitar practice was taking...

Still, I like to sing, so I got Rock Band to be the singer. The singing part on that game, while not displayed exactly as typical music notation, is actually quite a good visual of pitch, and gives you a pretty good idea of whether you're on pitch or not. So I'd say Rock Band can help you train as a singer, at least where pitch is concerned.

I decided if I was going to make the most of my Rock Band game, I'd better try the drums and guitars. I'm happy to report that the drums, while definitely not set up like a "regulation" kit, do a great job with rhythm and timing. I'd definitely recommend parents start their kid out with Rock Band drumming and see if they take to it before investing a full-blown drum kit, and the headaches that accompany a beginning budding drummer.

Finally, I picked up the guitar controller and tried my hand. Having played the actual guitar, I thought it would be a breeze. What's pushing little buttons down compared with the agony of developing callouses on my left-hand fingers? Well, certainly there's very little callous-building happening in Rock Band and Guitar Hero. It doesn't help you read tablature or understand chords. It doesn't help you find out what notes are on what strings, where. No barre chords. No hammer-ons or pull-offs. But, not unlike the drums, I find that those games help me a lot with rhythms.

The little "fret lines" that slide down the screen toward you as you play are actually set at eighth-note intervals. I've seen some pretty complex rhythms coming down, even on the easy levels. Some fast transitions. Some combinations that work better with up-and-down strokes rather than just down. And even though you're never really playing along with the lead guitar on the music track, if you listen well, you can really tell how the rhythms fit in with the guitar lines in the track.

Oh, and there's a whammy bar!!

So now, I'm a convert. I say, "Let them play Guitar Hero!" kids of today can be exposed to some amazingly legendary classic rock while we "older folks" can learn to appreciate the music of today. It's always good for the generations to understand one another. And, if you learn a little about music in the meanwhile, all the better for society as a whole.

Just remember - it's a game - have fun! And if you do find that you're musically inclined, don't be afraid to try out the "real thing."

Sing Along with Me!

I think one of the very best things about rock concerts and festivals is the feeling of a temporary community. The energy of the crowd feeding off one another, singing together, enjoying one of their (hopefully) favorite bands together. There's something about a sea of people fist-pumping in one accord that really moves me. Community. Then it's over, and you move on. Temporary.

Temporary communities can exist in large-scale, like a stadium-sized concert, or small venues, like a birthday party at your home, or anything in-between. Basically anytime 3 or more people get together to all do one collective thing; celebrating something is always a plus!

One of my objectives in learning to play the guitar is to be able to create temporary communities, in the form of sing-alongs. Seriously - I'd love to be able to get out the ol' acoustic guitar in a group setting, start to play, and have everyone join in. Like around a campfire, except that I don't camp, so more like around a fireplace. :)

To reach this objective, I've started selecting songs that I want to learn to play by considering if they are sing-along-able. Perusing my iPod, I notice that it does include many that meet the criteria, but many that don't. The main reasons being that they either don't translate well to the acoustic guitar (although sing-alongs could certainly spring up around an electric guitar, but I'm not sure I want to haul around all that equipment all the time), or the fact that it's a song that not everyone knows well enough to sing along with. I guess I have some obscure taste...

So, what better way to find out what songs everyone knows than to ask everyone? To everyone who's reading this, please comment with what your favorite sing-along songs might be. I'm not asking for your favorite song, per se - just those that you think would be fun (and easy) to sing in a group, that others would enjoy singing just as much as you do.

Just as an example, I've recently been working on "Every Rose Has its Thorn." I think it qualifies - do you?

Let me hear from you!

Changes...

OK, this is weird. I'm posting on my blog. That's weird enough, in and of itself. But what's even weirder is it has been just one day longer than exactly 2 years since I've written...

And what's even weirder than that is that not much has changed!

Yet, everything has changed. Laid off, new job, new company bought out and things uncertain, new home, fewer cats. Various other forms of turmoil and joy.

But one thing remains constant. I'm still rockin'!

In fact, harder than ever. I finally caved in and got some real guitar lessons. And you know what? It made all the difference. Seems like an old music major like me would have known that sooner. Oh, well. Live and learn. Even a 43-year-old can learn something. I'm proving that every day as my guitar playing progresses.

I counted today, and I know almost 12 songs now. That's in 3 months. Now, they don't sound all that great, but you know, passable.

And, if that's not enough, I'm also learning that my guitar teacher is correct when he says if I master certain chord progressions that I automatically know zillions of songs because so many of them are the same. I found that out today when I was able to learn 2 more songs...just changed up the pace and the strum pattern. Whaddaya know? Instant set list.

What's even better is, my main objective is to be a good rhythm guitarist and to accompany myself when I sing. And I'm almost there! Well...with the caveat that I'll still need polish. Then I'll be just like Guitar George. He knows all the chords. But he's strictly rhythm, he doesn't want to make it cry or sing (thank you, Dire Straits!)

So, that's my little update to catch you up on the past 2 years. Hopefully it won't be quite that long before I post again.

Geez, what happened to the Van Halen review?

I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write a review of the Van Halen concert. Nothing I've written can express my feelings, so I've given up. Let's just say - it was a dream-come-true, perfect concert. I feel fortunate to have been able to go, too, since now it seems Eddie is ailing and the 2nd Dallas show has been postponed, and a lot of the remaining dates are in question. I wish him the best.

Since then, lots of "stuff" has been happening in my life that has needed to be attended to, so my blog has been neglected. I'm hoping to remedy that situation soon, as things seem to be smoothing out now. Hooray!

It's never too late to change

Most people make new year's resolutions. I usually resolve not to make any resolutions. LOL! This year, though, something odd happened. I didn't actually make a resolution but I'm making a change, anyway.

Some people say "lifestyle change" and that means something along the lines of switching orientations or something like that...my change is not nearly that radical.

I've struggled with my weight and self-image most of my life. Even had gastric bypass surgery, and even though I lost 140 pounds, I still didn't lose as much as I needed to. The past couple of years, my weight loss stagnated, and I even gained a bit. Frustrated with the tightening of my smaller clothes, and determined NEVER to get myself in the (literally) life-and-limb-threatening position I was in at my heaviest weight, and with some inspirations from some friends who don't know (yet) that they've inspired me, I'm now on a losing trend again. I've taken a new approach to food over the past three weeks, and *surprise!* I'm enjoying the change! I was even able to order a pizza and only eat one slice over the weekend...and I was completely satisfied. Not sure that had ever happened before. I'm amazed at the way this change has "stuck." Normally when dieting, I get angrier and angrier that I can't eat what I want when I want. This time, my view is more, I am eating exactly what I want when I want, it's just different than I thought it was...lol.

I have no idea how much (if any) weight I've actually lost, but it doesn't matter too much because the clothes are looser, and I'm feeling great. I'll probably go ahead and invest in a scale soon, because I'll be starting personal training next week to kick my fitness plan into high gear.

And, to tie all these things up with a pretty bow, further marking the milestone - I got a tattoo last weekend! It's so pretty - a pink rose and a yellow rose with a white dove. Love it!

And...did I mention...I'm going to see Van Halen!!! And it's THIS weekend!!

Van Halen - Van Halen - Van Halen!

Wowee!! Tickets went on sale today and I got them! Woo to the hoo times 2!

I got them like 2 minutes after they went on sale, and I ended up in the first balcony, to the right of the stage. They will be excellent seats! I would have preferred the floor, but only if I could have gotten first 10 rows or so, and since those are normally impossible to get, I'm VERY happy!!

Now to figure out what to wear...lol! :D