Over the holiday weekend I spent some time going through our church hymnal. I was trying to work out melodies and even some chords here and there. I got a itch at one point to play I Bind My Heart This Tide. I was feeling rather melancholy that afternoon and this hymn is written in D minor--perfect for my mood. The melody, harmonies and the lyrics are rather powerful and I just needed to play it.
I did a quick search via google and clicked on one of the first hits which happened to be a blog. There I found the chords and lyrics, albeit in A minor. No biggie and not a hassle to transpose using the Nashville system. Anyway, I got to reading the author's blog and realize it was a fellow English major and alumna from my days in college. I read through much of her writings and decided to drop her a note. I wasn't sure if she'd remember me since, though we had several classes together, we didn't really get to know each other. But she did, at least the name even if she couldn't put a face to it.
To cut a long story short, I'd like to introduce Alkelda the Gleeful at Saints and Spinners. She is a professional storyteller in Seattle and posts many creative stories that are a delight to read. She also posts occasionally about her personal life and what not. But the best part is that she also picked up the guitar in, shall we say, later young adulthood(?), and posts about her trials and achievements with her instrument. She also likes to write songs and transpose familiar songs which she posts with accompanying chords. So, while she doesn't write a guitar blog per se, it is certainly worth your time to check it out.
Next week, how a guy somewhere in Colorado encouraged me to start blogging again--even though he didn't realize it.
Labels: blog writers, college, guitar, serendipity
I usually try to play F by fingering x33211. It's essentially a barre in the E shape without the low string. I only barre the first two strings with my index finger, not the whole fret. Its not the easiest but I really like the voicing and I'm set to move to C, G, or Dm7. The only problem is you gotta use the pinky on the D string and then Doug catches ya...
Parents are supposed to be uncool. If they're cool, they embarrass their kids in a different way than when they embarrass their kids by being uncool.
Yeah, I'm uncool now, but I've done my damage. My three kids were raised on a steady diet of Monty Python, Vicar of Dibley and Red Dwarf. My son started reading Bloom County in second grade...and "got" it. Of course, it wasn't good when he started singing a certain MP song at my more conservative mennonite branch family reunion........
In your defense, it's a good song. Quite catchy.
Yes, I am struggling through the travis picking including Dust. I'll check your link as my teacher scratches on TAB can leave a lot to be desired.