Amish Guitar

I've not had much time or inclination to post here over the last few weeks. Real life has gotten quite interesting and I've alluded to some of it already. My wife's health continues to be a concern, though she is clearly on the mend. Beyond that there is several lessor stress inducing events going on that have had my attention. At the top of that list is the fact that we're trying desperately to sell and be rid of this house during a miserable housing market. That, plus having a flooded basement during our first showing last week really took the wind out of my sail.

It's not that I haven't taken the time to play. It's just that I don't know what I'd write about it. Thankfully spring has finally come to northern Indiana and I've taken advantage of the warmer weather. Last Wednesday I was able to take Patrick (my Oscar Schmidt) out to the library's picnic table and just wail away a lot of my frustrations. Nearby to the table the library has erected a bird feeder and I was not alone in my song making. It was a little unreal in hearing birdsong alongside my passionate, hard strumming. But the end result was my becoming a little gentler and I was struck at how the two sounds merged and meshed. I even fancied that the birds were somehow reacting and echoing my guitar. How much of that may have been true, I don't know. I'm just saying that I was struck with the beauty of birdsong and I was truly inspired that half hour.

Stress will ever be a part of our lives, but if I can find those half hours every now and again, I'll be ok.

Well, it's been a long week in the AmishGuitar household. I've been recovering from a nasty head and chest cold and have just realized I didn't post a guitar lesson for this month. I'm afraid, dear readers, that this week the lesson must give way to my pounding sinuses. One is either very clever or not clever at all when one is taking NyQuil.

I did get my Yamaha back from the luthier and the results are . . . adequate. He was able to adjust the neck angle with a truss rod adjustment. He lowered the saddle and tried to lower the nut but cutting the grooves. This, however, proved to be problematic since the nut just disintegrated when he took the file to the plastic. Luckily he had salvaged a nut from a Taylor that fit almost perfectly, so he did not have to construct a brand new nut from bone for me (that would have been $$$ I did not have). He did say that he would not be able to lower the saddle any more than it is now, so any future adjustments would mean a neck reset. That, of course, has already been ruled out as being too expensive for this instrument.

It plays well enough, I suppose. I do find that it is better at fingerpicking that strumming. Fingerpicking brings out the bell like tones, but strumming just sounds all muddled. The action is real easy now at the first few frets, so the kids have been having fun playing around with it.

I've not had much opportunity to play lately. That is, I haven't felt like playing. I haven't been to church for a month now, owing to many factors that are beyond the scope of this blog. Home has been hectic as my wife recovers from her illness (she's healing fine). Frankly, I feel too worn out by the end of the day to do anything but veg out. And then, of course, I've been sick these past few days.

No matter, this too shall pass. I do plan on being at church on Sunday and be in the praise team. That always seems to get my mojo going again.

It has been a long week. An incredibly long week. I've spent the past 10 days taking care of house and home by myself as my wife recovers in hospital from a sudden illness. Well, lets say a lingering illness that suddenly got worse. At any rate, it's been a long week.

Tonight, however, and with my wife's blessing, I spent the evening with a friend playing guitar and cracking wise. My in-laws came to town and, naturally, they wanted to see their daughter at the hospital. Quite honestly, I was pleased for the break. My parents took the kids for the evening leaving me free to spend time with Doug.

Doug and I have been trying to get together to play for over a year now. Just never seemed to work out. As it was, I couldn't have asked for a nicer time. We sat in his kitchen playing songs, drinking beverages (him:beer, me: Diet. Dr. Pepper--but I really wanted a beer--damn low carb diet) and just generally catching up with each other. It isn't often he gets an evening away from his family either, but his daughter had a swim meet in Indianapolis and he couldn't get away from work obligations.

It was a good mix. I can't play to his level and he can't sing to mine, so we either sounded great or we sounded like crap. But we had fun.

And I feel so much better.

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise to anyone who has been reading this blog that I prefer a more old fashioned approach to things. But I also like to use things that have a certain uniqueness. I wear bow ties (and tie them myself). I use fountain pens. I prefer making macaroni and cheese from scratch rather than from a box. I prefer a charcoal grill to gas and use lump charcoal instead of briquettes. I pop my corn on the stove in an antique popper rather than use the microwave. I like having a flat top haircut in the summer. Old fashioned yet still unique.

I've been wanting to purchase a new case for my Art & Lutherie guitar for some time now. It's not that the case I've been using is bad or wearing out. It's just not... right for me. Godin's Tric cases are pretty cool and I opted for the deluxe case with the covering. Lightweight and incredibly insulated against thermal changes, it is a decent enough case. But it's not traditional.

So, as I said, I've been wanting to replace the Tric case for Jane with a hard case. I looked around and, as you might imagine, all the cases seemed to look alike. Traditional but same. Nothing really struck my fancy.

I came across a site (I've long forgotten the URL) that told the story of how Leo Fender walked into a luggage maker's shop and asked them to create a case for the Telecaster. The luggage company did, and used tweed for the outside fabric. A classic look was born. So I poked around and sure enough, tweed guitar cases are not hard to come by but not too many people choose them. I was on the scent.

Jane's basic shape is based on classical guitar dimensions. So, finding a case for such an animal that was also available in tweed was a small challenge. She's a little deeper than most classical guitfiddles are, so many cases would not fit. I did happen across TKL's site and noticed that their classical case in their Prestige line came very close to Art & Lutherie's specifications for the model. A quick email to TKL garnered a response that the case would work and it was available in tweed.

So, to make a boring story short, Jane has a new home.

I know it's odd to be jazzed by something as mundane as a guitar case, but I just feel so much better for having it. Jane expresses who I am so well, both visually as well as audibly. It's nice to have her stored in something goes along with that feeling.

And if I needed any proof, when I pulled the case from the packaging my wife's one comment was: "That's definitely you."

When you buy an accessory for your guitar or music making, either tell your significant other before you purchase or don't say anything about it afterward. Especially when you've recently told your significant other that the family is cash poor.

Fourteen years ago on this date, I wedded the love of my life. I could not ask for a more caring, patient or loving companion.

When I proposed in October, 1993, I wrote a song with the last verse as the proposal. I sang it a Capella as I (obviously) didn't play guitar then. I will be the first to admit that these aren't the strongest lyrics. Ok, they can be downright corny. But that hasn't kept this song from being special to the both of us. This is the first song I sang for my wife after purchasing my first guitar.



Untitled

There's a girl, who is so dear
And I want to have her always near
She's a friend, and so much more
There's no one in the world I more adore

Chorus:
But when she touches my hand, and holds me tight
I never know if its wrong or right
To feel the way I do right now
I want to tell her so but I don't know how

Her eyes, like the autumn night
Sparkle and glow, they shine so bright
And her laugh, like the spring time rain
It bubbles and flows, it fills me again

(Chorus)

When I'm with her, I cannot be afraid
Of what life has in store, or the troubles I've made
Me with her, and her with me
Together we can live so happily

(Chorus)

Come with me
And share my life
Together we can be as husband and wife
Take my hand
I'll stand by your side
If only you'd say you'd be my bride

Coda:
And when you touch my hand and hold me tight
I know now that it's only right
To feel the way, I do with you
Won't you say that you feel the same way too.

(c) K. Jay 1993

I haven't been able to get the guitar out for a few days. My family and I were out of town over a long weekend to make sure my brother got married. It was a marvelous time. Just no time for the guitar.

I wrote a few weeks ago about searching out and finding the hymn "I Bind My Heart This Tide." Well, that song has taken a strong hold on my mind and soul. I strum it, and it is beautiful. I pick out the melody, and my heart sings. Last night I picked up my guitar and tried some Travis style picking to the chord progression and I nearly cried. Yeah, a bit over dramatic, but, dagnabit, I love that hymn!

My wife walked in after I had played it through a few times. She said "That's pretty. What is it?" I proceeded to sing it to her while finger picking. All the powers of the universe must have lined up at that moment. Smooth chord changes. Strings that have aged into a caramel mellow tone. A picking rhythm that complements the song so well. It is very rare that I actually feel the music flowing out of me and into my instrument. Last night was one of those times.