Amish Guitar

Last Sunday I was playing the the praise team and I played an F#m chord. And I knew right then that I'd not be writing AmishGuitar much longer.

This silly little blog was my way of journaling the process of learning guitar--of becoming a guitar player. I've whined and moaned. I've shared breakthroughs and insights. I've measured my growth over the last couple of years. I've had a great time doing it too, though there was the "Dark Period" where I didn't write anything believing I had nothing to say.

But now, I find myself casually playing F#m barre chords without much thought and I wonder just how much I have in me to write about my growth.

Don't get me wrong...I have a lot to still learn about playing this odd box with 6 strings attached. I still have a lot of passion for making music and I still play for my own enjoyment and self induced therapy.

It's just that I've become satisfied with where I am. I feel like anything I'd be likely to write about, in the narrow focus of this blog, would be forced. It's been nearly a month since I've written anything because I've not thought of anything worthy of mentioning. There's been nothing new, nothing note worthy, no insights, no experiences to share. Just casual playing and toying around with fingerstyle.

My life, too, has become much different in the last two years. I've faced my unhealthy lifestyle and have begun a new journey of winning back my health. I've lost 55 pounds over the last year. I've started running this spring and have a goal of racing in a 5K before the summer ends. And my family's activities continue to be a priority over all else.

There are so many blogs in the Blog Graveyard where the authors simply stop writing. Many after one or two posts. I have put enough time and energy into AmishGuitar that I really don't want it to just fade away. I want to make a clear break.

And yet.

And yet there is still part of me that has fallen in love with the practice of blogging itself. There is so much more that I'd be interested in writing even if no one would be interested in reading. And, heaven help me, I just love the AmishGuitar name that I'd hate to stop using it in all the other places on the web where I've become known as such.

So I'm not sure what to do.

I will probably take a break for a spell as I ponder my next move. Perhaps I may just revamp AmishGuitar and expand its scope to a more all inclusive musing of my life. Time will tell.

Thanks for coming this far with me.

I have really been neglecting AmishGuitar lately. I've not had too much to say, to tell the truth. Real life has kind of taken over the last few months. I haven't really had any new experiences with the guit-fiddle to write about, or tried something new to report on. In fact, I've not had much time or reason to get the blasted thing out of it's case for much more than a quick noodle in what seems like forever.

Right now I'm writing from a family reunion to which I was able to bring my guitar. My brother in law had said he'd bring his out as well, but much to my surprise he brought an electric and a small amp. His is a Yamaha Pacifica and a Roland Micro Cube amp.

Now, I've always eschewed the electric and written about the simple pleasure of the acoustic. But. Me likey. I'm not a loud, in your face, heavy metal slasher type guy, so I've always said to myself that I'd have no interest in an electric, but I was very surprised to find out how much I enjoyed playing it. I still don't like a lot of distortion, but it was a pretty sweet sound that I was able to produce from that tiny amp. Don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon, but it's nice to know I am no longer afraid of the idea.

My BIL and I haven't had much time to play together. We brought our instruments only to learn that we're at very different levels of skill (he's been playing for, what, 15 years?) and I don't know a lot of the songs and artists that he knows. But we've had time to chat about guitars and playing and that's been nice. He did a really nice blues riff and I noticed that he was just playing a scale on the 5 and 7 fret. I'm hoping we have time that he can show me what he was doing, but the house is VERY busy most of the time.

I'm hoping that real life will settle down soon.

I want to bring your attention to three young musicians that have come to my own attention over the last few weeks. Well, two of the three at least. The third one out is someone I've been following for a few months now. And there is a guitar connection in that all three do play guitar. That, however, is not the strongest link between the three of them. Besides entertaining youtube videos and infectious energy, all three are ukulele players.

First (actually, third, if I want to stay consistent), Molly aka sweetafton23. I'm not exactly sure how I stumbled across Molly, though I think I followed a link from my friend's blog Saints & Spinners. I've enjoyed Molly's music as well has her humorous comments she makes in her vlog posts. You may have noticed my link to Molly's blog over there on the right of my own.

Over Christmas, Molly posted that she had collaborated on a Christmas video with one Wade Johnston. The collaboration really wowed me too. Who was this guy? I had no idea, but I enjoyed his videos.

Watching through Wade's video brings me to the final musician--Julia Nunes. Poking around the Youtube universe makes me wonder if I was the last guy to know about Ms Nunes. Well, not really considering how old I am. But again, I was (and am) floored by her creations.

I swear I'm not a creepy old guy, though I immediately think to myself--don't protest too much.

What I find myself thinking about as I watch these musicians is my own young adulthood in college. What energy! What freedom! I don't pretend that I had (or have) the talent these young people have--but a small part of me wonders if that is what I'm trying to recapture by picking up the guitfiddle. And I really wonder if that is such a bad thing. I see in these artists that certain something I once took for granted but know still has a place somewhere among my adult responsibilities of husband, father, employer, wage earner, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. I miss my college days dammit!

Ok, enough of my nostalgic trip down old person's lane. Check 'em out. As for me and my mid life crisis, I'm thinking about a new blog: AmishUkulele.

Why Amish Guitar? I don't know really. It just seemed right when I began this blog. The Amish, of course, would have nothing to do with musical instruments let alone the guitar. I do know some who played guitar before being baptized and becoming a member of their community. But the Amish side of my title speaks to me of a certain plainness or simpleness of the music I hope to make with my guitar.

My heritage does stem from the Amish, however. My grandfather grew up in an Amish family, but he chose to be baptized as a Mennonite. One thing led to another and then I was born. The Mennonites do have a reputation for being as plain and as strict as the Amish. And, in part, this is true. There are sects within the Mennonite label that are virtually indistinguishable from the Amish unless you're raised in the tradition and can see the differences. But, on the other end of the spectrum is my brand of Mennonites--contemporary and modern, virtually indistinguishable from the society at large.

Still, there is a love of music among the Mennos with a great affection for 4 part a Capella singing in church. And I must admit I prefer this to contemporary worship with the praise team. The rich harmonies balanced between the four voices can carry so much emotion that at times I find it overcoming. My favorite hymn is Be Thou My Vision which is just amazing when you sing with 1500 people in a congregation. There are times when singing this hymn I am transported past my spiritual doubt and approach a certain peace with whatever God might be.

And so it is with my guitar. Only an acoustic would do. I live for the plain sounding harmonies and overtones, without processing them through the bells and whistles of electronic gadgets. I need to feel the vibrations resounding in my chest. I need that physical as well as spiritual connection to the music I make. I need my sound to be raw.

Amish Guitar has thus far been a journey of my growth as an adult teaching himself how to play guitar. I enjoy sharing my musing of myself on these pages and I hope there is something my readers have gained from my writings. But, Amish Guitar needs to expand. I need to explore the Amish side of the Guitar, the Amish side of the music I make.

I don't know where this will lead me. Perhaps I will explore all things musical in my life. Perhaps this blog will become more general as I reveal more of my everyday life. Perhaps not. I just know that my narrow focus of writing about my guitar is beginning to burst at the seams.

I've been trying to work out a way to post sound clips here on AG. I've worked out a hodge podge way of doing so via g-cast.com, though I'm sure there is an easier way to do so. The nice thing about g-cast is that the service is free and I can make podcast episodes via a toll free 800#. The quality through my phone won't be hi-fi, but I think it may work.

Here's an (non-musical) introduction I created as a test: Amish Guitar Intro

I'm still trying to figure out how to have the link open in a new tab/window so my reader(s) doesn't have to navigate away from my page. As I said, I don't find this ideal, and I'm open to any suggestions my reader(s) may have. Thanks.

Today marks one full year of Amish Guitar. I suppose it is cliche to review the last year, but I'm going to do it anyway. The reasons for continuing with my blog are roughly the same as they were a year ago. I'm still a hack guitarist looking to bring music back into my life. I still have no inclinations to going pro or learning hot licks. I still have paper thin skin when it comes opening up my songwriting and playing to other people's critique. And I still worry at times at whether I am a musician, or just a guy who knows the mechanics of playing but has no soul. This does not surprise me in the least, as it all jives with my introverted nature and my perpetual self doubt.

However, I look back on the year and I see success as well. I play with the church praise team regularly now. I've played accompaniment for my daughters in church. I've learned some Travis style finger picking, many new chords and feel oh so much more comfortable with chord changes. I've learned to keep my guitar playing in perspective. That is, I've learned to stop obsessing on my playing when I have so many other things I enjoy or have responsibilities for.

I suppose my grandest moment is when I felt I could begin thinking of myself as a player instead of someone learning how to play. That was a huge hurdle to overcome. In many ways, having made that transition has made it more difficult for me to think of subjects for this blog. I conceived of this blog as a journal of my journey toward becoming a player. What do I talk about now? Well, there's still plenty to discover. If I haven't been too active here in the blogosphere, you can be sure it is only because life gets in the way. Its not that I've given up on my playing and enjoyment.

As I look back on the year, the posts that really strike a chord (sorry) are the ones involving me, my guitar and some emotional troubles I've worked through. Picking up the guitar in the first place was to be an exercise in pouring my negative energy into something constructive. It has been more effective than I've ever imagined possible. Like many, I'm sure, I've got a lot locked away in this head and heart that I don't even know about. My guitar has been my key in letting some of that out. I can hear it in the harmonies, in the rhythms, in the tone and in (oh Lord, this is corny!) the music.

Amish Guitar will continue after this brief interruption...

As hard as I find it to make music with my guitar... well not hard but it ain't easy... writing songs are even harder. I don't have a real knack for lyrics or for melody. Still, I enjoy what I do write and I've posted some lyrics on this blog. I find myself always writing in 4 line stanzas with an AA BB rhyming scheme. I just don't know how to break that barrier. Well, actually, I do, but it involves practicing my writing skills as much or more than my playing skills. I'll continue to write as I'm inspired and bore the masses of blog readers that descend on my pages each and every day. :)

There are occasions when I write something that strikes a fancy. Sometimes it takes 15 years to find out that I've done so. Alkelda the Gleeful has just posted something I wrote while in college. It's not a song by any means, but... well... you just have to go there and read it yourself. She tells the story much better than I do. While there, look around. Among the gems of poems and narratives and personal musings, you will find songs and entries on guitars.

Mark your calendar. Today is the day. Call the children in. Wake the neighbors. Today is the day I officially announce that I have crossed the line between being someone who is learning guitar and who is a guitar player.

I have groused about this dilemma before on Amish Guitar. And I've come to an early conclusion that one does not ever stop learning guitar. The question has always been about when I describe myself as learning guitar or as a player.

Today, while playing in the praise team at church, the switch happened. It wasn't an epiphany. The sky didn't split open and a golden pick descend as a dove. I simply remarked after church that I was not conscious of my playing. Or should that be self conscious? I just went up on the dais and made music with my friends.

I played guitar on three of the four songs. And, I wasn't perfect. Chord changes weren't as smooth as butter. I got lost a few times. The difference was that I felt I was making music, not organized sound from an odd shaped box with strings.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. I've written before of frustrations. I've written before of accomplishments. I've written when my playing has gone extremely well; when my guitar sings and I make a place in the sound that is magic. The difference today is that today all the sound, the music, came out natural. The chords came out without my conscious thought. The rhythms were organic. The mistakes came out without hanging a blinking neon sign stating "Newbie". I jumped into that void and found myself on the other side. I found myself contributing to the musical sound of the group instead of being the musical tag-a-long.

I have no illusions that everything will be peachy keen from here on out or that I'll be able to sustain this feeling from now until eternity ends. However, I will remember this time as the first time I felt like I played, I really played.

If anyone has taken the time to read back through my posts, they will remember that I had put this blog on hiatus last December. I just didn't think I had anything to write. It seemed that all I did was moan about this, that or the other. And, I shared some personal hurt I took when sharing my music with a friend. I said at the time I wish I could find someone who was blogging about the same things I wanted to, but did it better. I had given up.

Well, fast forward a couple months, a broken leg, a few surgeries and plenty of time to play. On a lark I googled the words guitar and musings. What I found is a great blog called, tada! Guitar Musings. It's written by Larry who, in all appearance, is just a regular guy striving learn and grow with his guitar skills.

I dropped Larry an email thanking him for writing on this subject. He was kind enough to reply. In turn, I mentioned Amish Guitar. I didn't think much of it, but he took the time to check it out. He sent me another kind email and gave me a link to ProBlogger.

Well, between reading tips on ProBlogger and being inspired by Guitar Musings, I found myself enjoying my playing more AND wanting to write about it, warts and all. Larry's posts showed me that I can write about my limitations but still be positive. My blog will most likely always be more on the personal side, a little bit rough and unpolished, and some of my emotions on my sleeve, but I'm writing again and having fun doing it.

Check out the links.

And, thanks Larry.