Guitar at 74


GUITAR AT 74
December 2, 2018 

 Actually, I took up the guitar again last summer when I was a mere 73.  I decided to start playing again avoiding my guitar for some 40 odd years or more.  It was more than just avoiding playing the guitar, you would have to add neglecting the instrument as well, as I am amazed that my guitar still plays after all these years sitting in a dark closet.

We were well into the Rhode Island summer of 2018 when I decided that I should start playing again.  My brother-in-law Cameron has two guitars and plays them from time to time.  He’s in his late 50’s and learning to play, as is his brother, although his brother, is learning to play the mandolin.  I asked Cameron what type of music his brother plays, and he said he really didn’t know, but I guess that is another story for another time.
But to get back to why now after all this time.  Well, I guess I just got a hankering, as Luc would say, (Luc is my son, used to say that all the time, usually about food).  Michelle and I would go to Cameron and Tootie’s for cocktails, I would see one of his guitars in the stand, I’d pick it up and doddle with it until the drinks arrived then forget about it until the next time we were over for cocktails.  Nothing ever really came of the noodling until one day in September, I think it was, I decided to get serious about playing and asked Cameron if I could borrow one of his guitars (nylon string classical).  Well, one thing led to another and I ended up getting a guitar of my own.


 Cont. Summer 2019
 I went online to FB to their market place app and started to look for a $100 guitar.  The first guitar that caught my eye was a nice looking Suzuki for $150 bucks.  I did a little research and made some inquires and determined it was a good deal, so I contacted the seller, we agreed on the price and a time and place to pick up the instrument.  I went to the bank to get some cash, and on the way home got a message from the seller saying the deal was off, someone said she could get more for it than I was willing to pay.  I was a little miffed, but told her OK, and went on another search for an inexpensive practice guitar.

A day or two later I managed to find a Yamaha guitar that looked like it might work.  The seller wanted $100 dollars for a Yamaha FG 401.  The reviews I looked at said this was a good entry-level guitar, for the listed price.  The only complaint people had was the action was a little high, but that could be fixed with a good set up.  I made arrangements to met the seller (police parking lot in Warren, which I thought clever) to look at the guitar.  The seller was a guy who was retiring and moving to Maine, getting rid of stuff before the move.  Said he bought it new back in the middle '90s tried to learn how to play it, gave up after a few lessons and never played it after that.  So I brought it, I took it to Ray Mullins for new strings and a setup.  I talked to a guitar tech named Amos, who looked it over and said he could set it up.  Long story short, he lowered the action, and I ended up with a pretty good practice guitar.  That set me off on this journey, practicing about an hour a day, every day.  I've been doing this for over a year now, and have even started to take lessons.

As I said, Cameron’s guitar was classical with a wide neck and nylon strings.  The first thing I realized after playing it for a couple of minutes was how much my fingers have changed over the years.  They are fatter, slower, and in the case of my left pinky, crooked so that it gets caught on the left ring finger when I move it up or down or try to stretch it out on the guitar neck reaching for note. I remember my mother showing me her hands when she got older and complain about the way her pinkies were becoming misshapen, but I don’t blame her even though the same thing is happening to me.   The right hand could barely hold a pick the results of arthritis.  I’m learning to play through it knowing that to give in will only make things worse in the long run.   

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