He is risen. He is risen, indeed.
In my church, this is how we greet each other on Easter Sunday. Today is the most unusual Easter, since everyone is self-quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Easter services will be held still however, thanks to the advances in technology. Online is better than nothing, but it still doesn’t replace the experience of face-to-face gathering. Which brings me to the purpose of this post.
Having given my Easter greeting, I find I am still sitting at home, sheltering in place, and today is just like the day before it, and the day before that. I actually put “Saturday” on my to-do list to remind me what day of the week it was yesterday! Thus, it was a bit of synchronicity that I received an email. And acted on it.
Back story: Almost nine years to the day, I subscribed to a web site, JazzGuitar.be, a site for and by jazz guitarists. I have downloaded lessons and songs, and I receive periodic emails, but I’ve rarely followed through on any of the information I’ve received. That all changed a couple of days ago.
I received an email with a lesson on Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” a song I have a passing familiarity with. I looked at the music sheet and tabs, and thought, I think I could actually play that!
When I was first learning guitar (self-taught), tab — or tablature — did not exist. Or, at least it wasn’t formalized, so I had to either learn from chord charts or by reading scores (sheet music). But I saw this piece and said to myself, “I can read — and play — this tab!”
Which is what I’ve been doing. Between yard work and routine chores, I have found that having a guitar on my sofa makes it easy to pick it up whenever the mood strikes. And the mood has struck often these days! In two days, I have gotten to the point where I can play the main portion of the song all the way through, without mistakes!
Jazz guitar. Just before I broke my elbow at my daughter’s fourth birthday party, I was studying and practicing jazz guitar using Mickey Baker’s “Complete Course In Jazz Guitar” (volumes I and II).
But the injury caused me to stop playing, and for a long period of time, never touched a guitar. When I finally picked it up again, I felt like I had to go back to my “roots” and start playing the songs I’d taught myself at the beginning.
The circle has been completed. I’m now back to where I was when I was “guitar interrupted.” In fact, I’m further along now, thanks to lessons I took, and the availability of online resources that didn’t exist back in my early days.
So, now not only can join in Easter services with my church online, I can also learn and participate in playing guitar with people online I’ve never met, and can only share my experiences in a virtual space. “Social distancing” may not be the most fun in the world, but thanks to technology, it doesn’t have to mean isolation!