The Occupant of the White House kept America’s credit card in his pocket and didn’t spend money (that we know of). The Washington Nationals, as a result of a four game winning streak, moved into a first place tie with the NY Mets. But they’re only 24 games into a 162 game season. And their record is 12-12. (It is fun to watch future hall-of-famer Max Scherzer pitch, though).
No riots have been reported, and COVID-19-20-21-22 is not the leading story in the news. Oh, the rule makers are still trying to play it for all it’s worth, but it’s more and more obvious it’s a “plan-demic” as opposed to a pandemic.
Wait. Hold the phone. It just hit the news wire: Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are ending their marriage. First it was Jeff Bezos, now Bill Gates. I guess the pitfall to being the richest man in the world is that marriage is unsustainable. I doubt this will affect many outside their circle.
All my computers, cars and appliances are functioning normally. All my guitars are strung and playable. I get my daily exercise and have now been twice vaccinated. In two weeks, I’ll be on vacation. Today, nothing happened.
I have spoken many times about guitars and guitar playing. It’s perhaps the one passion that has sustained me since I was a teenager. I took a few years off after breaking my left elbow, but I didn’t get rid of my guitars, I just put them away for a while.
Over the past few years I have acquired a number of guitars. Some of them based on a perceived “collectibility” and others because they struck my fancy. Some I play, some I will likely never (or almost never) play, and others I have a pure joy every time I pick them up. Yes, I have a few clunkers as well. I wouldn’t have admitted that a few years ago, but it’s true; not only will I not play them, but now I don’t even like them!
Currently, I have three guitars (four, if you count my lovely little KLŌS travel guitar) that I find myself playing frequently. At least one of the four every day! I love them all, and they each have characteristics that lend themselves to my playing enjoyment. Do I have pictures? Let’s see…
It’s eye candy to me, even if it does nothing for you! 😁
So, where am I going with this? It’s the giant leap of the title.
Last week, I was reading a guitar forum (one of many I belong to) and one of the posters wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for a guitar maker in Oregon named Stephen Holst. Very quickly, others joined in and were in universal praise for the man and his guitars. They included photos.
Holst makes custom guitars. I asked the forum members about the process and then I reached out to Holst himself. This is a photo that inspired me to consider having him build me a guitar.
Holst custom guitar, “ch1.”
Steve sent me a spreadsheet that when I looked at it bowled me over: Bracing type? Tailpiece type? Pickups? Wow. I filled out those items I felt I could and asked him to guide me with the rest. And so it begins…
I don’t know what the final price will be, but the round numbers on his web site, plus the fact he takes a down payment means that I can actually get a guitar made exclusively for me, and one that I hope combines the best features of the three guitars (above) that I love to play. More will be revealed…
Recently I wrote about how playing guitar “elevates my spirit.” Even though I took time off after breaking my elbow, playing the guitar has been a constant in my life. A constant source of joy, peace and even escape.
Making up for lost time, I’ve gone on a guitar buying spree the past few years, and have now accumulated a bit of a collection. When I was young and poor, electric guitars and the amps needed to play them were out of reach. Having achieved a modicum of success, I’ve acquired some electrics from name brands I admire: Gibson, Fender and more. One thing that I had a hard time realizing is that I spend more time playing acoustic guitar than I do playing electric guitar.
Now that I have the amps, the cables, the guitars, and even some foot pedals, I should be tearing it up on electric guitar. But I guess that I’m inherently lazy, because I find it just so much easier to pick up an acoustic and play rather than plug in, flip a switch, play, and then reverse the procedure. And when I have an acoustic guitar within arm’s reach, just pick up and play.
Big Baby Taylor-e
Before I knew that Taylor was the number #1 seller of guitars today, I bought an acoustic Big Baby Taylor-e to serve as a temporary replacement for my Framus 12-string while I had it in the shop.
Little did I realize I’d have my 12-string back the same day, so now I had two acoustics. Hey, a 12-string and a six-string. I had a choice. And I played them sporadically, but I still thought of myself now as an electric guitar player.
KLŌS Travel Guitar
Then, one day I saw an online ad for a company that was fundraising to create a carbon fiber travel guitar. I was very disappointed in the travel guitar I had (a Pignose PGG-200 Deluxe) and the prospect of an “indestructible” guitar appealed to me. So I pledged, and sure enough, I was soon the owner of a KLŌS guitar. Whee! I loved the size, the playability, and the ability to pack it away in a suitcase and not worry about what baggage handlers might do to it. I even liked the sound, but felt there was something lacking. At times it seemed “tinny.”
Confessing to be a bit of a “cork-sniffer,” I found a travel-sized Martin guitar, and bought the LX1RE.
Right size, right sound, but just not as “playable” as the KLŌS. Still, I used it as my go-to guitar for a while, but in the back of my mind, felt like it wasn’t quite “the one.”
“Little” Martin LX1RE
An attractive sale on another Martin had me dig into my wallet and I added yet another acoustic to my growing collection. Again, a terrific sound, but as I’d read before buying it, many consider it a “strumming” guitar. And I found that it didn’t suit the whole range of my playing. I will likely sell it or trade it — it’s just not a good “fit” for me.
As is my habit (dangerous to my wallet!), I browse a variety of web sites. A recent announcement of a new line by Taylor called the GT series (short for Grand Theater) offered a smalller size “combining the inviting feel of a compact instrument with the rich voice of a full-size, all-solid-wood guitar.” I looked into them a bit, but was put off by the price ($1,399-$1,599). But I also noticed the GS Mini (short for Grand Symphony). I found some on Reverb and added them to my watchlist. A couple of days later I was alerted to a drop in price and free shipping on a Koa model, and since my bank account had some wiggle room in it, I took the plunge.
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa. MY Taylor Mini-e Koa!
More than once I’ve thought to myself – and said to others – “This is the acoustic guitar I’ve wanted for decades!” It’s lightweight, plays and sounds like a dream, and is the perfect size for me. Others might consider it a travel guitar, but heck, I’ve got one of those. This is my at-home go-to guitar!
I have playing in the background right now some streaming audio from a site I’ve been listening to for a short while now, and it got me to thinking: Music For a New Age (MFNA) — this site — is now 25 years old!
That category of music sometimes erroneously (in my opinion) labeled “new age” is certainly not new. Fifty years ago, artists such as Tangerine Dream, Kitaro, Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Mike Oldfield were producing flowing, electronic, meditative and other-worldly music, experimenting and forging new ways of thinking about, and listening to music.
The MFNA web site was born out a personal wish to learn the then-new technology of the worldwide web. I didn’t purchase the domain name right away, but when it became apparent this thing called The Internet wasn’t just a passing fancy, I latched onto it. That was 25 years ago!
Originally, mfna.org was little more than a “portal.” It was mostly links to other sites, separated into “pages” of data: records companies, broadcast stations, artists, and reviews. It was a personal creation; mostly a set of bookmarks to sites I enjoyed. It grew when others found it, and I wrote reviews and communicated directly with artists and producers. It was an exciting time to be a “web producer.”
Much has changed over the past quarter-century. Sites come and go, new performers arrive, old labels go under and new ones arise. But music survives. So, this brief revisit is more a “memory bubble” than anything else.
Without further ado, here are some links to music and musicians I listen to today. I should note, that some of these sites and their operators, performers and personalities, have been doing so for much longer than mfna.org has existed. Music From the Hearts of Space, for example, has been broadcasting since the early 1980s. So, let’s start with them…
I should also like to make mention of Spotted Peccary, a recording label that features outstanding musical talent, and production standards. This is a company that is at the vanguard of keeping “new age” music alive!
I’ve spent too many posts recently focusing on travel, politics, health (mine, and in general), technology, and life in the time of COVID. So, it’s time to return to a topic that always elevates my spirit: guitar playing!
Fender Modern Player Short-Scale Telecaster
The other day I sat down and wrote a list of the songs I’m currently playing in my “repertoire rotation,” for lack of a better term. I was a little surprised that the list was long enough that were I a performing guitarist, I’d have enough material for a suitable concert. I also comment to friends that the stuff I play is so old that many would hear it for the first time and think it was all original!
There are others, but if you average them out at three minutes each, those alone would qualify for a 30 minute concert! Wow. I didn’t think I knew enough to play without repeating! 😃
Michael Nesmith – Then (Monkees) and Now
I’ve said before that a positive side to the coronavirus pandemic is that it forced me to stay indoors, and to pass the time I played more guitar. And that’s a GOOD thing!
One other item I’ll add: I have found a number of web sites that have helped me learn the lyrics, chords and tabs, which has made my learning some of these songs easier. In no particular order: Chordify, Ultimate Guitar, ChordU, e-Chords, and for chord research, Chorderator and JGuitar.
I guess I can’t get away from technology. And that too, is a GOOD thing.
On the headstock of every guitar is the legend — the logo — “C F Martin & Co. Est. 1833.”
The Iconic Martin Headstock Logo
Considered by many (most?) in the music world as the premier acoustic guitar maker, the name Martin alone speaks volumes when mentioned in music conversations. Has there been a superstar guitar player singer-songwriter who hasn’t played a Martin?
The company has been an innovator in the manufacturing of guitars. Its use of woods, bracing, and shapes have defined the industry. The “dreadnought” was a Martin creation, and its most iconic guitar is probably the D-18. A used D-18 can sell for thousands of dollars!
Now, I’m going to admit I’m a bit of a “gear slut.” When I was younger, having a name brand guitar was a grand desire of mine. I lusted after the Gibsons, the Fenders, and yes, the Martins.
The past ten years have been good to me. After my divorce, with no alimony to pay, I found myself making good money, and so I found I could afford to buy my dream guitars.
And so I did. I had played acoustic for so long that I went into adding electric guitars to my collection. I bought a Taylor acoustic, learning that Taylor had become a major force in the business even though it’s a new (1974) company.
But it wasn’t until just a month and a half ago (May, 2020) that I obtained my first Martin. I had been playing my KLŌS travel guitar exhaustively — because of its size and indestructibility, mostly — and liked the idea of “parlor” size guitar, and I spied a “Little Martin” with built in electronics (pickup). The price was right, and so I purchased a LX1RE.
Little Martin LX1RE
It’s a fine little guitar — I don’t think it plays as well as my KLŌS, but the sound is fuller.
Then, I spotted Musician’s Friend’s Stupid Deal of the Day, offering a Martin OMC 15ME Streetmaster in Weathered Red, and went crazy. I bought it. And here it is!
Martin OMC 15ME Streetmaster (Weathered Red)
The cutaway makes it possible to play further up the neck, and it has electronics built-in as well. The wood is mahogany, which supposedly gives it “warmer” tones. I’m still letting it acclimate, but my first impression is that it shines as a strumming guitar, but maybe not so much as a finger-picker. Given that I’m a lousy finger-picker, I don’t see this as a problem.
And now… There’s a short scale Fender Telecaster I’m eyeballing…
It’s kind of funny to say that one has a friend he has never met in person, but a friend nevertheless.
My first foray into the world of the Internet was the original “Music For A New Age” (MFNA) — this site (in its original form). The worldwide-web was new and promised to change the way technology was viewed and used. It fulfilled that promise. As someone in the field of technology, I was fascinated and wanted to learn how this new technology worked. It was easy! So, I hand-coded the site (HTML is just text with embedded “tags” that describe how the finish page should be rendered by the viewer: the browser).
At first, it was all about storing links I used frequently. Today, we use “bookmarks” to accomplish this, but I liked pulling up a page with clickable links that would take me anywhere I wanted to go. I had recently become a fan of what was then (and to some extent, still) called “new age” music. I found artist sites, publishers, streaming audio, and a wide variety of related content. I put them all into my site’s pages. I even started writing reviews.
My intention was not for it to become a review site, but since the ‘Net was still young, my site actually found itself on the new “Google” first page. As a result, it attracted the attention of a number of musicians, artists and like-minded fans. Before long, I began to get requests to review albums. As a result, I began to receive review copies, pre-release copies, and commercial copies of CDs. Some were even signed by the artist. Grammy award-winners such as Paul Winter and pioneers of the genre such as Constance Denby sent me their music.
While I was thrilled to be sought out by recognized artists, what really struck me was the quality of the music being produced by “unknowns.” To this day, I think I have a better understanding of the complex and mysterious workings of the recording industry. There are truly outstanding musicians out there who for reasons still hidden, do not get a shake from the big name producers.
Dino (“Dee”) Pacifici is one of those unheralded artists. A multi-instrumentalist, Dee has been self-producing his own CDs since the 1990s. He would send me copies of each release, sometimes even test pressings, never asking for anything in return. His music was tremendous, so I wrote reviews never knowing if anyone was reading them.
Despite his awesome talent, Dee was not a full-time professional musician. So, some time around 2004, he stopped producing albums. By this time, he and I had become “Internet friends.” I would send him Christmas cards, and we became Facebook friends.
Recently, I was listening to the weekly broadcast of Night Tides, a program airing live over the radio and Internet on Sunday nights, and the announcer mentioned new music from Dino Pacifici. I did the proverbial double-take, and fired off a message to him. He replied and said he’d returned to composing and had released some new music, called A Collection of Shadows.
A Collection of Shadows – Cover
True to his nature, he offered a Yum code (I had to learn this was how one downloads music from Bandcamp, which is one way music is marketed these days). I have thus downloaded his pieces (they may be heard on the site without requiring a code) an am once again enjoying some terrific music from a terrific talent, and a terrific human being.
I’ve heard it said that “history is written by the winners.” I think there’s a lot of truth in that, and it’s one of the reasons I tend to shy away from reading autobiographies. After all, doesn’t everyone want to paint the most positive picture of themself possible?
My father wrote his autobiography.
He was a bit vain, and felt that he had something to leave to posterity. Apparently this view was not shared by publishers, so he self-published it via Vantage Press, a vanity publisher that closed its doors in 2012.
Yet, I did find his book interesting. Of course, I’m an “interested” party, so I’m not unbiased, but oddly enough, I learned things about my father from his book that I never knew growing up and while he was alive (he passed in 2005). Yes, there were the self-congratulatory opinions and deflections of character defects (he takes no responsibility for his divorce from my mother, for example), but when seen from the perspective of an eye on history, there were some real gems about how power and diplomacy work.
So it was with this caution in mind that I picked up the autobiography of one of the world’s greatest guitar players, Eric Clapton.
My musical tastes diverged from my earlier blues-rock leanings in the 1990s, so I lost track of Clapton’s career for a while. It wasn’t until my daughter gave me his “From the Cradle” (she knows me better than I know myself at times) that I even had a Clapton recording on CD!
Yet, when I saw that he had written an autobiography, and since the coronavirus has had us all self-imprisoning, I decided to read it.
More surprisingly than anything else to me, is the amount of humility that the book encompasses. Clapton reveals his insecurities, his flaws and does not spend a lot of time on a pedestal. His fans have done that for years, but even though he admits he played the “virtuoso” role at times, and succumbed to the excesses of the star lifestyle, he is generous with his praise for others, often relegating them to the pedestal, instead. He reveals that journaling was part of his life, and it’s apparent with his recall of names – not just of band members, but managers, roadies, barkeepers, neighbors, business associates, and women (lots of women, which I found a bit surprising given his sexual insecurity as a youth) that he wrote a lot of the details and names in his journal.
There is a definite tone change later in the book. I suspect some of his early writing took place before he entered recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. He speaks frequently and eloquently about his recovery, and it’s a driving force in the creation of the Crossroads Centre in Antigua that he funded and built. Many of his actions (performances, guitar auctions, appearances) are now the basis for supporting this recovery center.
I’m not sure where Clapton has colored his story. There is a lot of bad behavior described, and he’s quite open about his character failings, which seems to me surprising, given that autobiographies are often the mechanism by which one attempts to justify oneself. So, this autobiography is more like a journey to redemption for one of the world’s great guitar talents. And, if the autobiography is to believed, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning Duke Ellington’s hit song, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Not only do I find this song timely, in the age of COVID-19, but I like the tune itself. I’m finding it has launched me into another phase of my learning to play/playing guitar.
When I took lessons last year, I realized that there were fundamentals of playing that I had either neglected or ignored. Now, trying to master this latest piece, I’m finding that my past playing has been sloppy. By that, I mean that when playing chords, I looked at the entire width of the guitar neck — all six strings. Oh sure, I knew that some chords required me to mute a string or two, but my right hand didn’t care even though my left hand was forming the shape. My teacher and this song have made me realize that sometimes only two, three or four strings are played to generate the desired sound.
Yup, my jazz guitar, a 1957 Gibson ES-225
Now, I’m online looking for additional songs I of this type I can add to my practice routine. “This type” tends to lean toward jazz standards, and one I’ve looked at is another Duke Ellington piece, his signature song, “Take The A Train.” More complex than the first, but it’s a catchy and recognizable (to me, at least) song, so while I may defer trying to learn it, I’ve at least bookmarked it.
One of the sites I’ve used for finding chord arrangements (and more now than before, tablature), is Ultimate Guitar. I’ve collected a variety of mostly pop and rock arrangements from there, generated and submitted by users. The site also offers downloadable Guitar Pro files. What is Guitar Pro, I wondered?
It turns out a French software company, Arobas Music, is the author of Guitar Pro. The latest release as of this writing is version 7.5. Several online reviews (one is here, which offers a 10% affiliate discount as well) are claiming this latest version is head and shoulders the best software available to write, listen to, and learn stringed instruments. The company offers a 30 day free trial, so I downloaded it (Mac and Windows versions are available), and I’m exploring it now. My tendency is to pull out my wallet and immediately plunk down the dollars ($69.95 US), but I’m at least going to wait until I’ve tried it for a week or so before doing so. But already it seems likely I’ll be adding this to my software library!
There’s an added enticement to buying this software now: FREE access to mySongBook until May 31. A quick site scan shows there are some awesome guitar tabs there, and they all have Guitar Pro downloads! This may be the greatest side-effect of the Coronavirus lockdown!
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!
Arranged by Dirk Laukens, of jazzguitar.be
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).
Mickey Baker’s Complete Course in Jazz Guitar
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!
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