Fretting the Holidays

"Fretting,"as in:

• Fret : transitive verb; inflected Form(s): fretted, fretting; Date: 1602 - to press (the strings of a stringed instrument) against the fret.

So, for my birthday (which was the 22nd) I got a guitar. A Fender dreadnought acoustic guitar to be exact. It's a great beginner's guitar, and exactly what I wanted. I've been wanting to learn to play for years, but the clincher was earlier this year when we bought our boat. While the boat was undergoing commissioning at the manufacturer's docks, a guy on a boat in a nearby slip spent his days playing guitar on his deck. He was good - so good, actually, that kayakers would paddle up with beers or bottles of wine and just float and listen. I have my boat, I have my guitar, now I need to learn to play.

I've never undertaken a hobby that I was so utterly inexperienced with. I've always felt musical, but I've never played a musical instrument. I can't read music, and I don't even know the basic terminology (what the hell is a "chord"?). So with my Guitar for Dummies book and the Fender instructional DVD that came with my guitar, I dove in during the Christmas break from work. In three days, I've worn my fretting (left hand) fingers raw, I've learned the basic terminology (frets, chords, keys, etc.), learned how to read guitar tablatures, and even plucked my way through Jingle Bells and Joy to the World. I didn't expect this to be easy, and I know it will take years to get any good, but I've come far enough in three days to hook me. I'm still learning chords and how to place my fretting fingers against the strings without touching the adjacent strings - I don't have fat fingers, but I'm having a hell of a time squeezing three fingers between the first and second fret for the A chord without buzzing the D string - how did Andrés Segovia do it with his chub digits!?

Anway, I could use some advice. I'm sure there are some fine guitarist on this site. I could use a few pointers. Once I get past the insecurity of knowing almost nothing about my guitar, I'll hire an instructor for some routine lessons.

It's also been fun to see my kids' interest in my new guitar. My six year old was immediately fascinated. In fact, he's already strumming better than me. Maybe I have a prodigy on my hands. Here he is last night - check out his form - holding the pick and forming his left hand!

So, tomorrow I'm taking the wife and kids on our boat to Catalina (a small island off the coast of Southern California) for a few days. I'll sit on the deck strumming my guitar, though instead of kayakers coming up to the boat, I expect to scare away any other nearby boaters. Give me time...

Props to a little-known inspiring guitarist... We went to Disneyland a few days ago, and just outside the park gates in Downtown Disney, outside one of the restaurants, a guy named David Wayne was playing with a percussion accompaniment. I had more fun watching them for ten minutes than I did in five hours at Disneyland. I've never heard of him, and judging by the venue he was playing, neither have most people. Check him out: http://davidwaynemusic.com/

Happy Holdays!

Sugar