jammin' by myself

I still have visions of being a rock star. There is no fear of messing up, when you're jamming by one's self. You screw up, and just start over or not. I hear the foo-pa, but don't care that much. I live in a world without pressure, except that which I place on my own self. The pressure from others is only what you allow ... stay in control.

Now trying to learn the main 'riffs' to 'Hotel California' takes some work. I started it once and only got through about the first 3 measures (or whatever they call it in music). Not being music-literate from a technical standpoint, I play by sight and sound and cheat sheets or guitar tabs (tablatures). These have helped me to learn most of the hard stuff that I picked up, but they still take some work.

Nephew M&M (I tried to nickname him 'Dirty White Boy', but was ignored) got a guitar for Christmas ... learning to play it "right-handed" (he's left-handed), which shouldn't matter since he's a beginner. Learning to play guitar has always been a solitary activity for me. When others are around, it is usually an attempt to jam, which rarely goes well .... let's play this song ... I don't know that song ... show me the chords ... and before too long you're bored with it and stop. I play for myself, and depending upon the number of beers I've had, I might play in front of others.

I think everyone should learn to play some type of musical instrument. Heck, I started with the infamous flutaphone. Played melodies by ear, but then came the guitar and I was hooked. It can be an emotional outlet to a great degree, depending upon your state of mind. I never have given it up, as I try to play every day, when I have the time (of which I have plenty right now). I play the same old tunes, but occasionally, I will remember something that I hadn't played in years.

I finally learned how to tune a guitar to a different key, just to play one song. It definitely sounds better than trying to convert it to another key. 'She talks to Angels' is pretty easy, if you tune the guitar to 'open E' instead of standard tuning.

Blah, blah, blah.
I'm a Pickin' and I'm a grinnin' ... hee, haw!