guitar

This is what I have found, anyway. Your mileage may vary.

Bored? No need for that if you've got a guitar. Either learn to play it or play it. Either way, the hours will melt blissfully away.

Feeling down? Pick up the guitar. Strum away. Find a soulful riff. Play a song that fits your mood. Write a song that fits your mood. Soon enough, you'll feel better.

It's funny how different instruments attract different personalities. Most musicians can play several instruments, some better than others due to the amount of practice. Everybody eventually settles on a favorite, though. It definitely has something to do with personality.

Meet Ms. Burnz, my trusty Washburn.

Les Paul, the man who perfected the electric guitar (Muddy Waters invented it) and invented multi-track recording died today. He is an incredible inspiration to me. He performed into his '90s. I know there's a special place in heaven for Les Paul (assuming that there is a heaven). Even though he won't get the press that Michael Jackson got, he was far more influential in terms of how he changed music. Can you imagine music without the electric guitar? I can't.

I don't really have anything else to say about it, but it only seemed appropriate to honor this great man on his day of passage to the Great Beyond.

Eternal Peace.

Having taught myself, I often rue the fact that I did not learn how to play guitar in a more structured way. Unable to afford lessons, I borrowed a book from the library and practiced the scales and chords until I could play them without thinking about it. The result was that I developed a distinctive style of playing because of a lot of bad habits. Don't get me wrong -- learning the chords and scales is enough if you practice like mad. But if I had started out with some idea of proper chord fingering, picking, and so on, I'd be a totally awesome guitar player, not just the distinctive one that I am. As it is, unlearning 25 years of bad habits is proving difficult, but I'm giving it my best shot.

If you want to learn to play guitar or want to get better at it, take these free guitar lessons and practice like mad.

(Disclosure: Your purchase of Jamorama through those links helps me pay my rent. Thanks!)