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- Many people think I am strange, but
I feel some guitars do have souls and "connect"... -
Some
guitars just seem to have a personality all their own, far beyond the outward
aspects such as tone, action, handling, ect. and seem to have preferences,
good days, bad days, and at times attitude. Nearly all the guitars I own
are this way, but a few are not. The older ones that have "been around
the block" seem this way. There are times I "connect" with a guitar the
minute I pick it up, and it in turn seems to connect with me. I don't decide
what or how to play, we do together. These are usually the times I most
enjoy playing.
.
Playing
for me is not a mechanical thing, although it does require manual dexterity
(which I could use more of). If I have to think about what I am playing
I am practicing, but quite often I just "pick up and play" and these are
the times that what's inside comes flowing out. I don't mean what I am
thinking about, and it's not a concious thing at all. It just happens.
There is a magic about that "zone" that can't really be adequately described
in words, and defies intellectual definition. It is purely emotional. There
have been many guitar players that I could tell were this way, and if you
are one, there is no need for me to explain. If I do have to explain, there
is a good chance you will not understand.
.
A
guitar to me is not a "piece", "slab", "axe", or any other term that degrades
it to nothing more than just an object. For me, a guitar is an instrument,
and extension of my soul and conduit for emotion. When I connect, what
I feel and have felt flows out without the restrictions that oral communication
imposes. If I am angry, what comes out is agressive. If I am happy, what
comes out is uplifting. If I am sad or blue, what comes out is melancholy.
I am not just imagining things either. Many people have told me this. I
have made people stomp their feet, shake thier fists, or tears well up
in their eyes when I let go and just play.
.
I'm
in no way a great player, matter of fact, I will always be a novice. I
don't know hundreds of chords, tons of fancy riffs, can't read music, and
have no desire to copy anyone directly. There are a lot of influences in
my "style", and often I am impressed more by a true player's style rather
than licks and this "style" sooner or later creeps in and melds with mine.
It is forever changing, but remains the same as well. My moods also influence
my style, and thinking about some of my life's experiences can also have
an impact on how I play. I don't aspire to be a virtuoso, I don't want
to be a rock star, and rarely play in front of strangers. I enjoy it as
much as I do breathing air, and I would surely lose that if I turned it
into work. I play my guitars, albeit not very well, but nonetheless I do
play them and try not to negect any of them. I guess if they could talk
and walk, I would probably consider them the friends that have always been
by my side.
.
In
a nutshell, playing and connecting with a guitar is as much a part of me
as the way I walk, talk, think, feel, look, and live. It's an irrevocable
part of my life and bieng. Some of you may even relate to this, others
will not understand, and there is no possible way I could explain it in
a way the "others" could understand. |
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