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Hey @jumpinjeff , thanks for your constant support and encouragement. I couldn’t be happier than to think I have helped you some. I have been such a ridgid perfectionist that I could never have heard the message about NOT mastering guitar without down home wisdom. Your many proverbial quips always made me stop and think. And here I am, starting to actually get musical.
I always wanted to be able to “ski down” the fretboard. In other words, I wanted to play the guitar like I had skied. When I was on the ski slopes I was a different person. I was kind to others and always grateful. Now I realize that when I skied I wasn’t trying to “master” some kind of technique, instead I was focused on a feeling. Yes, I became really, really good on skis. But I always had fun and always found the feeling that locked me into the zone. When I was young, I didn’t learn by being taught in the traditional way. I learned by watching others and then I’d focus on feeling like they looked. I know it sounds hokey, but it worked.
Skiing depended on body position, and you can see that. Music is sound, and you can’t see it. What you see someone else do isn’t what’s important. It’s what you hear someone else do. Every guitarist develops their own style, but they can all create a sound that blends together. I guess what I’m trying to say is I am now using my ears and not my eyes to play my guitar. And lo and behold, it’s working.
MG 😀
