Today, I learned how to play guitar. Well, sort of. Rock stars make it look easy, but let me tell you; it's a rough start. To begin, let's make sure we have our terminology right- frets the spaces between the shiny metal bars where you push down, the neck is the long, narrow part where the frets are, and the body is the peanut shaped bottom that makes the sound. There's more, but let's go easy on us beginners. To strum, you run your thumb down the strings over the string hole, putting the same amount of pressure on each string to get an even, blended sound. Then, to play a chord, you need to place the right fingers over the right string in the right place on the right fret and strum on the right strings with your other hand. And not only that, but you have to make sure that your fingers aren't accidentally muting any other strings, pushing down hard enough, and in the correct form. PHEW! I'm done already! Why should I even play this thing in the first place? Well, everything we listen to these days has a guitar it it. Whether it be acoustic, electric, base (or is it bass....?) has guitar in it, so since I listen to music constantly in my life, I figured it a good idea to learn. I'll be playing rock songs in no time! Right. After about an hour, I have four chords down. Some involve one finger, two fingers, and all the way up to three and four. The strings have letters too, in the order of EADGBE. It's tough to keep them all straight, and I better get used to Mary Had a Little Lamb for a while here. But hey, Jimmie Hendrix isn't worshiped for playing a kazoo.
Today, I'll leave you with the comforting guitar of Ryan Adams with "Magnolia Mountain." (please notice that this link has an incorrect artist name)
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