During these last couple of weeks, I've been using my Ibanez electric guitar for my practice sessions. I finally got around to changing the strings on my classical guitar, but now I'm getting a seriously bad fret buzz. During Monday's lesson, I got to use my teacher's classical guitar while he worked on re-stringing mine.
With this little experience, I've learned how tricky it can be switching between different types of guitars. You see, my fingers have had time to adjust to my electric. The neck is thinner and narrower, so there's not as much room required to move about on the fretboard. My Ibanez also has fret markers that identify which fret I'm on so I don't have to keep a mental note while playing.
Unfortunately, my fingers weren't ready for the sudden switch back to a classical guitar, as I stumbled all over what I had learned of Mazurka. I apologized to my teacher, assuring him I knew the material. He comforted me by telling me he could tell I knew it, and said that such a switch between two distinctly different types of guitars can be quite a challenge - especially for someone at my level.
I love that guy. :)
I had to cancel this week's lesson. My dog got sick.
Now matter how much I may hate Metallica since the Napster debacle, I cannot deny that they are incredible musicians.
To that end, I think "Fade to Black" is one of their best efforts to date. My wife is teaching herself the lead guitar intro. That's right, the lead guitar . The other night, she taught me how to play the accompanying rhythm. Thanks to more than a year's worth of lessons, I've not only practically nailed the rhythm part, I'm able to use what I've learned to make it my own. Once we've mastered the intro, it'll be the first piece of music we've played together since I began taking lessons.
I cannot believe how completely euphoric it feels to hear the intro to one of the greatest songs ever written and know how to play it. It reminds me of one of the reasons why I started taking lessons in the first place. And to be able to play it with my wife... man, life doesn't get much better than that.
I went by the post office to drop off my house payment and pick up today's mail. In my PO box was a gift catalog from a company called The Music Stand. Just a bunch of bullshit cutesy stuff for the music lover in anyone's familiy, none of which I would ever want to be caught dead with in my house.
As I was flipping through it, I saw several items that had sheet music on them, including a throw rug with the music for Amazing Grace embroidered in it. What's funny is that, every time I saw an item with music on it, I kept instinctively reading the notes, and instantly visualizing how I would play it on my guitar. It's not even a concious thought anymore.
It feels so cool to be able to do that!
This week, I'm continuing work on the upper end of Mazurka, and page two of Caprichos.
I don't remember mentioning this, but most of the first half of Mazurka involves hammer-on's and pull-off's. They're a bit tricky, but my pull-off's are sounding really nice. To hammer a note is to slam your finger onto the string hard enough to make the note you're playing sound out. To pull off is to take that same finger and literally drag down and off the string to create the follow-up note.
They're a tad painful when you're practicing them as part of a chromatic scale exercise.
hehehe