Guitar Noise

I got this note from Jim of Pennsylvania and thought I’d share it with you all:

My joy of music story is of a friendship that has bloomed from music. When I moved to central Pennsylvania I did not know anyone. As I got acclimated to my new job I met some people and eventually the subject of playing music came up. One of the guys invited me to his home to play guitars. The first time we played it was awful, my friend’s sense of timing and hearing a song made it very difficult to play together. Each week we would get together and play the songs and each week he just didn’t improve. It was frustrating but we didn’t give up. Our mantra was, we are here to have fun (knowing neither of us would ever be a professional) so we kept after it.

After a year of playing and not seeing any improvement I got frustrated and said you know this isn’t all that hard you just need to… Well, it was the one thing that finally turned on the light and since that time my friend has made remarkable improvement and we are enjoying our sessions greatly. He thanks me profusely for sticking with him and helping get him to where he is today.

That is not why I am writing this. As I thought of the joy of music, sometimes the music is just a vehicle for better things. As I think of the friendship we have enjoyed, the meals we have eaten together, the things he has introduced me to that I had never experienced, I think how blessed I have been and what I have gained. I have improved my own playing a hundredfold by practicing and playing regularly.

I didn’t what this to be a book, but thanks for making me think about what music has meant. A friend told me a long time ago, don’t ever give up playing music, when everything else is going bad it will never let you down. There is a lot of wisdom in that.

Thanks for writing, Jim! And our best wishes to you and your family and friends this holiday season!

Peace