I wanted to share the following travel article from the New York Times website, A Journey Shaped by a Guitar: “Many a music lover makes a pilgrimage to the holy land by visiting the Martin factory in a town named Nazareth.”

EVEN though Nazareth, Pa., isn’t quite the holy city its namesake is, pilgrims with a musical bent still go there every weekday in search of a potentially spiritual experience. They head to a quaint brick building, lured by the promise of taking a tour at the C. F. Martin & Company guitar factory.

More than 200 guitars are made at Martin each day, many more than when the company first opened in New York City in 1833 (it moved to Nazareth in 1839). But for any guitar player or music lover, getting to see the basic stages in the creation of a Martin moves them powerfully, putting some in touch with emotions they might have thought too inaccessible to be reached.

It’s well worth reading the rest. Check it out here: A Journey to the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pa.

If there’s a year in human history that people will look back on and say that was the year that robots really started to take over, they could be talking about this year.

Something like ten years in the making, Gibson has released - in limited supply - the Robot Guitar. Basically, it’s a guitar that uses digital technology to tune itself. It can also do some altered tunings so it’s not just a one-note pony. This $2500 guitar can also assist the owner with fixing intonation problems.

Who really needs a robot guitar? If you can design a guitar that tunes itself, why not one that plays itself too? It’s kind of like a car that doesn’t need a driver. It takes all the fun out of going down to the music store to buy strings.

Best known as the guitarist, vocalist and writer for Pink Floyd, David Gilmour now has his own line of signature guitar strings. From his official website davidgilmour.com:

David Gilmour plays GHS ‘Boomers’ guitar strings, an association that started in 1979 when working on The Wall, but he uses non-standard gauges that until now were not available in sets.

Well, the wait is over for Gilmour guitarphiles, because GHS are to issue two sets in boxes designed by Steve Knee, using photos taken by Polly Samson.

Both sets use the strings actually used by David on his Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster.

Check this out, fact fans: Fender Stratocaster – 0.10, 0.12, 0.16, 0.28, 0.38, 0.48; and Gibson Les Paul – 0.105, 0.13, 0.17, 0.30, 0.40, 0.50.

Boomers seem to withstand the extreme bending that David subjects them to, so they are obviously worth checking out.

The strings are expected to hit the U.S. market some time after Thanksgiving. This is good news for Floyd fans that need one of everything and guitarists trying to get the Gilmour sound just right.

Whether you’re five or seventy-five, there is one factor that solely accounts for many people giving up on the guitar - frustration. And while this is not news or even mildly surprising, it is astonishing that in one’s lifelong adventure with the guitar the spectre of frustration often guides our actions or inactions.

Worse, a good part of the frustration is pure silliness. In our heads we know that the odds of sitting down and trying something for the first time and being so good at it it’s scary are slim to none. But that rarely stops someone from wondering, “Why can’t I play like (pick your favorite guitar idol and place him or her here)? I’ve been at this for all of two months now!” Laugh as much as you want, but I’m sure you’ve been there for a visit and you probably know countless people who are still living there.

But here’s a question few people ask themselves when learning: Why shouldn’t this be somewhat difficult, especially since I’ve spent (fill in the blank here) years of my life not playing guitar? If you’re starting guitar at forty, you’ve probably spent at least thirty-nine years of your life not playing. For those of you who like more of a perspective, that’s more than 98% of your life.

If you look at things in this manner, you’ll take all of the “young people learn quicker” out of the equation. Someone who’s starting at eighteen has spent more than seventeen and three-quarters years, 99% of his or her life, not playing guitar. It’s not about age or anything other than what you personally have to overcome. You’re trying to teach your hands, your fingers, all of you to do something that you’ve spent almost all of your life not doing.

But there’s good news, too. When I tell someone that I’ve been playing for thirty years, I’m truly lying through my teeth. Maybe I started playing guitar thirty years ago (okay, it was really thirty-three), but I certainly haven’t been playing all that time. With a lot of luck, not to mention a hazy memory and a wee bit of more lying, I might have put in about five to ten percent of that time playing. That’s how life is.

To play music, to enjoy making music, you have to be in it for the long haul. There will be days when you can’t think of a time in your life when you couldn’t be happier and days when you wonder why you even bother. That’s all part of the big picture.

And, again, this is something that you know in your head and in your heart. When you picked up the guitar you signed on for a trip, not a destination. If you’re only concerned about the end, you’ll never enjoy the trip. And learning should be a constant joy - just as much fun as playing and performing.

For more helpful tips on this subject, read the Guitar Columns A Question of Balance, Recharging Your Batteries, or any of the other many excellent articles on the Guitar Noise Practice Page.

You already know this, but it truly bears repeating - playing music, playing guitar, is a journey of a lifetime. Enjoy your trip. And be sure to write and post pictures!

Peace