Guitar Noise

“Playing the guitar is my touch with sanity in an otherwise insane world.” – an anonymous email received over the weekend

From Terry

The greatest joy I ever had with my guitar would have to be when I played my mom and dad’s song at the party celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

The song is called “I Can’t Get Started” by Bunny Berrigan. Let me start by putting this into perspective for younger readers. Young couples used to pick a favorite song that would be “their” song. From what I gather, kids don’t do that these days. Bunny Berrigan was a jazz trumpeter in the 1940s and the horn break in this song is his crowning moment.

We decided to have an anniversary party for my parents. Since my dad would not likely recognize any of the songs I’d play, I decided to play their song for them. Besides, this would be a captive audience and what guitar-playing ham can pass that moment up?

So how could I translate a 1940s song for horn to a guitar song? I have a fake book that fortunately contained their song in its pages. But those chords! I’m no jazz player that’s for certain. I knew I was in for trouble and I needed help fast!

I called upon the skills of a member of my wife’s family for assistance. My wife’s uncle was a standup bass player, guitar player, instructor, music store owner and TV repairman during his lifelong journey. I took a copy of the song to him along with the fake book and he helped me trim down some of the chords; he showed me how to adapt the jazz voicings to more friendly positions that I could handle.

So I practiced and practiced the new chords. But how would I get around that great horn break? I decided to use my own “horn” and sing the trumpet part. I borrowed from the jazz scat singers and created my own vocalization of the part.

The celebration was a surprise affair and my folks didn’t have a clue. When they arrived, tears and cheers were everywhere. We’d hired a DJ and prearranged for me to take a few minutes at a strategic moment to play for them.

When the moment came, I stepped to the mic and asked my parents to take the dance floor. I said, “Dad, you always ask that I play something you know. Here’s one you should know very well,” and broke into their song. Watching them on the dance floor, dancing to my playing, was a wonderful sight.

About halfway through my Dad said, “OK, that’s enough,” because he doesn’t like to be the center of attention. I continued strumming and said, “It took me four weeks of solid practice to learn this song. I’m playing it all the way though and you’re dancing all the way through!”

When it was over I went and gave them a hug. They were as overjoyed as I was at what I’d done.

Two years ago this week, I walked into a music store and walked out with an acoustic guitar. I had no intention of buying it – it was purely impulse.

At age 45, I had no aspirations of becoming a musician. The time for serious study had passed me by. However, there was a serious void in my life. Three months earlier my wife of 17 years had died of cancer. Even with my two boys, my house and my life were both pretty empty.

The guitar was simply something to fill my time during those dark, cold days of winter 2000. As my fingers callused, my emotions started to heal, slowly. The guitar gave me something to do, a new hobby, a new start.

This summer I purchased a Fender electric and my skills improved. Oh, I am not very good, but I am learning a new talent. I recently began to take music theory classes so all of this will make a little sense.

During the summer I don’t play. There are other things to do and outdoor activities keep me busy. But now it is cold and dark again, and I play. I don’t play for the same reasons now that I did two years ago; it is no longer a matter of survival. It is now for growth and pleasure.

Your website has helped tremendously, more than you will ever know.

I came from a musical family. My mother had one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard, and made her living from her musical talents for most of my childhood. I had a deep love of music, and a very high reverence for my mother.

Though I felt I could sing anything, I was so paled by my mother’s incredible voice that I never dared to sing publicly. The shower was music enough for my talents for many years.

My sister picked up lead guitar and piano, and my brother played lead and bass. My stepsister played acoustically and sang, and I was the only person in the family who did not have some sort of visible musical talent. I painted in oil on canvas to pass time, and wrote novels.

By the time I was sixteen years old, my mother had married a guitar player from one of her bands, and I begged him to teach me to play Stairway to Heaven. I learned about five chords, knocked out about five tunes that I liked with those chords, and didn’t pick up guitar again for ten years. My parents were disgruntled by my lack of enthusiasm when my talents were so obvious. All the same, I wanted to be a writer, and focused all of my efforts in that direction.

After a very rocky marriage and two very beautiful little boys, I came down with a serious illness. I came out of that illness with a new passion and a strong understanding for music. I bought a guitar, and found myself playing things I had never dreamed possible. Suddenly, writing made sense to me.

Music was a form of expression that fit closely to my very soul. If I picked that guitar up at any point in my day, whatever appointments I may have had were never met. I couldn’t put it down. It was as if I was possessed of such a passion for the art of musical creation that nothing else in the whole world existed. I am only now coming to a time where I can play for a little while and then put it down. I still love it deeply, but I am learning discipline.

I feel as if music has saved my life. I don’t struggle with decisions as I used to, and know exactly what I desire. I am doing what I love for a living, and making more than most people do working for someone else. I feel very blessed, and hope that I will always be able to encourage and aid others who are seeking to make a life in music.

There is no better time than today, this very minute, to make your life a lasting monument to your soul. If music is the best way to do that, then pursue it and conquer it. I can imagine no greater thing than leaving this legacy behind for my children. My love for music has saved my life, and made it worth living again. I hope it does the same for others.