Search Results for: blog to string a guitar

To String a Guitar

A really long time ago I wrote about my son drawing on one of my guitars (my classical guitar to be precise) and, as a result, busting some of the strings on the instrument. This wasn’t a problem. I wasn’t angry. The strings were getting old and needed to be replaced anyway. I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. This would, I thought, force my hand. Alas, time and situation and circumstances out of my control left that job undone until this past week. We’ve changed states, homes, jobs, seasons, etc… and now the new strings are finally on … Continue reading →

The Little Guitar

Posted on by

I’ve talked about my son being interested in music before. He’s constantly surrounded by guitars, drums, pianos and other instruments on account of having musically inclined and interested parents, as well as an extended family interested in music of all forms. He’s been listening to music since he was a very young boy (in the womb, in fact) and it’s always been important to him. He dances and wiggles his pointer fingers when he hears anything resembling a beat (I can’t adequately describe how cute this dance actually is) and is always the life of the party (he had a … Continue reading →

The Guitar Dance

Our son is a little dancer. He loves dancing to any type of music that might be playing. Popular radio stations, classical music, and even country music (a rarity in our home) — all of this makes him dance and dance and dance. He puts two of his fingers in the air and twirls them about while bouncing up and down and wiggling his hips. If popular video sharing websites are any indication, then he’s in the majority of babies who love to dance. We enjoy his dancing so much that we encourage it. We truly love dancing with him. … Continue reading →

The Crayon and the Classical Guitar

Ever since I finished the testing for my doctorate (starting with the summer of woes and progressing through late last semester) I realized that I had completely stopped playing music. One of the things I probably haven’t shared on here is that I play a musical instrument. My parents were not fond of a grade school music instructor so I never did music in grade school. It wasn’t until I turned sixteen that I remarked “I want to play guitar.” It turned out to be a great thing. I took six months of classical guitar lessons from a really nice … Continue reading →

The Toothbrush in my Guitar

Over the past couple of months our son has started to really enjoy the sounds of musical instruments. What started out as an interest in the big guitars leaned up against the wall (that at the time were off limits) and the piano keys that he couldn’t reach has slowly turned into a genuine enjoyment of sound itself. Even if he’s listening to one of those crazy battery-powered jingles coming from a plastic toy shaped like a home appliance he instantly stops when he hears the sound of a live instrument. One strum of the guitar and he gets up … Continue reading →

So, Your Child Wants to Play Guitar

Posted on by

One day your child comes home from school and says, “Wow, my friend Slash just got a really cool Gibson Les Paul Guitar and a new amp. When can you get me a guitar so we can have a BAND?” Well…let me be the first one to tell you that depending on the model, guitars range in price anywhere from $50.00 (Garage Sale model) to $10,000.00 (Collector’s Edition endorsed by an overpaid, famous musician). At this point it might behoove the parent to inform the child that they would be willing to get the child the $50.00 Garage Sale Version … Continue reading →

Prepared Father?

Becoming a father was not foremost on my mind when I was growing up. Even the thought of beginning a relationship with a member of the opposite sex gave me so much stress, I avoided it. And yet I knew I probably would marry and have children, and I wanted certain things for them. I wasn’t much of a Scout, either, for a whole host of reasons, and so didn’t practice the Scout motto “Be Prepared.” This has had some negative effects on my life, as I now see the value of being prepared and the benefits the Boy Scouts … Continue reading →

The Piano Player

Ever since we moved away from family we missed one thing (other than family) more than any other: music. Not recorded music, which is in abundance, but live music. And not so much the ability to go out and here some live music (as we can from time to time) but the ability to produce it ourselves. One of our specific goals as parents is to have an environment of art surround our children. Our son is reaping those benefits as much as possible at the moment. A couple of years ago we purchased a relatively nice keyboard. It isn’t … Continue reading →

Rock and Roll Scrapbook

Did you watch the Grammy Awards on Sunday? For me, the Grammys are the closest thing I get to attending an actual concert. I haven’t been to a live rock concert since I was in college, nearly two decades ago. In fact, I haven’t been to any type of live music event in years–unless you count my first grader’s school Christmas concert. If you are a die hard music fan, and you attend a lot of music events, then you might consider crafting a concert scrapbook. If you lack creativity and want to make scrapping as easy as possible, then … Continue reading →

Glen Campbell Sings Green Day

That’s right, you read the blog titled correctly, country superstar Glen Campbell is taking on contemporary music and that includes Green Day. It’s not that he is the first country star to try this. Willie Nelson has recorded Fleetwood Mac and Grateful Dead songs in the past. Even legend Johnny Cash began dabbling in different genres of music before his death when he recorded the Nine Inch Nails’ song “Hurt.” And, although not country, who can forget Pat Boone’s cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Tom Jones doing Prince’s “Kiss,” or Paul Anka singing Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face.” In … Continue reading →