Edmund Taylor
SED 407:01
January 29, 2014
Personal
Literacy in Playing Guitar
Learning
to play the guitar has had a lasting impact on my life. I first became
interested in playing guitar as a child. My father would play guitar on
occasion during my youth. He set the first spark in my interest in learning
guitar. Among my favorite musical
artists I wished to emulate included Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour of Pink
Floyd.
During
my junior year of high school, I picked up a cheaply made acoustic guitar from
Walmart. I learned to read chord charts online. A chord is any 3 or more musical
notes played simultaneously. Unfortunately, basic chords a beginner can play
are not enough to play the songs of those I wished to emulate. I became
discouraged after a few months and the guitar sat in my closet for a month or
so. When I finally did come back to it, I asked my dad for some help. He showed
me that chords can be played in multiple ways, and that slightly altering the
chord can greatly change the way it sounds. What I learned in that one session
with my father motivated me to not give up on learning to play.
When
it was time to choose courses for my senior year, I included a course titled
“Beginning Guitar” to fulfill the art and music requirement for graduation.
Unfortunately, I learned that it was taught by a drummer named Mr. Vars. He taught
us one scale, the G Major Scale, in one position on the fretboard. It seemed
useless to me doing classical exercises out of the textbook using only one
scale. The vast majority of what I
learned occurred outside of class. I was still motivated to learn. I went home
one day and spent an afternoon learning the solo played by David Gilmour on
Pink Floyd’s “Time.” I was so proud of myself.
I began saving money from my job so I could afford an electric guitar.
I
bought my first cheap Stratocaster and an amplifier that summer. The solo I
learned sounded so much better on my new electric. I played it over and over,
aggravating anyone within earshot. I also recorded a video of it on my laptop
and posted it to FaceBook, where I received many more likes than I thought I
would get. I learned so much on guitar that summer, about scales, improvising
and writing original material. I thought it was time for me to join a band for
fun. I began scanning ads placed on craigslist, hoping to find band members
around my age and skill level. I responded to several ads, and failed several
tryouts. At my last tryout, I played with musicians around my age. They were
all excellent musicians and I was surprised that they ended up keeping me. We
played together for several months, never gigging. To my disappointment, I soon
learned that the band experimented with heavy drugs. I never showed up for
practice the following week.
Shortly
after that, I joined a band that had drug-free musicians. I wrote a few
original songs for that band, supplemented by us mutually learning several
classic rock covers. We finally began to set up our equipment for our first gig
at a local bar. It was an “open mic”, meaning anyone who wanted to play could
if time allows. I was very nervous. After our first song that night, a song
that I had written, we received a great deal of applause. It felt like my hard
work finally was rewarded. We were allowed to play through our entire setlist,
and were invited to play for money once a week by the bar manager. After
playing at other “open mics”, we gained several other paying gigs because of
the audiences’ response.
I
eventually quit the band due to needing time for college. Since then, I have
been involved in several bands and continue to learn. Becoming literate has had
a lasting impact on my life. I have learned through personal experience to
never give up, to persevere, and to not compare your progress to others. I have
also learned that literacy in something is more of a relative term than
something universal. The lessons I have learned also apply to my dream of being
an educator. Although teaching may be very challenging at first and the quality
of the learning lacking, I have the ability to improve and become more literate
in teaching. I will not give up because the task can seem daunting at times. Finally,
I wish to teach the lessons I have learned to my students, and inspire them to
want to be lifetime learners.
