The Rest Is Beautiful Noise
Long story short: I bought a guitar.
Long story long: I needed a family doctor. Scratch that. We needed a family doctor. My husband's doctor is established in a city that he hasn't lived in since he was nine years old; it's such a hindrance to travel there that he rarely went at all. I, on the other hand, had a local family doctor that I just detest. Prone to grave errors due to his advanced age and a darkly warped sense of humour that I can only imagine he's always had, my doctor hasn't seen hide nor hair of me for at least a decade. So, together, we went on the wild goose chase to find that most rare of treasures: a family doctor accepting new patients. What I found is that, after compiling a mighty list of doctors alleging that they were accepting some newbies, the reality was that they were only accepting them this coming fall or in 2017 or on the fifth Wednesday of every month except the one we're in. Anyway, I narrowed and narrowed until we had a meagre list of three. Then off we went for our first visit with one. Now, we didn't choose her for a variety of reasons, but she said something that did pique my interest. In a rather odd line of questioning, she asked me if I played a musical instrument. I said, "No," but the absurdity of the query caused me to dwell upon it. I impulsively purchased Rocksmith 2014 , which I had heard was a fantastic teaching tool, and set about learning.
Now, my husband owns two guitars: one acoustic and the other electric, which is the kind you need in order to use Rocksmith. The problem arose, though, when my left shoulder began to ache from reaching. See, my husband is over six feet tall, so the neck of his guitar, while fine for him, is nearly larger than my entire armspan. So, as an early birthday gift, he bought me a pink Fender stratocaster, one in a more suitable size for someone of my stature. Let me tell you: not only does it play like a dream, but my shoulder is fine and it looks like a work of art sitting on the stand in our bedroom.
It's been a little over a month, but I have already made some progress in my Gitarrelernen. I have already got "Blitzkrieg Bop" down pat although not up to tempo, while I've mastered a few riffs from The Temptations' "My Girl", Magic Wands' "Black Magic", and -- of course -- Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water".
What does this have to do with books? Well, one, and this is a soft connection, I think Goodreads is equally about learning as it is about literature, since most people pursue reading in order to learn something. Even if it's just an escape into a fictitious world, a reader often finds that they learn a little about themselves through the novels they devour. And since I am learning guitar, I figured I'd share that tidbit.
Secondly, and this one is more fundamentally connected to books, I am writing a book where rock music plays a large role. This excursion into actually playing the guitar allows me a greater appreciation of the art form (really, my mind is blown by some songs now) while serving double duty as research for my writing. So, win-win all around.
And, in the end, yes, we did happen to find a family doctor and our blood pressure is fine.
Long story long: I needed a family doctor. Scratch that. We needed a family doctor. My husband's doctor is established in a city that he hasn't lived in since he was nine years old; it's such a hindrance to travel there that he rarely went at all. I, on the other hand, had a local family doctor that I just detest. Prone to grave errors due to his advanced age and a darkly warped sense of humour that I can only imagine he's always had, my doctor hasn't seen hide nor hair of me for at least a decade. So, together, we went on the wild goose chase to find that most rare of treasures: a family doctor accepting new patients. What I found is that, after compiling a mighty list of doctors alleging that they were accepting some newbies, the reality was that they were only accepting them this coming fall or in 2017 or on the fifth Wednesday of every month except the one we're in. Anyway, I narrowed and narrowed until we had a meagre list of three. Then off we went for our first visit with one. Now, we didn't choose her for a variety of reasons, but she said something that did pique my interest. In a rather odd line of questioning, she asked me if I played a musical instrument. I said, "No," but the absurdity of the query caused me to dwell upon it. I impulsively purchased Rocksmith 2014 , which I had heard was a fantastic teaching tool, and set about learning.
Now, my husband owns two guitars: one acoustic and the other electric, which is the kind you need in order to use Rocksmith. The problem arose, though, when my left shoulder began to ache from reaching. See, my husband is over six feet tall, so the neck of his guitar, while fine for him, is nearly larger than my entire armspan. So, as an early birthday gift, he bought me a pink Fender stratocaster, one in a more suitable size for someone of my stature. Let me tell you: not only does it play like a dream, but my shoulder is fine and it looks like a work of art sitting on the stand in our bedroom.
It's been a little over a month, but I have already made some progress in my Gitarrelernen. I have already got "Blitzkrieg Bop" down pat although not up to tempo, while I've mastered a few riffs from The Temptations' "My Girl", Magic Wands' "Black Magic", and -- of course -- Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water".
What does this have to do with books? Well, one, and this is a soft connection, I think Goodreads is equally about learning as it is about literature, since most people pursue reading in order to learn something. Even if it's just an escape into a fictitious world, a reader often finds that they learn a little about themselves through the novels they devour. And since I am learning guitar, I figured I'd share that tidbit.
Secondly, and this one is more fundamentally connected to books, I am writing a book where rock music plays a large role. This excursion into actually playing the guitar allows me a greater appreciation of the art form (really, my mind is blown by some songs now) while serving double duty as research for my writing. So, win-win all around.
And, in the end, yes, we did happen to find a family doctor and our blood pressure is fine.
No comments have been added yet.
