Playing the guitar has something in common with working out, I have learned: if you keep doing it very regularly, it gets easier – but if you stop for a while and then try and go back to it, all of a sudden it is far harder than it should be. What with the boys’ initial reaction of terror (and poo on the floor) to my guitar playing, I haven’t been playing anything like as much as I normally do recently, and it shows, annoyingly.
Well, recent experiments to see if they have become any more tolerant have resulted in me having a cat perched on my shoulder, looking down with interest while I play, so I think we are safely out of the woods as far as that one goes, which is very pleasing. For the last few days, I have been trying to get back into playing daily and trying to learn new things. I spent a few hours going though a number of guitar books I have and came to the frustrating conclusion that Brian May, David Glimour and Jimi Hendrix are all still pretty much out of my league. Bastards.
I did however master one new song – by Graham Coxon, who used to be the guitarist in Blur, and who has in recent years become the greatest guitarist of his generation, bar none. Don’t believe me? Check out this clip from You Tube. He is a god. While I could only dream of playing like he does in that clip, I have learned a far simpler song of his called Bitter Tears, a pretty finger-picking track. It is on my You Tube page. I have also just added to You Tube a Blur track called Best Days that I have more or less been able to play for years, but for which I have now mastered the various little twiddly bits too.
And as to blasted Clapton and his pesky solos, I have one sorted. The other is more troublesome, but I WILL have Layla sussed soon….