My Musical Adventure

September 27, 2021

Today I pulled out my guitar and and actually played part of a song. I've always been kind of quiet and was a little self conscious about the neighbors overhearing me play, so I've never really started. But after letting my nieces play some music of their own, my fears seemed pretty stupid. So when my younger (not youngest) sister and her family went to the park, leaving me alone at home, I decided to pull out my guitar, find a song, and start playing.

I guess I should mention I live with my sister, her husband, and their two daughters (not trying to confuse anyone). Also living here are four dogs and five cats, one of those dogs and three of those cats being my own.

But back to the music . . .

I already have screenshots of Jingle Bells written in tabs on my phone. This particular version uses only one string notes, no chords, so I figure it's perfect for a beginner like me. The first line on the music sheet has twelve notes. So I started plucking. At first I had to look at the music sheet after every three notes, but I memorized it rather quickly and after the first few minutes I didn't even need the music sheet anymore!

But by then my fingers had started to hurt a little. My book says fretting will hurt until I build callouses on my fingers, and it sure wasn't kidding. The problem is, my finger muscles aren't very strong either, so I'm having a hard time continuously holding the strings down all the way. This being my first time playing, I'm not putting my fingers close enough to the fret bar. So instead of getting the sound I want, I end up either buzzing the string or muting it. Yes, you can apparently mute strings, I learned that in my book, too.

I really wish I would have at least practiced holding the strings down every day starting with the day I got my guitar. Then I would have strong muscles and callouses. Oh well, the past is past.

I kept practicing until I could no longer tolerate the pain in my fingers. It's hard to stop, though. I've already gotten so good at playing my twelve notes. They don't quite sound right yet, but I've memorized where to put my fingers and which strings to pluck. When I finally put my guitar and my favorite pick away (yes, I already have a favorite pick!), I look at my phone to find that only ten minutes had passed since I started. Ten minutes! It felt more like ten seconds, while my fingertips screamed ten hours.

I can't believe I got so good in only ten minutes. But then again, it was only twelve notes. But even writing this now my fingertips are still sore. I can't wait to get my callouses so I can play even longer. I hope I can even play the whole song on Christmas.