Tune me a guitar

So just last week I had a crazy idea. When I get a crazy idea, it will never go away until I satisfy the craziness. So today, I satisfied the crazy.

I have always wanted to play the guitar, but I have never gotten around to it. Sure, I had some musical background; I played the clarinet in school for 8 years. I don’t want to pat my own back, but I was pretty good at it. Well, I at least knew the notes for the treble clef scale and I could navigate my fingers well enough to not sound like a dying duck drowned in spit. (Today is probably a bit of a different story; I haven’t practiced in a long time. The dying duck from 5^th grade might be reincarnated!)

But today I picked up my very own guitar. I could no longer resist. I had to have one and each day I went without one, I would fall asleep dreaming of one. Even without knowledge of how to play the guitar, and no intention on getting lessons, I dream one day I will be able to rip away cords and walk the frets (without pacing back and forth mumbling to myself!)

Last week was when I realized I could no longer control myself. I had to have a guitar, but I didn’t want to spend a fortune on one, just in case I gave up rather quickly, but I didn’t want to play a child’s musical guitar either (the ones equipped with just four buttons… all that play a different nursery rhyme.) So I had to do my research to figure out where I would get the most for my money.

I already knew going to a music store would probably drain my wallet. I also figured buying one on Craigslist or eBay would get me into a position where I knew nothing, and the seller knew everything. That left me in a position… sorry…. but to be screwed. Not to mention, I wasn’t interested in buying used. Needless to say, I turned to the internet. I figured Amazon or Walmart.com were my two best options.

I weighed out my options, and without giving all the details (for fear of people falling asleep), I found that Walmart.com was able to provide a decent starter guitar, and with site to store shipping, I only had to pay for the guitar. Bonus: It wasn’t actually due to the store until next week, but it arrived today!

So, here I sit with my newfound guitar. I strum the strings, and without knowing a darn thing, I do know that somewhere out there and angel died due to the lack of tuning! Yes - it was that bad. Worse - I had no clue how to fix it.

However, the kit did come with a digital tuner. (And a book for dummies! Not sure if they are trying to tell me something!) Eventually, because I didn’t feel like reading, I just searched out videos on Youtube to tune my guitar. Because I was still having a problem with focusing, I really didn’t watch the video. I did however stare at that little digital tuner until somehow I figured out how to use it.

So the lesson of the day really is this… you can do anything you put your mind too. Probably play the guitar even; especially if you stare at it for long periods of time until you figured it out. Yes - the mind is that powerful. Okay, so maybe it really doesn’t work. Either way, I figured out that little digital tuner, and now I can at least strum the strings without causing ears to bleed.

Oh yeah, and I look pretty rockin’ holding my guitar!