Day Four: Guitar Gig Today

I'm a classical guitarist (well, I try) and this afternoon at 2:00 I'll be playing at the grand opening of a new music store in Watertown, NY. It's Musicology, located at 241 State St. It is the creation of Tim Martuzas and Howard Brinson. They are two intersting guys with great personalities. Click here to learn more about it and them. I will also be teaching guitar there.

Today's photos are of my brother Al. I shot it last night as he performed at North Country Idol at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Al is not a contestant, he just opened the show up, breaking the ice for the contestants.


Now, where do I begin? I got up this morning and it was 18 degrees and sunshine here in Chaumont. Chilly but nice. As is usual, I get some coffee and go to the guitar. I try to put in two hours every morning befor I do anything else. Usually 6:00 to 8:00am. This morning I started to review a couple of pieces I have played for YEARS, but just not lately. There in lies the frustration. If I do not have a weekly gig to play, I don't keep up my repertoir. Instead I spend most time working on new material, or work at polishing a few pieces in my repertoir. But I don't play EVERY piece. Consequently some of those pieces begin to deteriorate. Case in point: Eleanor Rigby arranged by John Knowles. It's a great arrangement, not physically difficult, but there is an underlying base pedal note that drives the piece. Playing the melody against that can get tricky. I have played it for so many years that I pretty much ignore it, just play it during a gig. Well, it's been probably three months since I played it last. This morning as I reviewed it I fumbled in a couple of spots. They are the same spots that gave me dificulty when I first learned the arrangement, a lot of years ago. Anyway, I started to work it back out and after awhile said the hell with it. When it's time to play later today I'll just see how I feel. If the performance is going well I might jump into it and try it. If I'm not comfortable with how the set is going, I'll just leave the piece out. Now, there are a couple of things that can happen. If I decide to play it I just might pull it off beautifully. That sometimes happens. Or, I may fumble in one of those spots. If I do, I just keep moving forward and no one will really notice. Or they will notice, but it will be there and gone so fast it will quickly be forgotten. The thing I try to do is make sure I have a good ending to the piece. A lot can be forgiven if it's wrapped up with a good finish. Now, one more note on this subject. A fumble or fret buzz or some other unwanted abberation in the performance of a piece is one thing. It's transient. However, one should never settle for that in a recording.
Now, a final note: I am always struggling with not having enough time. One of my concerns about doing this blog is that It is a new thing that siphons away some of my time. All of this time could have been spent straightening out that passage in Eleanor Rigby. So, we live with the choices we make and learn from them.