On The Fly

In this episode - If it Sounds Good - It Is Good . . . Let's talk about Guitars. When considering a purchase, do you find yourself on Google searching for that unique guitar and rely on the expertise of some stranger who tries to record a comparison review on YouTube? Come on - let's be honest, they all sound the same through computer speakers or headphones. And the biased of the critic always seems to come through. Honestly, though, a competent reviewer will always say, "Don't take my word for it; play the guitar yourself and just listen." Yes, I'm guilty of the above. Since August 2016, I've played my treasured 60th birthday gift and love it, my Fender Telecaster. Thankfully, my skills have improved, and I now understand why so many performers play an acoustic guitar. It's not only convenient, but the sweet, simple, soft, resonating sound achieved from an acoustic is emotionally moving. Last weekend we made a trip to Los Angles to visit the Griffith...

Guitar Center, Sunset Blvd., Hollywood “Your taking guitar lessons at 60?” Absolutely! It’s my way of always learning something new and having some fun in the process. “Haven’t you ever heard the cliche, You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” “Of course, but let me be completely clear,” Education is not a bag of tricks and humans are not dogs. Some resemble their  ole’ dog, anyway . . .  For years I heard that platitude from students who would use it as excuse for not being able to successfully learn a new skill to their satisfaction or expectation . Agreed, learning a new skill is challenging. Let’s be honest, it’s downright hard. We tend to get entrenched in our comfortable ruts. Think back a minute. Remember what it was like to learn to ride a bicycle? It was exhilarating! Well, maybe not at first. Did you have training wheels? I’m sorry. What happened when your Dad removed those training wheels. I’ll bet you fell - over and over again. But with...