Blog Three: Need for guitar

O la!

“You can’t think and play. If you think about what you’re playing the playing becomes stilted. You have to just focus on the music I feel, concentrate on the music, focus on what you’re playing and let the playing come out. Once you start thinking about doing this or doing that, it’s not good. What you are doing is like a language.
You have a whole collection of musical ideas and thoughts that you’ve accumulated through your musical history plus all the musical history of the whole world and it’s all in your subconscious and you draw upon it when you play” ~ Joe Pass

I love this quote! It sums up perfectly about guitar and how if you or try to think about what your playing, it doesn't work. Music is something that is buried inside of you, its who you are and you cant just think about the guitar riff's your about to play, they have to come naturally. This quote kind of goes against what was asked of me to do. I was asked to really think about the guitar when I was playing it and everything that goes with it, and its hard to do this and this quote sums it up perfectly. Hope this makes sense?????


Well this week has been a productive week. I've known for awhile now my flat mate (Rory) plays guitar, lead guitar (solo's etc), so I thought I'd hit him up for a jam. So I took my guitar and hit him up and he was keen more than ever. I already had in mind what songs I wanted to play..."Tuesdays Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. He was more than keen and we started jamming away, Rory on lead guitars and I was playing rhythm and singing. By the end of four hours he had learned all the parts (I already knew them) and it was sounding very tight!  While playing with him and creating music together which sounded pretty close to the original it was a feeling of happiness and accomplishment, knowing that I can perform, and sound good with other people and only in four hours! We finished up and decided we would go out the next day and play these songs at an open mic night. The next day came round and after having a boring day at tech I rushed home to have a final jam before we headed out. We geared up and went out to rock the heck out of open mic. It was Rory's first time so naturally he was a bit nervous, nothing a few beers couldn't fix. There was quite a few people there so we didn't get to play till about half 11. The set went well, it was a good feeling to play with some one else and not just by myself, the music jelling together to make one piece of music that just blew our minds. The more we played the better it got and "Wish You Were Here" was a real crowd pleasure, cos everyone loves that song. So now ive got a buddy to play with and also got someone else lined up for drums, its alllll coming together, maybe a new band is on the rise!

There is quite a few "need's for occupation" with my chosen activity which may be apparent in my little story here or not, ill list these below:

• Need for happiness: This is the major factor for which I play guitar. This is the thing that brings happiness into my life, I can pick up the guitar and all my worries go away! It can bring happiness but also sadness or anger. The guitar is literally a tool for expressing how I feel and that's what I like about it. No matter what mood I am in I can channel that into sounds to create something beautiful or sometimes very disturbing haha.
• Making a statement: Sometimes I use guitar to make a statement. First one is generally to do with beliefs or values of mine. So I have songs about people who have not been pleasant and I make a statement about how much I don't like them..... Second example, I could use my mad skills to show people "huh see not so crap now am I?" this is one to do with people telling you your crap then seeing them again later and melting their ears. Making statements has always been part of music, to give one's view on the world or people around them, that's basically what music is!
• Need for escape: "I've had a long day at tech or work, I cant be bothered with anything that requires to much effort" sound familiar? course it doe's. This is me all the time, sometimes I think I say that just so I have an excuse to pick up my guitar. My guitar(s) area means of escape sometimes, just like everyone else, I have a method.
• Need for fun: Do I need to describe this? I think you can figure this one out!
• Need for expression of self: So I went out and played some songs, showed people this is what I do and what I love to do. They were not my songs but I felt like they could of been. I do have some songs of my own that express how I have felt at certain times in my life and this is a method of expression of self.
• Need for socialization: The guitar has many needs for me but one that is becoming more regular is the need for socialization. Using a hobby and something I love to share with others and connect with them with this shared interest, to build relationships.
• Need for improving as a guitar player: As a guitar player I want to get better, be it with the actual skill of playing or being able to play in front of an audience or with other people. I have been playing in front of people for the last month but this week has been the start of playing with others, so in this last month and last week I have improved immensely as a musician =)
• Finally....need for physical/mental health:  This hobby of mine keeps me happy and keeps meaning in my life, keeping me healthy mentally but also physically.

So there is a huge need for this activity in my life. It brings happiness, skills, friends and good health. I cant imagine my life without music or guitar, its who I am. And I can see why 'play' or 'leisure' has such a huge role in Occupational Therapy because its what we enjoy, what we do for fun, what we do for having time out and its a way of expressing ourselves and our values and beliefs, which brings meaning into our lives! So if people ask you as a therapist why you just play pool all the time etc with your clients, now you can tell them why!

Ambience

I'll just quickly talk about ambience. So this is defined as a mood or feeling in regard to a particular place, person or activity. So for me the ambience of guitar is mostly positive. When I play and/or sing I feel hapiness overcoming me. Knowing that I can play such a beautiful sound makes me feel like ive acomplished something, it gives me a sense of belonging. However sometimes the ambience changes. Sometimes I might play and get frustrated or angry that I cant get the sound I want, sometimes I might be sad. The true ambience of guitar for me is emotion, th emotions can change but its still the essence of the activity, a tool for channeling these emotions.

Here are some links to listen to the songs we played if anyone's remotely interested.

Pink Floyd; Wish You Were Here

Lynyrd Skynyrd; Tuesday's Gone

BookRags Media Network. (2011). Brainy Quote. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/guitar.html

Blog Two: Communication

O- la!

This blog is gonna be all about communication! When playing guitar there is a lot of this going on, one might think there is not much, but this blog will explain......

“You always feel better when you sing. Music touches people’s hearts. You know, it doesn’t go through your metal capacity, it just moves you and it will let you cry. It’s worth it doing a show and when you touch a crowd and move yourself at the same time”  ~Jewel

Yes this quote is in reference to singing but singing is also part of this occupation. This quote describes perfectly that music makes connections with people, communicating, bringing people together.
Communications

• Laughing: Yes, laughing. Laughing can be expressed when one is playing guitar, usually when your in front of a few people and you mess up the song horrifically so all you can do is laugh to cover up the embarrasment.
• Socialising: This is quite a huge one really, when playing guitar especially with other people there is a form of socialisation going on, one is expressing there interests and could be playing a song together with some one that they both like. There is also socialisation with the audience, they have come to see a musician or a band that they like (common interest) and are having some drinks, having a laugh etc. So when it comes to playing guitar, in particular in public there is a bit of socialisation going on for the ones playing the music and the ones listening to it. Ka pesh?
• Teaching/learning: Teaching guitar! this is something I do to get some extra coin, I just teach beginners so they can get there foot in the door and open their eyes to the coolest thing since chocolate milk.
• Individuality: This is expressing one's self through playing the guiar (playing originals) you can let people know if your happy, sad or really p#@@ed off! Listen to this song, its called "oceans" its just one guitar and it'll blow your mind..............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0

• Mis-communication: This could be playing songs that no-body wants to hear e.g. justin bieber, lady gaga etc, basically songs that shouldn't exist. The audience could get angry if they're not getting what they came for!. Also this could apply if you play with other people e.g. they're playing the right songs and you play something that is not quite what theyre playing, not good.

Connections

• Teaching/learning: Introducing the instrument to an indivdual, being the spokesperson for it and bringing something special into someones life.....awsum!
• Creative expression: Creating something thats yours and sharing it with others, and other people feeling what you feel. Cant get more connected than that!
• Sharing interests: People coming together, be it the muscians or the audience to share a comon interest.

Good/bad aspects

• Addiction: This is a good and a bad thing. I cant get enough of my guitar, I would love to just play it all the time for the rest of my life but I cant =(, I have to go to class, study, work and sleep. All the time I just wanna play guitar cos I love playing it, it makes me happy, I am addicted and I'm proud of it!
• Damage to self: This is a bad one haha. You can really screw your wrists with this instrument, constantly strumming doesnt do much good for your joints and your muscles, its important to warm those puppies up before rocking out, basically so you have the use of your hands later on down the track.
• Not enough time to play: Some days I dont even pick up my guitar! I feel like ive let myself down. Sometimes im at tech from 8am till like 4pm, and expected to do homework! do i feel like playing guitar? not really! so sometimes I dont have time and I blame society with their expectation that I have to be a contributing member in society!
• Cost: Guitar is quite expensive, first the guitar is expensive anywhere from $200 - $15,000. Yup, $15,000 but thats only if you want like a stupid replicam model of some joker called paul McCartney whoever he is. You've also got strings, picks, amps, leads, pedals, picks, etc etc. Guitar is not cheap!!!!!!
• Time to learn: This takes awhile and can also cost alot if you get a techer, I tought myself so thats why some of my technique is not too good, but Im happy about my level of playing from just teaching myself. Its taken like 6years to where I am now and I still think I could have been better but oh well. One does not get amazing over night it takes years and years, lots of time, lots of patience and lots of dead skin

Overall guitar is great! like anything else it has its ups and downs but mostly ups! Communication is a huge part of guitar and music after all it is a form of expression!

Rock on!

ThinkExist. (2011). ThinkExist. Retrieved from http://www.thinkexist.com/

Blog one: the guitar = awsumness

Hello and welcome

This blog is now way more cooler cos I get to talk about things that actually interest me (sorry PO1). A whole paper and assignment writing about guitars! how cool is that?!

 "The most important part of my religion is to play guitar" ~ Lou Reed

This quote really sums up how important guitar is to me, some people have gods, animals, people and other things to believe in and guide their life. For me the guitar is of high importance and this quote pretty much expresses what I feel as well =)


So a little about me and my chose occupation. I started playing guitar when I was about 16 so that makes it 6 years I've been playing. I play a wide range of different styles from country to metal and I love all of it. Being a hostel boy I didn't have much to do in my spare time so I picked up this instrument in the hope that it would improve my boredom and maybe my social life (fail). The only thing I could play for awhile while was "smoke on the water" like everyone else starts of playing and eventually I started to learn more songs. I had an Asian fella who taught me a wee bit, don't know his real name, chin chew or something, we called him Slushy. Any who he told me I was rubbish and I'd never get better, he sat there playing under the bridge by RHCP smirking while I was playing 1 string, I wish I saw him again today cos man would he be shocked.

Over the years and playing LOTS of guitar its changed me as a person I guess in a way, music is a huge part of my identity and who I am, its where I can express my feelings being happiness or anger. Its also a good way of relaxing and bringing people together. I could sit here for a week telling whoever reads this how much I love it and how important it is for my mental and physical health but I must carry on, basically in a nut shell if I go deaf or lose any of my fingers my life will not be "meaningful" and I will not be around on this earth for much longer!

On a much more pleasant note lets analyze the hell out of the awsumness that is guitar using the headings: Person, activity and environment.

Person

• Preference: there are many things to consider here such as what type of guitar you would like, could be an acoustic or an electric, in these two types you also have different sounds the guitar can make due to what type of pick ups they have (use google, cant give you all the answers). Next could be what type of genre of music do you wanna play? what colour? types of picks? strings? etc etc there is a lot of room for preference here.
• Age: Since I have to talk about myself for this I'd say I picked an alright time to pick up this instrument, to be honest I wish I picked it up earlier, like 12 and I did! but my teacher wanted me to learn "Mary had a little lamb" and to be honest I didn't wanna learn crap like that! I was listening to "californication" album by RHCP at that point, not Mary had a little lamb! so that put me off =(. Any way so I think 16 is still a good age to pick it up, you don't really wanna be 80 and pick it up, guess you could but its something you'd wanna enjoy for you whole life not just like 6weeks or something haha.
• Confidence: This has improved dramatically over the years, I can say I am confident enough to paly in public and have, I can write my own material, play with other people. I am confident in what I play but that doesn't mean I can go out and play some massive solo, cos I don't like that sort of thing (basically I cant do it), I'm more of a strummer not a picker!
• Agency: why do I do this? cos it makes me happy, I feel really good when I can play a song from a band I like and it sounds mean, I really love it when I can create my own sounds and I feel it through my body.........
• Body: You  dont have to be fit or anything like that. You do however have to get over the fact you fingers hurt when you first start playing, thats when most people quit "wah wah my fingers hurt" get over it, its rock and roll! Oh I also cant play certain chords cos my pinky is extremely short, it sucks =(
• Spirituality: My life abides by the god of rock, he will come down from the heavens and bless us all with the power of rock and cast away the demons on his earth that is know as hip hop, rap and justin bieber and bring forth ACTUAL musical talent and the world will again have happiness! |Basically the 60's all over again! Yes music is my religion, I can see it, hear it, feel it, and express it, that's more than I can say most other religions......ouch!
• time available: there is no time limit for rock! rock should and is every second of the day! you can play whenever you like! some people will feel like they cant play during work or school etc and fair enough but basically what I'm saying is, there in no real time restrictions for playing guitar.

Activity 

• Adaption: wow this is a big one so I might just skim this one a bit, here we go.......acoustic vs electric, amps, pedals, strings, picks, whammy bars, people, environment, electricity, body, how much food you've had, how much substances you've had...... lots and lots! you can adapt the guitar so you can kill the planet with it!
• Pacing: hmmmmmm its music there fore its not a repetitive thing, e.g. its not working at the freezing works, standing in one spot for 9 hours turning around packages on a conveyor belt so they're straight. No. this is guitar and music, its got rhythm and lots of it, so many different kinds of strumming its not even funny, I literally cannot talk about that, My fingers will receive carpel tunnel from writing. Moving the wrist up and down I guess could be pacing?????????
• Spatial orientation:  you can sit, stand, or spread out on the floor. 

Environment

• Physical: Anywhere that is socially and morally expected or safe. Maybe not in water as you could get electrocuted. I play at home, friends, street, and pubs. I sit or stand.
• Social: play with other people be it at home or their home or at a set venue. Great way of socialising!
• Cultural: Different cultures have different sounds and where they play them. This could be music is only meant for church or a set occasion etc. Different cultures have a certain sound e.g. maori/pacific islanders, as soon as they pick up a guitar you know what its gonna sound like cos that's the only style they do, to be honest I think they need to expand more cos its not that great.........
• Political: haters say that one should not play where it might distract or annoy other people, there a certain rules such as noise restrictions and times, these are put in place by the "man" or people who love the "man" people who are basically slaves and have no meaning in their lives and are bored, and/or jealous they cant play and understand such a cool instrument!

Well that's basically it for blog one: the guitar =awsumness, by now you would have realised I am not very P.C and that's the way a-hah, a-hah, i like it.

rock on!

Reza Ganjavi. (2011). Quotes about art, music, guitar. Retrieved from http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/quote_music.html