Taking The Plunge

 I HAVE PLANS TO BECOME REACQUAINTED with an acoustic guitar. I have narrowed my selection to two popular brands and will choose one after Labor Day.

Yes, I’m taking the plunge.

Google searches have yielded tutorials that seem to make learning easier than in my teenage days and I can tune the guitar strings using my iPhone app. How cool is that!

Why would I go back to playing the guitar, you might ask? My first response is so I don’t have to go back to the piano. My loft barely has room for me. Secondly, I will use nylon strings, so it isn’t quite as difficult on my fingers. I’m also leaning toward a friendlier ¾ scale version.

I desire to learn the chords and lyrics to twelve of my favorite songs from the 1960s. I have already chosen five. My goal is to practice enough so that if I’m ever at a concert and the performer suffers a heart attack, I can fill in.

No need to fret, I don’t go to concerts.

Here is one of my picks.

Blackbird 

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly

Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Beatles, 1968.

After all this work, if I find the guitar sitting in the corner collecting dust, I have already discovered that there is quite a secondary market for used guitars.