Instrumental

[Hawkman]

I went and bought a new guitar today,
a cruel demonic beast to try and play,
for though the tone is rich and rather sweet,
the bloody thing has got my fingers beat.

The blisters on my fingertips are sore,
for though I tended them I just grew more,
and now it hurts to sit and type this lay;
at this rate, I’ll be writing it all day.

It’s true, an artist suffers for his craft,
and thinking back, I must have been quite daft
to buy a brand new instrument, untried,
with heavy strings and nut set up too high.

But on the internet I found a cure,
some lighter strings, with tone both sweet and pure,
and when I’ve fitted them and bought a nut
that isn’t quite so cruelly buggered up,

then happily I’ll sit and strum a tune,
although I’ll have to wait till Tuesday noon,
for that’s about the time the post arrives
since Mail and Parcel Force were privatised.

[DocHeart]

If your poetic skills are anything to go by, you must be quite a guitarist, too. :)

By the way, do you mean "they" rather than "I" in the second line of S2?

Thanks for sharing, Hawk!

[Hawkman]

Hi Doc and thanks for reading. I can see how that might confuse, but no, "I grew more," is right in context, as in, "I grew more blisters." If it was "they grew more" they'd have to grow more (something) eg painful.... lol. In fact it's so long since I played a 6 string that my fingertips have become very soft. Even though after an hour or two muscle memory kicked in and I could remember how to play half a dozen songs which I'd not played for about 20 - 25 years, as the poem suggests, with the strings being so stiff and the nut too high I've shredded my left hand's fingertips - most frustrating, as I just want to practice. I've got a gig in a month! I adjusted the nut by filing out the slots, but I went too deep on two of them and had to pack them out a bit. I'm going to have to buy a new nut now because of a bit of fret buz. :( Lighter strings will certainly make a difference.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. :)

Live and be well - H

[AuntShecky]

If this piece is autobiographical, i.e. the "I" of the poem is the same person as the poet, then I say good luck with your musical career. Yesterday I did a copious amount of reading online articles in which one critic expressed disdain over the fact that "everyone thinks he can write." (You and yours fooly as well as a goodly number of LitNutters know that isn't necessarily the case.) But the same thing can be said about music, perhaps. Any guy on the street can walk into a store, purchase a Fender or similar brand of guitar, and all of the sudden he thinks he's going to be the next Eric Clapton. I'm gratified that you (and/or your poem's narrator) have aspirations that are refreshingly realistic.

As your light verse points out, few folks realize how difficult it is to learn how to play the guitar. Maybe that's why the ukelele has suddenly grown in popularity. Since the latter instrument is smaller, perhaps peeps think it would therefore be easier to play.

Again, good luck with this.

[firefangled]

Hawk, great light verse about taking up the 6 after a hiatus. Made me think of the end of Beatles Helter Skelter: "I've got blisters on my fingers."

I feel your pain. I had to stop after shoulder surgery for a few months and those calluses just peel off and leave baby skin. Invent stick-on calluses and you'll be a millionaire!

It's definitely one of those things where the only way out is through. Elixer light with NANOWEB coating are a little help, They're expensive, but they last much longer, if you wipe them down often.

[Hawkman]

Hi Auntie, your well wishes are most welcome, but I wouldn't exactly describe myself as embarking on a "musical career." More a little hobby job, methinks. Been out and about a bit and found a niche where I can express myself, in addition to the internet - LOL! Looking forward to expanding my repertoire, though.However, I definitely overdid it on the first two days, hence the blisters. Tried to play yesterday but couldn't, it was too painful. Btw. I couldn't afford to walk off the street into a music shop and buy a Fender :D Can't think why anyone wants to play the ukelele, unless they're George Formby. Actually I know more people who play banjos and mandolins. (they both tempt me, but one thing at a time ;))

Thanks ff, Yes, that one and "Money for Nothing" :D Thanks for reading and for the suggestion, which I've noted. Already ordered some martin Extra Lights. There's no significant reduction in volume, the tone is still good and they're a hell of a lot easier on the fingertips. I've still got to stone the frets, but the instrument is not too bad as it is. Since I've been unable to practice on the guitar I've been working on my penny whistle repertoire of jigs and reels :D

Thank you both again for reading.

Live and be well - H

[MorpheusSandman]

Besides empathizing with the plight of the fingers of a new guitarist, what I really like about this piece is the interplay between the light, ironic, modern, common diction, and the elevated, allusive, older form and diction. Something like "for though the tone is rich and rather sweet" could've come right from a Pope, Wordsworth, or Coleridge poem, but then it's followed with "the bloody thing has got my fingers beat," which is wonderfully bathetic! I also like how the only enjambed stanza is the 3rd/4th one, as it builds a nice climax for both couplets. One suggestion: a comma after "grew more," as it informs the reader that "blisters" has been elided, rather than leading them to think that the object is on the next line.

[Haunted]

A very amusing anecdote but so sorry that it comes at the expense of your blistering fingers! " I just grew more" is tricky for me. It took me a while to figure out the grammar. On the conceptual level, I never thought of people actually grow blisters, I thought blisters just grow themselves. I would think "they" is more intuitive to readers even if it's not grammatically correct to you. Rules are just rules, they are no fun if you can't break them :D

Oh, just saw this today...you might want to check it out for your upcoming sellout world tour:
Blue Spark :devil: (http://store.apple.com/us/product/HA619/blue-spark-digital-microphone)

[Hawkman]

Morpheus: Hi, nice to see you around and thanks for reading. Glad it floats your boat :) It was fun to write, apart from the agonising pain every time one of my left-had fingertips impacted the keyboard - lol. They're nearly better now and I have been able to play today, although the third finger looks a bit raw. I found that practising banjo open string rolls and picks has kept me occupied. I've always loved banjo and finally I've taken it up. Give me 6 months to ayear and I may be able to play it without embarrassment. ;)

Hi Haunted: yes the line wasn't quite right. I've tweaked the punctuation a bit, does that help? There seems to be something wrong with the shortcut, but I was able search and found the gadget. That's interesting! More fun with Garageband then ;) I'll have to record my execrable banjo playing as a warning to others lol.

Live and be well - H

[MystyrMystyry]

Play that funky music white boy!

You know there should be rubber caps for out-of-practice tips, something like what Tony Iomi uses, but less extreme perhaps - and look where he is!*

Alternatively the trick is to never get out of practice - you could just be the next seasick Steve ;)


*Okay he's still in Black Bloody Sabbath, but at least it's a place...

[Haunted]

Hi Haunted: yes the line wasn't quite right. I've tweaked the punctuation a bit, does that help? There seems to be something wrong with the shortcut, but I was able search and found the gadget. That's interesting! More fun with Garageband then ;) I'll have to record my execrable banjo playing as a warning to others lol.


It's clearer, yes. The problem I encountered is the way you say it, that you grow blisters, and that makes me pause and think and squirm, lol. I would never say "I grow blisters", sounds so Frankensteinish! I got a blister, it's my skin that grows a blister, not me!! So I guess it's really my problem not yours.

argh sorry about the link, I fixed it, must have fudged the html codes. Banjo?? How eccentric! Did you see Deliverance? Not a bloodfest but if you like the backwoods of America, it's a good movie. How are you going to play back your recordings? You might need this (http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9847/bowers-wilkins-a5-airplay-wireless-music-system)