For a long time now, I’ve wanted to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. Be it my childhood love for the country-version Taylor Swift, or some deep-seeded rebellion against the three years of Clarinet playing from grade five to eight my mother somewhat encouraged me to do, this has been a bit of a goal.
Now I should mention that I am not particularly musically gifted (even my clarinet days are not my shiniest moments), so this is not something that comes naturally, nor did I expect it to be an easy task. But it has landed itself at #11 on the bucket list, and this year, I’m whole-heartedly ready to become an acoustic guitar genius.
I guess I should start by saying that I have not since sitting down to learn acoustic guitar become any sort of musical genius, but a very basic guitarist? I may take (with a bit more practice) that title.
My ambitions for success were very high until I realised just how many cords a guitar has and just how disformed your fingers needs to become to achieve one cord let alone four different cords in quick succession.
Quite honestly, if you had been a fly in the wall for my first self-taught guitar lesson, you would have laughed your way into next week along with me. I can assure you that just because I have long fingers, a guitar hero it does not make.
Nevertheless, after a solid day spent learning four very basic cords for playing ‘Bubbly’ by Colbie Collat (and really even that was ambitious – where I should have started was Smoke on the Water), I was able to clumsily change between Am, C, G and D. And to be honest, I couldn’t have been prouder of myself.
There’s still a lot of work to be done before I’ll let anyone hear me play, and one week onwards I still can’t feel my fingertips, but I’ve learned how to play and for now, that makes me one happy girl.
#11: Learn how to play Acoustic Guitar – check!
d x
Life, She Wrote. 