Personal Narrative: Playing Guitar

I always wanted to play guitar. From the time I was a mere child. My grandpa bought me a toy guitar with a white palomino horse on it - I believe there's a picture of it on my website. I asked him "how do I play it" and he mimiced the sound of a "tres" a doubled-three-stringed guitar that is used in traditional Cuban music. I couldn't figure it out but I tired.

Years and years later, I decided I'd learn guitar. Fell in love with a guy in college, or so I thought I was in love; what I "loved" was that he played guitar, the one thing I longed to do. He said to me "get a guitar and I'll teach you". I bought a used Guild D-44. I'd seen Richie Havens in concert at the university I attended. I went back stage and asked him to show me his

Like Liz, I took the guitar home and soon as I tried tuning it, broke a string. I almost cried. I went down to 48th Street "instrument row" in NYC, and bought a couple of sets of strings. No such thing as portable tuners then - I bought a tuning fork - you bang it against your knee or a table and

It was good becasue it developed the ear, tuning each string a 4th away, til you got to the "b" string which is a third. I loved my Guild, still do. Even though guitars are traditionally considred "female" mine is male. I named it affectionately "Alphonso" after my favorite Frank Zappa song "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast". Hey, what do you want from me, I was in collegeMy boyfriend taught me a three chords on which I learned just about the complete Bob Dylan discography. How great to play along with "Isis" form the album "Desire". I bought some songbooks on my own and listened to my records and soon I was playing the songs of my heros, Joan Armatrading, Janis Ian, Lennon and McCartney. Reading chord charts and depending on my ear was good. I switched to the Leonard Davis Center of Performing Arts at the college I was attending (C.C.N.Y). The big change was when I enrolled at The Guitar Study Center, a school run by Paul Simon's brother, Eddie Simon. The instructors were all working musicians - they were playing on Broadway or with well established artists-during down time they taught. I cut my "guitar teeth" there. It was an amazing time for me. I have continued to play my Guild. Through gigs, demos and ultimately on my first CD, "Laughed Last" through my