Let me start by saying that I don’t need another guitar. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want another guitar.

Last night, during my guitar lesson, my teacher and I were playing a song when it hit me – this would sound really good on a hollow body electric guitar. And then I realized that it was only a matter of time. I’m now justifying buying the guitar because I need it to make the songs sound better. Not because I really just want it.

Last night, I was learning four songs. Yes four. The topic of the night was arpeggios. How to make something very simple sound really amazing.

The first song we tackled was ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele. A very simple song that really sounds great. The arpeggios are mimicking the piano part. And while I’d love to sing along with my playing – this song is very difficult to play and sing at the same time. That’s because you’re not playing the melody line. The first note of the arpeggio is the melody but the other seven notes are not. But it’s great to play and a beautiful song. Of course, I was also thinking how great this would sound on the Epiphone 1961 Casino that I tried but didn’t buy.

Next we jumped into ‘Because’ by the Beatles. Ever lesson with my teacher includes something by the Beatles. I was blown away by the complexity and simplicity of this song. I was learning the part that is actually played by a harpsichord on the original. Only later in the song does a guitar take over. But again, I was amazed how a simple grouping of notes could make a great song. What kept running through my mind was that this would sound really good on a Gibson 335.

Finally we moved to ‘Across the Universe’ also by the Beatles. And while this isn’t a true arpeggio song, it has a lot of the same playing structure as the others. This song is all about the opening few bars. Once you get past that, it’s really straightforward.
Of course, I’d love to hear it through a Gibson 359 hollow body.

Last we jumped to a Neil Young song “Dead Man.” This has nothing to do with arpeggios at all. But I think my teacher wanted me to learn something fairly obscure and interesting. This was great. And sounded really good on my Martin D-35. I also played parts of it on my J-45, but for some reason, it sounded better on the Martin. I don’t need another acoustic guitar. My two main guitars are just perfect.

So it begs the question – do I really need it? Or do I just want it? Or am I just making excuses and should just get over it? Or should I just buy one because I will eventually break down.

I don’t know. All I know is that I love playing guitar. I owe it all to my daughter Nicole. Just she began my addiction. And I love her for it.

PS: You’ll notice the format of my blog did NOT change — yes — I counted all the votes. And the current format won hands down.

2.23.12