I have now been playing the guitar for 45 years. It all started out innocently enough when my family moved to a new neighborhood and I met a girl my age who played the guitar. I was immediately enchanted with it and I loved that we could sit outside on her porch and sing and play. At the time, I played drums in my high school band and I was aware that the whole neighborhood could hear me practicing on my drum set. The guitar appealed to me because I could go in my room and shut the door and create a whole world of music in privacy. I loved that it was a rhythmic instrument that playcd melody too. In short, I was hooked.
Over the years, I went through many phases. The longest and most influential phase was when I studied the classical guitar. I studied for 7 years in Chicago with a private teacher. In the photo above on top is the first classical guitar book I ever had in 1981. From there I grew to love Bach and Andrew York and Carlvaro and Bogdonovich and all sorts of guitar composers. I traveled to Germany one summer to a Classical Guitar Festival and enjoyed going to the Guitar Foundation of America in Charleston, SC one year.
All of this came up because I am getting ready to move in the fall and so it is time to look at some of the things I have been carrying with me on my shelves all these years. I have never wanted to throw these books pictured above away, but it is true, I no longer use them.
However, I found a music school in SC that will use them in their music library! I am very happy that my sentimental memories will be enjoyed by more people.
Thanks for the memories!
