Transcript included below…
In the Timothy Dalton James Bond film The Living Daylights, Bond is traveling quickly through Europe with Kara, a cellist who plays a Stradivarius. She absolutely cannot part with her instrument, even though it’s slowing them both down as they elude their pursuers.
In a moment of frustration, Bond asks, “Why didn’t you learn the violin?”
There are some big instruments out there, and the cello is one of them. Another is the electronic keyboard.
I’ve had conversations with people who play 88-key full-sized electronic keyboards. One of their biggest complaints is how heavy their instruments are to transport.
The two aforementioned instruments aren’t even among the biggest instruments out there. Some need to be brought in on wheels like marimbas, tympani or harps. Others are so big that they need to be permanently located in a church or cathedral, like an organ.
But the guitar? Ah…what a delightfully portable instrument. I’ve taken my guitar to many places, and some of them have turned out to be just a little bit unique.
Today’s episode is mostly intended to be informative and hopefully interesting, with some stories from my travels. I’ll share just a handful of places I’ve played my guitar that are out of the ordinary. I’ve got 12 locations to share with you. Here we go.
I’ll start with some watercraft.
1. The bow of a fishing boat
My father and I have enjoyed many deep-sea fishing trips up the coasts of Washington and British Columbia.
One fishing trip was long enough that it made sense for me to bring my guitar for some diligent practice. So, I’d sit or recline in the bow of the boat, working on my chord fingerings and scales. I’m glad I brought it with me, because I made progress.
2. A Ferry Boat
Near where I live, in the Puget Sound, we often take a ferry over to see relatives. After returning from a guitar seminar with Pierre Bensusan in France, I wanted to show my relatives what I had learned, so I took my guitar on the ferry.
While I was on the ferry, I decided to uncase my guitar and play a little. It wasn’t long before a roving mandolin player showed up where I was seated, and we jammed for a moment.
3. A Raft
When I was courting my wife, one day I made a picnic for the two of us, and drove us up to a mountain lake. I had packed an inflatable Zodiac raft, and in addition to the food items, I had brought a guitar.
I enjoyed playing some songs for her out on the lake. You don’t typically see a guitar in a raft on a lake, but there it was.
Ok, now that I’ve talked about watercraft, let’s come back onto land.
4. A Dock
I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with friends at a lake, and to be able to enjoy music while “sittin’ on the dock of the bay.” Yeah, you know what I mean.
There’s something restful about sitting and enjoying some guitar, along with the gentle lapping of the waves. Playing the guitar anywhere near water, especially near a bonfire on a beach, can be very soothing.
So now that we’re back on land, here are a few instances of where my guitar was with me in transit with wheels spinning beneath me.
5. A Chevy Van
On a trip to Montana for some river fly fishing (also with my Dad), I brought my guitar. Interstate 90 East was relatively straight most of the way, so I sat in the back seat of the van with my seatbelt on, working through rudiments and exercises on my guitar. Again, I was redeeming the time.
I ended up writing some really good music on that trip. Having the guitar nearby was such a blessing during those long hours of travel. And of course, I took time to connect with my father as well.
6. A Bus
On a mission trip to Mexico, a youth group I was in volunteer leadership for decided not to fly, but instead to take a bus. It took longer, but saved some money. I went as a translator, and I had my guitar for the optional worship leading opportunities in the villages where we visited for Vacation Bible School.
I also got to have the opportunity to play it for the base camp gatherings, sharing songs in front of probably two thousand people who had gathered for the evening sessions. It was really cool.
I remember traveling to Mexico, on the way south via Interstate 5. That highway is also rather straight most of the way. I sat towards the back of the bus with my guitar, learning some very technical fingerstyle guitar music by Alex DeGrassi.
One song in particular was the song “Window” in the tuning of ECEGCD – with a lot of very fast sixteenth notes. I took it slow and learned to play it. It was a good use of the time…even thought I was a little self-conscious with the youth kids listening in. I got over it, and I got better.
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
We had lunch with some friends some time ago, and I had written a blues song that I had to share with them. It had some Stanley Jordan “touch style” techniques and a tongue-in-cheek theme. I knew they’d love it.
I had my guitar with me at the restaurant where we met up, and after we paid the check, I invited them out to the parking lot where our SUV was parked. I opened the back hatch, sat down in the back, and played the song for them as they stood in the falling snow, delighted to experience an impromptu tailgate mini-concert.
8. A Shuttle Stop
Not long ago, I was waiting for a shuttle in a parking lot, because I was going to fly out from Seattle/Tacoma Airport.
The shuttle had a covered area where I sat with my suitcase and…my guitar case. I uncased my guitar while I waited, and played some original songs and worship songs that I was planning to play on my upcoming California tour dates.
Two fellow passengers arrived and sat and listened. I started to think that I was intruding on their silence, but when I went to put my guitar away, they stopped me, expressing how much they were enjoying what I was sharing. So, I kept playing.
And as it would logically follow, another location would be…
9. The Airport
After arriving at the airport and making my way through security out to the gate, I’ve often found myself with a good solid hour or more to kill.
I can save my reading for the plane. What I can’t do on the plane is play my guitar. So, I’ll often uncase my guitar, sit down on the floor, and quietly play something. I’m usually competing with a lot of intercom announcements and the hustle and bustle of travelers, so it’s typically not a distraction to anyone.
But if I’m thinking that my playing might be distracting, I’ll just strum with the fleshy part of my thumb and lean over to hear the strings softly humming. I can also make my pick articulations very soft.
It’s a great way to make use of the time, watching the planes land and take off…and occasionally, it leads to a conversation starter with a fellow musician, or someone who just enjoys music.
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
When I was a young parent, my kids sometimes took baths when they were little, and they of course needed very close supervision, but also the opportunity to splash about before getting scrubbed down.
So, I’d sometimes bring my guitar into the bathroom and sit an arm’s length away from whoever was having a bath…and I would strum some chords while closely observing my kid in the bath.
My strumming provided a bit of a soundtrack to bath time, and when I was needed, I just set my guitar down on the floor mat, and helped bathe my kid. It was a good mix of work and play.
11. Stairwells
Some hotels or school dorms have these concrete stairwells that have lots of echo in them. But here’s the thing; an echo chamber can serve as a beautiful impromptu acoustic space.
Playing a soulful fingerstyle guitar piece in one of these stairwells (as long as it’s not too cold) can actually be a really powerful experience, because it’s like a concrete cathedral. The music just doesn’t sound the same as it would in a carpeted room.
So, whether I’ve been at a hotel far from home or needing a study break at college, I’ve found opportunities to take my guitar into the stairwell and let it sing.
Last but not least…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
I’ve saved this one for last, because it was highly unexpected, but super practical.
There are lots of outdoor spaces where a guitar can find its place, especially if the weather is nice. But in this instance, it was more out of necessity.
I was pursuing a vocal performance degree in college, and part of my contribution to the music department was to sing in the concert choir. If you’ve sung in choirs, you know that there are typically four basic vocal parts – soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
I was the bass section leader. And every Tuesday, we’d have sectionals, where, for the majority of the class time, the four sections would break up and go find another large room in the music department to practice, ideally with a piano for “plunking” notes.
But this time, there was a large group of guest high schoolers on campus for an all-day workshop, so we didn’t have a place to practice.
But we still needed to have our sectional. And we didn’t have a piano or even a keyboard.
But what did we have? My guitar was fortuitously stored in my locker that day, so when I realized what the circumstances were, and what our need was, I grabbed it.
I have this clear memory of me sitting out in the seating area outside the Performing Arts Center, leading the Bass Sectional by “plunking” notes on my guitar as they sang, overlooking Bellingham Bay.
It was a unique experience and setting, and we got a lot done.
But there’s one detail about this that you may or may not have noticed. Do you know what was especially unique about what I was doing?
Think for just a moment about what you know about the guitar and where it resides in terms of music notation.
The guitar is a treble clef instrument.
Now, the notes in treble clef for the guitar are notated an octave higher than what they actually sound, so as to avoid too many ledger lines.
But let’s back up even further. Playing notes on the guitar is a rather unique approach.
For classical guitarists, it’s their bread and butter. But I was an acoustic folk guitarist. And most people who play acoustic guitar appreciate the opportunity to have chord shapes and perhaps some tablature to light the way.
The good news was that I had been investing a serious amount of time going through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method, to the tune of about 400 pages. And this particular method didn’t use tablature. At all.
In choosing this method, I subjected myself to a learning style that allowed me to become musically literate much earlier on in my guitar development, and therefore, I was ready when the need arose for me to guide that sectional.
The guitar was just loud enough to be played unplugged outside to cue notes and fragments for the basses.
The paradigm had shifted from an indoor rehearsal space with a piano to an outdoor rehearsal space with a guitar, but we redeemed the time, and after that sectional, we had made significant progress.
The added bonus was that I had taken the leap towards sight reading a treble clef instrument in bass clef. Good times.
Ok, just for fun, here are the 12 Unlikely Places to Play a Guitar, once more:
1. The bow of a fishing boat
2. A Ferry Boat
3. A Raft
4. A Dock
5. A Chevy Van
6. A Bus
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
8. A Shuttle Stop
9. The Airport
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
11. Stairwells and…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
The Big Picture
So, why has the guitar surfaced in all of these unique places?
I would say that there are two main reasons. First, music practice is important, and perhaps a necessity, and therefore, the guitar was something that needed to be within reach to facilitate progress.
Second, music is a nearly unstoppable force. I believe music is a gift from the Lord, and therefore, it has inherent mystery woven into it. Why do so many of us enjoy music so much?
Because it touches our souls.
So perhaps grabbing a guitar and playing it, regardless of the location in which we find ourselves, allows us to speak the language of music where it would otherwise be quiet.
It’s almost like striking up a conversation as we feel prompted.
So, the appearance of the guitar could be practical…or it could be artistic. Or it could be both.
But the important thing is that the guitar did indeed appear.
I’ve met folks who own guitars, but their guitars don’t make much of an appearance very often…to their chagrin. They feel this disappointment, knowing that at one time, they wanted to learn to play, but didn’t set aside time or space.
And at the same time, they feel this longing to discover the joy of music, because they’ve caught glimpses of it when listening to other people play.
Where are you on your musical journey? Do you have regrets about past seasons of not playing your guitar? Do you feel like it might be too late to start? Let me put that misconception to rest…it is never too late to learn to play something on the guitar.
Do you feel like you’re on your own, and don’t have opportunities to learn and grow, aside from the big world-wide web and the vast sea of information that’s out there? To coin a phrase, you are not alone.
But here’s how I can help you, if you see the need for some help.
I founded an online experience in 2019 that’s dedicated to helping beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists discover and cultivate their gifts for the glory of God in a community setting.
I could go into greater detail, but that description could be enough to pique your interest. If it does, I encourage you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
We’ve got members in this community who are making tremendous progress, not just practically, but musically and artistically, because they’re leaning into a proven method alongside like-minded followers of Christ who are doing the same thing.
What if you tried out what we offer? There’s a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk. I’d love to welcome you in and see how I can serve you. The added unexpected blessing is that you might also offer insights that could encourage me and the other members.
I’ll leave this with you, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more.
One other thought regarding today’s episode: have there been unlikely places where you’ve played (or watched someone else play) a guitar? Please let me know in the comments.
Thanks for listening, keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
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