Friday's Lesson

I almost ditched it.

You know how it is: you've been practicing but somehow it just doesn't seem right and you're too embarrassed to makes sounds like that if front of your teacher. The lesson was scheduled for 16:30, so around 12:30 I started trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for calling to say that I couldn't make it. Now given that I have done private lessons (in English) myself, I think that canceling a lesson a few hours before the scheduled lesson is akin to parking in the disabled spot—some people do it, but they're assholes. So, despite my fantasy excuses, there was never really any possibility that I wasn't going to show up. Even though the Netherlands and Brazil were battling it out for a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals . . .

Of course, it was a great lesson. The first "real" one. The other real one was meant to give him the once-over as an instructor (and vice versa) before deciding if I really wanted to make a commitment to continue working with him. So, yesterday was for real. The commitment had been made. As for the lesson itself, one of the most important things that came out of it was pretty simple:

I had been doing it incorrectly.

Only great teachers can make you not feel stupid, when in fact you truly are. For the past week, I had been going about my "Dust in the Wind" duties in the wrong way. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, that the "right" way made a world of difference. Gernot just smiled (Zen Guitar teacher that he is) and acted like what I had been doing was a perfectly normal mistake. He then reminded me of what I was supposed to be doing and we went on from there. So now I have the rest of the chords that comprise this song and can sort of play it through to the end. Hallelujah! 

I also started using a capo, which was suggested by Black Betty and Gernot. I have to say though, that the one Gernot has (and let me test on my guitar) sounds a lot better than the plastic one I have. Hmmmm . . . Perhaps an investment is in order here. 

In any case, the moral of the story is: "Don't skip a lesson with a Zen Guitar teacher because you think you sound like crap; nothing is as bad as it seems."