Blogs are dead

Blogging is the ham radio of the Internet. I blog as a journal for my guitar lessons and playing. I don't expect anyone to read it. Twitter is too short and Facebook too scattered. Blogs are more like classic texts or journals. Still, they are dying out.

this week's lesson

so, my guitar teacher broke a bone in his wrist.  His arm was in a sling and he didn't play.  He helped me through the Spanish piece I'm working on.  So still had a good lesson.  Poor guy!

no lesson this week

my guitar teacher called in with a hand injury, so there was no lesson this week.
I looked at my Kenny Sultan book and found a very interesting ragtime guitar piece, with a VI II V I format.  ooh!  looks cool!  something besides I IV V.  Maybe ragtime guitar can be something I will learn.

who remembers Kendall?

yeah, the guitar playing guy in the union back in the 80s.  He worked for the railroad.  great guitar player -- instrumentalist.  He had a cool tuner with a dial and needle.  He played blues stuff, I suppose, or folk stuff.  I wanna be like that, playing wise.  Just sit back and play instrumentals.  Kendall. 

meet Pullman Greenlake

that's my updated blues persona.... Pullman Greenlake.  It includes the three major locations in my life.  He's back, by the way, now that I'm doing acoustic style blues.  I told my guitar teacher today about my blues stuff, and showed him what I can play.   He was in a good mood.  we're dropping the three songs from the last few weeks, and now I'm working on a one page Spanish folk piece -- very famous, you'd recognize it if you heard it.  I'll get the name later.

updated song list

OK, here's my list so far:

Spike Driver's Blues -- Mississippi John Hurt (MJH)
Make Me a Pallet -- MJH
M&O Blues -- Willie Brown (still working on it)
32-20 Blues -- Robert Johnson
Black Rat Swing -- Memphis Minnie 
January Thaw -- me (in G)
Wild Wind Blow -- me, still in development (in E)


instrumental versions only!



The ideal form will be head-head-improv-head.  So I gotta work on improvs for all these(except Jan. Thaw).  



My versions are not always accurate.  I simplify and change as needed to fit my abilities.  

new book of songs

the book is "blues guitar legends in the styles of ......(list of names)" by Kenny Sultan.  Great book!

this week's lesson went OK

so the guitar teacher was in a better mood this week.  We worked on the three pieces without tension.  I was reserved but polite.  I told him I'm not interested in a duet, which one of the pieces is, but I'll learn one part of it. 

Still this will be my last semester of lessons.  Today I bought a book of acoustic blues songs, interpreted and reworked by Kenny Sultan.  They are right at my level.  Not accurate transcriptions, but pieces based on classic Delta and Piedmont blues, among other sub-genres.  All in standard tuning, too.  A lot of delta blues are in open tunings -- I don't want to go there yet.