Borya sets a trap for me
Borya asks: Actually I start wondering if u play guitar and in case that not, why not?!
After two days of thinking the question over, I’ll try to answer. As long as I’ve actively listened to music I’ve been drawn to the guitar. More than just listening to music with guitars in it, but music built around the guitar. I grew tired of music with lyrics. I felt there was more to the experience than listening to someone else’s story with no room for my own thoughts and feelings.
I tried learning to play guitar when I was younger. The lessons failed miserably. The student and teacher were a horrible match. I had no interest in learning folk music and the teacher knew no other style. I accepted the failure and went back to my role as the listener. Peeling away the spoken word and looking for the voice of the guitar.
My first reward in instrumental guitar came from the appearance of Joe Satriani in the mid to late 1980’s. The first song I heard on the radio was The Crush of Love. That song made me pull my car over and just sit and listen. To me, this was what music should be. The guitar as the voice. Sure the music can be described as hard but when you look inside, it’s amazing. It’s not just volume and noise. Somebody is thinking when these pieces are composed.
When I made my move to the desert southwest, I felt I should explore the culture a bit. What caught my imagination was the mystical image of the open desert. A lone figure in the distance and the sound of Spanish guitar. Oh, and some tequila too. The concept of flamenco music was pretty vague for someone who grew up in the area I did. I knew what it was in general but had no real understanding. I tried a few CD’s blindly, just to test the music out. These tests failed miserably. Still, I held hope that there was a flamenco match for me somewhere. It didn’t have to be traditional flamenco. Maybe something that held some of the elements. If I only knew then what was waiting for me.
So, after I was hit with the musical avalanche that is Ottmar Liebert, my view of music intensified again. Changing and growing as it should. I thought maybe I would try guitar lessons once more. A friend loaned me a spare acoustic and I played around with it. In the end, it never felt like I was on the right side of the experience. For me, I truly believe I am the listener. As Ottmar himself has said, the relationship between the musician and the audience is a symbiotic one. I’m just doing my part.
After two days of thinking the question over, I’ll try to answer. As long as I’ve actively listened to music I’ve been drawn to the guitar. More than just listening to music with guitars in it, but music built around the guitar. I grew tired of music with lyrics. I felt there was more to the experience than listening to someone else’s story with no room for my own thoughts and feelings.
I tried learning to play guitar when I was younger. The lessons failed miserably. The student and teacher were a horrible match. I had no interest in learning folk music and the teacher knew no other style. I accepted the failure and went back to my role as the listener. Peeling away the spoken word and looking for the voice of the guitar.
My first reward in instrumental guitar came from the appearance of Joe Satriani in the mid to late 1980’s. The first song I heard on the radio was The Crush of Love. That song made me pull my car over and just sit and listen. To me, this was what music should be. The guitar as the voice. Sure the music can be described as hard but when you look inside, it’s amazing. It’s not just volume and noise. Somebody is thinking when these pieces are composed.
When I made my move to the desert southwest, I felt I should explore the culture a bit. What caught my imagination was the mystical image of the open desert. A lone figure in the distance and the sound of Spanish guitar. Oh, and some tequila too. The concept of flamenco music was pretty vague for someone who grew up in the area I did. I knew what it was in general but had no real understanding. I tried a few CD’s blindly, just to test the music out. These tests failed miserably. Still, I held hope that there was a flamenco match for me somewhere. It didn’t have to be traditional flamenco. Maybe something that held some of the elements. If I only knew then what was waiting for me.
So, after I was hit with the musical avalanche that is Ottmar Liebert, my view of music intensified again. Changing and growing as it should. I thought maybe I would try guitar lessons once more. A friend loaned me a spare acoustic and I played around with it. In the end, it never felt like I was on the right side of the experience. For me, I truly believe I am the listener. As Ottmar himself has said, the relationship between the musician and the audience is a symbiotic one. I’m just doing my part.
posted by MT Callahan | 6:52 PM
4 Comments:
Wow. The story of Matt Callahan in a nutshell. Very nice. A post I'll be re-reading ;)
I've said it before: you may not talk much, but boy, when you do, it's certainly worth listening to. Thanks for a wonderful story.
From all the different topics Ottmar offers to discuss (architecture, Italy, Zen, cars etc. etc.) or shows interest in it appeared to me that the pictures of his guitars, or what he mentions about his Devoes sometimes, attracted you more than others. That's why I asked. I hear what you say about playing an instrument and for a long time I shared your opinion and still do. But you know what Josie said when we sat in her car driving through Ciudad Real? "You need a Cajon" because I was tapping rhythmically all the time, hitting everything. Not that I really noticed.
Maybe after all this time you should touch the strings of a guitar again and see what it tells you...
Nice story Matt. Hey, Boris--I too have been drawn to a cajon or a dumbek. We need to start a fanmenco band!
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