Guitar Lessons

In the infinite wisdom of family, my children each received a guitar for Christmas. Not from me, of course. I did of course subtly hint about one of my presents needing to be earplugs. No such present under my Christmas tree though.

Though he received an acoustic guitar for Christmas, my son wants an electric guitar. He’s even searched online to find exactly which one he wants. I can’t say he hasn’t been persistent. He has always been the child that is only pleased with exactly what he wants. Since the only thing that seems to be a permanent form of entertainment in his life has been video games, it’s understandable that I’m not rushing out to buy this electric guitar and that big box of ear plugs they should throw in as a gift with purchase.

Under duress, I did make the agreement with him that if he learned how to play the acoustic guitar that was his present (i.e. free) before his birthday in July, I would buy the electric guitar as his birthday present. He’s taken to strumming the guitar at any time of the day it catches his attention.

So of course, wanting to be the good mother, I decided he’d probably need some lessons if he were to learn to play. (The bad side’s first thought was that the ear plugs would be unnecessary if I just sat by quietly and let July pass by.)

At this point in the story, I should probably confess to having purchased my own guitar last year as it was supposed to be one of my experiences. I never had the time to learn though so it sat in its case. I figured if my son was going to learn, I might as well pull my guitar out and try and see if I have any musical ability since my brief stint in middle school band.

My friend Donna’s husband plays the guitar and is in a band so I figured we’d start there to see how serious Andrew was. We were in luck though because Donna’s stepson, who teaches music, was at the guitar lesson and ended up giving Andrew his beginning instructions.

As I watched Andrew attempt to follow their instructions, I was struck with the quietness he approached it. I actually expected him to say he didn’t want to do it anymore at any moment during the lesson. He doesn’t like people, especially people he doesn’t know, telling him what to do. Like every other kid, he thinks he already knows everything. From his expression I could tell he wasn’t happy about any of it, but he remained quiet, attempting whatever note they taught him to strum.
I helped my daughter attempt the chords, but once she’d strummed it once she was content to go back to strumming whatever chord she felt like. As far as my learning the guitar, what I learned is that it’s another one of those tasks that swallows chunks of time I don’t have right now. There’s a book to write, Spanish to learn, and a copyeditor’s certification to complete. I wanted it as something I could do just to relax from all the things I’m trying to accomplish. The relaxation would probably come after the learning part. My lesson was pacing. I need to learn to pace myself this year.

The verdict is still out on Andrew. I did find him practicing today. I may have to buy an electric guitar after all. I won’t forget to buy those ear plugs.