Guth Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 I went through some health related issues starting a few years ago, the impacts of which took a toll on both myself as well as those that I care for and who care for me. One of the less drastic, but still notable impacts of my experience was that I lost almost all interest in many of the things that I have been passionate about for most of my life, including playing guitar. Well I've been picking the guitar up more and more often recently as it has become somewhat therapeutic again for the first time in a long time. I even started working on creating a new tune for the first time in ages. The long layoff sure did not do my playing any favors, but I'm still having a good time with it. I tracked down my little Sony digital recorder that I used to record everything I did previously. Upon examining the recorder I realized that I had left the batteries in it before I put it away the last time, something that I've been very good at avoiding in the past. It was bad and I was really disappointed in myself, but what can you really do other than try to clean it up? It took me quite a while but I did finally to get everything cleaned up and working once again. That's when my second challenge hit me. I could not remember very much about how I actually used this device or how I got my tracks into my laptop and out to the Internet to share. Since I'm nowhere close to having anything ready to record yet at this point, I decided to see what I had left in the recorder's built-in memory (a lot it would appear). I'm going to delete most of what I saved. However, instead of waiting until I had something worth recording I figured that I would see if I could get one of these old recordings transferred to my macbook, converted to a compressed file format and posted up to my website. I ran into a few problems. Some due to the knowledge I'd long forgotten and some due to software discrepancies. But in the end I did manage to succeed. With that in mind, I'm just going to call this my Archive Project. Whether this is the only thing I find worth sharing or if there will be more I can't say. This particular recording was the very first one that I pulled up (folder 01, recording 01). To be honest I can't even remember how to play most of this tune any longer, just like so many other old tunes of my own creation it seems. I might be able to again some day, but I definitely fall into that class of person that if I don't use it, I lose it. As is often the case when recording myself, I couldn't make it all the way though without flubbing it. But what the heck, at this point I'll consider it to be documentary in nature and move on. I don't know if I'll find anything else that might be worth sharing. Hopefully I am able to finish up the new tune soon enough — again, the reason for digging the recorder out in the first place. But since I've been cooped up in the house for so long now I don't mind projects like this as it is helping me to pass the time, so I'll keep digging through the recorder's memory to see what all I can get rid of and what else might be worth sharing to help you all pass a bit more time yourselves. With that in mind, here is archive piece 1 (like most anything I do, this is short, but if you manage to make it all the way through it will help you pass another 2 minutes and 29 seconds of your day): J45TVarchives01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Nice playing G, glad to hear your getting back at it - keep em coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Nice, man. Reminds me of Leo Kotke. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Really nice, Guth. Glad you are back to playing. Keep those recordings coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Sweet! That was very enjoyable. I hope you're able to find some other lost gems to post for us. Hope your health situation is improving. We're all thinking of you. Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 Here's another one. This is a tune written by the man who taught me how to fingerpick 3 1/2 decades ago. His name is Michael Brill and finding this recording caused me to do some searching to find that he is still making music and performing in the mountains of Colorado. I owe a lot of my guitar-related happiness to this man. I was playing this song by memory, the original much better than what I pulled off here. I also played this at a tempo much faster than intended (a result of my nervousness while playing and a constant battle for me). Anyway, this has turned out to be a nice way to pass some time and get my mind off of the heaviness of the world at this point in time. Mike Brill Tune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Red 333 said: Hope your health situation is improving. We're all thinking of you. Red 333 Thanks Red. I should be clear that I am doing good now — better than I've been in many years. I only really wanted to explain my absence from playing and the impact life can have on our creative outlets. All the best, Guth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Good job, keep at it, best wishes on your return! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Great to hear it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/22/2020 at 1:33 AM, Guth said: ... With that in mind, here is archive piece... J45TVarchives01 That's a good one! I like that tempo! I wanted to break out a washboard or something 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Cougar said: That's a good one! I like that tempo! I wanted to break out a washboard or something 😄 That’s cool, I’m good with washboards — very rootsy! Unfortunately the second tune that I posted also calls out for a washboard by the time I finished with it. In it’s tempo as conceived, tides caressing the sands of the beach would have been much more fitting. Maybe that second tune in it’s intended tempo would be another good project for me to focus on this year — provided that I can actually manage to recall how to play it once again that is. Edited March 24, 2020 by Guth Formatting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Oh man, I wish I could play like that. Super! Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Lars68 said: Oh man, I wish I could play like that. Super! Heh, I wish I could too — the extended time away from playing has definitely taken its toll on my skills. Thanks for the kind words just the same. I fully understand that my situation was completely different than what many are going through at the moment. However, if any of you currently find yourselves in a situation where you are simply wanting to spend some time playing guitar but are unable to do so for whatever reason (at a time when it would likely have a needed calming effect), know that you have my sympathies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Thats really lovelly Guth. I do recall hearing a couple of your tracks some 8 years ago that I really loved. It really inspired me to start my journey with fingerpicking. This is a lovelly reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Nice playing! It's amazing, in hindsight, just how timely a good hobby can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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