• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • Archive
  • DC Guides
    • DC New 52
    • DC Events
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
  • Marvel Guides
    • Omnibus & Oversize Hardcover DB
    • Marvel Events
  • Star Wars Guide
    • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
    • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
  • Valiant Guides
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / Personal / topics / essays / Or, For Short: I Play Guitar

Or, For Short: I Play Guitar

September 10, 2006 by krisis

In the midst of a lengthy conversation over dinner and several bottles of wine I got into a bit of a chat about guitar playing with our friend Geoff.

Being a relative folky (though, i think that’s a bit of a misnomer), i don’t typically venture into those sorts of discussion. Any non-rocker has surely been put in that position – one side of the conversation is about sick speed riffs and crazy gear, leaving you and your acoustic by the wayside.

Over the years I’ve learned to hold my own in those conversations – especially after my lengthy hunt for a perfect acoustic. It doesn’t matter, because Geoff is mostly of the jam-band persuasion – i don’t know that i’ve ever seen him play an electric guitar. So, in this instance i was actually fairly evenly matched (though that’s also a misnomer, since Geoff was a guitar wiz when i was just learning to read sheet music).

In any event, i was whinging about how i need to wear my wrist braces more often because all of my recent keyboard practice is making my hands and wrists a touch sore for guitar playing – a bad sign in the short term and the long term. Geoff, rightfully skeptical of my sometimes exaggerated conversational gambits, asked, “Well, just how much do you play guitar?”

I was stymied. Last summer i know it wasn’t very much because i was counting the hours. That was before i met my beautiful Breedlove, which i truly never get tired of playing. Since i received it this May i feel like i’ve hardly put it down.

I ventured a guess: “If i play at all, i play for two or three hours at a time.”

Geoff clearly thought i was exaggerating, if ever so slightly. Not a surprise, since we had just been talking about my many hours of keyboard rehearsal, and before that about our nightly Netflix habit. On those two accounts i seemed quite sure, so my estimate must be high?

The whole point of this ramble is that i’ve been paying attention since our dinner, and i actually play that much or more. It’s usually one of the first things i do when i get home, and one of the last before bed if i don’t fall asleep watching a movie. It’s probably what i do the most other than sleep and work. This weekend i very nearly put in ten hours.

You’d think that with all that time logged that i would be able to shred with the best of them, but i spend all that time alone, and most of it singing – not an environment to unlead my inner speed demon. And, if maybe i’m now playing more than i ever have before, i’m finally feeling the impact.

The other night at the keyboard i mused that songs always seem to take forever when you’re learning them – a mid-tempo five-minute version of a pop song can seem like an eternity when you’re the one suffering under its weight. I feel like that at the piano all the time, but i can’t remember the last time i felt that way playing guitar, other than maybe while trying to slowly count out the timing of a ridiculous solo.

The short of that incredibly long story? Well, for one, i wasn’t lying to Geoff. More to the point, this whole train of thought made me realize that i finally feel confident when saying “i play guitar” – no disclaimers, no exceptions. Ironic that this came almost half-a-decade after the first time i felt confident saying that i was a singer, since sometimes that’s doubtful, but i’ve arrived, nonetheless.

No related posts.

Filed Under: essays, guitar, piano

Previous Post: « Couldn’t Stop, Couldn’t Keep It
Next Post: Next Post »

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Marvel Omnibus Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Music Monday: “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” – Beyoncé, featuring Madonna’s “Vogue”
    Beyoncé' update's Madonna's "Vogue" on "Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)," a stunning interpolation that celebrates black and queer artists. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2, Episode 3 – A Bottomless Brunch: Review & Power Ranking
    RuPaul challenges the Drag Race Down Under queens to host A Bottomless Brunch lacking brunch but full of bottoms. But what about the laughs? […]
  • Drag Race France Season 1 Episode 8 – Grand Finale & Dragnifique runway power rankings
    It's Drag Race France's finale and the queens are back for a Dragnifique runway. Who brought the eleganza… and what did I think of the winner? […]
  • Canada’s Drag Race Season 3 Episode 5 – Snatch Game: Review & Power Ranking
    Canada's Drag Race brought us a Snatch Game full of surprises, as one front-runner cemented her top spot and another saw a shocking exit. […]
  • Patron’s Choice: Guide to Black Cat, Felicia Hardy
    Marvel's Felicia Hardy is more than just a catwoman! Read about her history as I debut my Guide to Black Cat collecting guide & reading order […]
  • New for Patrons: Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (2018-Present)
    As I untangled the Spider-Man collections of the past four years, I realized Peter Parker (and his clone Ben Reilly) needed a new guide page. […]
  • New for Patrons: Guide to Heroes For Hire & Villains For Hire
    This guide to Heroes For Hire (& Villains For Hire) covers the one Marvel team truly open to any member, and usually anchored by Misty Knight. […]
  • Updated: Guide to Collecting Marvel Comic Books homepage
    I've refreshed my Guide to Collecting Marvel Comic Books to make it easier than ever to browse my 100+ collecting guides and reading orders. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2, Episode 1 – Cagey Queens: Review & Power Ranking
    In "Cagey Queens," The queens of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under are challenged to find the humor in a particularly bad script for a prison show. […]
  • Drag Race France Season 1 Episode 7 – Sororité makeover challenge: Review & Power Ranking
    It's a Drag Race France makeover challenge! The final four queens proved so up to the task that they were forced into a sudden-death lip sync. […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.