Kicking it up a notch or two

I'm a musician that needs a challenge or two to get my rocks off. I pretty much thrive on creative challenges whether in music or in other aspects in life. When I can't seem to get it musically, I find it in other areas. One aspect of creativity in my life has to do with woodworking. It's still something where I can learn from my previous works. I'm not saying that I can't learn anything new from music but after 5.5+ decades of being a musician, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of new creative ideas any more in any of the genres let alone jazz that has kept me challenged for most of my musician career.

I have no idea where this creative form of woodworking came to me from. I built some cabinet speakers for my guitar amp way back when I was a teen ager. I did get involved with remodeling in the 80's and about 5 yrs ago built a toy box for my grandson. But, nothing was ever so intriguing and fun to do until an elderly neighbor lady asked me to build her a simple bird house. When I was finished with it a few hours later, I told her that I would build her something a little more elaborate when I had a chance. After that everything just seemed to fall in place as I built one complicated bird house and then another. Before I knew it I had built about a dozen, each being more complex than the previous one. I had learned something new and had the balls to try something different when something didn't workout the first time. That's the way I learned to play jazz. When one thing doesn't work, you try something different until you find something that works. Anyway, those few bird houses got me started in building outdoor furniture which became another source for creativity.

When I was a re-modeler I learned to go with the flow. There were times when a job would be so difficult and to get things done, I had to fight my way thru because, things just didn't workout as it was supposed to according to the plans given to me. I learned to listen to the house because it would tell me what it needed and how to do it. Using that idea, the jobs went much easier and the job came out better than the original plan. In music, I began using the same idea, letting the music lead me in the direction it wanted to go. To do that, you need to listen to it, no...I mean really listen to it closely. Listen to the chord structure and the melody and then let it take you where it wants to go. Don't fight it. It's just not worth the effort and it'll sound like crap.

Ever wonder what a bird house would look like that cost over $2,000.00? I built one for a friend of mine which would go for about $2,400.00. Yeah, it's definitely an art form and if I was being paid by the hour for my efforts like in a real job, I would still only make under $12.00 an hour. The, and we'll call it a miniature, work began on April 1st and was completed April 27. That's 27 straight days of work between 8-10 hrs a day continuously only taking bathroom breaks and lunch. Power tools would perhaps make the job a bit faster but there were so many small cuts involved that power tools were pretty much useless. Everything had to be cut by hand, either a hand saw (mini) and/or a utility knife. The wood in question was cedar. I love the look of cedar and it handles weather better than most woods..

After I built the basic box, I could now add the rest of the components of the house. You see, it was pretty cut up. It was not a typical box house. I glued strips of wood (cedar) over the 3/4" wood to create a siding look and then painted it.  When I got to the roof, I decided to frame it out using wood strips I had cut for it with a utility knife. The roof sheathing I used was lauan. Lauan is a 3/16th" plywood that withstands weather pretty well also. Mostly it's used for a flooring underlayment. I used it because it was light enough and easy to cut with a utility knife. All pieces were glued using a waterproof white outdoor glue. When it came to shingling the roof, I made my own. There are many other factors also involved in building a $2,400.00 miniature which I won't reveal at this time but I assure you that the completed miniature/bird house is pretty f'in cool. Here's some pics that don't do justice to it but does show how cool it really is.

here I am with the  miniature

this shows the front of the house in an outdoor setting. notice the brick look. the green stuff is grass

side view

here's the back with a cedar deck and a screened in room

 you can see here how I laid out the roof with different length wood strips glued together

Mae or my mistress

The closer I got to her, the more I began to tremble. I hadn't seen her in months as I had been cheating on her and just wanted to re-connect. The first time I saw her was back in 1967. She was a natural blonde with curves to die for. But, she belonged to my best friend. Her name was Mae. I couldn't keep my mind off her. I dreamed about her night and day.

It wasn't until a couple of years later that my best friend went to fight in Nam. He asked me to take care of Mae while he was in the army. It was my chance to be with her for the next few years and wasted no time trying to please her. I took her to my place where we could get better acquainted. It wasn't long until I learned to push the right buttons and excite her to make some pleasurable sounds. Oh there were many buttons.  I played with her knobs twisting and turning them to the right and left and got her just where I wanted her. It was a combination of things that really got her going. She was now mine for life. We had many years of great memories and traveled together.

Not too long ago, I began cheating on her, not because she got too old or didn't interest me any longer, it was due to my own inadequacies. I was simply getting old and pleasuring her became much more challenging. I needed something less complex and less demanding to fulfill my own needs.

My mistress had a few curves also and made some sweet sounds after pushing some of her buttons but she was cold. It would take me sometime to get her to warm up. As I placed my lips on her, she felt cold and clammy like a stainless steel counter-top or a sink. She had no knobs for me to play with and only 3 buttons that got her excited enough to make her squeal with pleasure. But when she did, oh the sounds were so sweet. She became more demanding as time went on where even my lips would get tired from her. There were times where I didn't want to go near her because she was just too much work. She was one of those high maintenance broads that we could do less of. But, I learned to accept her the way she is and decided to keep her anyway.

As for Mae, there's always that special bond I have for her. I dream and think about her often. No she wasn't my first, but she was the one that gave me the most pleasure just to be around her let alone playing her.

So I finally got enough nerve to take Mae into my arms, push some buttons, turn a few knobs and find out she needed some new strings. They were wore out and out of tune. Of course I'm talking about my guitar, Mae=maple. The guitar is made of maple with a natural finish.  As for my mistress? My flugelhorn of course. Who or what did you think I was talking about?

It's never too late

to learn to play a musical instrument. Granted, after a certain age when arthritis sets in,playing an instrument that requires dexterity with all ten fingers may slow you down. You probably won't become a professional but who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I know plenty of older folks who has just recently begun learning to play. Focusing on a new venture in music will certainly keep your mind alert and that bad Alzheimer's far away. Music alone is challenging enough with all those staves, clefs, time signatures, key signatures and not to mention all those notes where you need to use math, let alone learning fingerings, breath control, tonguing and what ever else is involved with specific instruments. Yup, learning to play is definitely a way to go at any age. It even makes you smarter, so I've been told and experienced.

Yeah, I learned to play the accordion at an early age, but I wasn't any good at it. Like any instrument, one needs to learn to focus on the important aspects of learning instead of just trying to make noise, thinking that one is actually accomplishing something. My problem was that I just couldn't focus on anything. There was a lot of other things going on in my head as I was learning the accordion. Several concussions didn't help the matter and hindered my learning process for years.

At 17, I wanted to play the guitar and forced myself to focus on the important aspects of guitar playing but never really go serious with it so after a few years I gave it up. Music college helped me to understand my problems with learning in general. Learning to play other instruments in college helped me  focus on what is most important when sitting down to a practice session. From there I became a music educator and a clinician. I also played other keys like piano and organ professionally and traveled extensively doing gigs and clinics.

When I turned 50, my mind just changed. All I wanted was more input. It was as if I had this great thirst for knowledge which I lacked during my younger days had dominated my life. I wanted to learn stuff I never would have imagined doing as a kid. Around the age of 55-56 I decide that it was time to get back to my guitar. This time it was different. Although I still had some focus issues, I managed to sit down and do very well on the guitar. Here I am at 65 and am learning to play the flugelhorn. Yes, the arthritis is problematic but not as bad as it is on the guitar and keys. I still play them all as the arthritis allows. I also focus on other endeavors when the fingers ache so bad and can't move them as fast.

My point is that focusing on the key aspects of learning any musical instrument can be very rewarding. You may not become as good as me but you will enjoy the ride irregardless. Take a listen to the tune called " a mile high", I play keys, guitar and flugelhorn. I had to use a shallow cup mouthpiece to get the high notes on the flugelhorn.

Am I just wasting my time?

Is what people ask me often these days. Obviously they are asking me about their own endeavors. In the past 57 years as a musician and a multi instrumentalist for about 40 the thought of wasting my time has never come to mind.

Learning to play a new musical instrument is a huge challenge and I've always looked at it straight on with the intent of beating it. I love a good challenge whether it be a musical one or something in my life such as a project of some sort. I remember not too long ago, 2005, I decided to pick up the guitar. Up-to this point my main instrument were keys. I locked myself into a room for 9 months and practiced 6-8 hours daily. When I learned to play adequately enough, I came out.

How did I do it? I made myself goals; daily, weekly, monthly and a six week one (short, intermediate and long term) and followed it. Most young players getting ready for a practice session have no agenda. They just begin playing, hoping for a miracle. I on the other hand had a plan for each session and stuck to it. I didn't just play around practicing what I already knew. Although every day had a review time of my previous sessions. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour reviewing. Next, I spent another 30 minutes working on scales and another 30 on chords. Now after about an hour and a half to two hours, I was ready to learn to play to an accompaniment track and try to put what I had learned into practice. I used Band In A Box for my accompaniment tracks. Back then it was all midi unlike these days where audio tracks are used. I played my scales along to the accompaniment and then worked on improvisation. Before I knew it, six-eight hours have passed and I was pumped looking forward to my next session. My sessions didn't all go very smooth and there were times when I had to re-think and try a different approach.

The point is that I was never discouraged or frustrated because I wasn't moving forward. Every day was a new fun learning experience. So the next time you get frustrated because you are not moving forward like you want, maybe, you better look closer at your practice session to find the answer.