But it's a good kind of pain

The tips of my fingers on my left hand are rather tender these days... but I'm definitely progressing on learning to play my Sweet Baby, my Little Martin guitar. Everybody else on the worship team loves it, too; they all had to take a turn on it today. Jeff says it has a really beautiful sound. Of course, I thought it had an exceptionally nice sound, too, but it's better coming from an actual good guitarist, y'know?

I've been working hard on learning chords, mostly; I have found that I do better when I sit down and use my ears and figure them out myself. Stratman keeps wanting to show me this or that, and it's fine, but I just seem to remember it better when I find it myself. They all get a kick out of watching me practice whenever we have a spare moment in between sets. Jeff said it reminds him of when he was 14 and learning to play.

Matt promises me that eventually my fingertips won't bleed. (ha ha)

But like I said, the pain doesn't seem so bad once I start really concentrating on the notes and the sound; I don't pay attention to it anymore.

Hopefully someday I'll actually sound decent. Stratman asked me how many chords I already know, and I told him that I know about five, but nowhere close to all of them. He snickered and said that nobody actually knows all of them... then he stopped and rolled his eyes and said, "Of course, you'll probably be the one who would..." I highly doubt it, with this late of a start, but I do intend to be able to play passably, to be able to sing and play a few worship songs when the family all gets together for reunions and stuff like that. It's easier to haul around an acoustic guitar than a keyboard.

Here's a pic I found on the web showing the size difference between a Little Martin and a full-sized Martin:


It's not ukelele-sized or anything that small, but it's definitely smaller. I love it. And if I ever do decide it's time to grow up, I'd like to get a regular Martin; I love the sound and the feel. I know what a good guitar is supposed to sound like, and I don't think I'd be very happy with something that didn't have a quality sound.