We all go through the roller coaster of ups and downs during our musical learning journey, especially when we start later in life. We use different techniques to get us up and running again, but there is something special about encouragement and inspiration deciding to knock on your door unexpectedly.
It’s been a long time since I visited TR, but I think this quick story is worth sharing here. I recently received a ‘Jazz Guitar Unleashed’ package I had ordered. I do admit the guitar is my primary instrument and the bass plays a supplementary role, but I hope you won’t hold it against me. The same day I had two special guests at my place; a recently married couple of musicians from New York visiting Toronto. It was a big surprise for me.
Here’s the special part though. Twenty-eight years ago, an eight year old boy came with his father from Hamburg, Germany to spend the summer vacation cycling around Toronto area. The father would see a potential bike racer in him, but here’s the deal.
He told me that during that three week vacation I had given him access to my tapes. He could listen freely to everything I had, especially, the Beatles discography. He later ditched the bike and picked up the guitar. He went on to become a musician. Today he runs his own label, has a band, plays bass, has put out a couple of albums, and recently got married to a great singer and fiddler of Irish background. Now I’m looking forward to meeting the whole band. This story has really touched my heart.
We shared some great musical moments, and I got exposed to traditional Irish repertoire. He insisted on listening to my recordings and actually liked them. So did his wife. I could tell they were more than just being courteous. I’m always self-conscious and very critical about my technical skills, but important as they are, so is making music no matter what level you are at.
This grown-up man normally doesn’t play a 5-stringer, but he quickly adjusted to my Carvin B25. I was surprised to hear that he was thinking of building his own 2-stringer, but we only discussed it very briefly. The picture shows these two great working musicians Tom & Liz at my place, while on a short vacation in Canada.
And if you feel like checking their official video, here it is also. Don’t let the first 50 seconds scare you away. Tom is on bass, Liz on the keyboard, and both do vocals. By the way, do me a favour, will you? Like ‘em on Facebook, if you do like ‘em.
https://www.facebook.com/frogbellyandsymphony
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