Thanksgiving Thread: What Guitar-Related Things Are You Grateful for this Year?

I'm thankful that I'm still playing daily after almost 35 years and for the arrival this fall of my NOS Gibson L-00 Vintage.

[Charmed Life Picks]

These are really great to read. Thanks so much for sharing all these.

Happiest of Holidays,

Scott Memmer

[Pitar]

My hands and desire to use them for making music.

[jricc]

Grateful for my wife who endures my obsession with music/guitars, and doesn't question my purchases.
Happy Thanksgiving to all at AGF

[62&climbing]

I am grateful that I learned to play chords. I might know a dozen or so chords. And I have tried to teach my self some picking. You know, form a chord with left hand, hit root and alternate the bottom strings-ish kind of thing. Just aint coordinated enough... yet. But whatever drove me to learn the chords, aint there to drive me to do picking.

I think I recently had a revelation as to why that is. Being able to strum chords, allows me to put together a song from the poems I write. And I think that at least for now, that is what I ultimately want to do. Write songs. Its kind of one of them “It’s in there and it’s got to come out” type of things. Too many years working as an engineer musta kept it all pent up inside?

What I have yet to fully understand, other than the “gotta come out” part, is why I am writing these. I mean, I am the primary listener. Sometimes my missus will get a listen or I might break one out at the family reunion once a year. But mainly they stay lodged in my man cave or stored in my computer. I really have no urge to get published or to get someone sing them professionally or whatever the terminology is. They are just for me mostly. And some of them are just spoof songs making fun of things and some are kind of serious.

But back to trying to answer the original question: I am grateful to be able to strum enough to write these songs and satisfy whatever that urge is.

And as some of you other did, I am also very, VERY grateful for my family. Kids, grandkids, my missus, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and the grandparents that had the courage to come to America originally, with little in thier pockets and forge a life the hard way to allow me to have the easy life that I’ve had. I think about that a lot. Probly there is a song in there somewheres... It’ll have to rattle around a while before it comes out.

[62&climbing]

As usual, I am reading backwards through these replies to the original question. And JSeth said, “Writing songs to illuminate my experience of this world and sharing them with people.”

I dont know if that is why I am writing songs and stuff... but I really like that statement. I need to chew the cud on that one for a while to fully get it. But it is said brilliantly. Wish I was smart enough to to come up with that. Thank you.

[FLRon]

I am thankful to have had the privilege of learning to play guitar,and even though my skills are only basic they are good enough at this stage of my life. Being able to find practically any song on the web has made learning new ones so much easier and I'm grateful for that.

I have no desire to own any more new guitars and will soon be down to the remaining two that will eventually be passed on to my family to do with as they please.

Guitar life is good.

[PetesaHut]

Originally Posted by JTFoote

I have a lot to be thankful for, too!

I had the urge this year to do something musical that I hadn't attempted in a long time, which was to sit down, grab my favorite guitar (an older Gallagher dread, which I adore), put my nose to the grindstone, and write songs again. Life had become awfully, terminally blah; work, sleep, eat, pay bills, cruise the 'Net, watch the boob tube. Rinse and Repeat.

I have a good friend who was in a similar rut, except that he was retired, and had even less to do than I did. He is also musically inclined, but he hadn't played in a long time.

The fact is, our wives, who were the best of friends, had both passed within the last few years, and we were both just going through the motions of living, without giving it much thought. The daily blur. The only times I could remember feeling kinda upbeat was when he would come over to the house and visit, which was, unfortunately, infrequent. We would have real, intelligent conversations, about all sorts of things, and I looked forward to those days. Apparently, he did, too.

I finally decided to get off my doofus and ask him if he'd like to consider being my songwriting partner. Every day that I would be off work, we'd hang out and stretch ourselves to write the best songs we could about our families, friends, viewpoints and life experiences. Excepting for illness, we'd be absolutely consistent about it. No excuses, no begging off. A serious committment, one that would require leaving our egos at the door and learning to work together.

We started in late June, and have written 22 songs, thus far. This coming week, we are going to a studio in Nashville to record our first single. We won a half-price off recording contest, and both of us are really excited about the upcoming experience.

Doing this has changed everything. Everything. We may be older guys, but with a difference - now we're co-songwriters, exploring and learning something new every week, from software mixing and production, to pouring out the melodies and riffs and the rhythms of our lives. So I'm thankful for finding a purpose, being part of a team, and having actual goals and dreams again, instead of just waiting around for a heart attack, or a stroke, or something equally distasteful to end my days. We're new men! Old dogs pickin' and grinnin'.

Next ... 2020 songwriting contests and open-mic nights. We're not too pretty, but hey, we sound pretty good, and I am really stoked about the quality of the songs we have written. Hopefully, next year, we'll have to enough material to sort though for an album. Am I grateful for these wide open possibilities? You know it!

... JT

It sounds like you guys have a new purpose in life, we all need a purpose.

Maybe a youtube video when you are ready,? Good luck and happiness.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by jseth

I was just thinking about how grateful I am to have Music in my life; in my heart and mind and body...

Lots of statements in this thread that I can echo. Of course I too have a family's forbearance to be thankful for, and a level of aging that I can observe which only makes me press on more quickly to use what I have left.

There's my son, who as I once did, wants to haphazardly explore his instrument.

And then there's my musical partner of 40 years who has his own age-related ills that he and I work to get around.

A couple of things JSeth said resonated particularly. So much musical equipment is available in such a broad variety: instruments, recording hardware, software. These things are so good, and often affordable to my modest budget. This was not always so, but it's wonderful, and I'm lucky to have that modest budget and those tools to use.

And for myself, I too (like JSeth) have been blessed to have the time and some resources to work with the words of dozens of poets and writers and to combine those words with music mostly of my own devising. Often it's not a song as such (though sometimes it is), but it's been hugely satisfying to me.

[stormin1155]

Several years ago a pain started in my upper back, and over the course of the next couple of weeks extended down my right arm. Then, almost overnight, my right hand stopped working. I was able to clench my fist but couldn't extend my hand, and had less than 10% of my normal strength.

I had spinal surgery to relieve a pinched nerve. Recovery has been slow. For several years, fingerstyle playing was impossible, and I had to tape or glue a pick to my fingers in order to hang on to it. I'm still not at full strength or functioning, but I can play fingerstyle again, and in fact, it is really good therapy. So I am thankful for what I can do, and that music and playing guitar is still part of my life.

I'm also thankful for a wife that supports my guitar habit. We have this understanding... I don't give her a hard time about her clothes, handbags, and shoes, and she doesn't bother me about guitars. A couple of months ago she got me a Martin D-41.

[StandardTuning]

My 14 year old picked up a guitar 1 1/2 years ago and never put it down. Last summer I realized he wasn’t going to ask me to throw a ball around in the backyard with him but he did want me to jam with him. Now was the time for me to get back in the game; I had not seriously played in 30+ years.

I splurged on a new Martin OM-28. The first time I played it, I was reminded how much I love to play music. I hear that sound and it makes me want to practice and try to catch up to my son’s skills. I still have a long way to go.

Like others, I have a long list of things to be thankful for. But number one on my list is the time I get to spend with my son and how we have bonded through music.

[Lockback]

Originally Posted by StandardTuning

My 14 year old picked up a guitar 1 1/2 years ago and never put it down. Last summer I realized he wasn’t going to ask me to throw a ball around in the backyard with him but he did want me to jam with him. Now was the time for me to get back in the game; I had not seriously played in 30+ years.

I splurged on a new Martin OM-28. The first time I played it, I was reminded how much I love to play music. I hear that sound and it makes me want to practice and try to catch up to my son’s skills. I still have a long way to go.

Like others, I have a long list of things to be thankful for. But number one on my list is the time I get to spend with my son and how we have bonded through music.

That is an absolutely wonderful story.
Way cool. Congrats!

[Ben M.]

I've got so many things to be grateful for just thinking about listing them makes my head hurt so I'll just say this:

I've been on this forum a very short time but it's already clear to me there are a ton of great people here who genuinely care about each other.
I'm very grateful to all of you and to the folks who keep the wheels rolling.
Happy holidays to everyone!

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by StandardTuning

My 14 year old picked up a guitar 1 1/2 years ago and never put it down. Last summer I realized he wasn’t going to ask me to throw a ball around in the backyard with him but he did want me to jam with him. Now was the time for me to get back in the game; I had not seriously played in 30+ years.

I splurged on a new Martin OM-28. The first time I played it, I was reminded how much I love to play music. I hear that sound and it makes me want to practice and try to catch up to my son’s skills. I still have a long way to go.

Like others, I have a long list of things to be thankful for. But number one on my list is the time I get to spend with my son and how we have bonded through music.

Of all the posts on all the webs this one is my favorite.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

These are really great to read. Thanks so much for sharing all these.

Happiest of Holidays,

Scott Memmer

I agree Scott. Thanks for starting this thread.

I too am thankful for many of the same things that others posted: the enjoyment and fun that playing music brings, friends to play it with, a wife that supports me and the opportunities to learn and bless others.

We have much to be thankful for!