Guitar Circle of Chicago

Waiting on a customer to arrive and unload their 40' beam of steel from my truck so i could move on to my next stop. So with my attention in my right foot and then moving into the left foot in continuation of an exercise from Camp Caravan, i listed these thoughts of the qualities expressed in sound through the act of playing my guitar drawing from my experience,i'm sure there is much more to qualities in music. Volume,pitch,timbre,tone,duration. Musicality,structure,phrasing,dynamics,meter,rhythm,harmony.
Connectedness to: heart,listening,knowledge,abilities, and the energy of music,self,audience, and unknown.

Offered a solo gig yesterday for September. It is these times especially i miss working with my recently relocated guitar friend.

Seven specific notes of importance carried home from the "Circle Retreat this is not a Guitar Craft Course" this past weekend at Camp Caravan. A few of these are to be passed on to the Chicago Circle. In no specific order here in brief: 1) Alexander Tech. 5 directions, 2) March of the accent on the down beat, 3) Breathe during performance, 4)Control of the bobbing motion, 5) Focus on the task in the moment, returning attention, 6) Bringing attention,opening up from the heart,& playing form the heart, 7) Bert's note exercise.

Two performances by the Chicago trio during the course. On Saturday at lunch "Sunmusic". Best described by SE after "what a rush". Sunday at breakfast "Grosderschau". With the aim of an exercise in breathing while performing. Saturday at dinner the Chicago trio performed as part of the "Vicious Circle",led by none other than "Vicious Jim".

Thoughts turn to 6 Weeks in July 2009. Probably very many mosquito bites to endure.

Yesterday some very productive gardening,meal preparation, and guitar practice. Today house cleaning, meal preparation, guitar practice, and maybe an open mike tonight at a local bar playing some Bach pieces if i don't spend to much time on the computer. Tomorrow more house cleaning, meal preparation, guitar practice, and packing. It seems the course has already began.

I am taking a vacation this week in order to do the weekend retreat near Boston with two other members of the Chicago team. The hope is that it will be a weekend of good productive work. I can say i'm truly not looking forward to it, but i know from experience i never look forward to Guitar Craft courses. They are designed to be uncomfortable, i never sleep well, i am forced to deal with my mediocrities, i am always broke financially afterwards and have to dive into the daily grind right after to keep a float with the bills. Ouch. I'm not a young man anymore and everything that goes with that. For instance age has contributed to the result that i now snore loud which leads to embarrassment if i'm to have a conscience when roommates hate you in the morning. So to put this in a positive way. The course is just what i need to tune up as a person,a musician,and to visit music. The food is usually very good,and i get to play guitar a lot. It will be a good way to focus on repertoire for the Chicago group under the guidance of experience. Even if it's only three of the five of us, and one of the three plans to be leaving soon. Still i can see that an opportunity exists for some things to come together with the Chicago team, even though we seem to be falling apart, even though we seem to be constantly beginning over,and in the constant middle with long time durations between. Life seems fairly normal for this team and i'm looking forward to where it's headed, and i'm sure their will be surprise. But i will be too broke for nose surgery to fix the snoring delimit.

I read a recent post from a former colleague guitar buddy of the Chicago team who has now been fortunate enough to relocate and participate with a well established team over time by experienced members of The League of Crafty Guitarists. He made a comment that the Chicago team tries to emulate the Tuning The Air team accompanied by his feelings of inadequacies comparing where he is to where he wants to be in his recent accomplishments. I think he pretty much missed the mark with his comment on us since we are aware of but not plugged into their work. The level of the intentions of his remark exist at where if i took the same vantage point from here i would see it like he now exists completely vicariously through their work. We all draw from the same pool of experience but we exist more towards the middle of talent in the overall Guitar Craft population. It is important to me to bring recognition to the value of integrity in the act of support for each others work. The barriers encountered in the vicissitudes of all that unfolds in what we are undertaking can be overwhelming enough. We all need help from above and below. This is evident enough in any Guitar Craft structure, circulation, or refraction of light in the creative process. Best wishes to you over there guitar buddy.

I spent the evening last night at a celebration of life for a friend whom i spent a lot of time together with when we were young men. His battle with cancer is now past. Preparing to walk out the door to depart for the funeral home a strong realization overcame me that i have just entered into another phase in this my life. Walking past photo's of my friend in his youth brought a flood of memories. As the line proceeded i arrived to his very strong wife doing as she has all her life taking care of the necessary quite honorably. The act of healing is not an easy one. She told me that we have just lost a good one. I told her that he was one of the most intelligent friends i ever had. She laughed and said that might be stretching it a little. But i know why i said it and know it's true. Being in his presence accessed a level of understanding available instantly for communication,providing new stimulating thoughts,whether in agreement or not of our personal opinion.

When returning home my girlfriend had rented Sweeney Todd,the demon barber of Fleet St. In 1978 my brother and i went to see the Broadway play in New York. The play was great, the movie ok. A night of wine and memories from decades ago.

I recently played a gig at the library as part of the "music appreciation series".I'm refering to it and future library & nursing home gigs as "music for relaxation ". The gig was rather uneventful as only about ten people were there over the whole course of the event. The Bach pieces were greatly appreciated by both people who sat and listened to them. The space was small and it was very informal and all who came into the room would set and listen to all of the piece in their entirety and then ask questions between pieces. Even though i had not invited them to ask. The questions seemed to balance the event, but at first caused a noticeable personal effort in the elements of shifting attention from playing,to talking, and with effort to playing again. Overall preparation for the gig was of more value than the gig itself. Carrying equipment by myself was a lot of work, but i get to keep all the money. I've been told that i now will have to file a W9 tax form. Still pondering if it all was worth it. For the effect the event has on of what characters who step up to represent me in presence of a level of being in the ever unfolding of time , i vote yes.

Wow,i bought a car yesterday. I know i need it, i think i like it, i might be able to afford it, and i now do not need to rent cars to drive to Chicago,but i see it as a giant succubus being in the way of what truly resonates happiness for me. And the evil bastards drug the process out to about 5 hours even after i promised my life away to pay them thousands of dollars. Horrible stress pain makes my head ache as i listen to the shit spew from a way to happy vulture,who touches my shoulder way to many times, shakes my hand way to many times,and keeps dicking around making me very suspicious. I keep telling myself i got a good deal. Even by Consumer Reports standards.My ass hurts!

Phone call message this morning from my overly happy, fuck you up for life new buddy. How's the car? I'm glad i didn't answer as a pain momentarily shoots across my head and i think "ask me in 5 years". And i know he's not that bad of a guy. Just go away new buddy, because i do need real friends.

I picked up 3 cd's by Arvo Part from the library. Wonderful moments spent listening on the way home in the new ride.

For the trip to Chicago this past Saturday i ended up with a Ford Focus. Nice car, i was hoping to find out if the gas mileage improved substantially, but it was hard to tell. I got lost big time on the way home. I stayed on I90 too long and ended up in South Bend,IN before i could navigate a corrected route without having a map. This place is home of Notre Dame the Fighting Irish. I might of enjoyed checking the place out but i just wanted to go home. After much winding, weaving,& improvising on the new route accompanied by too much Alice Cooper as host of his radio show(which did have some enjoyable moments like Janice Joplin's cover of a Bob Dylan song). A tiny miracle happened when i changed the radio station. I was not aware of it at first but the angelic long sustain of the violin notes were unlocking my heart and pulling me in, accompanied by every once in a while a very percussive piano chord, the violins began to go into arpeggio. So beautiful, i need to hear it again. I don't know who was performing it, but the composer Arvo Part i have heard of from being the composer of the California Guitar Trio's piece Frates. The piece i had been listening to is Tabula Rasa. Composed in 1977 the Concerto for 2 violins(or violin & viola) string orchestra & prepared piano. It made the extra $20 in gas and 2 hours to the already long haul very worthwhile when i realised i needed to be far off my planned course to be available to the airwaves for this music to find it's way to my ears and experienced by my heart.

The Chicago team meeting was very productive. It's an honor to play guitar with these guys. We are beginning to open the vault of original music.

For the past trip to Chicago i rented a car. With the increase of full coverage on my 97 Toyota 4 Runner to cover the rental also, the cost of the car for 2 days, and what i saved on gas, i think i saved about $30.00 after calculating in continuous price rise for gas and what it would have cost in my truck. This and no wear on my vehicle which now has about 170,000 miles on it. This kept the cost of the 11 hour drive to Chicago and back about the same as 2 months ago for gas alone in my Toyota, close to $100.00.

Thoughts of a date of moving to Chicago, or at least closer are getting near. I'm still paying down some debt. One more month after 28 years of child support and i'll be able to address current debt more directly. My girlfriend keeps snipping the scissors of heartstrings and saying it's for my own good. Despite the sinking sensation, i understand what she's saying. I checked out West Lafayette, IN on the way back. About 2 hours from Chicago, 4 hours from the kids now both in Columbus,OH. It's a nice place thats very affordable and home of Purdue University. I'm still a little weary of the thought of driving a tractor trailer truck daily in Chicago in the winter. I'll need to hit the ground running so finding work in the area is first priority.

I've been working on relaxation of tension in the thumb on right hand exercises. The aim has been to let the string push the pick away from the string slightly before it goes through it. Sort of muting the click. This has been an experiment somewhat based upon an observation Loren mentioned he had while listening to Steve Ball. No click of the pick on the string. I do remember RF telling me,no,no ,no, and trying to knock the pick from my fingers a few times, when my thumb became a little too spongy with less tension. And one time CG told me while i was playing and after a moment of relaxing the thumb when the change of tone occurred that i should drop my pick at least once a day. I don't drop it but i see where he was coming from.

Created a myspace site in the past week with the help of my son. Bold new adventures in the education of an idiot and may help in the prevention of alzheimer's. I've been a part of one before as the Ohio Guitar Ensemble, but i really was not a part of it, only in my image. I was encouraged to be involved by IB, my friend & group member who created it. It was his idea as part of a performance course we were participating in at a distance. I just was not too interested at the time. Thought the spare time i have available would be better spent playing guitar, with family, chores & duties, watching tv, eating hotdogs. Now i just need some friends.

I spent a while checking out some of the do it your self music labels last night. I had listened to a story on the radio show Fresh Air with a fellow involved with wired.com & Listening Post and copied a few of the sites names down. Tunecore,rcrdlbl,cdbaby,are the ones i've heard of as of now. Obviously this is in the state of exploding. Today when i checked out the e-mail there was a connection to tunecore through an ad for Musicians Friend. Like everybody else now i see a way to achieve financial accomplishment through what i love to do. From down here it all looks really cool. Probably somebody somewhere is going to make about 50.00$ off of me.I still have that idiot variable to contend with always popping up and wanting to lead the way for me in my personality. Pride,vanity,sloth,lust,they are all quite dubious characters to watch in action. Really, in the world of division of attention who needs tv ? If it wasn't for lazy guy who likes so much to sit back and enjoy a movie. I continue to be my own worst enemy. And i continue to hear more & more how so many people are warped because they didn't allow for play time. So, LET'S ROCK! I've discovered that the particular vice that tends to set me into a state of wobble can be hypnotised by the act of working on the guitar. Another way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage and bring evolution instead of degeneration into time provided with this life and a more positive spin to what were once vices are now verses for this guy.

Thursday was a beautiful warm Spring day and i spent the evening portion sitting on the front porch where the acoustics are great playing Bach. Mucho sense of peace brought to the heart provided by this act. Many thanks sent through the invisible world to RF for demonstrating & providing a how to approach vehicle, in a way to being alive manner. Many thanks to BL for demonstrating & providing a window of opportunity to sing through my hands from my front porch in a world i never would have discovered.

I've been hearing this in my head lately. A line in a song by some favorite musicians on the title song on the cd "Ophelia's Shadow". I've been reading some books by Thich Nhat Hahn and recently I've discovered two monasteries in the U.S. connected with him. In Escondido,CA, and the Green Mountains of Vermont. With no announcement of a Guitar Craft course in the U.S., this could be where i spend my Summer vacation. A sense of the right time has been noticed and i've been accompanying this with a wish from my heart in possibilities of being in future. There are a lot of similarities in the daily schedules between the Buddhist Monasteries and a Guitar Craft course.

I came home from work the day after the last post and began to work with the Power Tab scoring of "Get the Big Picture". Clarity and understanding breathed into the act and what is now the final version came together quickly. Getting the piece together as a score printed out in front of me has led to some minor changes in the arrangement, as it did with "Grosderschau". Helped in concision of them a bit. A different way of working with the notes and seeing the intervals, while checking them with the guitar which i kept beside me, and using the playback function. It was odd that i couldn't get the playback function button to reappear when i clicked out of the program and then tried to come back to it. Maybe the energy to escape idiotness had been consumed by that point. I recall Tori Amos saying that her songs were like her children and i think i can relate to different aspects of the depth of the meaning behind what she said more now. In working with the compositions in different formats using different orders of combinations of senses, listening, playing, performing them, in the process of maturing over a period of time, i am noticing an understanding of them in their different juxtapositions in seeing their facets as a whole.