Victory

Happy 5th Anniversary!!!!

2014-06-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a great five years! I still remember that day pacing in the music store! You know, time has a way of validating good decisions and this has definitely been the best decision of my life. I'm looking forward to another great year of practicing, preforming, and teaching with Victor!

So hopefully I'll be starting to download my pics of the progress I've made so far on the guitar I'm building. I've made a work board and I've been practicing my woodworking skills. Also, I hope to download more videos of my playing.

Another great year of posts to come!

Say something

2013-12-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

So my guitar building has ground to a halt while I get things together. My wood is sitting for now, acclimating. Its going to take a lot longer than I originally thought, but then again what doesn't? I'm still very optimistic about this project and I love learning about it!! Its going to be great!!!! In the mean time enjoy this video of me playing to Say Something by a Great Big World. My timing is off at some points but oh well :)

2013-10-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog Readers,
Sorry its been so long since I've really written! A lot has happened and I mean a lot! Part of that is a new adventure that I am embarking on. To make a long story short, I'm building a guitar! There is a program at SUU called the EDGE project and for it you get to create a hands on project of your choosing. Of course I immediately in my mind was "I'M GOING TO BUILD A GUITAR" and so it was. I have a long road ahead of me so feel free to join me along the way as I write about it. I've been doing research and getting my resources in order. I've got the beginnings of my guitar in the form of some pieces of wood. Here are some pictures:

So there will be more forthcoming as this project evolves.

My Country Tis of Thee

2013-07-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!! I was looking for a good version of My Country Tis of Thee on youtube to learn on my guitar and I didn't find anything I liked so I just made some thing up. Enjoy :)

Happy 4th Anniversary!

2013-06-23T20:19:00.001-07:00

Happy anniversary 4th Victor!!!! A few days late, but better late than never. I seriously can't believe its been four years! We've been through a lot together. I love him just as much as the day I brought him home from the music shop!

I should have another post up soon so look forward to it!

Stuck in the middle with you

2012-09-03T16:44:00.001-07:00

Cover: stuck in the middle with you by stealers wheel. I apologize in advance for my singing :)

Delta Blues

2012-06-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Cover: Love in Vain by Robert Johnson

One year

2012-06-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

First off, its been a long time since I've blogged last. Sorry about that, I get easily distracted. Secondly, Happy fathers day to all the fathers. Now down to business. Its been one year since I started this blog and that means HAPPY THIRD YEAR ANNIVERSARY VICTOR!!!! Its been a wonderful three years and my relationship with my guitar gets better and better every day. Haha, so look forward to another year of this blog and this week I'm planning on putting up at least one video. Now enjoy this video from the piano guys that I dedicate to victor, just imagine a guitar instead of a cello and it would be victor and me.

Electric vs. Acoustic

2012-01-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

So I got a electric guitar for Christmas (Yay!). And I've spend the last few weeks playing it (Yay!). So now after getting into it I've discovered some pros and cons to the electric guitar especially when compared to an acoustic. So here is a comprehensive list of my discoveries:

Pros

You can't lose your picks down a sound hole
There are a bunch of nobs and switches to get a more varied sound
You can plug in head phones so only you can hear what you are playing
More easily bendable notes/ lower action

Cons

Needs extra equipment to be played ( i.e. an amp and a cord at least)
You have to lug your extra equipment with you when you go places
Can't really play it if there is a power outage
You can't bring it camping or outdoors unless there is a power source

Electric guitars are fun and so are acoustic. It all depends on what kind of music you want to play to define which is better. Which is good for me, now that I have both, cause I like to play a little of everything!

More Holiday Music

2011-12-23T19:51:00.000-08:00

Silent night. Happy holidays :)

Holiday Music

2011-12-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

This is a version of We Three King that I learned from youtube. If you want to learn it too here is the link.

More to come

2011-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Its been forever since I have written a post so I decided to make a promise that I will post at least twice more this week. So I'm planning on posting another video and then another post before next monday. Wish me luck!

Something awesome to check out

2011-10-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

So I was googling random things and I ran across a fantastic blog. Being a fan of do-it-yourself projects and guitars I immediately fell in love with the blog. Its titled "Building an Acoustic Guitar in your Kitchen".This subject matter is totally something I want to try. Many people can play guitar but how many play guitar on one they built themselves? So I'm adding "build guitar" onto my list of things to do before I die, right next to "build boat" and "build tiny house". And now that I've found this blog it will be a touch easier. So if you want to check it out I've added it to my list of blogs in the sidebar or you could click here.

Thoughts on learning and playing the guitar

2011-10-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

In general, there are four aspects of life: physical, mental, spiritual, and social. While learning and playing guitar all of these aspects are included. It goes kind of like this:

Physical- at the very beginning, when you start learning the guitar, the only thing you know is how to hold the guitar. As you go along you develop calluses and sometimes your hand cramps up, especially when you learn barre chords. You use your sense of touch and sense of hearing. Guitar is a object that has physical dimension. Its something you can set on fire or smash, although I would not recommend that.

Mental- just like any other puzzle, learning to play the guitar is challenging in the beginning. It starts out as a mental thing, figuring out how to form chords and learning rhythms and such. And then...

Spiritual- guitar playing is the most creative outlet for the spirit and soul that I've experienced. Its something felt more than anything.

Social- As a person gets more comfortable with their playing ability they start sharing music with others. This is one of the two goals people have when setting out to learn guitar. They learn either just for themselves and/or to play for other people.

2011-09-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is my first video I've made of me playing the guitar. Its part of the song lucille by B.B. King.

video post

2011-09-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to do a video to post on here but the sound hasn't been working. It'll be a while but I'll get one up sooner or later, though hopefully sooner. I've been trying different things but nothing has worked.

Reasons why I love the blues

2011-09-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

The blues makes me happy. I know that seems like a paradox at first, but once I explain what I mean it might still seem like a paradox. Either way, its still a true statement. There is something pure about blues music that comes straight from an otherwise unreachable place. Blues is the only form it can take. I can't help but smile when I hear B.B. King's Lucille or when I hear John Lee Hooker sing One burbon, One scotch, one beer. Sometimes I get a specific feeling where the only thing that helps is listening to and/or playing the blues. Its like a sharp pain in the side of my soul that will only be eased by something equally sharp and painful. Does that make sense? And then, once the blues takes effect, the pain is gone and is replaced by something as joyful as it was painful. The blues is a beautiful thing.

Funny Story

2011-09-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

For a while now I've been wondering where I misplaced one of my favorite picks and I figured it would turn up eventually like they normally do, either in a pocket, or behind my bed, or in the dryer, or, you know, anywhere a missing sock would show up. So I was playing my guitar today and stood up and heard something rattling inside the guitar. I instantly knew where my pick had gone to, even though I had no clue how it got there. So I turned it upside down and spent at least five minutes shaking up and down trying to get it out. Finally, the rattling stopped and I looked down at the floor at my pick and wondered how I hadn't noticed it was in there for the two or three weeks it had been missing. Oh well, at least I have it back now :)

I'm getting ahead of myself

2011-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm definitely getting ahead of myself on this one. At least one year ahead of myself, maybe two. So I've been thinking... about my next guitar. I shouldn't be thinking about it at all because I'm broke and will be for a while. But, one can't help thinking and pondering these things, especially when their sister insists on going to the music store and I'm magnetically attracted to all the beautiful, fantastic, shiny guitars. The bad part is not only do I have my eye on one in particular (a hollow body electric Ibanez AGR70 who would look fantastic with victor), I already have a name picked out (Grace). Haha, yeah not good. And then there is bad part #2, where I have another guitar in mind that would be even farther in the future (a gibson les paul) for which I also have a name picked out (Valor). Definitely some long term planning must be involved for these thoughts to evolve into something more. I might convert my motorcycle savings account (my piggy bank shaped like a giant crayon that I save my spare change in) into a guitar savings account. Sounds like a good plan to me, I'll have enough saved up for both guitars in about 40 years:)

When I grow up I want to be a hobbit

2011-08-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

So as you can guess, my current literary adventure is The Hobbit. Its a great book! I've never actually read it myself, but I've had it read to me a long time ago. The life of a hobbit sounds absolutely fantastic! When I retire I want to live like a hobbit, have a nice little hobbit hole with a garden out front, have six or seven meals a day, not have to wear shoes, and live till I'm 236. Of course, there is always a chance of a wise old wizard coming along and pulling you into an adventure! Which would make living like a hobbit even more exciting and excellent :)

Mister God, This Is Anna part 2

2011-08-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I finished the book last night. I'm still trying to process if I liked it or not. The ending was sad, but it wasn't the tear jerker I thought it would be. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for it. However, it is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the confusing philosophy of wise innocence and doesn't mind a tragic ending to a story.

Mister God, This Is Anna

2011-08-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

So my most recent literary adventure after finishing the Harry Potter series is a book called Mister God, This Is Anna. It pretty good so far, I'm about 8 out of 11 chapters into it and its highly philosophical with some abstract concepts. Its religious in the sense that it talks about God but it is against any one form of church. I already know (because people who recommended it to me told me and it hints at it in the beginning of the book) that it has a sad ending but since I haven't finished it yet I don't know how sad. I really like the book's illustrations, they compliment feeling of abstract ideas. Over all its been a good read but its taken me a bit longer than usual to read.

Victory!!! and Laughter

2011-08-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I knew if I waited long enough my blogging problem would fix itself. So now that I can post properly I'd like to say that laughter is the best medicine. I love a good laugh. It makes life better especially in the hard times. Its because of this reason I've decided that laughing is what I want to do with my life. It doesn't matter what I do to make money or what my situation is as long as I'm laughing. So having said that here is some guitar jokes that I found at http://www.ahajokes.com/guitr.html. Enjoy:

Q: What is the difference between a guitarist and a Savings Bond?
A: Eventually a Savings Bond will mature and earn money!

Q: How do you get a guitar player to play softer?
A: Give him a sheet of music.

Q: What is the difference between a guitar and a tuna fish?
A: You can tune a guitar but you can't tuna fish.

here is some more guitar jokes from http://guitarteacher.com/2010/07/26/guitar-jokes-collection/

Q: How do you know when the stage is level?
A: The lead guitarist is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.

Q: What’s the difference between a keyboard and a synthesizer?
A: Who cares – neither one’s a guitar.

Q: What do you call a guitarist who breaks up with his girlfriend?
A: Homeless…

Q: How do you get a guitar player off of your front porch?
A: Pay for the pizza.

Q: What do you say to a guitar player in a 3-piece suit?
A: “Will the defendant please rise …”

Q: What’s the difference between a guitarist and a pizza?
A: A pizza can feed a family of four.

Q: What is the definition of an optimist?
A: A guitar player with a business card.

Two guys were walking down the street …one was destitute…
the other was a guitar player as well…

Q: What do you tell a guitarist that is freaking out?
A: Don’t fret.

Harry Potter

2011-08-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

So recently I've become a even more of a nerd in light of the last Harry potter movie coming out and not only have I gone to see it twice but I'm rereading the series. I must say that J. K. Rowling is a genius. Her books are the quintessential example of a well written series because the plot is so interwoven that the smallest things have meaning especially when you reread them. They just keep getting better and better. Even though they have a dark side to them its well balanced with wit and humor that even when terrible things are happening you are still laughing. Harry Potter is about tolerance and love and death and what makes a hero and what makes a villain and how people all have a mixture of hero and villain in them. And that is why J.K. Rowling is a genius.

Essay: How would owning a tiny house change my life?

2011-07-28T17:46:00.001-07:00

It doesn’t matter the size of the house; it’s the nameplate hanging over the door that makes a home. A tiny house would be just as much a home as mansions. But its not just the house that would change my life, it’s the lifestyle that comes with it. The size of the house would inspire closeness, stewardship, and would set priorities in proper places.

First, a tiny house creates closeness with the earth. In my mind I can’t picture a tiny home without a blossoming garden. The “tiny” lifestyle has a homegrown and home made quality. In a tiny house I would grow a big garden and spend time on the porch whittling. The tiny lifestyle also creates closeness in the sense of relationships. People literally become closer by living in a tiny house. It’s a comfortable place people will want to gather and visit.

Next, a big life-changing factor of this lifestyle is that a tiny house doesn’t tolerate clutter. There is a selection process needed for everything I would take into the house. Do I need it? Do I use it often? A greater sense of stewardship is made within the walls of a tiny house because it’s important to keep only good and important things. There is no space to waste.

Lastly, a tiny house would change priorities. There wouldn’t be an emphasis on what I own but rather how I live my life. There would be time and money to travel while not being tied down to a massive debt. I would be more grateful for what I have and use.   In the end, if I owned a tiny house I would never sell it because it wouldn’t mean as much to anyone else.