Left, Right, Left- Picking up the guitar again.

5/22/19

When I was 18, my friend Jody tried to show me how to play the guitar but I quickly lost interest because of the strain on my fingers, wrists, and was confused with the coordination that was needed. I gave up minutes later and never tried again. 

But then a month ago my son asked me to buy him a guitar, so I went to Guitar Center after work one day and with help from their super friendly and helpful staff, chose a Yamaha acoustic. 

I always wistfully thought about being able to play. In D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 “Don't Look Back,” a documentary that mainly focuses on Bob Dylan, I loved seeing Joan Baez in it and her strong tranquility, flowing hair, powerful voice, armed with her own guitar, so simple, noble, and romantic.

(not from "Don't Look Back" but such a lovely image)

Then there's Courtney Love and her leg defiantly sticking out as she plays, encouraging us by saying,

“I want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar and start screaming" 

Stuff like this was dreamy to think about but I never took any steps to realize said fantasy. These days I am better about sticking to things more and value perseverance so I'm trying to jump back into it. Not aiming to scream or for fame, just the ability to play well.

Unforeseen bump in the road

I write with my right hand but hold guitars as if I were left handed. Anytime I've pretended to play guitar, my arms always assumed the left way of doing it. Left handed people are rare; left handed guitarists even more so. What's even more rare is the right handed person who prefers to play left for whatever reason. What I have could be a case of cross dominance.  Not being a 100% righty but not a true blooded lefty either gives me that ni de aqui ni de alla feeling, just like I've felt all my life culturally, thanks to diaspora. And since I use my right hand more in my day-to-day, the side that society at large accommodates to, I am new to facing the discrimination lefties have been dealing with their whole lives. In a very short time, I got to see some of the things I'd be up against as a left handed guitarist. 

A very limited supply for starters.

Looks and responses from salespeople and instructors when you mention the L word and them encouraging you to learn right if possible to be, as one well meaning salesperson put it, "closer to the road of success."

Some instructors don't want you to flip the right guitar over and do everything backwards or upside down, even though there are no left ones available. Some will be fine with you doing that, but admit that, "this is weird, it's like I'm looking in a mirror!" Not trying to be dismissive, but unable to hide the strangeness felt by teaching a "lefty".  

The guy at the Guitar Center workshop tried to find a left acoustic guitar in the store for me to practice on, but ended up only finding one electric that had some of its lamination peeled. And since it wasn’t plugged in, I could barely hear it. I finally settled on using a right guitar backwards and then ended up switching it around the right way.

I've been practicing both ways from a right handed guitar, borrowing my son's until I buy my own. He is actually left handed but has been learning right handed in school and so is used to playing that way with no problem. 

Nowadays every picture I see of a guitarist, I check which side their guitar is at. When I see one of a lefty guitarist, I get happy and my heart skips a beat. It's almost as if representation matters 🤔

Just as I'm wrapping this entry up, I get an email from the manager of Guitar Center, responding to my complaint I sent a few weeks ago. He/she writes:

Good morning Tennille,

Thanks for reaching out to us and providing your feedback on your experience. 

My sincerest apologies on not having a larger assortment and quantity of left handed guitar models. We are looking into ways we can get more into our store, for our left handed customers. 

Furthermore, when you are in the market for a left handed model of a guitar, please let me know and we'll see if we have it, or can get it for you, and the guaranteed lowest price!

Thank you again and feel free to reach out to me at anytime. 

Foisol Khan |  Store Manager | Guitar Center, Inc. | Selden, NY | 

Hopefully that will be a step in the "right" direction. I mean left!

On the Proofreading Front

I got really great feedback from my sister on my proofreading assignment to improve something I wrote at least 3 years ago. I am so happy to be making these strides, especially with my own work which I always try to be critical of. 

This also helped to see how much better I’m getting- my eye anyway, if not always my actual writing. Here are some of my favorite points she made:

-The specific time frame definitely gives this story more structure and a clearer shape.
-Concise but still descriptive. We know exactly how you handled this interaction without all the extra words and subplots.
-Choosing to speak more directly is excellent. Instead of tip-toeing around your memories and telling the reader that even you don't know exactly what happened makes it a vague and boring read with an unreliable narrator. I love that you decided to take charge of this narrative.

This is especially helpful for me. When I'm clouded with vague recollections I'm conflicted with wanting to be honest with the reader, so I confess that I don’t exactly remember something. But my sister is right. It makes for a boring read with an unreliable narrator and I don’t want to put that out either. 

She continues her good review:

-You are so conscious of the tone. This is great. You know that what you're saying might not come across the way you mean it and you are minimizing that possibility.

-You did good :) You should be happy with your work.

I am happy sis, thanks to you :)

 Happy Gemini season!