As some of you may recall, in the Spring of 2009, I started talking about wanting an Acoustic Guitar. My Birthday is in June, so when people started asking what I wanted, I mentioned that contributions towards a Guitar would be much appreciated. It really was the only thing I wanted.
I had played Guitar once before in Highschool, in Ontario – my friend Sandra had spent an afternoon teaching me a song I really liked. I wasn’t interested in learning chords or anything – I just wanted to learn that song, that day, and that’s what we did. She played a few notes, I copied then, we strung it together, and that was that.
Since I moved up here to the Sunshine Coast of B.C. 2 years ago, I figured that I needed to find a fairly portable instrument to accompany myself when singing. ( my piano isn’t portable ) When I was in Vancouver, I had some Musicians I played with from time to time, but up here, I don’t know very many yet. I figured it was up to me to find a way to be able to sing, without having to rely on anyone else. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play Guitar, so figured this was the perfect solution.
Not knowing anything about Guitars, I asked a friend from Highschool, Tal Bachman, for some advice on buying my 1st Guitar, since he has a lot of experience with them. He was very kind and patient as I asked a ton of questions, and even broke down what kind of strings, picks etc. would be best for me. I started out only knowing I wanted a black acoustic, but by the time we had many discussions about it, I knew a lot more.
It was decided that I would get a Yamaha FG 720S ( all black) , Jim Dunlop ( nylon ) .60 mm picks, and .10 or .11 gauge ( but no heavier ) strings. Tal felt the body size of that particular model would be good for a woman.
We had been talking about it online for a couple of months, so when June rolled around, and my husband and I were finally able to get into the city, and to Tom Lee, I was very excited. My husband wanted me to actually see the Guitar, and hold it, to make sure it was what I really wanted, before we got it. Of course, I was distracted when I saw a gold glitter-covered electric guitar hanging from the ceiling – and swore it would be my next guitar, after I mastered the Acoustic.
I looked at the guitar I wanted, saw that it was shiny and black, picked it up, and liked the way it felt. I pulled out Tal’s checklist, found my strings, picks, and a strap, and the guy threw in a book for good measure. We got a soft case for carrying, and walking down Granville St. for the very first time with my new guitar in hand, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
Fast forward just over a year, and my Guitar has had a long sleep. It still has the paper on the strings. I have been thinking about it a lot lately, wishing I had time to learn to play it … and now I am determined to just do it. It’s so easy to let the fact that you work full time, have errands to run, a house to clean, want to spend time with friends and family make you forget that sometimes, you have to make time to do things just for you. This is important to me, it’s something I really want to do, and I’m going to find the time, somewhere, somehow.
My First Guitar
Books, Strings, Picks, Strap
