campfire vs. concert hall.

So the Variax is tons of fun, because I can pick it up and be playing one of a couple dozen different instruments, to the detriment of the Vivaldi concerto I'm learning on the violin. I plugged it in for my violin teacher, and fingerpicked a little bit on the acoustic sounds, and he squinted a little bit––the relatively few musical elements I can play on the guitar, I'm pretty good at––and asked how long I've been playing guitar (since he just picked it up, and may feel a bit like how I feel on the violin).

This is an interesting question, partly because it will be 30 years next year, and because that number means so much, and so little. On the one hand, I've been playing for so long that I can't help but feel comfortable with it; on the other, I've never really put in the time and effort to become truly good at it, playing scales, applying more than the most basic (by my standards) music theory, or generally challenging myself overmuch.

Enjoying the instrument doesn't demand that of you. It's the quintessential "learn 3 chords and now you're all set for the next few decades of playing around campfires" instrument. Or take the same 3 chords and start a band that adds so much volume and distortion that it doesn't even matter if you tune the guitar first.

Or you can put your all into it, and be Django Reinhardt, who, no joke, was a groundbreaking guitarist with the 2 fingers remaining on his left hand.

Or Tommy Emmanuel, for Pete's sake, learning how to play everything by ear on the radio, not knowing anything about multiple instruments, or guitar capos, or thumbpicks:

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I don't have that kind of dedication, but if you pick up a guitar and play E-minor enough times, it sticks.

I'm selling myself a little short here, because I do know two fingerpicking patterns that I've added variations for. Maybe this is the year I crack open that book and add a third. And I have a bunch of ebooks about playing blues, which I glance at periodically. Mostly I'm just fucking around?

The ugly truth is far worse: I'm actually a very good musician.

Ugh.