learn 3-finger style guitar

...but not anytime soon. I think one musical goal at a time is enough!

But two things have happened that may get me back on track soon.

1. JP changed my guitar strings for me. He said he just couldn’t stand to see my instrument in that condition. So now I’ve got some brand-new strings, and it’s high time I got some use out of them.

2. I just saw Doc Watson play at RockyGrass on Saturday. He was awesome as always, and reminded me why I want to learn 3-finger guitar: it’s versatile. You can use it to play blues, swing, folk, country, and some bluegrass tunes. Doc is my hero, absolutely.

...but what I really want to do is play 3-finger style blues guitar like Mississippi John Hurt. Boy, do I like the way that man sounds!

There is one specific hurdle to playing 3-finger style guitar, and that’s learning how to keep a bass line going while sticking in little syncopated bits from the higher parts of the chord. I hear how this is done when I listen to people play in the style, but for the life of me, I can’t DO it yet. It is tough. It’s like playing ragtime piano, where you have straigh eighth note bass lines but syncopated melody lines – except you’re doing it all with one hand.

I’m going to start practicing for a half-hour each day – after I watch “las noticias de Univision”.