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Koyotelaughing's blog: "Musings"

created on 12/19/2008  |  http://fubar.com/musings/b266560

Art of Music

Ernest Boshey

B. Eastman

English Comp 1

09/17/08

 

Art of Music

 

            Music the sweet sounds that sooth the savage beast, or in some cases an ear shattering

 ruckus that awakens the beast to action.  I have always been interested in music, as I grew up

 my mother's influence was Hank Williams SR as I helped wash the dishes as she cleaned the rest

 of the house.  His lonesome songs played on an acoustic guitar haunted my soul, even to this

 day.  The song “I saw the Light“ is a family favorite one my mother grew up on, as my

 grandfather loved that song being a lay reader in the church, and he passed the love for that song

 down to her as she passed it down to me.  Others include Patsy Kline, Janis Joplin, and Loretta

 Lynn, all had their turn when chores had to be done.  When things where done then the tempo

 changed and on would come Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder they

 would unwind and relax the rest of the day and night away.

 

            My father was more of a Rocker than my mothers country and R&B tastes, helping him

 outside fixing the old green Oldsmobile on a sunny day in summer we would have on Black

 Sabbath and Jimmy Hendrix.  Handing my dad tools and getting greasy crawling into the

 shadows under the car to see what he was fixing, learning what I could as “ Iron Man “ blasted

 from the rear speakers.  Wiggling out as Jimmy wails out “Excuse me while I kiss the sky” and

 me looking up at the clouds rolling across the pale blue sky.

 

            Now as I got older and in Junior High and High School my love for music never stopped,

it grew more as I learned new bands and explored the past for lost artists.  I was the first in my

school to have the tape of Guns and Roses – Appetite for Destruction, my friends all wanted to

listen and have their parents buy them the tape too.  We would play air guitar and beat

imaginary drums to the deafening beat and loud screams of Axel Rose, in my friend's garage till

late in the night.

 

            It was during that time I went to my first concert, Metallica with the “And Justice for

All” tour with Queensryche as the opening act.  It was a deafening experience but one I would

have done a thousand more times if possible.  Being very resourceful me and my friend

Mukwha had got a pint of cinnamon schnapps to sip on before we went.  We were feeling pretty

good when the show started, the lights went out and a low buzz filled the old Met Center in

Bloomington MN as people began to murmur to each other the show was to begin soon.  The

lonesome heartfelt tune of “One “ started to play and the lights slowly came alive and danced on

stage highlighting Hetfield and Hammett as they strummed and struck a dueling cadence on their

guitars.  Smoke filled the air as people smoked cigarettes and other stuff, one person in front of

us on the main floor looked back at us and handed us both a joint and told us to enjoy.  We were

both amazed at the comradery and acceptance at the show all had toward each other, we all came

to see a great band, play great songs and enjoy a bit of freedom from our normal existence.

 

            I found swing bands and old jazz during High School, the happy toe tapping melodies of

Benny Goodman or the long soulful instrumentals of John Coltrane.  Classical music came to

the front during this time too.  I would skip school with my best friend Brian and we would

sneak off to his parents garage and smoke some herb and feel our mind expand on thoughts we

probably never would have had if straight.  We talked on heady subjects and matched wits at

chess, which I normally lost as I was a novice but eager to learn what I could.  He was learning

to play guitar at this time and had both an electric and acoustic, I would read novels as he

practiced.  But at times I would be drawn to the various sounds his guitars would make and sit

in rapt attention.  Listening to each note and watching where and when his fingers moved and

danced along the fret board.  Asking questions as to why he did something and if it was possible

to do it another way.  At this time in our lives he was not very patient and was not a good teacher

but tried to answer as best as he could to my thousands of questions. 

 

            After many of ear splitting shows and drunken stupors, it is still an adrenaline rush to be

in the crowd.  Thousands of pushing and shoving people all trying to get a good view of the

band, moshing in the pit to a never ending industrial breath taking pace.  Sweat flying and

rolling off you as the body heat from the crowd raises the temperature of club.  Every one

singing the lyrics to the songs, mostly out of tune but happy to give it their all.  At the end of it

all every one screams for “MORE“, and if we are lucky they will oblige with a encore or two.

When it does finally end we all wander off in the cool night air that chills our sweat slicked,

bruised and battered bodies, but not feeling a thing from the booze and excitement of another

great show we saw.

 

            I have watched a few bands and many of my close friends practice their art and have

always wanted to try.  Now last year my best friend Brian whom I skipped many a day of High

School with, after one of his and another of our friends jam session asked if I wanted to learn, I

accepted his offer and he handed me a old acoustic and showed me a few simple riffs they were

both working on for the song “Welcome Home Sanitarium“ by Metallica.  After a few jam

session lessons as they practice and me practicing the rhythm guitar parts, I showed I was a quick

study and my friend was impressed.  The next time we got together he brought his second

electric guitar and told me to try that and it was a lot easier as the frets are closer but the tough

steel strings hurt the tips of my soft fingers.  I kept up my practice so I could keep up with their

quick tempo and learned a few other riffs when and where I could, as they got the lead parts

down to a science and switched back and forth on who was leading and who was rhythm. 

 

            That night when I got a ride home we talked about the differences between the acoustic

and electric, what one can and not do, the pros and cons, and songs we would like to learn, him

more classical like the Spanish piece he was working on that our friend Javier was teaching him. 

Me more toward older Metallica songs and wanting to learn to play Chopin’s piano piece “The Funeral March”

with its slow but unmistakable tune.  As he pulled up to my house we said our good byes and asked if we

were going to meet up again next week, which we always did, he told me not to forget my guitar, as I started

to shut the car door.  I was perplexed as I didn’t have one and asked if he hit his head, he chuckled lightly at

my jest and told me the red Ibanez I was practicing with that night was to be my new toy.  I was shocked and

in awe at the gift my best friend was giving me.  I thanked him profusely for such a wonderful gift, and he told

me to use my gift I was learning, the art of music.

Honesty

Honesty is a very rare trait in this day and age. We all lie to a certain extent, little white lies we tell our boss, family, or strangers, some tell more than others. All lies hurt people, it is the depth of the hurt that varies. For me I have learned to classify our lies in to 4 major groups. Some lies we tell overlap in the groups like White Lies/ Con Game, White Lies/False Promises, ...etc. 1. White Lies - These are the small ones we tell on a daily basis. An example like when you tell your boss on why your late today, to a child, and to a stranger on the street asking for change or a cigarette. 2. Con Game - These are the lies we tell when we try to get something from someone. An example is when we meet someone for the first time and don't tell everything about our self so they will like us. 3. False Promises - These are the ones we tell to others yet we know we can never keep them, to make our self feel and look better. An example when we tell the police officer we wont ever speed again. 4. Self Delusion - These are the ones we tell ourselves, cause we don't want to see the truth. An example is when we believe all of our leaders false promises. If you can add to this group and explain please do or if you have a different opinion.
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