Winter light
The daylight is so fleeting these days. Sometimes it feels as if I’ll miss the day entirely if I blink.
The sun rides low in the northern sky. The frosts turn the ground white and colour leeches out of everything.
But in those still moments when the light returns briefly, it touches everything so tenderly, so softly.
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I started taking guitar lessons for the first time in 20 years.
It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but never came across the right teacher. Then Chris Forsyth, one of my favourite contemporary guitar players, mentioned on his mailing list he was offering online guitar lessons, and a little light in my unconscious switched on and I signed up.
It’s been really great to learn some new theory about the guitar and to open up my playing beyond the well-worn fretboard pathways I was stuck in.
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Chris took lessons from Richard Lloyd of Television. I hadn’t delved into their work beyond Marquee Moon, so I’ve been listening to them a lot lately.
The interplay between the two guitarists in that band, Lloyd and Verlaine, is spectacular, and it’s what made them so special. This is evident from Verlaine’s solo efforts, which are great records, but they lack the dynamic contrast and push–pull between…
