On a chilly
night, there is nothing more wonderful than sitting around a campfire with your
friends, telling spooky stories and baking foil-wrapped potatoes on the hot embers.
But still, one thing is missing! The sound of a guitar. It's the guitar that
makes this atmosphere really cozy.
A camping trip
isn't complete without some playing and singing around the campfire. During the
first hour of playing, everybody sings together with the guitarist; people
relax, chat and get to know each other better. But, this idyllic scene turns up-side
down when you hear “It's beer time.” As soon as all soberness vanishes,
darkness falls on the guitarist's eyes.
There are remarks such as: “Stop playing ballads; something faster,
please!”, or “Give me that guitar; now you’ll see the real guitar expert.”
Well, you have no choice but to let these smart alecks show off and wait until
they fall asleep or get bored. I think even if the guitar didn't have the
strings, they would be too drunk to notice.
On nights like
these, the guitarist has to either develop a strategic plan of disappearing
mysteriously or continue playing all night long regardless of the madness
around. If you want to see your guitar in one piece the next morning, choose
the former. If you don't manage to escape, play a classic rock number like “Wind
of Change” or “Stairway to Heaven.” Their emotions will go up and down on a
rollercoaster, and they'll soon fall asleep.
Unfortunately, I'm
one of these poor guitarists who have experienced everything. Every summer I
make a firm promise not to take my guitar on camping trips. But I break that
promise because of that golden hour of pure soberness. Like short stories,
these camping nights have a cozy introduction, an unpredictable beer-soaked
climax and a very predictable resolution. Last year, one friend of mine ended
up hugging and kissing my guitar. He didn't want to give it back to me. Who
knows what was on his mind!
A guitar is not
only an essential part of camping. It's practical and you can take it with you
on a bus trip or a cruise ship, on any kind of vacation for that matter. If
you're thinking whether you should take your guitar with you or not, I'll help
you to make a decision: Yes, you should! Three years ago, when I decided to
study in Austria, I wasn't sure whether I should bring my guitar or not because
I already had too much luggage at the time. It turned out to be a good decision
to “reserve” two seats on the bus to Austria: one for me, and one for my
guitar. The man sitting in front of me saw tears rolling down my face and said
to me: “Crying won't help you; take that guitar and play for us.” After a
while, I took my guitar and played, putting behind me the thoughts of leaving home
and moving to another country. After hearing me play, the same man in front of
me recommended a Croatian Cultural Association where I could teach. This was a
unique opportunity that I didn't want to miss out on because I didn't know German
at the time. For three years now, I've been teaching guitar part-time in this association
to children between the ages of 8 and 16. The people who belong to this association
have recommended me to others and beginning in October this year, I'll be
teaching an older group of Austrians in the organization ibuk (Association for
Cross-Cultural Encounter and Cultural Mediation). Guitar playing can open many
doors in life for you. Had I not brought mine to Austria, I would have almost
certainly ended up working in clothing store or supermarket. Teaching and
playing the guitar, however, means combining business and pleasure. I'm not
sure if that would be possible in a clothing store.
The sound of a
guitar is also an essential part of travelling for pleasure. A few weeks ago, I
went to Bosnia on a coach with a group of 35 Austrians who sing in my sister's
choir along with a couple of my friends. Luckily, I didn't have to play much,
since there were two guys who didn't take their guitars out of their hands the
whole trip. Crates of beer, bottles of “rakija” (Bosnian fruit brandy), snacks and
the sound of the guitar kept them alive throughout the 12-hour journey. Weary
from travelling, I fell asleep, waking up a couple of hours later, to see them
still playing and singing. I thought: “These people know how to enjoy
themselves!”
There are so
many different things you can do if you play the guitar. You can also form a band.
It's hard work but playing in a band can be one of the most memorable
experiences ever. Many of the world's most successful guitarists began their
carriers as members of a band but then ended up as solo artists. Many
guitarists express themselves through playing. For them, playing the guitar
becomes the ultimate form of communication. Just listen to Eric Clapton's “Layla”
and you'll see what I mean.
Playing the
guitar offers you a myriad of
opportunities. Playing the guitar means travelling, meeting new people and
having a laugh. It means adventure! So start taking some lessons and give yourself
some of the opportunities and adventures, the guitar offers you.
No comments:
Post a Comment