Icarus @ 59 # 255

4. Slow down your busy mind

I am taking time out to play this at the moment. Different days demand different guitars. I can't explain it, that's just the way it is. Its not even a case of reaching out for the closest one, its a question of tone, sound, harmonics, playing style. I mean I would never use my bottleneck on this guitar and I would on others. But its also the way I slow down my busy mind, pulling at tunes, hearing the harmonics, tracing the grace notes that form the tunes and patterns that are hiding in the morass that is the inside of my head (sometimes). And I am working on a couple of different things, which is also the problem. Settling down to one thing at a time is infinitely more satisfying but all the time the brain is going busy, busy, busy and the need to slow it down takes conscious effort. Mind you I will also say, for all those typists out there, RSI is a huge problem - and I know, in 2012 I wrote two books in 5 months, 130,000 words, and my fingers were well gnarled by the end - it is guitars that help me re-address the balance. Its still all fingers but the action and grip and shape is different, you use different muscles and all in all, while its not a cure for RSI, playing a guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, ukelele, piano, helps to hold it at bay - just saying. So ease those fingers while you slow down your busy mind. Although, of course, you could always fly a kite. At the moment this is my favourite picture of Dan and we like this music in the car - he goes to University next week and he might find a lesson in the lyric - or not - he'll have fun finding out: