Category: Creativity

Open Mic Night

JohnnyO (on the right) and friends

Living a good life over fifty is a jigsaw puzzle of varied shapes and sized pieces.  Each piece represents something important to us, a person, activity or belief. These are the things which fill our lives.  If you look around my little webpage you will see I have broken these down into five basic areas. Love, laughter, security, health and creativity.  Each of us will weight these differently but I absolutely believe that a good life over fifty has some attention to each of these subjects.


For instance, you could be an amazing cake chef, turning out incredibly detailed cakes that blow the mind, but if you don’t take care of your health you won’t be feeling much like baking.  In turn, you could be the greatest money manager of all time, chocking up record returns that beat all estimates, but if you don’t pay attention to your significant other, you could soon be counting the returns of loneliness.

I have a passion for music that has kept my creative life full of positive vibe.  (get it…”vibe”) I play multiple instruments including guitar and piano, I write songs and sing.  Although I have tried to make money in music over the years I have long given up the money making drive in return for the “filling the soul” drive.  Music makes me smile, gets my blood moving and helps me be creative when I write and perform my own music. Plus, it is just plain fun. Every Thursday night I meet up with a herd of musician friends, and some other great friends who just come by to listen.   It is an open mic format where each person who signs up gets to perform three songs. Without a doubt, this is the highlight of my week. There has to be something really big going on in my life for me to miss open mic.  

Another aspect of open mic night for me is that I have marketed myself to my friends as a sideman, or a supporting player.  If you are singing and playing guitar, maybe you would like a second guitar or a slide guitar or a harmonica. Since I play a number of different instruments, I can cover a lot of ground.  Last night I got to perform eleven different songs with four different people. This is close to heaven on earth for me.  

One interesting thing occurred to me several weeks ago.  I thought about the friends I have in life, and then I sorted out the ones I see most often and do things with most often.  Guess what? You already see it don’t you? The friends I spend the most time with share my creative music hobby. That’s not to say I don’t get together with others, but easily ninety percent of my friend time is with music folks.         

What is your creative hobby or passion?  If you say you don’t have one you aren’t looking hard enough.  My Dad’s creative hobby was woodworking. He loved to make small furniture like bathroom vanities and bookshelves.  He made little note clips that sat on the table and he cut out and painted an untold number of those small wooden cats that sit on top of your door frame.  My 92 year old mother played the piano well into her 80s and even with her dementia and Alzhiemers she can still bang out Dixie upon request. Amazing that she can’t remember what she had for lunch ten minutes ago but she can still play a song on the piano.

Find your creative passion and nurture it.  If you still insist you don’t have one, I’d suggest you pick something and give it a ride.  I truly believe it will fill your soul and make you smile and feel good. Finds ways to meet up with others who share that passion.  Go to meetup.com and look for groups that share your interest. You soul is calling. How will you fill it?   

Get Your Guitars Out!

Why are so many guitars in the closet? I meet a lot of people who own closet guitars. A closet guitar is an instrument that lives in the closet. Someones buys with the purpose of learning to play. After a few weeks the inspiration drops away and soon the guitar is forgotten.

When I was in junior high I taught myself to play the guitar. By that point I had already been taking trumpet lessons for 3 years so I was able to translate some of that music knowledge to the guitar. However, I didn’t own a guitar. I learned to play on a Kay acoustic that my older brother had borrowed from his girlfriend. The reason it was at my house was because my sibling’s girlfriend wasn’t playing it. The reason I used it was because my brother wasn’t using it either. It was just sitting there like an art object on display.

Over the years, I’ve seen an awful lot of guitars on display in homes. I wish I knew how many folks buy a guitar, give it a try but never really get the hang of it. Many more than we might think.

The tag line for my guitar and piano music lesson practice is “Guitar Lessons for the Frustrated Beginners”. I chose this slogan because I have run into so many people who tell me that they have a guitar in the closet and they really ought to take a lesson. So what stops a beginner from becoming an intermediate? Lots of possible reasons. I hear stories about bad teachers who didn’t really teach them anything. Lots of people say their lives are just too busy to stay with it. I suspect it has a lot to do with the image of playing the guitar being a lot more fun than the actual learning.

The reason I wrote this little piece was to attract you to an idea. I base my lesson practice on two concepts. First I want to make it fun to play the guitar. That means we keep it light and the lessons simple. Second, we always try to spend some time working on a song of the student’s choosing. If you love the song Take it Easy, then maybe you love even more hearing yourself strum those chords. I try to focus on why you decided to try the instrument. Do you want to accompany yourself on piano like Nora Jones or Elton? How about your favorite Rock Stars. Do you see yourself as Bruce, rocking the arena. Or are you more like Eddie Van Halen, guitar monster?

I think the guitar is a very personal and different instrument. Lets briefly compare the guitar with school band instruments. Most people who learn to play the trumpet, clarinet or any other band type instrument are recruited to take lessons in order to develop talent for a school band. The band gives them a place to perform within a group. The band creates camaraderie and makes one feel a part of something bigger than themselves. Many would agree those are good feelings.

The guitar is a more solitary instrument. The vast majority buy a guitar, take a lesson, then go home to sit in the quiet of their bedroom were they practice and hide their mistakes. There is little outside reward because no one gets to hear them play. The player who finds a few friends to play with will tend to stick with it longer and get better faster. A good friend of mine who could play a few chords and notes asked me what he could do to get better. What would a typical teacher say? “practice, practice, practice.” I used a different set of words. I said, “Find a band to play with”. He ended up forming a bad with some friends. Guess what. He plays pretty well now. Guess what he was doing while playing with that band? ” That’s right. He was practicing. But he was practicing with a group where he got some positive feedback and felt like he was part of something bigger.

So the moral of this story? Get your guitar, practice a few chords and ask around to see who plays. You will be surprised to find out how many guitars are in the closet. Offer to come by their house with your guitar and suggest you play a few tunes. If you offer to bring a six pack and some nachos, they will almost surely say yes. Next thing you, you are the next Brookes and Dunn. Rock on friends.