New Intentions

Earlier this week, Bruce got something he had ordered off of a website. I'm not sure what the technical name is for it, exactly, but it's a keyboard within a keyboard. It's a computer keyboard connected to a musical keyboard. That's how he explained it to me, and as absurd as my mental picture of the thing was before it arrived, it turned out to be almost spot on. It's a keyboard (to type on) with a keyboard (to play and make music on) below it. I didn't see the sense of it at first, but when you're making music and using your computer to put things together, it's actually rather ingenious. Go figure.

When the keyboard keyboard arrived, I had a look at it, oohed and ahhed appropriately, and let him play with it for a while. A few hours later, he was bemoaning his lack of piano knowlege to me - it seems he didn't really know the basics of making pleasing sounds from a (musical) keyboard. I mentioned that I'd taken piano lessons as a kid, and went over to see what I could show him. Turns out that I have more than three musical bones in my body, and I was able to show him some simple chords. It has never really sunk in that music runs in my blood - I guess it's because I focus harder on other things - but it's there. I'm not sure how many of you were dragged to piano lessons at a smelly old lady's house when you were between the ages of five and eleven, but if there are any, maybe you should get your hands on a piano and see what stuck. It's kind of intriguing. I don't remember any real songs (not even Mary had a Little Lamb, truth be told), but I remember the stuff that fascinated me, such the scales. I played them for Bruce, and I think he loves me more now. Haha, just kidding. He for sure loves me more now.

All that to lead up to where we ended up today. Cam, Bruce and I went into Springfield. They were looking for musical objects, I was looking for something in the music store that wouldn't be completely boring. Turns out (because I found some piano books to curb my boredom) that I got through Book 3 in one series, started on Book 4 before I quit. I barely remember holding a knife to my own throat and threatening to cut if my mom didn't let me quit what I considered a soul-sucking hobby. Little did I know how interested I would be at 25, eh? After figuring out exactly where I left off in my piano training, I found the guys. They were looking at electric components to musical stuff - some sort of boards? It maybe had to do with USBs? I don't pay that much attention to that stuff - and persuaded Bruce to join me in the accoustic nook.

This store was having a "closed door" sale. That means that they were selling some (most) of their inventory for a VERY discounted price. It was a selfish move, I'm the type of girl who will listen to bluegrass and old rock'n'roll before I'll turn to a station that plays hits from today (Hell, I've even been known to listen to Conservative Talk Radio, if noting else, it gets me fired up), and I will fall down and swoon at anyone playing accoustic guitar. As long as they're not completely gross. Sometimes even then, if I close my eyes and they don't talk too much. I love to see Bruce picking his way on a new guitar, it totally makes me hot.

When we got to the accoustic nook, I took a look around, thinking about learing to play guitar. Not much, mind you, maybe some folk tunes that would be suitable for around a campfire. After all, that's my favorite type of music. I was looking around, and I immediately spotted a beautiful guitar. I figured it would be the most expensive one there, but we weren't exactly looking (at all) - at the store we'd been at before this one, I fingered the electric I liked the best, and lo and behold it was the most expensive one on the wall - but it had no price tag and I figured there would be no harm in him playing on it a little bit.

(Here is where I was going to post pictures of the beautiful instrument, so y'all could oooh and aaahhhh over it, but I'm under strict instructions to get pictures what don't make peoples' guts stick out first. Apologies. It's beautiful.) Bruce strummed it for a few minutes, commenting that (unlike the other one he'd tried off the wall) it was perfectly in tune, before realizing that it has a built-in tuner. It's also an accoustic/electric - you can plug it into an amp! Bruce was stoked, this is exactly the sort of guitar he's been looking for. He gave his accoustic to his dad for Christmas because he hardly ever played, and he knew his dad wanted one badly. Also, he said, he wanted a guitar he could plug into an amp if he wanted to. This was a perfect match, but we were still thinking in theory. Until, that is, the employee found out the price for us. It was a $329.00 guitar, on sale for today only for $239.00. We brought the beauty home with us, and Bruce is at Cam's house playing it as we speak. If I really want to learn to play guitar, this is the instrument I will play on. It's pure heaven to look at, and it's even better to listen to. Pure music.

(Here is where I would post another picture, if there wasn't any gut involved. Seriously, even the cracked-out guy who was at the checkouts at the same time as us was eyeing it up. After noting that it was ours now, he got insanely jealous, and told us over and over again that it was "spectacular". Seriously. It's that beautiful. You don't have to take a crackhead's word for it, though, I'll show you so many pictures later this week that you'll be begging for mercy. Really. Just believe me, it's pretty.)