Too Many Instruments

Or just enough

My Haddorff vertichord piano

Piano Beginnings

My first instrument was growing up with my family’s piano, a Haddorff vertichord, which we still have. It is probably a late 30s to early 40s vintage, and it was always there in our house. On the music rack are two songs I’ve composed: “Closing Time” and “Long Story Short”, which is still in progress.

The Seth Thomas metronome is as old as the piano. You turn a key on the right to wind it up, and there’s a weight on the bar to gauge how fast you want it to tick. I have electronic metronomes, but the Seth Thomas stirs good memories and has a beauty to it.

Guitars

Then came an inexpensive acoustic guitar, followed by an acoustic Gibson which dates back to the 40s, and a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar from the 50s. My father was for a time a traveling salesman for Continental Music Company, so he got good prices on instruments. I remember going with him to Whittle’s Music store in downtown Dallas to buy the guitar. I also took guitar lessons at McCord’s Music store a few blocks away.

I played that guitar in a band with my brother at the University of Texas at Austin in the early 60s. He had a Fender Jazzmaster guitar. One of my biggest mistakes in life was selling that guitar at a time when I didn’t think I’d be playing with a group again. The money helped me and Susan fly back to Dallas from Boston. That guitar now sells for the price of a good car or a house ($25,000 - $100,000).

Ocarina and Autoharp

The oddest musical instrument of mine is an ocarina. The sound is created by air vibrating within the enclosed chamber, which escapes through a hole near the mouthpiece (similar to a recorder). I never figured it out, but some day I should give it a go. This is a beautiful one, but mine was all black.

When Susan and I were in the Boston area we bought her a 12-string Autoharp, which lets you press a bar to play different chords while you strum. We still have it, but it needs now strings. I think it was that same store where we bought a recorder.

Violin

Around 2010 I started to feel the need to learn the violin, having listened to Springsteen’s “American Land” with two violinists playing along, from his Seeger Sessions album. Thinking about this song these days is a stirring reminder of the importance of immigrants and their many contributions to the American land:

My teacher went with me to Kat’s Guitars to help me buy a violin. After taking lessons, I actually got to play the violin, along with a much better violinist, on “American Land” at our church.

After playing the violin a few years, someone mentioned that a friend had found an old violin in their closet and I could have it! There’s no paper inside with the make or date, but they said their great grandfather kept it dating back to the early 20^th century.

Clarinet and Banjo

I guess I just couldn’t stop myself from buying two things on the Order Up app. One was a clarinet, which I’ve been unable to learn on my own and decided I’m not so good at wind instruments. The other was a Kansas brand banjo, which I occasionally get to play though I’m not very proficient. If I live long enough, I want to take banjo lessons.

What inspired me to play the banjo was watching Pete Seeger play one on the 1960 TV show Playboy Penthouse Party. Playing a long-neck banjo, Seeger talked about the banjo’s origins and even got the group to sing along with him.

I was lucky to see Seeger perform about a year later at the old Y auditorium across from the University of Texas campus. There were demonstrators outside handing out leaflets calling Seeger a communist, since he’d appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee. That committee chair Senator Joseph McCarthy had been rebuked by Joseph Welch: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”

I’ve only gotten to play the banjo a few times at our church, the last being “Wandering Stranger”. Here’s how the banjo is supposed to go on that song:

Lap Steel Guitar

I bought online a lap steel guitar for about $100. With G tuning, it’s pretty easy to play along with others. I learned how to mute strings while playing with a metal bar. It adds a lot of interest to many songs. Here’s one of the all-time greatest, David Lindley:

12-String Guitar

Back to Kats Guitars, I bought a 12-string acoustic guitar, which I love because of the fullness of the sound. The last time I played it was on Peter Gabriel’s song “Solsbury Hill”. Here’s a 12-string guitar in a great rendition, sung by Ray Wilson.

Mandolin and Ukulele

I’ve borrowed a mandolin to play the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple”. I like the sound, but I’m not that good without more practice. Our daughter gave me a small ukulele from Hawaii. I owned an even smaller plastic one as a kid. The tuning for the four strings is G C E A which go with the tune “My Dog Has Fleas” – in case this comes up.

Keyboard

I bought a small Yamaha keyboard with a case for $25 at a rummage sale. I like the fact that you can set it for a variety of sounds. I was fooling around on the Yamaha and came up with an instrumental I sent to our musical leader, who used it to go with a slow-motion video of a rose unfurling its petals. He titled it “Elegy to a Rose”:

The video has been used a few times at our church for a short period of meditation, which makes me happy that one of my random melodies was given an audience:

Bass Guitar

I bought an electric bass from a friend and played it with a group for several years. But when a better bass player came along I switched back to the guitar. I recently gave the bass to our granddaughter, who has quickly learned to play it really well—much better than I ever did.

More Guitars

One day I opened the front door to see a box with a Harley Benton guitar in it, which my brother had sent to me. It’s an inexpensive German-made guitar that beautifully replicates the look of an electric Gibson model. Later the same year, he sent me another Harley Benton.

For my 80^th birthday, my family gave me a Les Paul Epiphone, which has a smooth tone and is a beautiful instrument. The guitar I’ve used most for the last 15 years is a Fender Stratocaster, which has a great sound and feel. I had to get it re-fretted recently, having worn down the frets over time.

Slide Guitar Geniuses

I’ve tried playing the slide guitar, but I’m not very good at it. There are true slide guitar geniuses in their own place in the guitar stratosphere. These include Ry Cooder, Derek Trucks, Duane Allman, George Harrison, Joe Walsh, and Bonnie Raitt to name a few. Here’s the great Bonnie Raitt playing the slide and singing “A Thing Called Love”:

So much music, so many instruments, so little time.