Post #359696 by Cammo on Wed, Feb 6, 2008 9:11 PM

Hey Babs - Gimme a ring when you're at Buzzing at Buzzy's and I'll trek on over.

I've just got no time these days to do ANYTHING!

To condense a really long series of events, my kid is turning out to be some kind of weird guitar genius. My aunt and mother were both would-be concert pianists, so maybe its the freaky genes. He's actually played violin since like age 7 and seems to have gone over the bend with guitars since he started last summer. We bought him a Fender Sonoran - here it is -

Beaut, eh?

He also bought a Fender Strat from a friend for 75 clams. That was sort of a deal, since the kid threw in his AMP as well!

This is exactly what it looks like -

Pretty swank fer 75 eh?

He's graduated from stumming chords to doing some pretty serious finger picking in just the last few months. He's got two teachers at this point who actually want him to join their jazz and rock bands.

So the point is, high schools have NO GUITAR PROGRAMS. They have bands, they teach music theory, but they have no programs or sheet music for guitar - which is one of the few instruments that actually has a lot of its own music notation - guitar 'tab' that tells you exactly what notes to play and how.

So my kid's high school music teacher and I have been banging our heads together with a guitar club we'd organized since the beginning of the school year. We're now trying to come up with an interschool program and possibly a whole new course for next year's curriculum, namely a Guitar Composition course. The teacher is a pretty smart guy; he's a trained concert flutist.

The guitar keep in mind is the number one most played instrument in the USA, and is probably the most recognized symbol of American music. The US invented the electric guitar. They're still perfecting it.

Once you can play a guitar you can play almost any stringed instrument. Ukuleles, banjos, mandolins, etc.

No high school courses in guitar.

It drives me nutz.

Taylor Guitar also has its main factory in San Diego. They may get involved. It would be nice.

Buffalo Brothers Guitars up in Carlsbad are interested as heck, they're the best guitar shop possibly in all of California (for acoustic anyway). Last weekend we were at Truetone in Santa Monica and they're an electric-only type place; literally no comparison.

So I'll try to make it to the Chops, I love 'em, but man right now it's kind a' busy!!!!