An Ode To My Guitar

An Ode to My Guitar - Coming Back to My Roots...

You are made from the trees, carved to resemble the shape of a sweet woman’s curving body.

When I hold you, cradle you close to my breastbone, your notes vibrate through me and become me.

There is this enormous thrill - one that will electrify my being until the day I die - that my fingers can be placed on exactly the same frets as my greatest teachers & goddesses who came before me. I can recreate the exact, intricate chord shapes of Joni Mitchell and the blossoming picking patterns of Tracy Chapman.

When I was 12, and I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker by Sandi Thom was all you could hear on the radio, I used to sing along and tap the infectious beat on your body. You taught me about rhythm and feeling.

When Corinne Bailey Rae released Put Your Records On that same year (2006), I agonised over learning exactly how to play it, and you taught me how much joy can be found in the unfolding of a perfectly written song.

You have taught me so much more than music:

• Patience

• Practice

• Dedication

  
  

And in return, you have also given me the greatest gift: A friend for life.

My grandad used to say, If you can play an instrument, you’ll always have a friend.

You will always be my first love.

The one I return to when I’m sad.

You will be there to hold me when I’m overwhelmed.

You will always challenge me too - bringing out that artistic temperament and creative frustration.

The one I could spend all the living hours I have been given with, and yet there would still be more to learn.

When I can't sleep, I imagine playing you in my minds eye.

When I hold you in my hands, you feel like a magic wand. What spells have we already created together, and what wonders are we yet to weave?

Just like holding a pencil, each person who picks up a guitar creates their own mark. You are versatile and have many phases, just like mother moon.

And isn’t that just what magic is? Something made from the trees - a gift from Mother Earth - that can make me feel like the most abundant soul on earth.

Way back when xxx

Still holding you close, after all these years xxx

I'm hoping to start weaving your harmonies & healing vibrations into my sound baths too...

So, watch this space my loves.

Take good care,

Hannah xxx