The Chetboard

I'll never forget when I was a younger man and I read somewhere that a lot of guitar players had mighty sore hands from trying to play like Chet. I didn't quite fully comprehend that in my young mind, and I puzzled a bit over it.


Fast forward decades later to the present day, and I'm in pain. My left elbow is very stiff and sore, and it hurts to bend it. My index finger on my left hand is swollen up. So how have I been spending my time lately? Well, I've been hunched over the instrument, "just another hunched over guitar player", working my hands like crazy. I've been working scales almost daily, with several Chet tunes in the queue, that I have the written transcriptions for, and they are calling my name.

Working on a bunch of them. Not letting my Chet books gather dust! Plus, working on studies by Sor, Giulliani, Carcassi. Working on pieces by Bach and Mozart. Overall, just PUSHING, PUSHING , PUSHING myself to exceed all my imagined . I know how my playing sounds, and I know how I WANT it to sound. I've set my goals for 2018 and what I expect to have mastered by the time 2019 arrives. I consider my hands as athletes in training, and I'm trying to push past the pain.

By the time 2019 arrives I DO NOT WANT TO RECOGNIZE MY PLAYING. I expect to make massive improvements in my skill. So, yeah, I'm driven. My work ethic is that I believe I need to work twice as hard as the next guy. Hard work has it's reward. And I firmly believe in it. It's how I've lived my life. Diligence is the order of the day.

But my point is that I am feeling the impact of that statement that guys have sore hands trying to play like Chet. I'm in pain. Ahhhhhhhh! So that's what he meant! Lightbulb goes on.

Now if I slow down, or take too long of a break, I'll lose the momentum I have built up. So I basically can't afford to slow down. Too many hours of my life invested in trying to lean to play like Chet. Way too much too lose.

I understand that Chet once visited a doctor due to pain in his left elbow. The doctor quickly pinpointed it to Chet's life time habit of guitar playing. But a tiger can not change it's stripes!

So I guess I'm in excellent company.

I'm not a big guy. Not real big hands or really long fingers. So being small physically, I have to work really extra hard to build up strength and endurance in my hands and fingers. If I was a bit more burly, I wouldn't have to work nearly as hard at it. But I guess the good Lord knew what he was doing.

I had heard that Chet's left hand grip was vice-like. Gorilla grip! But I also heard that he set his string action high, which would explain that to a good degree. Admittedly, there are guys who have winced in pain when I shook their hand. They are like "Dude, your grip!!" I always shake with the left hand to avoid possible damage to my right hand nails. Believe it or not, people have actually got offended that I didn't shake with the right hand.

So I'm dealing with this pain now, and it's been going on for a couple weeks. I think I'm going to look in the drugstore for some of that "Blue Emu" that good ol' Johnny Bench advertises on TV. ("And you won't stink!")

Yeah Doug, I'm trying to play Chet's arrangement of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" which I learned and played fairly well years and years ago but I'm coming up short so far. After a short while, I'm tired of playing. I'm hoping I can play it before Xmas. The last time I performed it in front of people was probably 15 years ago. It's funny, my muscle memory is there but my left hand fingering is not!

Rich Irvine

Doug, you should take it a bit easy! Continual repetitive strain can cause lasting damage to your hands. The old saying "no pain, no gain" is fallacious. You have to pace yourself, give your hands a chance to rest or you're never going to be able to play even your best, much less anywhere "like Chet". Stop obsessing, take it slow and gradual, and don't injure yourself.

I really wish I could slow down! I can't help myself, because it's my nature. My dad, bless his memory, used to say " One thing about you. Whatever you do, you put all your heart into it." I am DRIVEN!

Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe it has subconsciously to do with the fact that I am aware that I am "reeling in the years", and as they pass, I want to get all the juice out of them that I possibly can. I've missed a lot during my life, and I am driven to make up for them before I get called away. Sometimes I just wish I understood myself better.

I got to thinking, though, maybe it wasn't the guitar that injured my arm. At first I kind of assumed that, but I I really don't know, because I have been renovating a house for the past few months. Doing vinyl siding, installing new windows, doors, dry walling....EVERYTHING. So I'm thinking perhaps I strained it during the work and didn't realize it till later. I wish I could trace the provenance of the injury, but it's impossible.

I'm going to search for that Blu Emu this evening. Also am intrigued by those Tommy Copper things they advertise on TV. Wonder if they work.

I love Chet's arrangement of that Christmas tune you mentioned. I recall it was in D maj? Used lots of arpeggios? Did you learn it by ear, or did you find a written transcription? Doesn't that tune also contain a section where Chet plays essentially two parts at once? (One part on the bass strings and one part on the treble strings? I need to get out the CD and listen. "You're Just In Love" is also a number where he does that so smooooothly. A happy tune that I've always loved.

I pat myself on the back when I nail a Chet tune. I remember the first one I got down pat.(No pun intended., heh, heh, heh.) It was the arpeggio middle section of "Londonderry Aire" from his "Alone" album. I didn't get the whole tune, just that beautiful, classical style middle section. You know how I did it? The HARD WAY! I was a young man, and I had an old record player, and I played the vinyl album about a zillion times with a penny on the tone arm to slow the music down! It was driving me crazy how he was doing that! But I nailed it. (wipe the sweat off my brow.) I also mastered "Just As I Am", from the same album. Arranged by Rick Foster. I have several of Rick's records plus the transcription books he released. Rick was pretty good friends with Chet.

I can still play it to this day. I've kept it fresh in my muscle memory by playing it periodically through the years. I tested myself the other day by putting the CD on and playing along with it. Sounded like stereo! So I know I truly nailed it. What a beautiful arrangement! Now I should probably try to figure the rest of the dern thing out. He plays way high up on the neck for much of the tune, and that part is much harder to figure out.

Now just when I think I'm really something, Chet blows me away with an even MORE BEAUTIFUL arrangement of the tune on the "SOLO SESSIONS" CD! Like I said, the master could play a beautiful tune a variety of ways. I have the written transcription of that one, but even the first bars challenged me. Give me ten years, and I'll get it, lol.


Another one that has challenged me is "The Early Dawn." by good ol' Jerry Reed. I can play it perfect up to the arpeggio part, but that part just kills my left hand. I have tried to master that particular arpeggio off and on for years, but even after all these years, it kills my hand. I sometime wish the Good Lord had seen fit to give me perhaps a quarter to a half inch more length on my fingers. Stretches would not be such a major challenge, then.

John Knowles nails it, though.

The first part of "Cascade" is also a killer stretch that I have a lot of trouble with.

"Emily", from "Chet Atkins" Goes To The Movies" has a murderous stretch in it, too!

I'm working on some classical pieces with hard stretches, too. Sor's "Estudio # 17", from the Segovia 20 selected studies has a killer stretch that I have not been able to nail. Back in Sor's day, the instrument was much smaller. A more diminutive instrument such as that would have facilitated stretches. Fast forward a few centuries, and trying to play these etudes on our modern instruments creates major challenges.

I found that Blue Emu in Walgreens. It works fabulously! I can practice now with little pain.

Also works great on mom's "Arthur-Itus", lol, so she's hooked.

One caveat, though. It's almost (gasp, choke!), twenty bucks a jar!!!

Yeah Doug. I did learn "Hark The Herald Angels" by ear a long time ago. I really liked it and wanted it. It does use drop "D" tuning. In those days I could put in hours and hours at a time. I wish I had your drive. For about the past 10 years I have to force myself to practice even though I really still do like music and guitar playing (mostly as a fan). It surprised me how much of Chet's arrangement I remembered but my fingers might not be able to play it by next week like I wanted. Oh well.

Rich Irvine

I sure would like to learn Chet's arrangement. He plays it so WONDERFULLY. Maybe someday I'll add it to my list. Today and for a few days I have been working sedulously on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It's a bear, and consuming hours of my practice time. But I have wanted to really knuckle down and learn it for a long time. I've made a few lame attempts in the past, but now I'm gonna "get "er done."

I think part of the "drive" thing with me, is the stark realization that my beautiful grandkids are growing up fast right before my eyes, and that makes me realize where I'm at chronologically, and I'm feeling the clock ticking. Reeling in the years and I'm not happy where I'm at on accomplishing my goals. I mean the things I want to do and be in life. Worked all my life in factories and killed myself making an employer rich, but there was very little time for ME and my own dreams. Now that I have my social security coming in, I can concentrate on living the dreams I missed. I feel like it's a race against time, and that fires me up to just drive, drive, drive. It's lit a fire under my butt.

I think each one of us has to find a personal impetus or key that drives us. We are all different. One size does not fit all. It's a soul search.

Doug

Doug, I can relate to your sentiment. I too am concerned about accomplishing a number of things that I've wanted to. I don't know how old you are but I'll be 69 in March and I'm still working because I love it but I have to squeeze in practice time around my obligations. It can be frustrating. I think we also have to set intermediate goals so that we feel a little bit of success along the way.

One more thought. I admire you Doug and Rande for trying to improve and expand your repertoires. Myself I'm just trying these days to get to where I can play the stuff I used to be able to play.

LOL!

I'm 62, heading straight for 63, btw.