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Gardening in the Spring

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Yesterday was a banner day in our backyard garden! The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Not a cloud in the sky and around 14 (C). I thought to myself, Gardening, bring it on!

It all started when the dog had to go outside for her, you know! We first encountered the blast of warm air and the heat of the sun. She hasn’t been in the backyard for some time now so she just walked around and took in the smells of the garden! During that time I dug through our back room and found a fold able chair and opened it up, directly in the line of sunlight.

She sat at my feet, beside me on the chair, and it was one of those Rockwell moments you see as we both were in ahh of our surroundings. It was everything that we could of asked for, especially after the long winter that we were exposed to. So what else could be added to this perfect moment right now in my terrace oasis? My Larrivee acoustic!

So I quickly ran upstairs and brought my axe out for the first time this year! As the song goes oh what a felling, what a rush!

Our dog midnight still doesn’t quite know how to take this thing I have on my lap. When I start playing, she sits up straight. Looks at me with those intense puppy eyes and tilts her head sideways. She reminds me of Edith Bunker when midnight does that!

The only song I played in the backyard was from Bruce Cockburn titled Going to the Country. I just love that on! I understand why repeating a song over and over drives some people nutz, but I have to play it RIGHT!

So that was my day yesterday and I thought that I’d share it with you! So go out there and ENJOY it … while you can.

Keep on Jammin’ (in the backyard)





Developing your left hand dexterity

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Developing you left hand guitar dexterity, as well as your right hand, will pay off big time if you chose to do so. At first, some of these techniques seem odd or puzzling but, after performing these exercises you will wonder why you never thought about it before!

In the following examples, I want to be able to give you some portable tools in which to help you in your growth as a musician that can be used as an alternative to your instrument. So here goes!

One thing to do is to start using your other hand while completing simple tasks. For example, you should begin with using your mouse in your other hand. Try this while playing something simple like solitaire or another game. When starting off with this warm up, begin it very slowly! In the beginning, it will feel quite foreign to you. This will force your weak hand and brain to work in sink with one another until it comes naturally.

This next drill you can do anywhere. First go and get a pen or pencil. Now trying spinning it between your fingers. I find it very difficult to pass it from the index finger through to your thumb and back. I just gave up but if you can pull it off, then hats off to you! Once again, start off slowly until it flows effortlessly from one finger to another!

Just pick up a tennis ball and start squeezing! I find that if you can hold down with your fingers to the same level(keep your fingers flat, like when you have them laid out on a table) for a short period of time, it works best. If you can find a squash ball, use each finger individually to push down on it. This develops each finger’s strength. Not only will this start developing your overall finger strength, but it help out in dealing with stress.

These techniques are great not only for musicians but, can be used for people who have had strokes, or carpal tunnel issues as well! Try them out and tell me what you think about them. If you have founds was of improving these exercises then please tell me because it’s great to have a some fresh eyes on this subject to help improve all our techniques no matter how small they might be!

Keep on Jammin’

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