Playing Satie

I've been playing guitars since I was in high school. I'm another one of those millions of self-taught kids from the sixties who bought a guitar to play folk music and then a little country and rock, basically to be like Bob Dylan and then the Beatles, and my friends who were doing the same thing. Those who've heard me play know that I'm competent, but not very good. Even so, I can play the chords to hundreds of familiar popular tunes, and dozens not so familiar. One of my favorite diversions, even after all these years, is playing guitars with my friends or with my brother whenever we can get together.

My brother is actually a musician, a talented guitarist and drummer, who performs regularly with other amateur musicians. I, on the other hand, cannot perform in public. I suffer from chronic performance anxiety, better known as stage fright. Although in my case, it's not so much fear as it is a lack of concentration. I tend to listen to myself, becoming another member of the audience instead of a performer, and inevitably I mess up. So while I play my guitar almost every day, I almost never play for anyone other than myself (and my long-suffering wife). The result has been I am a very undisciplined player.

This changed for a brief period a few years ago when one of my college friends and I renewed our playing for a while, learned some new tunes, and made some amateur recordings. We both challenged ourselves to play a little better, a little more polished, than we were used to. We also bought some newer and better instruments. It really is easier to play a really good guitar. [Note to parents: if you want your child to enjoy music, rent or buy a really good instrument for him or her to learn on.] Things were going well until my friend retired and moved back to Texas. In another year or so, I intend to do likewise, but in the meantime I'm back to playing solo.

That brings me to Satie. Having realized that I can learn new tunes, and having picked up some pointers from a very accomplished guitarist where I work. I've been expanding my repertoire. I began by learning to play some challenging pieces in open tunings: Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Little Martha; I also learned some George Harrison tunes: Here Comes the Sun, Beware of Darkness; and Eric Clapton: Layla (acoustic version). Then I heard a guitar version of Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. It sounded like something I might be able to learn with a little effort.

And it turned out I could learn it, but with quite a lot of effort, and I'm still learning. The tune itself is deceptively simple. But the fingering is a challenge, and after many days, and weeks, and now months, I've just about learned all of the fingering (including a few cheats that I hope to abandon with time, after which I'll tackle the harmonics). But because the music itself is so simple, so pure, it's very hard to get the timing just right. And so, now that I've learned all the notes and the fingering, I play this little piece over and over trying to make it sound right -- all of this on my Taylor 314 steel string guitar.

My wife, who used to really like this particular Satie composition, is now growing weary of it, although she continues to offer encouragement. And still I play it over and over again, nearly every day, trying to perfect the timing, hit the notes more clearly, nail the transitions more precisely, work on the phrasing of a particularly tricky passage. Still, something seems to be missing. The piece is now recognizable, but the sound just isn't quite right. Perhaps what I need is a really good classical guitar. Not necessarily a Jose Ramirez, but perhaps an Alvarez or Takamine, something to challenge my growth in this new direction. Once I master Satie, who knows where I'll go next.