Text by YASH SHETTY
Art by BLAIR MIDGAL
SIX MAGICAL STRINGS DISCOVERING SOLACE THROUGH THE GUITAR
A
S I PLUCK THE STRINGS of my guitar and slide where nothing matters except the next note on my screen. When my left hand up and down its fretboard, the melody I just want to take a break, songs like “Sugar” by Robin Shulz or emerging begins to resemble the one from the YouTube “Chanel” by Frank Ocean instantly relieve any worries I may have. video playing in front of me. After half an hour, I’ve When I feel like getting fresh air, I sit on a swing with my dog, and reached the point where I am cohesively playing with the man on listen as each of my songs slowly dissipate into the wind. my screen, and the output is the harmonious sound of two acoustic I have had countless days where I enter my front door feeling guitars in tune with each other. The feelstressed and mentally drained, and ing of relaxation that follows after these my first thought is always to play the While the pandemic upended half-hour sessions is one that I’ve happiguitar. I change into my pajamas, my daily routine, a small silver brush my teeth, pick up my guitar, ly grown accustomed to. I began to play the guitar right beinto bed and begin to play. Lislining of quarantine was hav- get fore COVID-19 shut down our lives, tening to my favorite songs through and while the pandemic upended my ing many hours to play my my guitar alleviates all of the day’s daily routine, a small silver lining of stress, and always allows me to sleep guitar. quarantine was having many hours to peacefully. play my guitar. With junior year starting to Before the pandemic, I didn’t take the guitar very seriously pick up and my work load beginning to intensify, I’ve been left and was unwilling to overcome the fairly steep learning curve that with far less free time than what I’ve been accustomed to for the comes with the practice of any musical instrument. However, after majority of my life. But if anything, playing the guitar will end a couple weeks of boredom during the early stages of quarantine, I up making all the work more manageable because it offers me an decided to give the guitar another shot. outlet to destress. Hearing a plethora of individI took lessons to familiarize myself with the basic moual notes coming together to create one united tions and chords, but stopped after a few months and song will always brighten my day and I am turned to the internet to further my learning. At first, eager to continue exploring all that the guitar it was disheartening to spend hours in front of a has to offer and the subsequent lessons and computer trying to emulate the motions of another experiences that will accompany it. v player, only to end up no closer to mastering the song than when I started. However, each new song I studied sparked a cycle of learning, within which I figured out new techniques that ended up aiding me in mastering future songs. After a few months of this, I reached the point where learning new songs was no longer something I dreaded. Playing the guitar has slowly become a staple of my daily routine. When I am stressed, it offers an escape to another planet,
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