A Rapt Audience

January 13th, 2013 by | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

Max entertains a rapt audience after his second guitar lesson.

Max has just had his second guitar lesson and learned the rest of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” He had learned the song by ear on the piano, so according to Max, it was a simple matter to transfer the pattern to guitar. All I did was set him up with which notes to use, he arranged them in an order that sounded like the song and …Voila!

Max shows a sensitivity to sound quality that is rare in a beginner, or for that matter, in many players far more advanced. It is simply such a high priority for Max that working diligently to produce a beautiful tone feels like a necessity, not an option. The result is  so satisfying that when I listen to him play, I can actually feel the tone he produces. Sometimes Max will pluck a note, look up at me in alarm and exclaim, “What’s that?” I really have to focus in order to hear the tiny piece of “sound dust” that has sullied his pure ideal. Not your average six year-old beginner, as I said.

Having finished the song, recorded it and approved the result, Max set off to the park for the afternoon. Not clear how this transpired, but Max must have been sitting on a bench practicing when a crowd gathered. Pretty soon, he was entertaining a rapt audience.

2 Comments

Fred Hawkins

January 14, 2013 at 5:02 pm

I appreciate the kind words re: my youngest Grandson. I played semi-professionally for many years, my Son, Max’s uncle, and my oldest Grandson also play quite well, so Max comes by part of his talent honestly. My Daughter, Ashley, speaks highly of you. Thank you for your talent, patience and encouragement…maybe someday we will have a lsrger group of sensitive, musical young people. Regards, Fred Hawkins, Grandfather!

Meryl Danziger

January 17, 2013 at 1:33 pm

Thanks for your lovely comment, Fred. Working with Max is a privilege.

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