Van Morrison and two members of his band on stage at Shepherd's Bush Empire.
Why is it that, despite being in love with music for more than half a century, I cannot play a single note on any musical instrument?
It’s always been such a regret that I never learned anything beyond some childish messing about on a harmonica. I could once manage “Yellow Submarine” but if you think about the notes in that song, you’ll realise it wasn’t much of an achievement!
I strongly suspect my previous working life would have prevented me from doing the amount of practice required for piano or guitar, and that I’d often have had to call the teacher and say I couldn’t make it. But that’s a pathetic excuse.
Having retired from my rather all-consuming job at Sky News, I no longer have excuses. I still do some coaching and consultancy, but still have plenty of time for other other pursuits.
So now I want to tell people about my incredibly exciting week. It started with a Van Morrison concert, took me to my first guitar lesson on Wednesday and had me owning my own guitar by Sunday afternoon.
I want to share it partly out of self-indulgence, but mainly to help urge anyone who hasn’t taken a similar plunge — especially in retirement — to get on and do it.
I had already been thinking recently about getting a guitar and sorting out some lessons. But the epiphany came at a Monday night Van Morrison concert at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
When you’re a music legend with a career spanning sixty years and you have a new album, you can surround yourself with the very best musicians.
The two guitarists, keyboard player, saxophonist, drummer and trumpet player — not to mention Van Morrison himself — were utterly spellbinding. On many tracks, these superb musicians played tag with scintillating solo slots and delicious improvisations. And they all seemed to derive such joy from it.
“That’s it,” I thought. I need to get started. I will never emulate those musicians, but I can at least learn to play a few chords.
By Wednesday, I was sitting in the front room of James Stratton’s home in North London, listening to his crystal words of wisdom about playing guitar.
I found him via www.londonguitaracademy.com and had to explain to him straight away that I knew absolutely nothing.
Now I at least know something. I know about the nut, the bridge, the frets, the neck and the body. And I can strum a chord in E and another in A.
The first lesson was informative, very clear and great fun. And James doesn’t seem to mind at all that he’s got a complete beginner on his hands. He’s been playing guitars for fifty years, starting when he was a young child.
We discussed music I was interested in, and we went through Bowie, Radiohead, Paul Simon, Oasis, Velvet Underground, Massive Attack, The Smiths, Joy Division, Amy Winehouse, R.E.M., Prince, and much more.
The next thing I know, James is taking me on a musical journey around my own tastes, strumming the opening chords to different tracks.
So, as he started playing Street Spirit (Radiohead), I found myself singing along – “Rows of houses, bearing down on me….”
Then The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel) – “I am just a poor boy, though my story’s seldom told…”
And Live Forever (Oasis) – “Maybe, I don’t really want to know, how your garden grows…I just want to fly!”
I left James' house with a big, silly grin on my face and a guitar to practise on.
At the weekend I bought my own guitar (see above), and my second lesson is coming up soon. However, if you want me to join your band, you may need to think about an interim solution…
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