Keep on Strummin'

We are rockin'! Yesterday afternoon I took my eldest to buy his electric guitar. We went to a specialist shop in Castelnau le Lez - a wonderful emporium dedicated to everything guitar-shaped string.

I explained our mission - sent from the guitar teacher, and needing the full caboodle: guitar, bag, tuner, ampli, struts, strap, connecting bits and bobs. A rather delicious (too young) guy with lively eyes took us into the depths of the back. There were guitars of all sorts hanging up from every available spot. On one side were the acoustic guitars (guitare sèche...!) and in a little enclave were the electric ones, together with a pile of amplifiers.

The guy sat on a stool having fished a guitar off the wall explaining that it was the one they recommended for beginners as it has an excellent sound, and is very good value. It's an Ibanez GRG170 (so now you know...).

He then took an ampli and proceeded to give a demonstration of the various sounds it could produce, playing some appropriate song for each type. I'm a sucker for musicians, especially young handsome ones, and so I had a ball. My eldest was going "Oh, c'est cool" and pretended to strum along too, and the guy definitely appreciated our enthusiasm because he gave us 10% off and threw the case in for nuffink.

Of course, I nearly passed out at the bill - it'll have to come off the boys' inheritance, but it's also an investment. I'm now hoping my eldest will be a real whizz at the electric guitar, become a terribly famous drug-free guitarist and make so much money he can keep his mother in the style to which she intends to become accustomed...

Plan B is still that he does well at school and further education, and becomes the marvellous vet he's talking about wanting to be at the moment.

Our house has been full of electrically-saturated twangs since yesterday. My youngest has been getting on the digital piano and joining in with as many different sounds as possible but especially the ones that keep a sustained note, like the 'organ' and 'synth'. All we need now is a drum kit... on second thoughts, maybe we don't!

Strum-a-lum

Both the boys have decided they want to learn to play the electric guitar, since last night. We spent the evening listening to the efforts of the music students at the local music school, including my eldest who does solfège there. He learns the violin with his teacher where we used to live and participated in their music concert a couple of weeks ago.

Last night, with the other solfège kids, he was on the kazoo, so hardly the coolest instrument of the bunch... They did a rendition of some French pop song which I could la la laa to you, but whose name escapes me for the moment.

Other recitals came from children who played the drums, the guitar - both acoustic and electric, piano, song and violin. One young girl played the piano and sang her own composition. She must only have been about 9. I was most impressed.

Obviously the drums and electric guitar have enormous success with young people, who flock to lessons in the greatest numbers, especially when there is a cool, dynamic teacher to get them going. I was very impressed with both the drummers and the guitarists - drummers because the coordination needed to deal with three different beats from the hands and feet is a real feat, and guitarists because they were terrific and enthusiastic. Instead of intervals, the guitarists with a drummer did a series of 'Riffs' where they played a few bars of a famous song or advert and gave a lollipop to the person who identified the piece of music. That was a great success, with the ados behind me taking it all very animatedly, and little children at the front running about getting the answers from their parents.

One thing's for sure, around here, if any local band needs a guitarist or a drummer, they'll have embarras du choix if they go to the music school. In fact, the band idea is one that appeals to my eldest, for the moment. He's decided he wants to be a pop star...

I was actually surprised that my youngest didn't jump on the idea of learning to play the drums. He may well do yet, of course but for the moment I think he fancies himself leaping about a stage with a guitar. I wonder if I should consult Ebay. Any advice on guitars for children will be gratefully received!