I'm furiously packing for a school trip. My son and I will be exploring the Gold Country of California along with thirty classmates, his teacher, her aide, and 15 other parents.
Of course I'm bringing a guitar. But not my guitar. I can't leave a new Taylor in a hot car while we go on tours. Time for the cruddy beach guitar to come out of the closet!
Join us as we discuss what to use when you're on the road - whether a trip, a move, or a concert tour.
I'm not even bringing a keyboard. I have one very portable keyboard, a Yamaha from 1992, and another that's moveable in theory but tends to stay in the same place, my Korg. This one has built-in speakers but still needs electricity; the Yamaha runs on batteries. I've used the Yamaha when I was asked to play at a wedding on a beach, a good half a mile from any kind of outlet.
As for guitars I don't mind banging around, this one is probably the least valuable of our extended collection. Another Yamaha. It sounds okay as long as you don't play any of our other guitars. Then you'd want to burn it.
The store where my son and I take our guitar lessons has a guitar made for travelling and not disturbing people. It looks like a neck and the suggestion of a body, but basically there's no soundbox. It will keep your fingers in practice, though. The picture at right is one example.
Have any of you disturbed people with your music-making while travelling? How do you singers keep the volume down while you practice? How about the other acoustic instruments (at least electrics can use headphones)?
Share your travel stories here!
This is a community diary. All topics on musicians, music, and other noise are welcome.
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#9 - 5/12/07 What are you trying to improve?
#8 - 5/05/07 Cinco de Mayo Edition!
#7 - 4/29/07 Requests You Won't Play
#6 - 4/22/07 Crossovers and Genre Jumps
#5 - 4/14/07 Inane Song Structures (Pachelbel)
#4 - 4/07/07 Ear Playing vs Sight Reading
#3 - 3/31/07 Perfect and Relative Pitch
#2 - 3/25/07 Music Lessons
#1 - 3/18/07 Jokes & Stories