How I learned to love the guitar again

I got a message last night. I say a message but effectively it was a comment on a photo I had posted online. I was playing a mandolin, and my friend had posted "Still playing that kids guitar then Dom?" I've had similar comments about the ukulele and banjolele over the past couple of years too. Whilst this particular comment was in jest there is the persistent idea that small means unimportant.

Several friends have remarked that they are not sure why everyone is playing the ukulele. Or rather why every band seems to need a ukulele or other comedy instrument. If you've ever carried a solid bodied electric guitar, in a hard case, with an amp and a bag of cables and effects to a gig by public transport you'd know the appeal of the tiny acoustic instrument. I recently started playing a smaller guitar to make things easier on myself and am still considering a Martin Backpacker so I can ride to rehearsals on my bike.

The beauty and simplicity of the uke or mandolin is the short scale and small number of strings. I have written before about becoming disillusioned, by age and lack of activity/success, with the guitar. I called into question why I even bothered playing it. I started playing the uke in 2009 after hearing about a uke band playing at an awards ceremony. I googled ukulele orchestra and saw the ukulele orchestra of great britain on youtube. I bought myself one for christmas just as I was going through a painful breakup.

I went along to a ukulele group at work, and another above a pub in Stoke Newington. It was fun. I wanted to play with other people too. In late 2010 I met (through a ukulele mailing list) Warren and the Buskers on Bikes. We rehearsed. We trained. We cycled Land's end to John O'Groats together playing gigs. An old school friend asked me to play a one-off gig with him. I started learning the mandolin. BOB played a few more gigs. I auditioned for the London Gypsy Orchestra on the guitar.

So there it is. Back to the guitar. I'm now playing with three groups of people and enjoying music more than I have done since my early 20's. I understand theory better now that I play 3 instruments tuned differently. As a guitarist I learn't chords and scales but could only relate them to the guitar. Learnign the uke and mandolin I needed to know why  the chord I was playing was a Insert chord name.

In short the ukulele reawakened my enjoyment of playing.The banjolele helped me to find my place in a band for the first time in years. The mandolin made me realise how music is constructed (and how loud a small instrument can be). The guitar became the instrument I continue to love most.

Bike to bestival

I am starting to get very, VERY, Exited!

On the 27th it will be a year since weset of to do our Land's End to John O'groats ride as Buskers on Bikes (we raised a total of £10,000 for Cancer Research UK - so thanks a million to everyone who donated). This year Warren, Sophie and I have tried something a little different.   - this September we're organising, the inaugural Bike to Bestival: a 2-day, musical 90-mile ride from London to the Isle of Wight with 35 other cyclists…

All the riders have already paid to go to festival, and have stumped up the costs of the ride out of their own pocket. All sponsorship monies go straight to Cancer Research UK. We've set each of the riders a target of £200 which we're hoping they'll exceed, but as one of the organisers I've pledged to do the same.

You can read all about the planning for the musical and cycling parts of the ride on our blog and Facebook pages
 
http://biketobestival.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/BikeToBestival

You can see our event on the festival website in the news section. If you'd like to sponsor me then you can find my justgiving page here:


http://www.justgiving.com/DominicBall

Anyway... This Sunday we're meeting to play together as a band for the first time!! Very Exited!!

Bike to Bestival

Warren, Sophie and I are organising this event this year. Please come along and join the fun

Tickets now available for Bike to Bestival from www.WeGotTickets.com

Charity work or fun?

During a conversation at work the other day, I was asked why I didn’t do any voluntary work. We talked a little about the fundraising I have done for Cancer Research and the further fundraising I have planned for this year, but then it came up again, the idea that this wasn’t actual voluntary work.

I answered that I thought that it was important to take the skills that you have and to use these for charities and third sector organisations (Civil Society in Cameron-speak).  If what you have is time, and that is what you want to give then go ahead. If you want to develop your skills by stretching yourself in new ways, again, go ahead.

My own journey into this was a desire to do something challenging for myself. I had thought about taking a long trip through Europe by bike, maybe to visit friends en-route. When I came across Warren’s idea to cycle, busk and raise money for Cancer Research a little light came on in my head. Why not combine what I wanted with helping others to achieve their goals.

My own approach to this is that I may well go ahead and do these things anyway, but I will get more out of the experience and provide money for valuable work if I do it as a charity event.

After the buskers on bikes event last year I really wanted to find something else to do. When the bike to bestival idea was floated I really wanted to make sure that part of the ethos was to raise money for charity. An equally important part of the event would be tied to the extending the bestival experience for those attending. 

I now find myself part of the team organising a fairly large (for me) cycling event, an element of which should bring in thousands of pounds to charity. This doesn’t make me a saint, but it doesn’t make lazy or uncommitted to the third sector either. 

Whatever life throws at you and whatever opportunities life offers take them and do right by yourself and by others. Everyone wins.

New flat... New outlook

It's been nearly a month since I last wrote a blog post. I've been off cycling from land's end to John o groats, and jolly good fun it's been.
You can read about it at the BOB blog http://buskingbikers.blogspot.com/
I had an amazing time with some new friends, many of which I think may be friends for life. I have actually enjoyed playing gigs. Something I enjoyed less and less as I moved from band to band. I have something to contribute on the uke and in particular the banjolele.
After watching a guy play the mandolin I think I may have found my next instrument. Always wanted to play 12 string guitar but found it clumsy... And here it is... All the jangle in a pocket sized instrument with the magic element. 4 strings ( well courses in this case )
Ha ha home. ( to a new flat in stokie with the lovely miss s )
1000 miles, 17 days and 10 gigs...