I've kept my old Spanish guitar, but without too much difficulty I found a beautiful steel string guitar called a Tanglewood. It sounds like a Martin, but because it's manufactured in China, it was much cheaper.
I used to have trouble with my fingernails, which are naturally rather soft and prone to go ragged or break. Nowadays I can go into any nail bar and get acrylic nails that will last for about a month and are better than fingerpicks.
Times have changed in other ways. Now I have a little electronic gadget I clip on the head of the guitar to help me tune it. If the battery runs out on that I have an app on my telephone that'll do the job. I have two or three really good capos, a great strap and an astonishingly good pick-up in my sound box. I use strings called Elixir that sound wonderful and last a long time.
You can get the lyrics to almost anything on the internet. You can see and hear millions of people, famous and obscure, singing their songs on You Tube - even I'm there now. You can get free tutorials. With a lot of practice I can now play 'Blackbird' pretty much like McCartney does. I also have a funky version of the St James Infirmary Blues.
I used to go to poetry readings with a folder tucked under my arm. Now I stride about the streets with a guitar case and it's a very different experience. People smile at you. People speak to you. When you meet other people carrying guitars you can chat very easily. It's like being a member of a club, or a BMW owner. You can jam with other musicians in a way you can't among poets. Women look at you differently - honest. You're not just a scruff with a book, you're a scruff with soul.
I've enjoyed myself enormously, and the muse has visited me. You can order my first CD 'Litanies' from Rrrants.com - 10 songs for a mere £5.00. I've just finished recording the second - 'Kids' songs you may not have heard' and it will be available before Christmas.
Have a little listen -
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