Out of the way

I have played with a guitar every so often for a long time. Decades. But I was never any good at it (or any other musical thing) as far as I could tell. Last time I went to Australia I came back with the guitar that has sat sadly in a corner for ages, and decided I would give it a go.

So far, so good. I can play the odd thing that other people recognise. I can find music on the web with my mobile phone. (Hard to look at, but nice to know Or without it. A couple of nights ago I was especially pleased. I went looking for chords to "Ludlow Massacre" by Woody Guthrie, but I couldn't find them anywhere. The best I could do was an image of the melody score. I managed to get chords out of it, that sounded right and looked right and that I could play. They're not very complicated, but here they are:

Chords for "Ludlow Massacre" - words by Woody Guthrie

C            G                              C
It was early springtime that the strike was on
              F             G
They moved us miners out of doors
             C               G            C
Out from the houses that the company owned
              G               C
We moved into tents at old Ludlow

(The rest of it is easy enough to find by searching, along with the melody, I suppose).

So what is the copyright on that? I made up the chords myself - are they mine? But I based them on my (possibly unique, and certainly not "conventional" since I lack the skill) interpretation of a melody. I don't even know who made up the melody - I just "saw it on the web". Anyway, I'm not likely to make a fortune out of it, nor be deprived of one if someone else copies me instead of doing the same thing for themselves. (If I can do it in half an hour, I figure any capable musician could do it in about 3 minutes).

So what have I learned? I don't know. Clearly practising is good. Clearly growing older and thinking on stuff a bit is good. Clearly sometimes you can't practice, or think. I had a strumming pattern for a song that sounded really good, and then every time I opened my mouth to sing it just went away. And if I tried to think about it, it went away. I wonder if it will come back. I guess so - it wasn't really rocket science.

So if anyone tells you I have no musical talent at all, they're lying. I am not tone deaf, I am not "incapable of holding a tune" and I don't have "no sense of rhythm".

Although at times it seems like it. My brother apparently has perfect pitch. Most of the time I haven't a clue, and only get there eventually by some process that seems mostly based on unconscious self-feedback by osmosis or something.

But what they heck. I enjoy it, and I'll sing stuff if I want. I can always just avoid that pub and all those friends for 10 years in shame...

But that is as unlikely as me being a concert musician.