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As I pick up the guitar, a rare occurrence being the only inept musician in my household (besides my father but he's never touched an instrument in his life), I think of what I want to learn to play (keep in mind I don't really know how to play guitar). I settle on "Keep on Rocking in the Free World" by Neil Young. Because it is easy, and it has a good meaning. As my fingers stumble along the frets and strings learning to play the simple chords (Em, D, C) in order and I hum the simple tune I discover that learning an instrument is what you make of it. The key is to play something familiar, and something that inspires.

I've been trying to learn my "first song" for a week or two now, and it seems I just pick the wrong songs. "Let it be" (The Beatles) "Anybody Else But You" (The Moldy Peaches) "Wonderwall" (Oasis). All of these songs were suggested to me, because they are EASY! And its true, they are, but they did not forge creativity and inspiration inside me. Playing these songs left me bored, to say the least, and I soon found that my regular guitar practice became infrequent. Something in Neil Young's song sparked interest in me though.

I'm not even a huge fan of Neil Young. Usually I find his folksy songs long, slow and draining. Maybe it is the eternal truth in the song, of the poverty and despair that strikes everywhere in society and the hope that Rock and Roll can bring in the darkness of the night. I found that it was that motivation that helped me learn the song. Even as I stumbled to make the simple switch from a D chord to a C chord the song told me that I was on my way. By the end of an hour of beating on the strings with a pick and my thumb and sore fingers (yeah I'm a coward), I was able to, with some inaccuracies, play through the first verse of the song and even sing it allowed.

With a few more practices under my belt, and hopefully a few lessons from my brother, I'll be able to play through the chorus and the whole song. The goal? Simple. To learn my first song. From there, anythings possible, no closed doors. I figure its the only barrier in learning an instrument, getting through that first song. If playing is a burden, or frustrating and unrewarding, you'll never learn, you have to enjoy it and you have to feel like you're accomplishing something (something I learned during my excruciating years of piano lessons). So I say to you, "Keep on Rocking in the Free World!"

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