Patrick Smith's Page

In Guitar Craft I have learned how changing one small part changes everything. This is subtle, something I have experienced in my guitar practice many times before, and I continue to be amazed when I experience this again. Tonight I decided to focus on one section of Dandelion Wish that I play poorly. Has to do with moving from playing lots of arpeggios into playing an artificial harmonic, getting my right hand back to more arpeggios… Continue

Startled awake at an ungodly hour today with a phone call from work regarding an urgent issue. Nearly thirteen hours later I arrived back home, tired to say the least.

More at: A Journeyman's Way Home

Intelligence, Intermission, or Injury.

I woke this morning with stiffness in my left shoulder, just about where the weight of the guitar rests. This happens at times. Years ago I learned to relax this area as I was "lifting' this shoulder to meet the weight of the guitar. Of course I did not know I was doing this until a friend of mine from the world of dance, Bob Dunn, watched me play. I have also had irritation in the area if I turn my neck to watch my hands while I play. And perhaps I just p… Continue

I have known this for some time. There are only two times for me to practice. When I want to practice and when I do not. So what to do on a night like tonight. Exhausted.

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Dear Friends,

Happy Mothers Day.

To this day I wish I could hear my mother saying “Matka Boska.” Her parents were immigrants from Poland. Though born in America, my mom Catherine Theresa, did not learn English until she entered elementary school. This was a Catholic school run by Polish nuns.

When mom was upset with one of her children, we would usually hear her saying “Matka Boska, Matka Boska,” which translates as “Blessed Mother”.

Twenty years after her passing I was practicing guitar one… Continue