Hideo meets the guitar.

                                                                There are some instruments that pair very well with the shakuhachi  and those that most certainly do not. Sure, this is subject to the ears and magic of the listener ,so it is all relative. The koto and other Japanese instruments are among the most likely to be appreciated in duets or ensembles. And many western style instruments pair well also. I feel the classical guitar belongs in this group. Well, both the classical and standard steel stringed acoustic work well with the range of the shakuhachi and in the right key can be beautiful together. I'd LOVE to explore this relationship someday and to bring these two together. Currently, I own two guitars: a fender stratocaster electric from 2000 and a beautiful classical guitar from Cordoba.

 This Fender is not really going to be a duet partner any time soon. Just a bit too harsh for me and I'm going to save that for later when I have been able to improve my classical guitar playing. but I must say, I adore this guitar and with the Fender amp, sound sampling and various effects I can play with, it's a delight to play. I have had this guitar twice: I sold it way back in 2004 and regretted it greatly. So I bought it again a few years ago and will not do that again.







    Now, my Cordoba "Dolce" classical guitar is something I truly cherish. I looked high and low for a reasonably priced classical that was not only a wee bit smaller in size, to accommodate these smaller hands, but also was beautiful to gaze my eyes upon. This is what I found...

 Is this not a stunning guitar?!

   

 So, I was able to find something that would be a perfect fit with any other instruments I could play and be in my price range. I've now had this Dolce since 2009 and adore it! While not exactly the best classical guitarist by any means, when I'm playing well and the fingers work, it is a joy.  The left hand fretting fingers have never been the same since almost losing the hands in a cat bite incident in 2013 and subsequent week long hospital stay. My fingers on both hands had bites to the bone as well as major infections within. They still have trouble bending on some days so that makes any guitar playing problematic and difficult. But...working on that issue and hopefully can get back to where I was with it a few years before the feline kiss.



  So there you have it. Perhaps I can marry these two instruments together someday and lay down tracks to play them. There are some wonderful pieces for both that could be fun to duet with. Could be interesting to find someone to play with and experiment. :-)

*******************************************************