I’m starting to practice more now that I don’t have papers to grade. The last lesson was also an excuse to try out my new Marantz PMD660 portable digital recorder, which I bought to record interviews and maybe do podcasts (although I’m not really inclined to do this for students who are too lazy to get to class). I’m pretty inept when it comes to electronics (or any other gadget) but this is pretty easy to figure out.

It was a good idea to tape the Travis picking that Josh showed me, because I pretty much managed to forget it a few days later! We’re working on “Landslide” (yes, the Stevie Nicks song, although in the key used by the Dixie Chicks since I don’t smoke so can’t reach Stevie’s lowest notes). Not ready for YouTube yet (or ever) but starting get it. He also recommended getting “Singing for Dummies” so that I can eventually get the hang of playing/singing at the same time.