Guitarists coped with the enforced isolation of the pandemic in different ways. Some finessed their technique, others checked off songs on their must-learn list. For me, productivity was my distraction: I was playing electric guitar, always plugged in, always writing, always recording. In my mind, it wouldn’t feel like a waste of a year if I had something to show for it.
The downside to this musical hot streak was a complete disconnect from the simple joy of actually playing. My Cort acoustic gathered dust on its stand in the corner of the living room, while my electrics got an eternal workout. Playing live shows with function bands had previously been my impetus for learning new material – without that catalyst, I was lost in an eternal loop of capturing perfect takes and perfect tones.
Looking back, I felt a mental – and, dare I say, spiritual – need to reconnect with the guitar as a source of enjoyment, and I was fortunate that the right trip came along at the right time: an acoustic guitar retreat with online guitar tutor royalty Justin Sandercoe (aka JustinGuitar) on the private Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Yep, that’ll do nicely.
While the trip was
