This review has been removed but is
available at the website of those lovely people at Starburst Magazine. Just
follow the link:
Sunday 29 April 2012
Friday 20 April 2012
How Bert Weedon Changed the World.
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| The the most culturally important book in western civilisation? |
More years ago than I care to remember, I decided that I wanted to be a Rock Star. All journeys start with a first step and mine was to ask my mum to get me a guitar and a book on how to play it for Christmas. So I got a cheap nylon strung guitar and a book the bloke in the shop assured my mum was all I’d need. I spent that Christmas with Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day and my life has never been quite the same since. Bert wasn’t exactly how I imagined myself. My dad looked cooler than Bert my dad really wasn’t that cool. Bert also didn’t seem to have the faintest idea what I wanted to play; which was hardly surprising, given that he wrote the book in 1957. There were no classic rawk-riffs or tips on sustaining a power chord; instead I seem to remember struggling away on When the Saints Go Marching In and the not-so-awesome Polly Wolly Doodle. And struggle I did. One of the first lessons learned was that Bert was lying; I did not learn to play in a day. I’ve never met anyone who did. Yet I’ve certainly met many who, with Bert’s help, tried. That’s just it; this really was the book that most people used. Some people went and had lessons but that’s no way to learn how to Rock and I sneer in their general direction. Bert’s book is, to this day, the only lesson I’ve ever had. OK, I never did quite become a Rock Star but I tread the boards of the pubs of the South West most weekends nowadays. I certainly don’t do it for the money; I do it because with my axe in my hands I feel the magical control of that big noise coming out of my amp. People applaud and cheer and I feel special. In my own little micro-world, I am a Rock Star. I learned far more from tabs and just mucking about in my bedroom than Bert ever taught me; but it was Burt who got me started. And if you think about how many people have a share in live music and the guitar’s iconic status, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Play in a Day is one of the most culturally important books in western civilisation. Bert passed away on 20th April aged 91. Play in a Day will remain in print for the foreseeable future.
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| Not me, yesterday. |
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