The article is long and just found a plug-in to hide the massive thing. Just click on the ’show’ link and it should expand to show you the article. This will be of particular interest to you guitar players out there. Yes, I did get permission to reprint.
Inspiration can come at very unexpected times, but mostly from need. When Tim Johnson, a classically-trained guitarist, had a severe accident several years ago, it left him in a position where he was unable to pass the time with his passion – playing guitar. Like most things loved, he still found a way to whittle away the hours by merely playing while on his back. This would be the moment that would change the way he played guitar forever.
To understand the needs that brought about his revelation, one has to have a little history lesson in the classic guitar – hey, no nodding off! In 1863, what would become the standard in classical guitar was based on the average size of the average Spanish guitar player — a man of a mere 5’4†in height. Tim is 6’3â€. This not only means that the classical guitar is technically too small for him, it also puts undo pressure on the arms decreasing his ability to pluck quickly.
In 1991, Tim found himself with a full scholarship to the University of Denver Lamont School of Denver and devoted himself to the classical guitar under the tutelage of Maestro Ricardo Iznaola. Iznaola basically stripped away all that Tim had learned and started his training from scratch. Over his years of study, it became more and more apparent and frustrating the size of the guitar.
The frustration lay in the fact that he was watching people as talented improve on a much quicker time scale due mainly to their smaller size. Why even put yourself through this heartache when you had already had a love for performing with a band? “My teacher was a renegade. You want to study with a player who goes out of his way to play something not considered playable on the guitar,†Tim explains.
Flash-forward to the accident and, once more, Tim had to adjust his playing. No matter what he did, he could not find a position that was both comfortable and allowed him to relax enough to play his best with his injuries and his larger size. A chance meeting with another guitarist led him to try what is known as the Alexander Techniques that he applied to all of his everyday activities. It was like going to an all-guitarist prep school and having to balance a Stratocaster on your head whilst serving tea, but it still wasn’t quite enough.
It was then he hit upon the idea of modifying the guitar itself. This was an obstacle that was difficult to get beyond as the classical guitar is the Holy Grail of guitars and is not to be altered; however, his teacher actually validated the idea by placing a towel under Tim’s arm. The result surprised Maestro Iznaola. Tim was playing better.
Tim ran with the idea and created a block of wood to rest his arm on the guitar attaching it with Velcro. The Velcro was dropped after a few prototypes and replaced with struts, suction cups and other parts that make the Guitarest a device anyone serious about guitar should check out especially with the Leg Rest as it is highly adjustable to any playing position and style.
Tim says it does more than just allow the player to adjust to the rigors of playing the classical guitar, but it also works to help the sound of any guitar. Because the guitar is not resting directly on the body, it opens up the sound of the guitar. “Imagine a tuning fork,†Tim explains. “Once you hit it, it sustains its pitch and sound, but as soon as you press it on your body, the sound mutes.†Keeping the guitar “suspended†away from the body allows the guitar’s sound to really come through.
He has already had several professionals examine the Guitarest and all are duly impressed including a classic guitar professor at Yale University, Benjamin Verdery, who commends Tim for his hard work saying that someone has needed to go the extra mile with the classical guitar. “I have seen this device transform certain players’ sound and posture almost instantly.†Verdery himself uses it and touts the benefits of the Leg Rest for his own playing saying it is “…flexible enough for me to never need to use a footstool again.â€
Tim now holds two degrees, three patents and a handful of students. Oh, yes, he teaches what he’s learned to others including this writer who he helped learn a technique to handle those damnable ‘F’ chords that I always have trouble with. Tim is patient and knowledge and enjoys teaching those in which he sees the passion of playing. Tim says he loves to inspire those hungry to learn guitar by providing information, inspiration and motivation. It is then up to the student to provide the perspiration in order to put what they learned into something they can be proud of.
You would think that Tim would now focus on getting his invention publicized and made famous – and you would be right, but he is simply not content with going the traditional route. Tim has the same itching that most musicians have. He wants to get back up on stage. With a six-month stint under his belt with the local band, Walker Williams Band, Tim rediscovered his love of being on stage and re-embraced his love of the Country & Western genre – a genre he definitely has the voice for.
Putting in his demo CD will illicit a shock as the voice coming out of the speakers is far more polished and radio-friendly than you would expect. It’s no wonder music-industry-renowned vocal coach Chip Hand said, “Tim’s voice is a very commercial-sounding, country voice…a cross between Joe Nichols, Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam.†Besides being a tremendous compliment, it spurred Tim to work harder on launching a career in country music.
He started off with reading a book he now swears-by, “Booking, Marketing and Promoting Your Own Music†by Nyree Belleville and learned that he now needs to be his own manager, booking agent, publicist, merchandiser and record label in addition to being an artist. He also has decided that 2007 will be the year he finally writes and records his first album of original material.
“Think of it as a hobby.†That’s the Tim Johnson approach to songwriting and performing. He says you have to have fun with it. “Once it becomes a 9-to-5 job then everything suffers,†he says. Of course, he added that if you have a musical education as a foundation then performing and writing become much easier. Combine that with lots of practice and you have the recipe for being a happy musical artist. Tim is happy and he likes the decisions he’s made in the last few years, but does it show when he is performing? “It’s the happiest friends say they have ever seen me. I feels like that’s where I’m supposed to be.â€
Tim is currently accepting new students from beginners to more advanced players. You can contact him at 720-280-9037 or guitarest@earthlink.net to ask about learning to play or if you would like more information about the Guitarest. His website is http://www.guitarest.com.
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