text — un: dontannoyme

[pushpin]

hey
just wanted to ask if anyone around here knows guitar & was willin to take on a student
im pretty serious about it so no bullshit offers, but i was hopin for something a little more managable than what the guy at the store was puttin up

i can cook, clean, pay a little chroma, & uh
well i know my way around most sexual acts so if u got a fantasy ur embarrassed about & want a non judgmental stranger to work shit out with, thats fine too
(guys & girls ok)
obviously u can keep whatever chroma we make outta that

or any combo of the above, we can work it out

thanks

Comments

[isntitsad]

Take it a chord at a time. For instance, let's start with C. The hand on the neck should look like this:

[Attached: a quick selfie in the music shop with one of the display guitars, clumsy and off-centre because she's taking the picture with one hand and showing off finger position with the other hand.]

Then you strum with the other hand. That corresponds to this on your sheet music.

[And another picture, this time a clef and note that she's drawn on a napkin.]

Once you've got the two correlated in your mind, you can move on to the next one.

[pushpin]

[ ...hey, this is good, FREE info! but — ]

damn does this make me feel like im back in kindergarten again

but
the thing is...... uh
i dunno how to string it either......

[ wherein he'll send a quick picture back of a... pretty beaten up acoustic guitar, wood scuffed and fretboard looking like it's hastily held together by superglue. it has one (1) string on it. ]

[isntitsad]

Wow, that does look in pretty bad shape. I can see what I can do. That might require something in person, it's a bit hard to explain over text.

[pushpin]

thats fine
uh
think u can fix it up ? like i said, i can pay u somethin fair.......

[isntitsad]

Sure! If you have coordinates, I think I know my way around the city by now.

[pushpin]

yea sure

[ and as follows, the 'address' to an apartment on Level 3. ]

[isntitsad]

Got it!

[Followed by exactly one guitar emoji. See, she's totally hip with the kids.

Marina will knock a little while later, arriving with a smile and a plastic bag full of supplies.]

Hello! Tsukishima here!

[pushpin]

[ okay well now he's definitely expecting a 70 year old lady to show up. that's not what he gets when he opens the door, a guitar that's seen better days in one hand and a lighter in the other, unlit cigarette to the corner of his mouth, but the height's about the same. she's... tiny... ]

Aah. Hey.

[ a step back and he holds the door open for her, a laid back and lived-in apartment with a full fridge and a full ashtray and the added bonus of a weird little orange creature wearing a cute, frilly apron and cleaning the windows. ]

[isntitsad]

[She bows and waves a little before coming in, taking her shoes off. It's polite.]

I hope I'm not all that late. Oh, I... guess that's your maid?

[Trying not to stare.]

[pushpin]

[ a glaaaance backwards. ]

...Nah. That's my hugbug. [ said like this is the most obvious thing in the world. the creature, focused as all get out, doesn't acknowledge them despite seeming cognizant of the fact they're discussing him. Guanshan lights up his cigarette, closing the door behind her. ]

[isntitsad]

Oh, they must be native to this place. Sorry, I'm still getting used to a few things.

[She looks over the guitar, moving to the nearest table and setting down her bag.]

It looks like this'll need some work. Did you find it here?

[pushpin]

[ he eyes the thing for a few more moments just to make sure it isn't going to interrupt their little session... it's a fucking menace once it gets on the cuddle train. but relieved, Guanshan seems to follow her in, claiming the corner of the couch opposite of the end table Marina's put her back on. the guitar's on the middle cushion, propped up as if on display, navigated around cautiously. like he's afraid of it. ]

Yeah. Some auntie in Caihong was just gonna throw it out so I gave her a little demichroma for it. Looks like it's been through hell, but...

[ a shrug. ] Figuring out how ta fix somethin' is a good way to learn about it. [ or so he was taught. ]

[isntitsad]

That's true enough. Now, I brought some tools and a new set of strings, so at least you should be able to play that way. When you're replacing your strings, you should do them all at once, though I guess in this case there's no real option not to. Here.

[She retrieves and lays out six strings on the table.]

The knobs the strings are attached to at the top are called machine heads, and the fasteners down on the body are bridge pins. Can you loosen the ones your string is on so it pops out?

[pushpin]

[ pulling the guitar into his lap, he looks it over with her direction. heads, at least, he knew — bridge pin he didn't. he really should've grabbed a few of those guitar magazines he saw last time he was at the supermarket, but, well... no one's ever said Guanshan had a whole lot of foresight. ]

[ a few of the strings are broken and shooting out at odd angles, jabbing at his clothes. he ignores them and does as he's told, beginning to twist the taut stringers loser at the head. he can see how people get hand cramps from this... ]

How often'm I supposed'a change 'em? [ give him a second and he realizes that probably depends on how often it's played... ] Like, if I fuck with it every day?

[isntitsad]

Three months or 100 hours of practice, they say. Whichever comes first. But if you're really pressed, they'll last until they break. Sometimes I've had them go twice as long as recommended. I find the G string breaks the most often -- that's this one here. Its core is the smallest.

[pushpin]

[ pressed, she says; broke he hears. he appreciates it, still. ]

Never realized they were different thicknesses 'til I got up close to 'em... Guess that's what actually makes the different sounds, huh.

[isntitsad]

That's true! Here. [Marina indicates where the strings are joined at the bridge pins.] It's usually easy to pull out the pins themselves, though I've got a tool if you need it. Like I said, it's best to change all the strings at once.

[pushpin]

A tool?

[ that sounds easier... ]

[isntitsad]

M-hm, for when they're a little tougher to take out by hand. Here, like this.

[She pulls out a small crank with a blunt manual screwdriver-type end.]

This is a string winder, but the end can also pull out stubborn bridge pins. Here, you try.

[pushpin]

[ it takes a few moments of rough examination before he figures out Slot B and Tab A. so the notched end goes around the bridge pins and yoinks them out of the hole... ]

Oh. [ so he figures it out as he experiments, the expression on his face registering wonder. figuring out a new skill like this... it's exciting. ]

I get it. [ and thus he begins to take them out one by one. ]

[isntitsad]

There, you've got it! Good job. Now put them somewhere you won't lose them, and you can take out the old strings from that side.

[She pulls out a small bottle of polish and a cloth.]

While you're doing that, I'll work on polishing the guitar. Make sure to be careful; it's seen better days.

[pushpin]

[ ah... praise...✨ ]

Yeah, awright. I was thinkin' I could get a little sandpaper and smooth down some'a the beaten edges for later. It ain't much, but...

[ well, everyone starts somewhere. ]

[isntitsad]

You care, and that's what's important, I think. If you're careful, you can make it last. It's lucky you found this.

[pushpin]

...Yeah. It was. [ a beat. ] And... thanks. Fer helpin' me.

[isntitsad]

It's not a problem! I'm always glad to help. When you're done cleaning up your guitar, just remember which order the new strings go in. I've already laid them out on the table in the right order, but in the future, you can put the old ones down in the same order and then just compare to the new ones.