The Gift that Keeps On Giving

...or what happens when you procure an electric guitar for a minor

Do the words, "Only 43 more shopping days until..." send a shudder down your spine? Are you dreading the daily avalanche of mail-order catalogs brimming with monogrammed pastel polo shirts (in "our finest ever cotton pique!") and polar fleece ear warmers? Depressed over the thought of spending your money on another round of meaningless, generic, impersonal gifts?

Ho, ho, ho -- welcome to the darkest days of winter. As if shoveling the driveway and scraping the windshield every morning aren't enough of a time sink, from now till just after the winter solstice we're all doomed to burning the dwindling days in fruitless search of the Perfect Gift.

Let me suggest a happy alternative: music.

No, I'm not talking about more downloads from iTunes or yet another pair of designer earbuds that will end up in the washing machine within a week. I'm talking about real, make-your-own, hands-on music.

When my oldest son was in 5th grade, my wife and I were stumped about what to get him for Christmas. He was in the tweens--too old for toys, to young for a shaving kit. And we wanted something more active and participatory than an mp3 player, video game, or movie on dvd. We knew he loved listening to music, and that summer we'd treated him (and the whole family) to a concert featuring his favorite band. So it wasn't a big leap of insight to think of putting a musical instrument under the Christmas tree.

But which one? He'd already dabbled a bit on piano without much of a spark, and he didn't show any interest in dad's acoustic guitar. We puzzled over this for a week or more, until it dawned on us that maybe he'd enjoy playing the same kind of music he listened to 24/7. That made it easy. Rock plus roll equals electric guitar!

We headed to our local music store, Piccolo's Music. (Disclaimer: I now teach lessons at Piccolo's and write their blog, but then you know that!) They had a great kid-sized Squier electric guitar that cost less than two video games. We bought a small amplifier, too, and a cool guitar strap. Still wondering if we'd done the right thing, we waited to see our son's reaction on Christmas day.

That Christmas was a decade ago. Our 5th grader is now off at college in another state, studying marine biology. I'm thrilled to say that he has a guitar with him in his dorm room, although I'm sure he was disappointed that there was space for only one of his four guitars. He turned out to be a talented musician, better than his old man. His passion for music really took off when he discovered that playing music was even better than just listening to it. Since then, he's jump-started many new friendships simply by having a guitar in his hands. Playing music has also enhanced his self-esteem and confidence--it's a consistent, positive ingredient in how he sees himself among his peers, in who he is.

Buying that little Squier Stratocaster all those years ago seemed risky at the time. Now it's the most obvious, sensible thing we've ever done as parents.

Music gifts are easy to tailor to that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. If they already play a musical instrument, check out all the accessories, sheet music, and instructional materials available for that specific instrument. Musicians will always appreciate an upgrade to a better instrument, a new instrument stand, or better sound equipment. For someone new to music, go with their favorite genre of music and consider which instruments are used to play that genre. Strings, reeds, sheet music, tuners, and metronomes all make great stocking stuffers. When in doubt, you can always get them a gift certificate. And don't forget a starter set of lessons with a good teacher.

This year, leave the polo shirts and polar fleece for someone else's tree. Give the gift of music.

Hum a Ditty for Humidity

Don't leave your guitar in the snow.

Weird October weather for Montana. Still in the 60s, and no frost yet here on Helena's Upper West side. I can't remember such an extended Indian summer in Montana in the last 30 years. Usually we see at least one snow storm in September (or late August)--this year, nada.

I must have a biological clock, linked to my musical instruments, though. I keep reminding myself that winter's coming and it's time to get serious again about humidifying instruments. I use Dampit brand hose humidifiers in my fiddles, mandolin, and acoustic guitars. A Dampit is a piece of green rubber hose with a sponge inside. You run it under the faucet, squeeze out the excess moisture, towel it dry on the outside, and then stick it in the instrument. And then--an important step--put the instrument in its case when you're not playing it. This keeps the humidity in the case and in your instrument, instead of just wicking away into the house.

The guitar Dampit comes either as a plain hose, or with a plastic soundhole cover. I quit using the soundhole cover because I want to humidify my fingerboard, too, not just the inside of the guitar. When a fingerboard dries out, the wood shrinks, leaving the metal frets poking out the sides. Ouch!

So the guitar Dampit fits between two strings and dangles into the soundhole. The mando and fiddle dampits snake into the f-holes. Al of these have a wide cap that prevents them from falling completely into the instrument.

I check the sponges every other day when the air dries out. I aim to keep the humidity in each case around 45 to 55 percent. Heating our houses in the winter can drop ambient humidity into the low teens or even single digits, which can crack a top or back, or cause seam separations. Much easier (and cheaper) to use a simple humidifier.