February, 2007, and my son has a few months of lessons under his belt. I sat in the studio waiting room this week listening to them take turns playing the chords of a simple song while the other improvised. I had to turn around and watch to see who was playing which part--they sounded very good. His teacher suggested that he get a tape recorder and do this on his own--first play the song into the recorder, then play it back and practice his improvisation. My dad had lots of recording equipment and gadgets, so I dug out a small recorder with a stereo mic built in, and a 3V adaptor (so I don't go broke buying batteries!) and set him up. Didn't take any time before he was playing back the basic song and improvising over the top of it.

He is still dying to get his hands on an electric guitar, and no one is preventing him. We just had a big purchase of a video game player (Wii) and several games to go with it (part christmas money, part his saved allowance), so he has to save up for a while for the electric guitar and amp that he wants, but he is motivated! I think this summer I may have a son who goes into the lawn mowing business because he's too young to work in some of the retail places yet.

Don, if you're still following this thread, a cousin of mine is getting married in Seattle on Aug. 11. I'm going to try to bring the kids up, and if I do the visit will be very short, but I'd love to have some time to let you and Bob and Jean and whoever else is so inclined sit down and meet Dylan and Caroline and share your stories of music with their grandfather. He'd be so proud of these two, and I think you'll enjoy them. At the same time, I want them to know some of the people who helped his love of music come to life.

I would like to pick up some recordings by current performers who have crossed over from rock to classical or traditional. I've read about several over the years, but the only one I can think of right now is Sting. Who else is versatile in rock and classic or jazz, etc., to listen to for inspiration?

Maggie