Guitar Pieces

I went to my cottage in late October to close it up for the winter.

It was cold that week! The house isn’t insulated, and the only options for heating are an open fireplace (which lets most of the energy escape up the chimney) and a kerosene heater that is inadequate for the large open living space. And neither can offset the gaps in the windows! So, whenever I wasn’t out doing chores, my world diminished to a tiny 8×8 bedroom.

One evening, I got a hockey game going quietly on the iPad and brought the guitar in from the cold living room. After it warmed up, this song is what came out.

I had been listening to a lot of Trevor Gordon Hall’s outstanding album Light Through Colored Glass. The intro and title of this piece recall his tune, It Will Not Always Be Winter. Which, of course, is a much more hopeful title (as are many of his other song titles).

For my part, I’ve lately been trying to avoid statements about what the future should be expected to bring, whether hopeful or otherwise. But winter is such an inevitable and inexorable reality in most of Canada, and it looms so large in the country’s history and mythology, that its presence can be constantly felt lurking there in the background even through warmer times.

Here’s a transcription of the piece if you’re curious. I’d love to hear your thoughts!