Dean Markley 2034 Blue Steel Acoustic Guitar String LT Gauge .011 - .046

The Experience

The dorms are deserted. Everyone has gone home for the holidays. The practice rooms are empty. I’ve worked all semester… for this. And there’s hardly anyone here. To hear. It’s just me. Me and my jury.

So much snow outside. Two more feet are forecast over the weekend, on top of the three already out on the ground. Once I finish this performance I have the great fortune of driving back home to my family in a blizzard.

I know what the faculty thinks. That I don’t take the repertoire seriously. That I haven’t put in the time working through the etudes. That I’m wasting my time with this steel-string. That I’ll never be more than a marginally talented amateur. That this fingerpicking thing is just a lark. So much potential, so little discipline, they’ve said. But in a few minutes I’ll walk out onto that stage and I’ll play the piece I’ve composed just for this jury. I’ll go out there, and I will defrost those men in their smart ties, wrapped tightly in their precious opinions. They’d like me to be nervous. But I’m cool. In fact, I’m cold as steel.

Dean Markley Blue Steel acoustic strings, cryogenically treated for brighter tone and extended life. Go out and melt the cold.