Between the Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars [Paperback]

John Schroeter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004

BETWEEN THE STRINGS: THE SECRET LIVES OF GUITARS is a collection of more than one-hundred selected short stories, each with a guitar at its center. A veritable compendium of the world's greatest guitarists, from BB to ZZ (B.B. King to ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, that is), the stories are inspiring, uplifting, illuminating, humorous, stirring, and edifying. Some of the stories are simply entertaining in the way they take unexpected twists and turns. Others are biographical. Many involve a guitar that was received, given away, lost, stolen, recovered, offered to its player a special song, or was pivotal in a personal relationship or life experience. Each of these stories reveals something of the human spirit, as well as something of the supernatural that sometimes makes its way into our ordinary, everyday existence. But in every case, the variety of experiences, settings, and remarkable outcomes are linked by the common celebration of life with the guitar. To paraphrase Ann Petry, "Everything you ever had, everything you ever lost. It's all there in the guitar- pain and hate and trouble and peace and quiet and love." There is so much more to music than meets the ears. To discover that, one needs only to read "between the strings."

FEATURES: Les Paul, Don McLean, George Benson, Andy Griffith, Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Peter Frampton, Doc Watson, Christopher Parkening, Eric Johnson, Earl Klugh, Jack White (White Stripes), Rick Derringer, Taj Mahal, Chet Atkins more than 100 artists in all.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Schroeter is the founding publisher of Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine, and the creator of a line of solo guitar books published in cooperation with Mel Bay Publications. He is also an award-winning producer of audiophile-quality acoustic recordings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097497370X
• ISBN-13: 978-0974973708
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars very inspiring, but..., February 11, 2005

By 

ChefBum "chefbum" (Fremont,, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between the Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars (Paperback)

I'm amazed that this is just about the only anthology of guitarists talking about their beloved instruments and how it changed their lives.

There are a lot of inspiring, uplifting stories in this book, and in many places it makes for a very good read. Very famous renowned guitarists and their colleagues/teachers lovingly and reverently recall their experiences in learning and growing with the instrument and their love of music.

Particularly heartwarming were the short stories on Segovia, Segovia's students, and Jose Feliciano.

Each short story is usually quite short-- as short as a page or two, ten pages tops. So, there are literally dozens of short stories in this book that are easily accessible.

My only caveat with this book as a guitar anthology is a significant one, however. I'd say that 50-60% of these stories are by artists who are devout or born-again Christians. So while this book appears to be a mainstream guitarists' anthology, it is virtually a Christian guitarists' book.

For those readers who are not Christian, I think many of them will be turned off (or tune out) the many stories involving guitars but really centering around the authors' Christianity and how 'God told me to give this guitar away'.

Still, there are quite a few non-religious, often humorous stories of being broke, struggling, having lost/stolen/broken/miraculously recovered instruments and other tales of discovery and enlightenment that make this book worthwhile.

There really is something special about the guitar and the people who play it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Between the Strings--- Behind the scenes, July 18, 2004

By 

Dave McAlinden (Seaside, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between the Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars (Paperback)

If you play guitar, You'll love this book.
Think of your first guit-fiddle and remember the nuances it carries with the tunes. The little quips and tricks of procedure you had to preform in order for it to sound just right. Remember how you jammed out in your parents basement imagining yourself as a rock star; "Thank you New Jersey!" you stand up and shout, like and idiot, just as your girlfriend walks in the room. Did you ever take your axe to a park bench and pretended to be an old blues traveler crying through the strings; the sullen half of your broken heart blown like dust off the fret board? Think of all the times you couldn't sleep and just sat in the dim lights of your living room with a glass of whine and played yourself off to a sunset, a dawn, or a surreal and tranquil place that no one else could go but you. This is the bedrock of Between the Strings- the self made memories, yes, behind the scenes of great musicians as a segue to all who are great musicians in their hearts.
John August Schroeter purveys, in this page-turner, that even the best inspiration is just a catalyst for your own imagination. It could be a name carved on a guitar you bought in a pawnshop that triggers you to write a song that lasts forever. Or a girl named Lucille who inadvertently almost set fire to it. For those who love, and/or live to play the guitar, know- its always going to be a part of you if not it "being" you and you it.
I highly recommend picking this one up and reading two hundred times... because each time you read each story, you get a little bit more as well as feeling all the more inspired to be more inspired to start creating.
A real treat.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring some cleanex - You will shed a tear or two, July 7, 2004

By 

"pepevergara" (California - United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between the Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars (Paperback)

Wonderful book. Easy to read. Every story is short (maximum 5 pages), but they are written in a very sensitive way. From classical to steel string to electric, all guitars are covered. The important thing is that many personalities described the love afffair with their first guitar. Others tell about the guitar love of their life. I learned a lot from this book. I am a guitar player and maker. Every sentence of this book taught me somthing. If you play or make guitar, you must read this book.