So, the other day, the name johnny mcnamara popped into my head. Can’t quite remember where I heard it, maybe some old recording or someone mentioned it in passing. It stuck with me, sounded like it might be tied to some old folk tune or maybe a particular way of playing something.
Getting Started
Curiosity got the better of me, you know how it is. First thing I did was hop on the computer. Typed ‘johnny mcnamara’ into the search bar. Well, that brought up a whole mess of results – different people, different places. Clearly needed to narrow it down.
I tried adding terms like ‘music’, ‘folk song’, ‘guitar’. Got a bit closer, but still, nothing really concrete jumped out. Lots of mentions, but scattered, you know? Like chasing smoke. I even poked around some old forums I used to hang out on, places where folks talk about obscure music stuff. Dropped a line to my buddy Dave, he’s usually good with this kind of history. He kinda remembered the name but drew a blank on specifics.
Trying it Out
After digging around for a while, I stumbled upon a little something. Wasn’t much, maybe a very short audio clip, possibly a snippet of tablature someone had scribbled down. It wasn’t clearly labeled, but it felt like it could be related. Good enough for me to give it a whirl.
So, I grabbed my old acoustic guitar. It’s been sitting in the corner gathering a bit of dust, needed a good excuse to pick it up again. I sat down and just started trying to work out the notes from that little bit I found. It was slow going at first. My fingers felt clumsy, and the rhythm felt a bit odd, not like the usual stuff I play.
- I listened to the clip over and over.
- Tried different fingerpicking patterns.
- Played it really slow, just trying to get the sequence right.
- Even recorded myself on my phone, just a quick voice memo, to hear how it actually sounded. That usually helps me spot where I’m going wrong.
Spent a good couple of evenings just noodling around with it. It wasn’t about fancy chords, seemed more about a particular timing or feel. Had to adjust my thinking a bit.
What Happened
Honestly, I’m still not 100% sure if the little melody I figured out is the definitive ‘johnny mcnamara’ thing. Might just be someone else’s interpretation or something completely different that got mislabeled along the way. Who knows?
But, you know what? It didn’t really matter in the end. The process itself was pretty enjoyable. It felt good to puzzle something out on the guitar again. It was a nice, simple tune, had a calming effect once I started getting the hang of it. It definitely got me playing more regularly again, which is the main thing.
Sometimes just following these little threads of curiosity, trying things out hands-on, is the real reward. You learn something, you keep your hands busy, and maybe you rediscover an old hobby. Can’t ask for much more than that, really.
