By Tom Mitsos
Edited by Lauren Fitch
“If these walls could talk…” is a common expression people say when they are in the location of a historic event. Brandon Marshall’s guitar may not be historic in any way, but if his guitar Ariel II could talk, it would have a few stories to tell.
Ariel II entered Marshall’s life in December 2008.
Marshall, a sophomore at Grand Valley State University, credits his desire to learn the guitar to video games such as “Guitar Hero.” Though he said playing the songs on “Guitar Hero” was becoming less fulfilling.
“Playing songs with a real guitar is more fun,” he said.
Ariel II, named after the Disney character Ariel because of its metallic red body, is a Squier Stratocaster by Fender.
Marshall bought the electric guitar in December 2008 from his uncle, Phil Ryski, after learning to play in June of the same year.
Ryski bought it in a yard sale near his home in Belleville, Mich.
The guitar was six years old when Ryski bought it in the summer of 2008. However, the teenage owner rarely played, so it was nearly as good as new.
Ryski had no problem breaking the guitar in. He said he played it all day and all night for the few months he had it until he sold it to Marshall.
Since Ryski only had the guitar for a few months, the guitar did not experience many different places before switching owners.
Luckily for Marshall, Stratocaster guitars are perfect for beginners or intermediate players.
According to Kelly Industries, a Web site dedicated to selling musical instruments and accessories, Stratocasters are made in China.
The price tag is around $150 and they produce a good sound for the price.
The body of Ariel II, Marshall’s guitar, is made of alder wood and the neck is made of maple.
Marshall said the red color of the body was one of the reasons he named the guitar Ariel II after the Disney character Ariel who has long, flowing red hair.
The other reason was Marshall’s attraction to the Disney character.
“I think Ariel from ‘The Little Mermaid’ is hot,” Marshall said with a smile on his face.
Before Ariel II, Marshall had another red guitar he named Ariel, which Ryski gave to Marshall’s sister Becky years ago.
Becky never played the guitar, so Brandon inherited it.
However, due to many small problems with the guitar, he decided to give Ariel back to Ryski and upgrade to the Stratocaster.
Ryski sold the Stratocaster to Marshall for $75, which was the amount he paid for it at the yard sale. Ryski said he could have gotten more money for it as he mentioned this was not an ordinary guitar.
“It’s not your run-of-the-mill guitar,” he said. “It’s extra special, it has a light body.”
Ryski has a day job as a musical instrument repairman. He said he buys not only guitars, but other instruments including flutes, trumpets and tubas.
When he isn’t repairing instruments, he plays them in a band called The Bluescasters.
According to their MySpace page, their music is a mix of rock and blues.
Ryski plays the guitar, harp and piano and also sings for the band. He said he never used the Stratocaster to play concerts.
Despite being a musician since he was 15, Ryski is unable to play “Guitar Hero” well.
Though currently not in a band, Marshall said it would be cool to be in one.
“If I could make a career out of it, I would,” he said.
However, he said realistically that will most likely not happen. For now, Ariel II will be used for personal entertainment only, although Marshall said he might start offering lessons to people for a fee.
He said he needs to improve his skills before he can offer lessons.
Don Marfia, an employee at Best Buy in Grand Rapids, Mich., agreed “Guitar Hero” has gotten more people to try playing a real guitar.
Best Buy opened a musical instrument section in its Grand Rapids store on Oct. 31, 2008. Marfia said it is the only Best Buy in West Michigan to have a musical instrument section. He said the store has done good sales in the past three months, despite the struggling economy. Marfia attributed the good sales to the location of the store.
“Grand Rapids has a lot of underground music,” he said.
Marfia said beginners, as well as advanced players, come into the musical instrument section.
“It’s a good, healthy mix,” he said.
Steve Hunter, an employee at Guitar Center in Grand Rapids also said “Guitar Hero” has helped sales, but sales are still down due to the economy.
Fortunately for Marshall, Ariel II did not put a dent in his wallet.
With Ryski, Ariel II has been able to play its fair share of songs.
Ryski, unable to name a specific song he could play, explained when he said “every song” he meant “every song.”
“I may not know the words, but if I hear the song, I can play it through,” Ryski said.
Marshall’s list of songs is not quite as big as Ryski’s, but it is slowly growing.
Marshall said the first song he ever learned how to play was “Day Tripper” by The Beatles.
The second song Ariel II played for Marshall was “Reptilia” by The Strokes.
Other Ariel II’s songs include the James Bond Theme Song, “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend and “Business Time” and “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” by Flight of the Conchords.
Marshall has a long list of songs he hopes Ariel II can play with him in the future. He said he would like to learn “Pinball Wizard” and “The Seeker” by The Who.
He also said he would like to be able to improvise, meaning he would simply play notes without trying to play a certain song.
Ariel II has been around the world, starting in China where it was made and ending up in Allendale, Mich. where Marshall goes to school.
Marshall said it may have another owner in the future.
“I could see passing this down to someone else in my family,” he said.
Ariel II may not have experienced much right now, but in a few years we may be thinking, “If this guitar could talk.”
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Below is an example of a guitar tab. This is how Marshall learns new songs. Each letter stands for a string on the guitar. Each number stands for what fret you place your finger(s) on. Tabs are read from left to right, so the first note is on the e-string and the zero means it is an open note so you simply strum the string without holding anything on the fret board. The next note is also on the e-string and the 3 means you hold your finger on the third fret of the e-string, and strum the e-string. See “Guitar Hero” fans? It’s not as easy as pushing colored buttons on a plastic guitar. This tab is the main riff of The Beatles song “Day Tripper.”
e-------------------------------
b-------------------------------
g-------------------------------
d-------------2-0---4----0-2--
a----------2------2----2-------
e--0--3-4----------------------
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