An Instrument of Love

8/13/2019 An Instrument of Love

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Class Assignment 1An Instrument of Love _____________________________

English 2 (ENGL 0205)

Joshua Chua Shu Min 0313572


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An Instrument of Love

Please pick a tool to write on for your first class assignment My

unpretentious mind immediately went blank when our English lecturer threw

forward that mind-boggling question to us. At that moment, I was at the state

of anxiety. Therefore, I took a deep breath and continue thinking of simple

tools that I can write on. Tools such as chainsaw, G-clamp and measuring

tape began to appear in my mind. However, I did not pick any of those tools

as I just cant think on how to describe them even though they are simple

tools. My eyes suddenly set upon the guitar that was placed at the corner of

the room.

Why not choose a guitar as my tool to write on since I always use it during my

leisure time? So, I walked towards the corner of the room and picked up the

guitar that was placed on the guitar. Looking closely, I noticed that the guitar

has curves like a mannequin, awaiting clothes to be put on it as it is brownish

yellow in colour with idiosyncratic ornaments on it. The guitar has a long neck

even though it is just a musical instrument. It has six strings in total and six

metal nuts like structure on the top, exactly three on each side. These nuts

with strings entwined together determine the pitch of the guitar. Besides that,

there are also three thin plastics that hold the guitar strings perfectly in place

as the guitar. One at the top and the other two below. When I took a closer

look at the rectangular plastics, I noticed that they are already yellowish white

in colour as it is already a seven years old guitar. My eyes began to observe

closer at the top of the neck and the brand name Yamaha is printed in

crystal white. As my eyes went down towards the neck, there are 20 frets all


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it. I did the same thing at the back of the guitar and I sensed that the dum

sound produced at the front was clearer compared to the back. This was

maybe because of the center hole at the front that acts as an obstacle which

enables the sound wave to diffract and produce an unwavering sound.

Without noticing, I had that perception that the body of the guitar can also be

turned into another instrument that works like a drum. After that, I continued

my investigation by strumming the first string starting from the left using my

bare hands. The pitch increases accordingly as I proceeded strumming from

the first string to the sixth string. This is most probably because of the

thickness of the string. While strumming, I found out that the diameter of the

string increases consistently from the left-hand corner to the right-hand

corner. When I applied a bigger force on the string, the reverberation is louder

and clearer.

As my mind wondered on what to write on, my eyes promptly focused on my

wallet that was left on the study table. Without procrastinating, I instantly took

out my yellow guitar pick and began struming all the strings one by one once

more. After strumming, I made a conclusion that strumming using a guitar pick

is way better because it produces a sound that is better in quality compared to

when I used my naked fingers. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, TI, Do t hat was the

tune that churned out when I placed my finger from the first fret and slowly

pulled it to the second until the 20 th fret. I reiterated the same process for the

rest of the strings.


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Always make sure that you use all of your five senses when you are

carrying out an experiment , that is what my Biology teacher , Miss. Lucy

would always remind the students each time when we were carrying out an

science experiment. The tongue and nose are the two sensory organs that I

have yet to use. Without vacillating, my nose went closer and closer to the

guitar with a slow motion thinking that it would smell because I often used it

after sports. When I had a good sniff, I noticed that the guitar still smells just

the way it is. Before I submit my essay before 11.59pm, I roughly look through

the criteria once again and I perceived that I missed out a point. I quickly took

up the guitar and fondled it to feel what is the temperature like. It felt cooling

as the air-conditioner was on.

Music brings life to the soul. When I am going through a hard time, as I strum

my guitar, it comforts and consoles me. As I continue strumming and singing

along, it lives me out from my sadness. This is why I called my one and only

guitar that has been by my side for the past seven years the instrument of

love.

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An Instrument of Love