She Plucks the Strings of a Musical Life
by Lauren Griffith
Her nails on her left hand are as short as possible so she is able to hit the steel guitar strings. She has to clip them at least once a week. She uses a nail- strengthening polish to keep her nails in pristine playing condition.
The strings have callused her fingers, yet she doesn’t mind the unsightly appearance or the rough feel because it allows her to do what she has always wanted to do.
Emma Rawlings, 19, a California University of Pennsylvania freshman, has been playing music seriously since fourth grade, when she attended Hanover Elementary School in her hometown of Bethlehem. She started with the saxophone. When she hit middle school, she played for the Nitschmann High School Marching Band.
See Rawlings play guitar here.
Rawlings first picked up the acoustic guitar at a church retreat held at Brainerd Summer Camp in Pennsylvania. First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem hosts a retreat with each new season, and Rawlings attended many of them. She also attended First Presbyterian Church’s services every week with her parents, Mike and Cathy, and her older brother, Nathan.
Bruce Bowen, one of the youth leaders at church, led large group worships for the high school youth group. After morning worship, Rawlings asked Bowen to see his acoustic guitar. Rawlings only knew three chords.
Bowen, seeing her interest, offered to help show her several other chords. Rawlings and Bowen later performed a song together at the evening worship service. Rawlings was nervous and barely knew how to move her hands around the six strings.
Rawlings now owns five of her own guitars. Among the list is an Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar, a 12-string Fender acoustic electric guitar, an Epiphone six-string acoustic, a six-string classical acoustic Martin guitar, and a white electric Stagg.
“I want them [my hands] to be callused. I don’t want them to go away because then it will hurt to play guitar again,” Rawlings said. “I just like the sound of the steel strings better. It sounds richer and fuller.”
The Martin guitar was passed down from her mother, who played it in college, while the Epiphone six-string acoustic was given to her by a friend.
Rawlings also had to save money for her growing habit. She made payments on some, while putting others on layaway until her babysitting job gave her enough money to purchase the instrument, she said.
“I took my six-string into Guitar Ville [in Bethlehem] to get it fixed so I could play on a mission trip in July. While they were doing that, I picked up a 12-string and started playing it,” Rawlings said. “Ever since then, I knew I needed one.”
Rawlings would visit Guitar Ville once a week to play the guitar before she was able to bring the instrument home after three months of making payments on the $1,200 guitar.
It was nearly two years later that this guitar was stolen.
While on a trip to Pittsburgh to perform with the church’s high school choir, someone snatched the 12-string guitar from the baggage area underneath the bus. Rawlings was in tears.
It was this past December that her parents bought her another 12-string guitar. It is now Rawlings’ favorite guitar to play.
“She is so good at playing guitar. She makes it look easy. I wish I could play an instrument like that,” said Emily Dawson, a friend of Rawlings.
Rawlings plays in the downtime between her classes. She is involved with New Life Catholic campus ministry, and Underground Café, where she performs with a fellow musician and friend from Cal U, Sarah Barger. Both Barger and Rawlings sing, too.
The Underground Café hosts weekly open mic nights on Cal U’s campus for roughly 150 students. Any of Cal U’s 7,000 students are welcome to attend.
The only guitar that Rawlings does not use steel strings on is her classical acoustic guitar. All classical guitars are made with nylon strings.
Rawlings, a communication disorders major, lives in Residence Hall E with her roommate Cheyanne White, a sports management major.
“She loves her little calloused hands,” added White from across the room while Rawlings was being interviewed.
Rawlings is in a relationship with Brandon Bors, who is also a musician in a band called In Aviation. Rawlings does not have to worry about her partner’s reaction to her calluses when they hold hands. Bors, who plays both the acoustic and electric guitar, also has calloused hands. His job as the Head Chocolatier for Josh Early Candies in Bethlehem requires him to wash his hands often, which removes the moisture from his hands, as does playing the guitar.
As for Rawlings' friend Dawson, “I would rather listen to her play guitar than any of the music I have on my I-pod, and I mean that,” she said.
Lauren Griffith is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See her website here.
Her nails on her left hand are as short as possible so she is able to hit the steel guitar strings. She has to clip them at least once a week. She uses a nail- strengthening polish to keep her nails in pristine playing condition.
The strings have callused her fingers, yet she doesn’t mind the unsightly appearance or the rough feel because it allows her to do what she has always wanted to do.
Emma Rawlings, 19, a California University of Pennsylvania freshman, has been playing music seriously since fourth grade, when she attended Hanover Elementary School in her hometown of Bethlehem. She started with the saxophone. When she hit middle school, she played for the Nitschmann High School Marching Band.
See Rawlings play guitar here.
Rawlings first picked up the acoustic guitar at a church retreat held at Brainerd Summer Camp in Pennsylvania. First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem hosts a retreat with each new season, and Rawlings attended many of them. She also attended First Presbyterian Church’s services every week with her parents, Mike and Cathy, and her older brother, Nathan.
Bruce Bowen, one of the youth leaders at church, led large group worships for the high school youth group. After morning worship, Rawlings asked Bowen to see his acoustic guitar. Rawlings only knew three chords.
Bowen, seeing her interest, offered to help show her several other chords. Rawlings and Bowen later performed a song together at the evening worship service. Rawlings was nervous and barely knew how to move her hands around the six strings.
Rawlings now owns five of her own guitars. Among the list is an Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar, a 12-string Fender acoustic electric guitar, an Epiphone six-string acoustic, a six-string classical acoustic Martin guitar, and a white electric Stagg.
“I want them [my hands] to be callused. I don’t want them to go away because then it will hurt to play guitar again,” Rawlings said. “I just like the sound of the steel strings better. It sounds richer and fuller.”
The Martin guitar was passed down from her mother, who played it in college, while the Epiphone six-string acoustic was given to her by a friend.
Rawlings also had to save money for her growing habit. She made payments on some, while putting others on layaway until her babysitting job gave her enough money to purchase the instrument, she said.
“I took my six-string into Guitar Ville [in Bethlehem] to get it fixed so I could play on a mission trip in July. While they were doing that, I picked up a 12-string and started playing it,” Rawlings said. “Ever since then, I knew I needed one.”
Rawlings would visit Guitar Ville once a week to play the guitar before she was able to bring the instrument home after three months of making payments on the $1,200 guitar.
It was nearly two years later that this guitar was stolen.
While on a trip to Pittsburgh to perform with the church’s high school choir, someone snatched the 12-string guitar from the baggage area underneath the bus. Rawlings was in tears.
It was this past December that her parents bought her another 12-string guitar. It is now Rawlings’ favorite guitar to play.
“She is so good at playing guitar. She makes it look easy. I wish I could play an instrument like that,” said Emily Dawson, a friend of Rawlings.
Rawlings plays in the downtime between her classes. She is involved with New Life Catholic campus ministry, and Underground Café, where she performs with a fellow musician and friend from Cal U, Sarah Barger. Both Barger and Rawlings sing, too.
The Underground Café hosts weekly open mic nights on Cal U’s campus for roughly 150 students. Any of Cal U’s 7,000 students are welcome to attend.
The only guitar that Rawlings does not use steel strings on is her classical acoustic guitar. All classical guitars are made with nylon strings.
Rawlings, a communication disorders major, lives in Residence Hall E with her roommate Cheyanne White, a sports management major.
“She loves her little calloused hands,” added White from across the room while Rawlings was being interviewed.
Rawlings is in a relationship with Brandon Bors, who is also a musician in a band called In Aviation. Rawlings does not have to worry about her partner’s reaction to her calluses when they hold hands. Bors, who plays both the acoustic and electric guitar, also has calloused hands. His job as the Head Chocolatier for Josh Early Candies in Bethlehem requires him to wash his hands often, which removes the moisture from his hands, as does playing the guitar.
As for Rawlings' friend Dawson, “I would rather listen to her play guitar than any of the music I have on my I-pod, and I mean that,” she said.
Lauren Griffith is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See her website here.