[Eccl 10:2]

We had a cat named Deacon that we named after this song.

I play some guitar, but Steely Dan is way over my skill level. Anyway, in the old days before electronic tuners, I had a tuning fork for one string, then you tune the rest of the strings to that string, then the next to the second one, and so on. Until you tune two strings right, there is dissonance in the vibrations, which you can audibly hear, and even feel. When I had dissonance, Deacon’s ear would twitch. When it was tuned, his ear would stop twitching. So Deacon helped me tune my guitar.

[Cboldt]

There is a simple technique to play just about anything you want. Simple but time consuming. Play it slow, real slow, until you can nail the notes. Then speed up a little at a time. Your hand, arm and body should be relaxed, move your fingers as little as necessary between notes and chords.

Steely Dan solos (and chord progressions) will open up your abilities in ways that will surprise you. I'm just an intermediate player, don't work on new stuff as much as I should, but have surprised myself at what I can play once I get determined.

The guitar solo to Gold Teeth II still gives me shivers. My favorite "band," by far, although the tunes past Two Against Nature seem repetitive to me. Of course, no Steely Dan collection is complete without Fagen's Nightfly and Kamakiriad.