I first started playing the guitar, mostly as a joke, and as a way to hang out with my friends. I already was fairly musical, having already playing two instruments for the school band, band and jazz band but neither was as cool , or popular as the guitar . So, it was only natural for some of my bandmates to start up their own band. I hung around the rehearsals, and totaly the the girls that hung out with them So, I started playing my dad’s 40 year old guitar . He showed me some basic chords and I was on my way.
Learning a common, rock progression, C, D, and G, I just loved it from the start that even a basic, 3 or 4 chord scale was the basis for just about any genera of any song on the internet or on a CD, or any of the 1,000's upon 1,000's number 1 songs that have toped any of the charts since the birth of rock. These, are of core concepts that I was well familiar with previously, having studied music since grade 7, but I quickly found that knowing something , and being part of it, creating it, and playing it, was a whole new experience for me.
I wanted to learn more and more about the guitar, how to properly tune , other chords, how to use the electronic pick-ups in the guitar itself. Even how the amp and foot pedals worked . That’s when I learned the downside of the electric guitar. The cost. The foot pedals , the extras, they all seemed to be priced above my small budget, and even the ones I could afford, didn’t seem to do much other than make me worse , only with some chorus or reverb added.
I thought, 'what am I doing? , and just giving up , I wasn't a guitar player but it just wasn’t for me. I was used to picking up a new band instrument , and after four weeks with it, being able to kill it and be a soloist on that instrument. Not to be arrogant or anything, I was just good when it came to the instruments you find in any high school bands.
That was, until I got a new girlfriend. I mean, playing the guitar , well, let’s just say that she was a guitar babe at heart . So, that’s when I decided to take some guitar lessons. After a few months of lessons, I was showing my instructor some original song solos, and chord progressions. They were so impressed with my creativity, that I often ended each sesson teaching my teacher. So, they'd teach me, and I tought them the musical and creative side of music.
Never the less, I did get better with the technical side of the lessons, the scales, the drills, the strumming patterns, the discipline required, I defiantly got better. It wasn’t until I put the guitar down for about a year as I got my involved with work and life took over, that’s when I realized how much I truly missed it.
All the drills, the frustration, the scales and all the pain of the guitar had evolved into simple enjoyment and an ability to just play, let your mind wander and play. It’s the kind of thing where you can have some friends over and just let the whole group jam. It’s the little things that you don’t pay attention to that need to be enjoyed, and seldom are.
So when you think you have no fun in your life, or your getting stressed out from life in general, try to re-try something that you haven’t done for a while. Whether it’s playing the guitar, piano, reading a book, going for a walk or run... just something that you enjoyed, but for some reason, stopped. I think you’ll find that the ability to pick up and stop thinking, can allow your mind to shut off and, for lack of a better word, reboot itself.
All of those elements combined, the pain, the drilling, the ability to let go and stop thinking, just let the music take you where it will, that’s why I love to play the guitar.
Learning a common, rock progression, C, D, and G, I just loved it from the start that even a basic, 3 or 4 chord scale was the basis for just about any genera of any song on the internet or on a CD, or any of the 1,000's upon 1,000's number 1 songs that have toped any of the charts since the birth of rock. These, are of core concepts that I was well familiar with previously, having studied music since grade 7, but I quickly found that knowing something , and being part of it, creating it, and playing it, was a whole new experience for me.
I wanted to learn more and more about the guitar, how to properly tune , other chords, how to use the electronic pick-ups in the guitar itself. Even how the amp and foot pedals worked . That’s when I learned the downside of the electric guitar. The cost. The foot pedals , the extras, they all seemed to be priced above my small budget, and even the ones I could afford, didn’t seem to do much other than make me worse , only with some chorus or reverb added.
I thought, 'what am I doing? , and just giving up , I wasn't a guitar player but it just wasn’t for me. I was used to picking up a new band instrument , and after four weeks with it, being able to kill it and be a soloist on that instrument. Not to be arrogant or anything, I was just good when it came to the instruments you find in any high school bands.
That was, until I got a new girlfriend. I mean, playing the guitar , well, let’s just say that she was a guitar babe at heart . So, that’s when I decided to take some guitar lessons. After a few months of lessons, I was showing my instructor some original song solos, and chord progressions. They were so impressed with my creativity, that I often ended each sesson teaching my teacher. So, they'd teach me, and I tought them the musical and creative side of music.
Never the less, I did get better with the technical side of the lessons, the scales, the drills, the strumming patterns, the discipline required, I defiantly got better. It wasn’t until I put the guitar down for about a year as I got my involved with work and life took over, that’s when I realized how much I truly missed it.
All the drills, the frustration, the scales and all the pain of the guitar had evolved into simple enjoyment and an ability to just play, let your mind wander and play. It’s the kind of thing where you can have some friends over and just let the whole group jam. It’s the little things that you don’t pay attention to that need to be enjoyed, and seldom are.
So when you think you have no fun in your life, or your getting stressed out from life in general, try to re-try something that you haven’t done for a while. Whether it’s playing the guitar, piano, reading a book, going for a walk or run... just something that you enjoyed, but for some reason, stopped. I think you’ll find that the ability to pick up and stop thinking, can allow your mind to shut off and, for lack of a better word, reboot itself.
All of those elements combined, the pain, the drilling, the ability to let go and stop thinking, just let the music take you where it will, that’s why I love to play the guitar.
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