How did you begin to learn guitar?

Its all in the fingers, or is it?

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Vince
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Re: How did you begin to learn guitar?

Post by Vince »

My old man bought a 2nd hand guitar which, back then, cost the princely sum of $10. Shitty little classical thing.

Like most sensible people, he tried a couple of strums, put the guitar down and never thought about it again. I was horrified that we'd basically thrown $10 down the toilet. The guitar came with a bunch of books, so I started learning just so the money wouldn't be wasted.

And now, after tens of thousands of dollars spent over the years on gear, strings, etc, the wasted $10 are a drop in the ocean.
"Vince, have you ever tried playing an expensive bass?" - Polarbear.
"And isn't that the finest acoustic bass guitar feedback solo you've ever heard?" - Billy Moose.

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Re: How did you begin to learn guitar?

Post by rickenbackerkid »

I have a memory from about age 10-11 where I told my dad I wanted to play guitar. He asked, electric, acoustic or bass? I hadn't quite realised there were different sorts of guitars, so I said electric, thinking it clearly sounded like the coolest one.

Few years later my mum signed up all the kids to learn something at the local saturday morning music school. I was not happy and sat through the first lesson in misery, until at the end they did a 'strumming song' as the teacher called it and I suddenly realised that if I learnt the chords, i could play any song without sheet music.
The teacher gave me a chord chart with the 12 or so basic chords and by the next week I knew them all. From then on I would sit in class waiting for the strumming song at the end and I would badger the teacher every week for more strumming songs.

I've been playing guitar for 16-17 years now and for the vast majority of that I've played guitar for at least a few minutes every day.

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Re: How did you begin to learn guitar?

Post by goldtop0 »

Was mad about it from an early age the Everlys, Elvis etc and then bought myself my first one when I was 11. Taught myself from piano and playing along to records and went on to 12 strings when I was about 13 or so.
Haven't been through too many over the decades, a few electrics and amps in that time, still have a few keepers.
Doin' that scrapyard thing.

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Re: How did you begin to learn guitar?

Post by jimi »

I had piano lessons as a kid, off an on, never really stuck, but it seems like each time I started a new school my mother would enroll me for lessons again.

When I was 16 I was talking to a couple of guys at school, it came out we were all big Queen fans, one said we should start a band, he played guitar bloody well, probably better than I do now 25 years later, the other guy had taken a couple of drum lessons a few years previous. Well I’ve played some piano, so off we went.

A Month or 3 later, sick of only getting to play when we found a spot with a piano I bought the worlds worst partscaster p bass for a couple of hand shandy, and the guy who sold it to me gave me a 15 min lesson and wrote me the tab for teen spirit, creep and today. Instant crap bass player, just add a borrowed amp.

Few bands at Uni, had a great time playing the empire and crown in Dunedin, then a few years off when I started working, until I worked out computer games were a good way to lose time and get fat, so answered a bass player wanted ad for an alt rock grunge band and another round of playing gigs to tiny crowds.

About then found this place, almost 15 years ago. From there a stint playing bass with BG & DC and something rubbed off, and I picked up a blues lick or 3, and eventually an invite to jam with a covers group. Still pretty rubbish, but it seems to have stuck.

For my 2c nothing compares to jamming with others to learn new things and get motivated. I’ve read plenty of theory books, and watched video lessons, but it all lacks context until put together with other players.

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