Why did you take up the guitar

[Notes_Norton]

I knew I loved music and wanted to play since I was a tot.

 

I started on drums, when a rental became available I switched to sax (became first sax in the all-state band every year I was eligible to compete).

 

During junior high school, I got into a little rock and roll band. We were terrible, but so was everybody else back then.

 

We got hired for a school dance. So there I was on the stage, playing the pop songs of the day with my best friends, and as I looked out, the cute girl who wouldn't even acknowledge my existence in English class was "making eyes" at me. And at the end of the night they paid me for that experience. That's when I knew I wanted to be a professional musician. It's a dream job.

 

After school, I got on the road in a rock band, played every state east of the Mississippi, and a few on the west side. Warmed up for headliners while their records were in the top 10, and almost made it ourselves (negotiations failed between our management and the record company over money).

 

While I was in this road band, we played a lot of pop songs. Now every pop songwriter or producer doesn't have the wisdom to put a sax part in every song. So the guitarist taught me barre chords, the bass player taught me how to play bass and when there was no sax part, I played either rhythm guitar or bass and we became a "3 guitar band". Later we hired a keyboard player, and I learned some of that as well. I like playing different instruments.

 

But this is about why you took up guitar. I guess the above reason would be enough.

 

However, a few years ago, I decided to pick it up in earnest. Why? I played sax, flute, windsynth, and keys on stage (plus bass and drums not on stage) and thought the addition of a guitar on stage would be a lot more fun than keys. As the band switched from jazz standards more to rock, it was also more appropriate.

 

Of course at this late date I knew I'd never be a Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page, but I really like what the guitar gods do with the guitar, and figured I could learn to at least become decent at it. Being my 7th instrument, I already knew how to read music and a decent amount of theory --- and since I had experience on bass and rhythm guitar, I knew how the fretboard was arranged and the notes on the two lowest strings (3&4 on bass 5&6 on guitar) and of course it's a short jump to find the octave on the next two strings. The B string gave me a problem for a while, but it just takes doing things over and over again until you learn them.

 

I know there are guitarists on this thread that can rip me to shreds, but I've gotten decent at it, the things I can do on the guitar I can do quite well. On stage I simply avoid doing the things I can't do well yet. And the more I learn about the guitar, the more I like it.

 

I'm still a professional musician. I'm old enough to retire but have no plans to do so, in fact we are working a lot, and I love it. I'm married to a fine musician/singer and we once 'made eyes' at each other. And being a pro musician was the best decision I made in my entire life. Picking up guitar is just a very fun part of that.

 

Probably more information than you asked for, but with me, it isn't a simple answer.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[jdgm]

The Beatles

Jimi Hendrix

Paul Kossoff

 

I'm still learning and I've never stopped believing.....

[merciful-evans]

I had no choice. I had to start playing guitar.

 

I wanted to start plying at age 8 but my dad wouldnt pay for one.

 

So I had to wait until 16 when I got my first job. A guitar was the first thing I bought with money I earned myself.

[Guitar God]

I started playing guitar in 2000 when I was 8 years old because of KISS. That was when the KISS: THE LAST KISS concert aired on Direct TV Pay - Per - View. My mom and dad were watching it and I walked in to see what they were watching and they were watching that. I was blown away and said, "THAT'S what I want to do.", so I got my first guitar on Christmas of that year.

[Retired]

1472557008[/url]' post='1795558']

I have no idea why I started playing guitar. I was like 12 or 13 and who remembers why they did stuff back then?

 

Same here. Cant remember why, I was 13 my mom says when I started guitar lessons, that was 1966. The year The Monkees aired from 1966-1968. I watched it every Saturday morning. But my cousin Fred Philips played in a Council Bluffs band for a short time and he had the coolest Gibson I ever saw and that guitar inspired me. I remember my mom signed me up for lessons and Fred taught me how to play. The two bands I listened to most at that age were The Ventures which I learned a bunch of their songs at that age and The Beach Boys.

[ChanMan]

My cousin Kathy played and I thought that was cool so I wanted to play. Looking back, it's really been more of a calling.