Discovering Your Sound Options

[SeeJay]

The summer after I graduated high school was a magical one. It was a season of discovery (and a little debauchery). I was given a bit of graduation cash with permission to have fun with it, I had my own car (though it was usually found sitting on the side of the road) and besides a part time job, my responsibilities were minimal.

A recipe for good times for sure.

There were handful of record shops my best friend and I frequently visited. We bought every album we could find. I remember holding up my copy of Sgt. Peppers and thinking, "what the hell is this". There was the fight we had when I grabbed a copy of Physical Graffiti that my buddy claimed he saw first.

But along with the new music purchases, came the desire for new musical toys. I had been playing guitar for about 3 years at that point, jamming on a charcoal strat knockoff and a no name solid state amp that would squeal if I put it past 5. When I learned about Zeppelin, I bought a cheap marshall and an epi LP. Found a Hendrix album, bought a wah. Got into some 90s indie rock, bought a fender amp and a boss delay pedal.

I'm sure every teenage rocker goes through this, but for me it was more than just emulation or hero worship. It was the discovery of what really tickles my ears. It was figuring out what my particular voice was through trying new gear and learning new riffs.

But I wonder, does this same process happen now? There's so much information available, you can make an opinion before you really have an experience. Any record you want is pretty easily accessible. If there's a riff you want to learn, there's probably a video of someone showing you how to play it. You want to hear a marshall amp, you can click on a preset.

Are people still discovering themselves in the same way that I did? Is it better now? Is it worse? Does it matter?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!