What Made You Want To Play The Guitar? Options

[Robin]

Started listening to Iron Maiden, some time right before I got 14. I automaticly started playing guitar.

But when I REAAALLY started PLAYING guitar, was when I joined GMC and heard Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. My dad made me get a interest in blues, and after that I wanted to be a blues player.

Actually this is a pretty scary story, for me it is atleast:
I searched for guitar lessons on google, and I actually found GMC, I saw the welcome video, and thought "Well, thats pretty amazing". But then I saw it costed money, and then I just went back searching for other guitar lesson sites. (stupid me).
But then I stumbled across GMC again maybe a week later, and then I looked trough the lessons and lick of the day. So I signed up as guick as possible! And maaaan, if I didnt join GMC I'd be a complete loser.

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This post has been edited by Robin: Jul 7 2007, 03:30 PM

[Resurrection]

My older sister played acoustic and I was looking for a "cooler" instrument to take up than the classical piano stuff I played as a kid.

I've never regretted taking up guitar, although I do regret not sticking at the piano too! Something else to put on the to-do list

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[ibanez rocker]

i was 14 years old when i really got into guitar. iwas watching my uncle play his les paul and i thought that i could do everything he could do with alot of time, practice, and effort. So i drug out my guitar that i had for about 2 years but never played it. After a couple of months i decided i needed a new guitar so i bought a brand new ibanez. Then later i bought a zoom G9.2tt guitar effects console to help me go along. i still have a dream of being a professional musician when i get older. I might even start teaching on here for some extra cash. My uncle is about to start teaching on here so i wish him alot of luck he has had 14 years of playing experience so i hope he can teach on here. Anyway check out my cool picture.

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This post has been edited by ibanez rocker: Jul 9 2007, 02:03 AM

[kethcup]

Ibanez you better put down your uncle's gear before he finds out! lol jk That's really cool that you are committed to a goal. Definitely keep at it and you will succeed!



I started out playing drums and played them for about a year or so. My brother played drums and had a band at my moms house. So whenever they weren't there I would play his drums. Then one day he was like, "You should play the guitar so we can jam together" and I was like, "Ok." Sort of a beavis and butthead moment. But come on really, who could turn down that offer from their big brother!

So anyway, here I am.

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This post has been edited by kethcup: Jul 7 2007, 06:46 PM

[Owen]

But come on really, who could turn down that offer from their big brother!

My brother could!

I started playing when I was 13. I have no idea why, I think I'd ran out of ideas for Christmas presents that year and instinctively suggested a guitar - my dad had one lying about the house that he still to this day batters about on, unfortunately I'm not a lefty so I couldn't play it.

So that Christmas I got a Ovation Applause - the one's with the fiberglass round back, my dad had always wanted one as he said they were excellent guitars and I went along with that, although in my heart of hearts I craved an electric. As you do. So yeah, I battered around playing Smoke On The Water for a month or two, to the horror of my dad as he realised what he had done.

A year, and a few chords later I went into an old guitar shop in Glasgow and bought my very first electric, I thought it was a fender at first, at the time I felt it played like one, but it turned out the previous owner had made some modifications - it looked like a Fender Custom, played quite well too, but as the old guy who was playing guitars in the shop pointed out, it wasn't a fender. It is possible to tell as the varnish on the headstock hasn't been well finished properly. So I battered around on that guitar for a year and a half, trying to out do my mate who started at the same time, and wasted about £3000 on personal lessons (he's still only marginally better than me, but as I never wasted cash on that and taught myself, I now have much better kit xD).

So yeah, about a month or two ago I was browsing Ultimate Guitar, as I still do and I downloaded one of Kris's lessons on Speedpicking, I was pretty amazed at how something so simple when played slow could sound so vicious and aggressive when played so fast. So I learnt 2 of the minor pentatonic boxes and started playing them vigorously to a metronome.

3 weeks ago, it was my 16th so I finally had enough cash to sign up for the full trip, haven't regretted it either, it's been fantastic, and now its the holiday's for me I'm going to set myself a strenuous practice regime to take my ability above anyone else's I know. Or at least... thats my goal.

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This post has been edited by Owen: Jul 7 2007, 08:00 PM

[ibanez rocker]

Who told you Kethcup that was my uncle's gear but DONT tell any one its mine. and his that studio is awesome and the les paul plays great it is like 20 years old REALLY! thanks for the reply anyway

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[AIB234]

I started out in music in Grade 2 or 3 with a recorder, then Ukeuele in Grade 5 or 6, then Alto Sax from Grades 7-11 in school.

Outside school I played Drums for a year but my teacher was very linear and I never practiced or had desire. I never felt challenged and just didn't care, then eventually just stopped playing.

Unfortunately I went to the same teacher for guitar for about 6 months with the same result. I went through phases of playing and around March (hence my sign up time) I decided to get serious. I'm still not as serious as I'd like to be due to other responsibilities and sometimes motivation when you want to play Petrucci but you can't even play Hammet yet!

My inspiration for guitar comes from listening to guys like Slash and Hammet to start who's solos I've always loved. I air guitar'd countless of Hammet's solos, he was my favourite guitarist for the longest time along with Metallica as my favourite band. I got a guitar I think in Grade 10ish which is now 5 years ago. Somewhere in the middle a friend got me into bands like Dream Theater (The Glass Prison was my first and still fav DT song) and Dragonforce, so while I still enjoy the odd Hammet solo, he's got nothing on Petrucci as far as I am concerned and I aim to play some Petrucci stuff some day in my lifetime.

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[anna]

Well, many of my friends play guitar and electric guitar.

I think that was the beginning of my playing, my friends made me start. I can't figure out another reason. And of course, I love the music!

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[FretDancer69]

Ive been introducing my drummer/best friend to guitar, he says that the money he earned for a drum set he was gonna spend it in a guitar cause he says he wants to be a guitarist! a serious guitarist! Hope he can join GMC soon!

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[Jakub Luptovec]

I'V3 L1ST3N3D T0 D1M3B4G, H3 I5 50 4W350M3!!!! R.I.P.!!! BR0TH3R!!!, Y0U 4R3 T3H PWNR!!

Meh.. Just kidding.. in fact, it was lead guitarist in band, I am currently in.

Before, I was in rock covers making band and lead guitarist (Ondra) there was like "Oh no, you cant play this like that, its sounds awfuly and this is too complicated for you to play..", "you need barre chords for metal" and "metal is about hitting two "kilos" (its his term for power chords - like kilograms) and it really is not a music". He was playing for 7 years....
I thought, its just too hard for me to play guitar...

Then I went into band, and the lead guitarist there (Adam) is total metal freak.. And when I saw him "guitar fighting" with Ondra, he was holding ESP Kirk Hammet signature axe in his hand.... And he just blew him up... He started playing and everything seemed so easy to me.. he was able to jump, make funny stuff and everything, while still playing insane quick riffs and solos.
When Ondra asked him, how long is he playing, he told him "for 3 years". For first time, i saw him totally owned :-P

Thats, what I call living inspiration :-P And thats why I am here
Also, I loved Dimebag, Cavalera and Laiho, so... But mostly the story I wrote..

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This post has been edited by Jakub Luptovec: Jul 16 2007, 09:22 PM

[Travelin' Man]

For me...it was the sound. Like a well tuned Harley, it was music to my ears. Not to forget the women who swoon for those melodic ballads that only a guitar can produce

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[rokchik]

There are some really great stories in this thread. Very interesting stuff and we all have something in common:

We all found guitar....then we all found GMC...now we continue our guitar journey together. So cool!

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[GuitarDude]

At first i played violin at the age of 10 but it was to hard lol... and boring.. so 3 years later i tried guitar. I have been playing for a year now and i think that Ive made some progress thx to GMC and my Guitar teacher!

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[shredmandan]

Metallica was my insperation to play guitar.Also i had a friend that got a guitar for his b-day and i tryed to play it.He always said to stop playing because i sucked.I was determined to learn to play and make him eat his words,well i did.He was never that good to begin with and with Metallica songs under my belt he didnt have a chance.I learned every Metallica album from Kill em all to Load and moved on from there to Pantera ect.Now i have been practicing lead past few years and most recently shred guitar,which is my favorite style of all.I have became bored with rthyem and all i can think of is getting better at leads.

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[spdalton]

My inspiration to pick up guitar was a NOFX song, "seperation of the church and skate".

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[dimeisgod]

dimebag... the best guitarist ever walked the face of the earth. he is really the reason i picked up a guitar the first time...

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[Pantalaimon]

Nothing made me start playing. It was just accidently - i was playing a Croatian game (don't know how to translate the name) which involves throwing metal balls to your target which is a small ball. The one that get's his ball closer to the small ball - wins!

I don't know if it's quite the same game but in America we have a game called Bacci Ball or just Bacci (pronounced Ba-chee) that's basically the same thing!

Anyway - what made me want to play the guitar? I've always been into music ever since I can remember. At first it was just choir/music class in kindergarten and early elementary school (it was required but I enjoyed it immensely). When I was younger also I took piano lessons for a bit, but never really got into it - lessons always were too slow and boring. I can remember my mother telling me on some occasions when I was in middle school (grade 6-8) that I had a great voice and maybe had a future in music if I really put my mind to it.

I got my first guitar when I was 13. Why I wanted a guitar in the first place is actually an odd story - I was in many theatre productions at school during my middle school years, and in one play (called "Who Killed Elvis") I was given a guitar as a prop. In the dressing room while I was not on stage I strummed around on it and figured out by ear how to play the intro to "Play that Funky Music." I guess I simply figured I was a natural with the guitar and later asked my mother to get me one for my birthday, and come that December - I got one - a fender squire strat. I strummed around on it a bit here and there, and a friend of mine taught me the intro to "Enter Sandman." I played around on it occasionally over the next 2-3 years. I had lessons for a little while - learned open chords, power chords, and such, but nothing too interesting - I quit after two months.

When I was 15 I started a band. I was the vocalist, but I always admired my lead guitarist for his skill with the guitar. He just had a way of seeing the fretboard and playing things that sounded great. There was one show in summer '06 that really got me wanting to play guitar seriously - Our rhythm guitarist was not going to be able to play the show as he would be in Alaska on a cruise vacation...We debated as a band what to do - really how to make all our songs sound good with only one guitarist. I suggested at this meeting that I could play the rhythm parts. My lead guitarist and the rest of the band seemed a little skeptical, but eventually decided that this would be the best option. For the next month until the show - I practiced my ass off. I only had to learn about 3 or 4 songs (our set had a 20 minute time limit). Come showtime - I was ready. I wasn't anywhere near the skill level of our lead guitarist, but I came through for the show - and played my songs with minimal mistakes. The show turned out pretty good - though we didn't win.

After that day, I wanted to be a guitarist in a band. Our rhythm guitarist who'd been in Alaska was losing interest in the band and it always seemed as if I'd be taking his place if he decided to quit. The band dissolved later that year, however, when my brother and I quit the band due to creative differences with the other band members. It was then that I realized that if I was going to continue making music, I'd have to learn an instrument to accompany my vocals. Obviously I chose guitar, and went out and spent all the money I'd earned working over the summer on a new guitar and amp - my Schecter C-1 Plus.

Since the first day my Schecter arrived I've played guitar everyday, for multiple hours a day. I practice with vigor and passion because I developed a dream of becoming a great musician when I was in my band, and I still have that dream and eagerly seek it. One day I'll be traveling the US in a crappy van playing small venue shows just having fun with my best friends and bandmates. One day I'll be traveling the world playing for millions of fans. One day people will hear my poetry, and memorize it, and scream it at the top of their lungs at a show. One day maybe I'll win a Grammy. This I know: One day I will be a great musician.

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[Andrew Cockburn]

Wow, great story Pantalaimon ...

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[mattacuk]

i was 14 years old when i really got into guitar. iwas watching my uncle play his les paul and i thought that i could do everything he could do with alot of time, practice, and effort. So i drug out my guitar that i had for about 2 years but never played it. After a couple of months i decided i needed a new guitar so i bought a brand new ibanez. Then later i bought a zoom G9.2tt guitar effects console to help me go along. i still have a dream of being a professional musician when i get older. I might even start teaching on here for some extra cash. My uncle is about to start teaching on here so i wish him alot of luck he has had 14 years of playing experience so i hope he can teach on here. Anyway check out my cool picture.

Dude im so jealous of your kit

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[AudunESP]

Im born in a very musical family, and began playing cello at age of 8, but got bored after 1 year! so i started playing piano, and got bored after 1 year, again. But then my cousin said my fingers were nearly perfec made for playing guitar, so he played some cool stuff for me, and i got really in to it! ive always thought guitar was the coolest instrument EVER, so i though; why the hell not?

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This post has been edited by AudunESP: Jul 22 2007, 06:59 PM