From: Daniel Watkins, centuryhouse@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: For the guitarists on the list... (LONG POST)
Date: 2/28/2002 11:52:11 AM
To: seance@lists.no-fi.com


I got an acoutsic guitar at age 12 and started messing
around on it, but wasnt extremely excited. At age 14
my next door neighbor had a cool looking electric with
most of the strings missing - it was cool to me but in
actuality was a beat up 1/2 working guitar from sears
that ran about $50. This was circa 1985.

I borrowed that guitar everyday and the guy's mom made
me bring it back every night so I 'wouldn't forget who
it belonged to'. I bet they got really tired of that
because after a couple of months they just let me hang
on to it - I ran over there EVERY day to borrow it! 

So I played for about a year on that guitar without
having the money to buy new strings, and without
knowing how to tune it (like I said it only had three
strings!) I just tightened the strings until they
sounded good. Eventually I learned how to plug it into
my stereo for use as an amplifier.

I still have never had a lesson ever. I started of
trying to play on one string - played along to my
mom's records - things like Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis,
Duane Eddy instrumentals, Jan & Dean, Chuck Berry and
the Monkees. Just one string riffs like the one in
'Don't Want To Be Your Stepping Stone'.

By 1987 I had my own electric guitar and I was playing
Pink Floyd songs from the Wall, and got the tab sheet
music for Starfish and was playing that! And also I
got the tab for Joshua Tree. That's when I really took
off with it. I also started jamming with this older
guy playing Jerry Lee Lewis and similar stuff... and
occasionally I'd play with some guys in the area
playing Garth Brooks, even though country wasn't my
thing - anything to learn. 

My opinion about learning guitar is that it's never
too late. Older or younger you have to have one thing
to learn it successfully: you MUST have the drive to
do it. Someone else can't make you or you wont stick
with it. You can't play for a few weeks, then quit
because it doesn't sound good yet. 

You have to want it so badly that nothing will deter
you, especially not your own inner critic. Don't
chastise yourself for only being able to play a simple
riff on one string - instead pat yourself on the back
for getting that far. And then try reaching for the
next step. Dont give up when your fingers ache - dont
put the guitar away because you are too busy. Look
forward to playing and feel accomplishment at even the
simplist milestones. Play everyday, even just for a
couple of minutes. VERY IMPORTANT - play music that
you like! Don't play what lesson books tell you, play
something that you will get excited about!! Like the
Church for example! :-)

As far as acoustic/electric - it depends. I recommend
electric - I had an acoustic and wasn't too interested
until I got an electric; I couldn't seem to make any
progress on the acoustic but really took off with the
electric. Acoustic is harder on your fingers which is
good in the long run, but may discourage you at the
very beginning. An electric guitar looks cool (don't
discount this factor!) is much easier to play, and
will let you work on more things Church related like
some of the more simple single note lead lines from
the Church for example (Reptile, etc). An acoustic
guitar is generally better if you are planning to
strum chords and sing, but you can do all of that on
electric too, so it's more versatile. If you get an
electric, make sure you get a small amplifier with it
so that you can hear yourself - stores sell beginner
electric guitar and amp combos for pretty cheap. Check
out ebay.

Rambling on here... Lessons or not? I say no. Most of
the people I know that learned from lessons either got
bored and quit becuase it wasn't the music they really
loved so they didn't get inspired to keep going, or
else they learned to play well but to my ear have no
originallity or personality in their playing. I can't
tell them apart from 100 other players. 

I have people that I play with tell me fairly often
that I have a very unique approach to guitar and that
I come up with some great non-conventional guitar
parts. I think this is because I learned on my own and
picked up what was important to me, and didn't just
follow the formula given in lessons. I think playing a
guitar with 1/2 the strings missing helped, and not
being able to tune it helped because those things
forced me to work at it in my own way. It forced me to
develop my own path to making it sound good.

When I have spoken with or read interviews with many
of whom I consider to be the most innovative
guitarists around, I find that they also tend to have
similar experiences, and usually did not go the route
of having lessons when they began.

Just my opinion, and a long winded rambling opinion it
is! I hope this helps you decide... Let me know if you
need recommendations on guitar types, help figuring
out songs etc.

Daniel



> > I was just wondering what inspired you all to
learn how to play the guitar how long you've been
playing, and if someone taught you or you picked it up
on your own.<<

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