Your Guitar Story?

Question:Hey , im learning to play the electric guitar . Its only been a week or so and i got some chords down. It can get really frustrating at times but im working on it . My family isent being supportive at all ( saying things like "oh watch you go return the guitar in a week" and "ill give her 3 days to go throw that thing in the garage" ...yea but anyways im just wondering if you play guitar... whats your story? How did you start out? How long did it take to play your first song? How long have you been playing?What kind of music do you play? What kept you motivated , etc?
Thanks !!!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hey , im learning to play the electric guitar . Its only been a week or so and i got some chords down. It can get really frustrating at times but im working on it . My family isent being supportive at all ( saying things like "oh watch you go return the guitar in a week" and "ill give her 3 days to go throw that thing in the garage" ...yea but anyways im just wondering if you play guitar... whats your story? How did you start out? How long did it take to play your first song? How long have you been playing?What kind of music do you play? What kept you motivated , etc?
Thanks !!!!

Ah, my guitar story. To start out, I'm 14 years old. When I was 6, I began to play the piano. While it was fun at first, I grew bored of it, but continued playing for about 6 years, and in 5th grade I started the trumpet. I eventually quit the piano, but I kept with the trumpet, just because I have alot of friends in my band class. Since I began piano, I would go to sleep to the sounds of my dad playing guitar a few rooms over. When I was about 12-13, I wanted to experience it, rather then listen to it, so I picked up one of my dad's guitars and he taught me like 3 chords.

The first song he taught me to play was "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. I played that song so much. I started to figure out other songs I heard by ear, until my dad decided I needed a guitar. We were at my grandparents house for a family dinner, and my dad went into his old room and pulled out this 50-something year old gibson acoustic guitar. I was impressed. It was way out of tune, i mean WAY out of tune, because it hadn't been played in ages, but once we tuned it, the tone was amazing!

I took that thing into my room and began to play for almost a year, until 8th grade, when I got a Squier Telecaster for graduation. Now I have both of them in my room, and I play them both every day.

Honestly, motivation was not a problem at all. I LOVED the guitar, and everything about it. The feel, the sound, the fact that I had something that was, more then anything else, mine! Music has really changed my life, and the guitar has changed my music. Whatever you do, don't give up if you're passionate about something, because it'll all be worth it.

Good for you! We all need one more chick guitarist!

I started playing guitar when I was 12, I borrowed my neighbor's electric and got a book. Then my folks bought me a classical guitar then next year and I took about 3 years of lessons.

I played mostly folk music - you know sing-a-long at the campfire stuff.
Then in college, I bought an electric guitar and took a few more lessons and started playing in my first band - an all girl "New Wave" band in the 80's.
Eventually I switched to bass, but I still play in bands - jazz, rock and roll, caberet, musical theater, whatever comes along.

Don't get discouraged and don't let your family discourage you! I use to lock myself in my closet and play for hours!

well dont worry about ur family. theyre just jealous to c u actually doing something productive with ur life!
i started out, me and my brother about 3 years ago. with 2 washburn accoustiv guitars. except im left handed so i had to get a lefty.
we took free lessons from the church (our church is very active in youth and also in praise band)
so we somehow formed a band with our director (with about 10 ppl in it) there's 2 singers, 1 drummer, 1 bass, 1 keyboardist/guitarist (thats me) and 5 other guitarists.
were a christain rock band.we have made about 500 bucks in our little gigs that we put on. it has just been a blast and i am so lucky to have this experience
just stick with guitar and never give up. it was frustrating learnin my notes and chords but i actually got used to it and it started becomin so easy.
now i know about every chord. i kno every note
make sure u have a Capo (wich makes you pitch higher by putting it on the frets..it bars all the strings.)
good luck

hey i just read ur profile
u sound exactly like me
wanna be frends on myspace or somethin?
myspace.com/bubbleboyderek

Probably took me months to get through a song.

My fingers bled after two days and I had to put band aids on and play with them

I don't like being beaten by a thing, so I decided to masters it as best as I could.

I've been playing now for almost 40 years

Did pop, jazz, metal, grunge

Best way to play is with CD music or a beat box, headphones and a device like a rock man

You can also probably plug into the computer, put in phones and get a free drum software package or play with MP3 files.

Congrats on catching the playing bug.

I was 8 years old when my parents bought me a 3/4 size nylon guitar. I guess at that age you're a lot more open to new and wondrous things. I started taking lessons at a summertime rec center class with about 20 other people. It was a lot of fun playing with that many kids. After about six weeks I was able to play such hit songs from the 1870's like "Tom Dooley" and "Streets of Laredo".

By the time I reached 6th grade I was fingerpicking and playing stuff by John Denver, Jim Croce, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg, the Beatles, etc.

Speaking to a beginner, I'll have to say once you've got one song down the next becomes a little easier. Before you know it, you have a repertoire. You'll find your friends to be your best source for encouragement and support. My parents went ballistic when I got my first electric. I was so happy! It was like opening a new world for me. My friends and I were playing Rush, Yes, Kansas, Zep, Boston, Sabbath, ELP.

Since then I've gone to play in my share of bands - rock, jazz, and now acoustic. Looking back I'd say this is one of the best things I've ever done with my life. I've been playing for 37 years.

Good luck to you. I hope your adventure is a long and fun one.

It's tough when you have people that say discouraging things to you... Hopefully you can turn that around internally and "prove them wrong" but the real reason to keep going is because you enjoy it. In the early stages of learning something like a musical instrument, you'll need a lot of patience with yourself. Just take it slow.

My guitar story:

I was in college and my roomate had been a singer in some bands. He kept telling me that I should learn guitar so we could be in a band together. He loaned me of of his guitars and he tuned it to an open "E" chord (he called it "magic-chord" and instructed me to simply put my index finger across all the strings at any given fret. We learned some punk and rock songs together that way and he brought in a friend of his to play drums. We truly were not very good but the bug had bitten me.

I went to work at a music store where my friend worked, just to sell strings and stuff behind the counter. In the mean time, I was able to borrow different guitars and amps and mess around. We had "band rehearsal" in the store, after hours sometimes. Meanwhile I finally stared learning real chords and tuned my guitar in the normal way. We wrote a few songs together and played a few parties. Gradually I learned more info, and had a guy at the store who was teaching me scales, some picking techniques, some rhythm techniques, etc.

At one point, some of my other friends introduced me to bluegrass music, which was great because it was all about playing together on acoustic guitars, which caused my skill to improve dramatically.

I wouldn't say I ever became a really good guitar player, but I learned enough to strum a bit, play with friends sometimes, and just enjoy it.

I hope that it works out for you to stick with it. Go easy on yourself - it takes time.