Why do I play guitar? I guess that's the million dollar question. It's something maybe I should have blogged about a long time ago. I don't think I ever really thought about. The thing with me is that I've always liked music in general; I never said "I can't play this instrument because you can't make good music with it". At the same time, I never said "I have to play that instrument because I love the music you can make with it". I've always done what I wanted to do with music for alterior motives.
I've had training with many instruments, but the three that I stuck it out the longest for are trumpet, piano, and guitar. I think I picked up the trumpet because I was already learning piano and the trumpet was shiny and available at my elementary school. And it was loud. I like loud music; if I'm listening to classical music on my stereo, it's gonna be loud. I probably started playing piano because my family decided that I should play piano. It was the first instrument I really had an experience with. I stuck it out with that until I began grade six piano work, and then I quit. Looking back, quitting may have been stupid. But I was tired of it. At that point, I wanted to play more than classical music - I wanted to do something contemporary. But my teacher wasn't very good - very classically-based, which isn't good for a child - and didn't really endorse that. So, about a year after I started playing guitar, even though everybody told me not to, I quit learning piano.
I can still play piano, but I just didn't continue taking lessons. This was around the same time that I started to solely focus on the guitar - in grade nine. I'm in grade twelve now.
But what led me to guitar? Like I said before, I started playing guitar a year before I started playing piano. But I had wanted to play guitar since I was a child. We have a photo in my house of me playing a broom like it was a guitar when I was about three years old. In the photo, I'm sitting in this white lawn chair in our backyard (before we moved to where I'm living now, I believe). And I've got this broomstick in my hand, and I'm holding the stick part like it's a fretboard and the bottom of the broom - the part with the brush - served as the body.
At the time, I don't know if I had heard much music.
And around grade five, a few of my friends started playing guitar. I think one of them tried to teach me how to play a G chord. I thought he was a great player, but all he knew was G, Em, D and Am. I was a little jealous.
One of the things I suppose you have to know about me is that (although I don't admit it) I probably have a problem with jealousy. But it's not really about objects so much as talents. If I see somebody doing something and I decide I want to be able to do said thing better than he/she can, I'll set out to do it. I have this natural drive to be the best at everything (except schoolwork, because somewhere in the back of my mind I decided it doesn't matter).
But I didn't learn guitar after I saw my friend playing. No, it took another couple years. In grade six, I went camping with a friend and I saw a teenager playing acoustic beside a campfire.
I went home and told my parents I wanted to play. I convinced them I was serious, so they bought me a guitar. I didn't practice much for at least a year to a year and a half, so I'm lucky to be where I am today with it.
That's the reason I started to play. Really, it was just to be better at something than somebody else. It's not necessarily a good thing - it's led to some ego issues, I admit, and it's led to an inability to take compliments well because there's always one person who's better than me.
You can't be the best at anything. It's impossible.
I'm going to make a prediction: my aspiration will be the death of me. My aspiration to be bigger than Metallica will drive me into the ground slowly, piece by piece, until I die of starvation or live on the streets. All because I can't handle a little jealousy.
I feel like I've written too long. Have I written too long? Maybe you're thinking I'm going emo - I assure you I'm not - but I have a lot on my mind at the moment.
On Thursday, I'm heading south from snowy Canada and going to Florida for a week. I'm very excited. If I see a Macbook when I'm in the States, I'll probably purchase one. I hope I see one on my travels. Wish me luck, and if I don't speak to you again for a while, I wish you all a good Spring Break!
lol.. you know.. i almost forgot why i started playing guitar till i read this lol... i started a year ago because i got grounded for 3 months because i was partyin to late and drinkin lol... and i had nothing better to do then but to sit in my room with my acoustic my dad bought me when i was 5 lol... i played them 3 months so hard my fingers would bleed then i would superglue them again and numb them with ice then keep playing lol i almost miss being grounded lol
thats really gr8 i sometimes i'm like hey i want to do this and i finish it i don't just set it there. anyway is gr8 that u play guitar i bet you are better than me lol
This brings back memories... I started learning guitar in grade three because a teacher wanted to learn and brought instrumental music lessons to my primary school where a teacher comes every week a different day for a different instrument. I saw a demonstration that day and I was intrigued by the guitar, so I begged my parents to get lessons, at first they refused but my mother eventually got annoyed and decided to let me get lessons. I was really bad for the rest of my primary school years but when I went to high school to learn I really ripped people.
I'm in year ten now and I hate to brag about my skills and I have the same problem as you Nathan, I have to be better than someone who is better than me.
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Why Do I Play Guitar? blog
