31 Years of Guitar

I was taking a survey today for Fender. I guess I’m on their list for some reason. Anyways, as they are asking all these questions about what guitars I own, and what I think of their brand, they asked how long I had been playing guitar. So, in my head I quickly put 24 years, thinking “wow, I’ve been playing a long time”.

The next questions were a little redundant, “How old where you when you started playing guitar?” I squinted my eyes and started doing the math. Well, I was in 4th grade, I was 17 when I graduated high school.. so… ah.. mmm.. 9! I was 9.

Wait a minute, if I was 9, then… Brain starts to fizzle, smoke, squeaks, a few pops.

Holy shit! I’ve been playing guitar for 31 years! Wow, that’s a long time.

For some odd reason, in my head I’ve been playing for only 24 years. I think that is because the last time I sat down and counted how long I have been playing, that’s how long I had been playing. I’m such a dork sometimes. O.k. maybe most of the time.

31 years as a guitarist. I feel like I missed an anniversary or something. Shouldn’t somebody send me a watch or something?

I guess the truth is, after 20 years it all kinds of blends together.

I can remember my parents taking me into Consolidated Music of Barrington to get a musical instrument. At the time, I didn’t even want a guitar. I thought they were ugly and I hated the fact that everybody in the world seemed to play guitar. I wanted a trumpet. I had seen Dizzy Gillespie play and I liked the way his cheeks puffed out. My music teacher at St. Anne’s was best friends with Doc Watson, and Doc had stopped by to meet the class one day. I was like, “Man, I want to do that!”

Needless to say, I was really bummed when my parents started talking to the sales person about a “cheap guitar’. They picked up some small sized acoustic guitar and the sales girl showed me a C Chord. My parents paid $35 and the store threw in a plastic bag to carry it around in. I hated it. What did I know; I was just a stupid cocky 9 year-old.

I went to 3 lessons at the store and was really frustrated that they would only teach me 3 notes a week. I thought it was some scam to drag out the boring process. I told my parents what I thought, and I’m sure they thought “See, I told you he wasn’t going to stick with it”. So I quit lessons and instead of paying for my last lesson I bought a John Denver song book. John Denver!?!?!?! Wow.

So, I began teaching myself how to play. The song book had all the basic chords listed in the front with pictures on how to play them. My mom had taught me to read music years before, so I quickly put it all together. Within a day I was playing songs.

That was 31 years ago. Learning guitar was probably the smartest move I ever made. Even when I was broke and bored I could always pick up my trusty guitar and play some music for entertainment. Playing the guitar has opened so many doors for me over the years I couldn’t even begin to list them all. I’ve played concerts with Korn and Joe Satriani, and walked out on stage to crowds of over 15,000 people. What more can you ask for? I guess I owe my mom yet another apology, and a serious thank you.

Every year I pick up a new instrument and begin the process of teaching myself how to play. Some I pick up right away and get pretty good quick, others I suck at no matter how long it takes, like the Violin, I suck at it. My theory is, time keeps going by and before I know it I’ll be writing down, “wow, I can’t believe I have been playing Violin for 10 years”.

Take some advice. Learn to play an instrument. If you have kids, start them on lessons right now. It’s one of those rare gifts that pays off for a whole lifetime.