Like no other instrument, the guitar opens up a vast world of musical possibilities. It welcomes everyone from casual Strummers to studio technicians and is ideal if you want to join a band to accompany a singer, or if you desire to bask in the limelight of a soloist. It offers countless choices of expression from sensitive fingerpicked acoustic playing all the way through to loud distorted electric guitar sounds and is suited for almost any genre of music.
The desire to learn the guitar is often driven by emulation. Perhaps you’re enthralled by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Steve Vai, or Wes Montgomery. With the guitar, you’re never short of inspiration. Mine came from a young man called Okiror Albert at my church way back in grade eight. I saw him many times play the electric guitar and fell in love with the sound of an electric guitar right away. What matters most is the relationship you develop with the guitar. I was later inspired to go deeper than from online guitarists like Steve Vai and others. I took action right away and approached him(Albert) because I wanted to develop that relationship with the guitar. I don’t know how to and that was the problem. So I asked him if he could teach me and he said he would and for the next few months, I started developing that relationship with the guitar. I had no idea about outside inspiration from any guitarist, had no idea about YouTube or the internet. I was still blind to the world of the internet. And like I said earlier, that only came way later and so like Billy Gibbons said, “inspiration can come from the most unlikely places,” that’s how I found inspiration. So I diligently practiced day and night and in no time, I could strum some chords, before long, I started learning some songs. I soon joined the church band but my passion had always been to bask in the limelight of a soloist or lead guitarist.
The longer you play, the more of its secrets you unfold. It may be a new technique, a new chord, an effects pedal sound, or a lead lick from a song that had always eluded you. So I always listened to church songs and tried to replicate the melodic lines during intros, interludes, and bridges of these songs. The more I played, the more secrets of the guitar I unfolded. And that’s how I started my musical journey as a guitarist. Whatever the case, the guitar will always keep providing musical pleasures for as long as you play.
This blog will provide you with a practical guide to the guitar. It includes guidance on choosing the right instrument, maintaining your guitar, and becoming a musician. I will guide you step by step based on several learning sessions. Join me on this journey a step by step guide to learning guitar and becoming a musician at that. You will develop new skills and techniques, music theory and so much more.
Of course, there will be moments of frustration when you seem to hit a brick wall in your development, but it’s a common thing to every guitarist and musician out there. You will learn that Barre chord or string bending hurdles have been experienced by countless others before you. They overcame them and so with the help of this practical blog, will you?
The guitar journey. 