I was a very young boy when the woo of the guitar came calling. My ears and heart were pierced early by the myriad of guitar sounds that seemed to come from everywhere when I was a child. Ours was a musical household with the sound of jangling pop and rock guitars coming from the 45s my sister and her friends danced to, often suggested by Dick Clark on American Bandstand. In the kitchen mom's radio might be playing the country licks and tunes of Chet Atkins or Glen Campbell. Most attractive of all were those mysterious bands and guitarists that showed up on Ed Sullivan or later the Johnny Cash Show like The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Neil Young.
As I began to learn more about these artists it became more and more apparent that if it wasn't for the guitar a lot of these guys (and a few gals) were just normal people or maybe even abnormally shy and reserved without the guitar. It was the guitar and the ability to play it that gave them a way to express themselves and confidence to do it.
I had been around the piano and played the trumpet in band at school but having asthma kept me from really enjoying it. There was an older boy down the block who would sit out in the yard playing his guitar and he let me try it. He taught me two easy chords and I could immediately play. I had to have one.
The guitar was something you could take with you anywhere and hide away in a corner somewhere and practice un-disturbed until you were ready to pull it out and play for or with someone else. You could cradle a guitar in your arms and feel the contour of the wood and smell the music inside. You could create a song sitting on the bed or under the backyard tree. You begin to let your feelings and thoughts come through the notes and chords. The guitar becomes an aural diary.
Before I had any ambitions of being a pro I just wanted to be able to make music like the music that was touching me. When I started making music on my guitar it helped me bring a sense of consistent order and discipline both physically and mentally to my life.
Since becoming a full time guitar teacher in 1996 I've come to see just how special the guitar can become for so many different people from so many different backgrounds and circumstances.
Being a musician in Nashville you often run into driven guitarists who are trying to be the next big thing with big ambitions and $ dollar signs in their eyes, but as a guitar teacher I more often than not meet people whose relationship with music and the guitar is something much deeper. Most of these people would love guitars and play guitar regardless of their occupation. For most people, playing the guitar is an escape from the mundane parts of life. It's therapy, a healing and rejuvenating activity and often a social activity.
It's these people who keep my own motives for making music pure. The heart surgeon in Minneapolis who took guitar lessons to relieve stress and use a whole other part of his brain. The mentally handicapped student who seemed to find an inner calm and focus with the guitar and even wrote songs. The teenage goth girl who was a cutter and was imprisoned in her own home with an ankle bracelet when I met her and the guitar became a new friend and type of diary for her. The shy little boy who took a year to even get one chord right but was so determined and is now a star college student at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston. The Nashville realtor who loves the blues. The retired businessman who finally has time to pursue his love of music and guitar. The suburban housewife with grown kids who is finally doing something for herself that brings her satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
I believe we were created to make music. If you stop and listen, we live in a musical world, and I don't just mean the actual commercial music you hear everywhere you turn on tv, the computer, the restaurant, the phone etc. I mean the sound of your own heartbeat. The rhythm of the rain. The sound of the birds in the morning and the train in the distance. The sound of kids playing. The freeway drone. The sound of a rushing river and a fierce wind. Life is a symphony of sound and the guitar is a wonderful part of it. Bring your guitar out into the yard and play along with whatever else you hear and see how nice it fits in. You don't have to worry about hitting all the notes perfect. The birds don't mind.