We will be exploring all sorts of guitar related topics, from music theory, to gear and tips I have been using to try to make a living as a musician.
First, I wanted to just give you all a brief introduction to myself, with a little background from where I'm coming from and what brought me to where I am today.
I have come from a musical background and have been exposed to making music since I was very little. I remember playing the "what's on the radio game" with my dad when I was 5 or 6. That's how I learned how to tell the difference between Led Zeppelin and ACDC, even though I thought Led Zeppelin was an actual person...not a band. (Oh to be young and naive again...).
My Dad always had guitars lying around the house and was a passive player. He had a Martin acoustic guitar that lived on a stand next to his favorite Lazy Boy recliner. Most of the time the TV was on, there was a bad Sci-Fi movie playing, and he would be strumming some chords softly while watching. Truth be told, he was probably the only one that enjoyed those movies...despite him falling asleep during most of them.
Now, I don't know what triggered me wanting to start playing off the get-go. I could tell you it was listening to Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" record, or the guitar work of the "Hell Freezes Over" album from the Eagles. Maybe it was the smooth and subtle jazz guitar from "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole right after Thanksgiving. Truth be told, there was always music on the stereo in the house and our family preferred that type of bonding rather than sitting in front of the TV. I think just being exposed to so much music, at such a young age, and with such a high variety, really piqued my interest.
Once I reached 2nd or 3rd grade is when I decided to dive head first into taking guitar lessons and being engulfed in the world of music. I vividly remember taking Musician's Friend catalogs with me to school and reading them on the bus, reading them at recess and reading them when I had free time at my desk. Other kids in my school would be reading about dirt-bikes, 4 wheelers, or basketball (I grew up in rural Indiana, so it came with the territory). There were two problems I faced with this trend in my school.
1.) I was horrible at sports. I tried coach pitch baseball, basketball and karate when I was young and ended up being pretty bad at it. Imagine a little husky version of me trying to run to first base after hitting a baseball...yeah, didn't work out so well.
and
2.) my family didn't want me killing myself on a dirt bike or a quad. I whole heartedly understand.
Lessons were interesting. I only took lessons continuously for about a year before the instructor made me stop. My dad took me to this small music store in town after school where I had a 30 minute lesson every week. We would pick a song and go over the chords and work on it week by week. My dad and my instructor knew something was up when I figured out that I was getting taught the wrong chords for the song I had picked. I ended up correcting the instructor in one of my lessons and he told my dad not to bring me back after that week. Soon after that incident, I heard Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" on the radio during a drive home. As soon as I got home, I went and started playing the opening riff on the Martin that lived next to Dad's recliner. I hadn't known what was going on, because I had been taught those chords in previous lessons, and had heard those same chords in the song on the radio, so I just put 2 and 2 together and it sounded the same when I played it myself. Turns out it's a thing called "Relative Pitch" and it is something that I actually developed over time as I started playing out more and as I got older.
At this point, Im probably 11 or 12. I had been playing for a few years and just gotten competent enough to start playing in "ensembles". Luckily, our family was really involved with serving in the local church, and our church at the time had a great music program. I was able to get my foot in the door by volunteering with the student ministry by playing acoustic guitar a couple times a month. Things got a little more serious when I started declining sheet music, but would rather play by ear with everybody. I started playing regularly on Sunday mornings when I was 12-13 years old and would lead from time to time in the student ministry. Once I had gotten into Jr. High school, I had the chance to meet new friends from other schools who were also musical. While it wasn't grammy material, we did have fun making our own music and recording our own CD's on a 4 track Tascam machine. Needless to say, we never got signed. If only we had the proper representation.....
I spent High School learning more about music theory and basic orchestration. I also got really into brass instruments and marching band. I was in my high school's marching band as a Tubist (I think that's the proper term?). I don't ever expect my tuba or brass skills to make me a fortune anytime soon, but they did help me out once I got to college. I ended up studying music in college where tuba was my primary instrument. Looking back, I probably should have stuck with guitar...but If only...
Nowadays, I can best describe the phase I'm in as 'limbo'. I've tried the corporate job gig, with the 401K and 8-5 hours, but had a horrible boss and worked for a horrible company. I have tried working 4 jobs part time and that was just too much to handle. I've even tried teaching but the combination of my stupidity and other intangibles made that fall through as well. Turns out, that the only thing I really know how to do is make music. I guess I'm an ok barista too, but that doesn't really pay the bills well. I want to start busting my hump and get to the point where I can be the musician I know I can be and have the life I know I can have all while doing what I love. I don't want to sit around 30+ years from now in a job that I regret wondering "what if?". I don't think God would have given me this talent to squander it like this. Or maybe, I just need to try and fail spectacularly to find out that it's not for me. Either way, this is my last ditch effort and I am willing to give everything to make it happen. I don't care who's feelings I hurt, how uncomfortable I become, or how much I struggle in the beginning. Hopefully, in the end it will be all worth it.
-B
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