What has inspired you to play the guitar?

Forums Guitars, Gear, Software & Education What has inspired you to play the guitar?

  • Post
    Rick Graham
    Rick Graham
    Member

    I initially started on violin at a young age but didnt continue it. I started drums during my teens but chose to play guitar because it felt totally natural to me when I first picked one up. I’ve been playing ever since.
    What about you guys?

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 40 total)
  • Replies
    tjchep
    Member

    Started with Canon in D, the youtube guitar one..

    I knew I hda to get a guitar, and I had a bit of money at that time so I decided I was going to go play guitar. Tried to learn Canon in D, figured out it wasent working out, Put guitar down, mabye touched guitar for like an hour every couple weeks. Started taking lessons.. had a crap teacher. Basically never practiced..

    Then after I got my new guitar I Learned about soloing, teacher taught me pentatonic scale.. Then I went online looking for lessons found out about all the soloing stuff and it was all good fun, But the teacher was there just to tell me how I was good, even though I wasent it made me feel good and made me keep practicing.

    So then I don’t know I found GMC a couple months and I knew some stuff before then, but some of those lessons opened my eyes to soloing, and I found out about wrist vibrato which quite litterally changed my life on guitar :). Got fairly good with my vibrato always get compliments on it. Then I found this site called Infinte guitar.. and wow, probably learned some stuff that in just the few days I’ve been here have helped me unreal amounts. I was never a real song learner, I just wanted to write my own licks and riffs and write solos and stuff. And some of these lessons really help you build licks and stuff so its great.

    All good fun. I love guitar more than anything :).

    RoEm
    Member

    I started playing the organ at the age of 6 but I didn’t have pssion for it..
    about 5 years later I first listen to metallica’s Black album..
    that totally changed my life.. from that point I started to approach music differently
    and more important, I was driven to a different instrument… to buy a guitar..
    I just had to… I felt I want that the most.. it took some time in the middle
    but I bought an Admira Paloma, and started learning some of metallica’s old and less havier tunes..
    and this is how this amazing 4 years began

    Goliath
    Member

    I originally picked up the guitar to be “cool” when I was 13. Played it through highschool, never very seriously. Learned power chords and how to read tablature and where to find it on the net and I was on my way to playing every single alt/grunge song on the radio. Kind of sidelined the guitar through college. Then, as a recent college grad thinking to myself “I need a hobby that doesn’t involve drinking of any sort and is more cerebral than watching TV”. Then one day when I was in Target and I saw a CD on the shelf in early July of 06 that said “DRAGONFORCE: INHUMAN RAMPAGE”. Without knowing ANYTHING about the band I immmediately picked it up and walked to the register, knowing it was going to be awesome and laughing at the titles of the songs all the way up. As soon as I popped it in I was floored and I knew 2 minutes into Through the Fire and Flames what my hobby was going to be again, and it was going to involve a 6 string. I went on ebay and put a bid on a lousy low end Ibanez Iceman (I think it was an ICX220DM or something), won it, and havne’t looked back since. Although I still LOL at the thought that guitar playing is cheap 😛 Now that I have guitars I really like, I don’t feel the itch quite so bad. It was really bad at first though. At Guitarman700’s suggestion I’m going to pick up a cheap 7 string to fool around on and call it a day for the immediate future for buying guitars 😛

    OutLaw2112
    Member
    Goliath;2025 wrote:
    I originally picked up the guitar to be “cool” when I was 13. Played it through highschool, never very seriously. Learned power chords and how to read tablature and where to find it on the net and I was on my way to playing every single alt/grunge song on the radio. Kind of sidelined the guitar through college. Then, as a recent college grad thinking to myself “I need a hobby that doesn’t involve drinking of any sort and is more cerebral than watching TV”. Then one day when I was in Target and I saw a CD on the shelf in early July of 06 that said “DRAGONFORCE: INHUMAN RAMPAGE”. Without knowing ANYTHING about the band I immmediately picked it up and walked to the register, knowing it was going to be awesome and laughing at the titles of the songs all the way up. As soon as I popped it in I was floored and I knew 2 minutes into Through the Fire and Flames what my hobby was going to be again, and it was going to involve a 6 string. I went on ebay and put a bid on a lousy low end Ibanez Iceman (I think it was an ICX220DM or something), won it, and havne’t looked back since. Although I still LOL at the thought that guitar playing is cheap 😛 Now that I have guitars I really like, I don’t feel the itch quite so bad. It was really bad at first though. At Guitarman700’s suggestion I’m going to pick up a cheap 7 string to fool around on and call it a day for the immediate future for buying guitars 😛

    Ive never really listened to dragonforce, but i found this video on them… guitar hero

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ao_vOsZkg&feature=related

    Goliath
    Member
    OutLaw2112;2093 wrote:
    Ive never really listened to dragonforce, but i found this video on them… guitar hero

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ao_vOsZkg&feature=related

    watch the videos, they’re pretty hilarious.

    This one is edited for length http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jgrCKhxE1s

    Operation Ground and Pound also has an equally silly music video.

    warning: there is a very little bit of profanity, but the video is hilarious.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIleK5CRcjo

    MarkaN
    Member

    Very first time was the first time I heard couple of rock songs, and especially when I´ve seen, for the first time in my life a rock concert. In my mind it was like; “yeah! I wanna do that too!” 🙂

    Rolling Stones and Metallica were one of the bands… and offcourse some bands from local Croatian Rock scene…

    dhumphries
    Member

    Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton initially then Iron Maiden led to Dio and others and finally into Metallica but it was just fantasy until I heard Satriani, Vai and Petrucci that I decided I really wanted to play.

    Rick Graham
    Rick Graham
    Member

    Regarding guitar, my brother played me a new tape he’d bought by Joe Satriani: FIABD
    I’d never heard of him before and when he put the tape on I was literally floored by his amazing playing AND great tunes. Life changing stuff.
    Not long after that came some serious solitary confinement……………………….

    billmeedog
    Member

    Jimi Hendrix! I liked drums as a kid (and to this day whenever I go to a show, I can be found either in the Beer-Line or playing “air-drums!” I can’t help myself…from the “air-drumming, NOT the beer!!!) But yes, I heard a Jimi Hendrix documentary on the radio
    (remember those!??!) and somehow got so drawn to him, I really can’t explain it.
    Of couirse, since I’ve started, Ive gotten into MANY fine guitarists (NOT Kirk Hammett BTW, LOL! to Robert Mussati – Dude, you PLAY CIRCLES around Kirk Hammett!)
    But I understand the influences one has BEFORE we have a clue (After all, I thought
    Ace Frehley was pretty happenenig when I was a kid! I guess you could say that KIrk Hammett was to the 80’s what Ace Frehley was to the 70’s, that icon that you have to apologize for when you get older!!!)

    BTW, this IS NOT a BEST GUITARIST List, OK!!!! This is merely my INFLUENCES list:

    1. Jimi Hendrix (Everything!)
    2. Alex Lifeson (Creativity, Rhythm/guitar arranging)
    3. Steve Lukather (All-around!)
    4. Michael Schenker (Rock Lead & Tone)
    5. Stevie Ray Vaughan (Blues & Tone)
    6. Ritchie Blackmore (Picking,Tone & Style)
    7. Jimmy Page (Creativity, Rhythm & Acoustic, guitar arranging)
    8. Steve Vai (Musicianship, knowledge)
    9. Steve Morse (Musicianship, diversity)
    10.Ty Tabor (Creativity, Rhythm & Tone)

    AND, of course, ALL of you STAFF here at IG! No kidding, you guys are great and inspire me each in your own way, but especially Rick Graham! Goddamn Rick is great isn’t he!

    Peace & Thanks

    ~Bill Meehan~

    billmeedog
    Member

    Hey Guys,

    I just chimed in on the “What inspired you to play?” thread, and there are a few
    influences I forgot (not that any of you would know,) but I’d be remiss to myself for
    not including

    11. Nuno Bettencourt (rhythm & chops)
    12. Shawn Lane (Inspiration – SO FAR out of my league that I can’t cite any ONE thing!)
    13. Guthrie Govan (Inspiration, chops, Books [“Cutting Edge Techniques 1 & 2!])

    ALL of my Private Instructors (past & present):

    1. Phil Cooper
    2. Robert Butler
    3. Mike Turner
    4. Rob Nockowitz
    5. Brian Rahilly
    6. Ethan Brosh

    AND of course, all of my Guitar Students past & present (NO IDEA how many, but I’ve
    estimated to have taught about 40,000+ private 1/2 hour lessons over the past 19 1/2 years, and I’ve LOVED (and continue to LOVE) every minute of it!!!

    ~Bill Meehan

    AJ_Lenzie
    Member

    Okay i saw this thread and figured what the hell…might as well, so without further or due!

    I started playing the cornet (smaller trumpet) in about 3rd grade, played that for about 3 years and was instantly drawn to music. I was just a natural. Eventually i became rather bored with it until i heard my aunt play guitar, she cant really play she just knew about 2 or 3 chords, but it sold me completely! So i got my first Hofner guitar and Peaveys Bandit 65 amp for free. The i really started playing when i got my distortion pedal about 2 months after that which led me to buy another guitar, and 80s Alvarez. So that made me start playing a lot, then i taught my buddy what i had learned im my “5” years of music playing and we started a band, the drummer, other guitarist, and i lived on the same street for about 5 years as well. So from my 6th grade year until ny 11th year we practiced every single day for at least 3 hours a day, and we maybe had 3 sick days out of that whole time. So i truly love music, and i hate to see people just play to play, you need a passion for it. I dont mind if im not the fastest player or the most skilled, all i know is that what i think of…i can make happen, and that makes me happy! To hear the music in my head, and write it and play it, its rewarding! In the long run keep playing strive to be better than what you are in 6 months, thats how i learn quick!!!

    AJ

    I started with the drum first because I was fan of Guns N´ Roses, specially of Matt Sorum and Slash ofcourse, after playing drums for a month or two I began with the guitar. I was crazy for playing like Slash until I heard Yngwie, he did change my life…

    silvio.

    Rick Graham
    Rick Graham
    Member

    Drums do seem to be a common thread among guitarists. I played for a while before I picked up the guitar too. Silvio, I’ll never forget the first time I heard Yngwie for sure.

    @Rick Graham 4426 wrote:

    Drums do seem to be a common thread among guitarists. I played for a while before I picked up the guitar too. Silvio, I’ll never forget the first time I heard Yngwie for sure.

    Yeah, It was magic, I couldn´t understand all that notes hehe, It seemed to me something out of this world, and I thought… I never will be able to play like this…

    Rick Graham
    Rick Graham
    Member

    Now that gives me an excuse to post this

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CvKqxNea9iA 😉

    I think that Yngwie taught me so much about vibrato, string bending and intonation. Not personally unfortunately lol

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 40 total)
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