What was it that made it click that guitar was for you.

[Voodoosound]

For me I used to always watch my dad play. He wasn’t a great player but what he did play he played well. Around 5 or 6 while my dad was at a music store called “the fret house” I had my aha moment where the sound of the guitar just touched my soul and made me realize I needed to do that.

The music was Playing over their speaker system. It sounded like 3 guitar players to me and even my dad commented on it. Who are these guys?

The store owner looking offended that my dad suggested it was more than one guy made me laugh. Back then music store owners usually ran the store and were also a bit snooty. I recall this as I later in my teen years would frequent this same store.
Anyway, the store owner replied with a bit of disdain saying these guys are simply one his name is Sabicas.

With that said. That moment was my I want to do that. Though as time would go on you get redirected into other styles and other things that you play based on the moment. I ended up playing hard rock, progressive metal, etc etc. It took me about 30 some years to find my way back to what originally inspired me in the first place.

Realistically, though. What 6 year old is going to be able to play like Sabicas. Further, as the older child I am today. While
I’ve developed the skill to satisfy myself with that style. I think maybe if I had another 20-30 years. I could actually play something close to what I heard that day.

 

[beckstriad]

I grew up around musical parents. My mom and dad sang in church three times a week and my mom played piano. My dad played trumpet in all through school and was adept at figuring music out. He had a Selmer acoustic guitar that he didn’t really play much, but was always around.

The first time I remember knowing I wanted to play was at a friend’s birthday party when his dad’s band/jam buddies all played and jammed at the party. I was hooked.

I played trumpet prior to that, so had a little musical training. I was bitten hard by the guitar bug from then on. I got a Squier Strat and a little Crate practice amp and tried to figure out “Smoke On the Water” with tab. I took two lessons and learned C, D, and G chords. After that, it was learning the intro to “Little Wing” and discovering Eric Clapton and Peter Green’s playing on the John Mayall albums from the ‘60s. I also got hugely into Randy Rhoads and Allan Holdsworth.

I eventually got to play in a band and gig with my friend’s dad. That was a lot of fun. I hope to do something like that again.

 

[Anje]

I remember one particular moment that really "clicked" for me: seeing a G'n'R concert.
I was in my teens, I've been taking classical piano lessons for years and was feeling this wasn't going anywhere, really wasn't enjoying it anymore; I've been thinking about what other instrument I would like to pick.
I don't know why but seeing that particular live gig and especially Slash and his Les Paul, really had a major impact on me.
"That's what I want to play & do" moment for sure.

 

[FlyingVBlues]

I grew up in a house with 3 grand pianos. My mother was a fairly well known classical pianist and a professor at Julliard. I started playing piano when I was 3, and added the trumpet when I was around 8. However, I never really connected with either of those instruments. I started playing around with my mom’s Ramirez classical guitar when I was around 7. During the Christmas season in 1960 I heard Barney Kessel play on TV, and he knocked me out. I had been exposed to a few Louis Armstrong records my parents had, but I had never heard anything like what Barney played. After asking my parents for a guitar my mom got me a shiny new 1961 Gibson SG Jr. and a 1960 Fender Tremolux amp with the help of a friend of hers who worked at a music store. He also recommended a good guitar teacher. As soon as I got that SG Jr I stopped playing sports and every spare moment was spent on guitar. I was very disciplined about practicing, spending 3-4 hours a day on the guitar. During the summer or when there was a holiday break that increased to 8-10 hours every day.

When I was 14 I joined a rock band as the lead guitarist with a group of guys in their mid-20’s. A few guys in that band later formed The Critters, who had a couple of records that charted on the Billboard Top 100. The first gig I ever played was at Trude Heller's, a club in Greenwich Village. The second gig was the same weekend in the Disney Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. In order to do both gigs I had to join Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians and also get a New York City Cabaret Identification Card. Because I was under age I had to lie about how old I was and the manager of the band got someone to create a fake drivers license for me saying I was 18 so I could get the Cabaret card. At the Fair we played a 50 minute set that was broadcast throughout the fairgrounds and a song also ran on WPIX-TV in New York City I was so nervous I barely remember playing and I threw up before playing. At Trude Heller's we did two 60 minutes sets, opening for the Trenchcoats (later renamed the Blues Magoos who had a hit record with "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet"). I also threw up before playing at Trude Heller’. I was especially anxious about getting caught with a fake ID. But nothing happened, there were no train wrecks and I was totally hooked. I’ve been gigging ever since then. From the late 60's until 1974 I recorded regularly as a session musician in studios in New York City such as the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio (aka "The Church"), the Record Plant, Columbia Studio B, A&R Studios, Electric Lady Studios, Elektra Records Studio, Media Sound, Power Station, Atlantic Recording Studios and the Hit Factory. More recently I do seesions for National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries.

When I was in college I was struggling to find my own voice as a guitarist. For a few years I completely stopped listening to other guitar players and focused on other musicians who inspired me and who I could learn from. So for example, I loved McCoy Tyner’s melodic vocabulary, his staccato attack and his approach to chord voicing’s, especially his use of fourths. I ended up incorporating some of his approach into my playing. And I really liked Freddie Hubbard’s playing, especially how he constructed his solo lines and phrasing. I also loved Richard "Groove" Holmes' combination of hard bop, soul and blues. When I studied with Pat Martino in 1973/1974 he introduced me to that music.

Another important influence was jazz pianist Bill Evans, who was a family friend. When I started developing a serious interest in playing guitar he used to give me albums to listen to, and lots of charts to look at. We also had a number of discussions about music which were a great influence on me. Even though I was proficient at reading standard notation it was a huge struggle to play some of the music he gave me. I could play the notes as written but it never sounded right to me. An important thing I eventually learned was music wasn’t just about playing the notes correctly. It was also about the feeling and attitude you have when playing, and what you are conveying to the listener. To play something that moves people you have to infuse the music with a rhythmic feel that’s loose, driving, and syncopated. It’s not a technical issue. It’s about the conversation between the musicians that results in a groove. When a band swings it means that the groove is locked in and infectious, all of the musicians are interacting dynamically, and the music flows with momentum and soul. Or as the great Duke Ellington famously said “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”. I ended up developing an approach to playing jazz that is closer to that of a horn player than the way most guitarists play. Maybe that is a bit unconventional, but it works for me.

 

[Voodoosound]

I love the “origin” backgrounds. There’s a wealth of knowledge and experience on this board. I hope more sharing happens in the future by all. Including myself.

 

[Anje]

Agree, fantastic background story @FlyingVBlues ! Thanks for sharing.

I do believe whatever we are exposed to as a child/teen/young adult, "infuses" in some way, anyway, in what/how we become and do = develop into. Would that be as a musician/player, or anything actually.

For instance, even if my father wasn't a guitar player, the music he listened to and that I got to listen to at a young age as I shared in another thread, must have had an influence in what kind of music/instrument I would aspire to play myself later on.