Started playing in my bedroom 10 years ago 10 years later and im still in my bedroom

My Dad died last Dec. 9, 2019 and he petitioned my Mom last June 5. I am totally devastated and alone. I was able to write a song because of so much sadness. It has melody but I want it to have a guitar sound. I decided to learn to play guitar maybe just 4 days ago. I bought a guitar online and still waiting for it to be delivered. I am confident it's not gonna be too late to learn at 35. I promise to create music that will be worth sharing to others. This is going to be my story.

I'm still quite new to guitar but here's my story.. when I was a kid I fell in love with rock, metal music like Blink, Sum 41, Metallica, Slipknot etc and I used to watch guitar covers just for fun. When I was 15 I decided it's time to get guitar to myself. Couldn't find any teachers so that held me back for a while but I found a summer job and that summer I got myself a good yamaha electric guitar. I practised all the time on my own, learnt notes, how to read tabs, simple songs and later moved on to music theory, recording covers for youtube. Now in my 20s I'm still trying to find my sound and style. I'm a fan nowadays of Ichika, Tom Henson, Wes Borland, Cole Rolland etc. I love writing and sharing my music much more than playing covers and I really hope I can make a living out of it one day. If you read this, thank you. I wish you all the best my guitarist fellas!

My guitar and music story: Ever since I was really young, my dad was always playing music. AC/DC and Black Sabbath were the bands of my childhood. My dad also played guitar, so I would often see guitar cases and amps a lot when I was a kid. When my parents got divorced, I wasn't as close to my dad due to having to go with my mom so often. Quite a few years went by, until I was watching WWE with my family on a Friday night, and I heard "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day (the old intro theme to Smackdown) and I got back into music. I also was introduced to Metallica from WWE (The Undertaker and Triple H end of an era fued) with "The Memory Remains." I decided I wanted to try drums, my dad had guitar and I wanted to try drums. One Christmas, my grandma got me a cheap electric kit and I tried to learn drums. To say the least, I sucked, but I was having fun. My dad kept playing guitar and kept showing me that. I continued on my path of metal, rock, and punk, and then in 7th grade I took a guitar class. I got a Fender acoustic and my dad taught me "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. I took that guitar class and learned the basics, but it wasn't the music I wanted to play. The only thing I really remember from that class was an E minor chord, and the basics to the into to "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. My friend also taught me "Hell's Bells" by ACDC during that class. I kept playing that fender acoustic, and played "Iron Man" in my 8th grade talent show. I kept learning new songs on it, a lot of Metallica riffs and then just random riffs I wrote. I started playing on my dad's electric because I found this band "Avenged Sevenfold." I wanted to learn their riffs and just play with distortion. The summer before my Sophmore year of high school, I got an Ibanez start style electric guitar. I fell in love with that guitar and learned so much more. I played 2 open mics for my school's drama club. The first one I played "Spit out the Bone" by Metallica and "Iron Man" again. I played that song a lot. The second I played "Seek and Destroy" and "Master of Puppets" by Metallica. Neither in full, but I had so much fun with it. Then that Christmas, I got my main guitar to this day, an Epiphone Special 2 Les Paul. When I got that, I just riffed and learned all sorts of songs. Again, a lot more Metallica and Black Sabbath. Later my sophomore year, I performed a Metallica medley in my schools talent show. That was one of my favorite performances I've had. I had so much fun with it and continued playing. Around that same time, I finished making my own acoustic guitar. My sophomore year, I took a woodshop class where I could make my own guitar. I finished it the last day before it was due after pouring blood, sweat and tears into it. I still have it and love that guitar. I then played another open Mic for my drama club playing a medley of songs from "St. Anger" by Metallica (I found drop C tuning and wanted to perform in it) and "Nightmare" by "Avenged Sevenfold" in drop C as well. I ended that school year off finding my own amp. I found a Vox modeling amp at a pawn shop and loved it. We bought it, but I couldn't play it until my birthday of that year. Also around that time, I learned the "Bohemian Rhapsody" solo after seeing that movie. I ended up getting my amp for my birthday and played the hell out of it. I loved it and it was so cool having my own gear instead of borrowing my dad's Fender amp. A few weeks after my birthday, I bought my first guitar with my own money. I bought an Ibanez 7 string and it was so cool. My dad and I loved it, so I got it. We stopped by our local guitar store to buy a whammy bar for it on the way home, and then I played it for hours. I kept playing guitar and just having fun. I played "Spit out the Bone" again at another open mic at the beginning of my junior year. I also listened to the first 3 Metallica albums on a bus ride to a Shakespeare theatre competition (yes I'm a theatre kid XD) and got a lot more inspiration to play again and learn some more older Metallica riffs. When I got back from that competition, I had my first experience with live music. One of my friends in theatre took me to my first concert. We saw Tool live, and that was the best experience I've ever had. Tool was incredible and getting to hear them live was amazing! I got so much more inspiration to learn and play more that night. I went home and over the next few days, I learned Tool riffs. I then fell into a depression, one of the lowest points in my life. I had no motivation, no creativity, and just full of hate. I dropped everything and just closed myself off. Thanks to my friends, I got through it a bit and got back around to playing guitar again. I'm still struggling with depression and anxiety, but I'm learning to handle it and cope with it. Guitar has helped with that and helped me cope with it all. Ever since this quarantine began, I have been spending a lot more time playing guitar. Each day, I spend at least half an hour playing and riffing around on my guitar. I've been playing guitar for almost 5 years now, and it has introduced me to so many more musicians, I've met some of the best people I know because of it, and it will always tie me to my dad. He got me into it, and I ran with it. Guitar will always be a part of my life, and I hope to make a career out of performing. Wether it be in music, or theatre, I will bring guitar into it. Love the videos man! Great work and thanks for being so dedicated to guitar, your students, and your viewers! Keep up the great work! \m/

I play bass.

When I was growing up, my dad played guitar, my mom played autoharp and they both sang. Sometimes, they even visited my school and performed for my classmates and me. Of course, I wanted to play drums. We couldn't afford them though so I just drummed my fingers on anything I could find. Years later, I learned how to make beats on my computer. Then, my dad bought a second acoustic guitar so I started borrowing his first acoustic. I got good enough, watching videos like these, that he paid for 6 months of lessons for me. When he died, his guitar was the one thing I absolutely had to have. With the money he left my family, I finally bought some drums. I promised myself I'd learn how to sing and write songs. So I did. Then, I learned how to accompany myself on other instruments. Eventually, I learned how to mix/master music and I still write and perform songs. But these days, little gives me more joy than to teach others how to play music and write songs.

I'm 57, I remember the first rock and roll song i heard was the Stones "I Cant get no satisfaction" I was alone and figured out how to play the record on one of those big cabinet record players that had a black and white TV in it. It was in 67 or 68, Anyway very long story short, love the 70's music mostly and play guitar just once in a while in spurts. Im envious of kids these days that have all these videos available to learn and how my musical life would have been so much different if I would had access to all this that we have today. I stayed mainly a fan of music and never took playing the guitar serious enough, but now since youtube I've gone back to the basics and learning the fretboard and some theory. Enjoy your videos and thanks for sharing your story. Your a very good teacher.

I'm an eighteen years old guitar player from Syria I started to play guitar 3 years ago,started on classical guitar and it was really useful for me later because I developed legato and chord shapes early on in my long to be journey. now I play Electric guitar.it was my real intention when I wanted to pick up this hobby,I was inspired by Slash,Randy Rhodes,James Hetfield,Dave Mustaine and these kind of guitar gods,I was into some rock bands(Skillet) and mainly Heavy metal after a year of playing electric guitar,I've been on a stage 2 times,this is when it was turning to something more than a hobby,I started listening to some old amazing arabic music,and Progressive metal,mainly dream theater this when I started to enjoy every kind of music on it's own,and I took interest in other aspects of music went deep in music theory,started to research about composing and arranging,took a mixing and producing class,started doing gigs and live shows more often,despite the crisis and war,we don't kill our motives I know it's a long way to get out of this mad and cruel place,and it will be harder outside,but that won't stop me,I finished my senior high school class with excellent grades,and went to college to study Computer Science,in hope to get somewhere in my long life journey to not only start living off just making music,this journey is for greater things for me and for my country,in search for success and greatness in this charming art and craft

I suppose my story is quite different from everyone else. I was forced to play guitar by my mother. I was highly unmotivated by this because the music I listened to back then was primarily songs from the radio and 90's rnb. Because I was going to get music lessons regardless, I pleaded to my mum for me to play bass instead of guitar. She said no and a few weeks later, I got my first lesson. All I could tell you was that any 'homework' my guitar teacher set me I did not complete due to the sheer boredom and lack of motivation being forced to play this instrument. Over time I thought about quitting, but I feared that my parents weren't going to be happy with my decision. Surprisingly during the lessons, my guitar teacher and I would have discussions about music. And over time, my own music taste started to develop. I started to listen to Alternative Rock, which then evolved into Hard Rock, then Glam metal etc. Listening to these genres gave me a sense of motivation to my guitar playing and I then started to practice outside my lessons. However, my motivation only lasted for a few weeks and I relapsed back to not practicing. The next year, my music taste evolved even further to the point where I would listen exclusively to Metal. I had this sort of 'elitist' mindset back then regarding mainstream music as I avoided listening to anything on the radio (I got rid of that mindset the following year). My guitar playing during that time was a bit erratic, as I was playing continuously only at the start and end of the year. I stopped having lessons at the start of the year and focused solely on being self-taught. This time, I was progressing a lot faster as I was able to play the clean section of Fade to black in a week (I would only play about an 1-2 hours a day). During this time, I believed that I was able to finally gain momentum and continue practicing my guitar consistently leading to next year, but I was wrong. I quit guitar for about a year because as I mentioned earlier, I never fell in love with the instrument. I sold both my electric guitars and at around this time, I decided to play bass instead. I bought my first bass guitar with all the money I had, which meant that I practiced without an amp. But, I was still unable to keep myself motivated and quit after a month. However at the end of the year, my friends from school took up instruments and I decided to join in and practice with them. The next year, I would play in the school band and perform in front of the school during special occasions. As for my guitar playing, I took it up again and have been practicing consistently for more than a month now. I had to take a one week break though as the nerves in my middle finger were injured and I would feel sharp pain every time I would press it against the fretboard. For some reason though, I now enjoy playing the instrument and persevered through all the challenging phases that I have encountered during my practice for the past 5 weeks now. As for my mother, she isn't the villain in this. Without her forcing me to play this instrument, I wouldn't be able to find the genre of music that I connect with the most (metal), and instead, I'll be stuck listening to mainstream music for the rest of my life (which isn't all that bad but still, metal is cool). I think I wrote too much.

Mate hearing that inspires me please please don't stop ya teaching cos you've inspire me

The song Plush on "Core" by Stone Temple Pilots made me want to play bass and electric guitar because It was my favorite album at the time and it still is. Love that album and it inspires me to this day (thank you Radio X from GTA San Andreas)

One of he first albums I ever listened to was (GI) by The Germs. When I listened to that record and learned that they could barley play their instruments at the start but said fuck it, it gave me motivation. That’s what I love about about Punk Rock. Passion over technique.

It seems like there are 2 types of musicians. There is the Creator whom uses instruments to express themselves and there is the Embracer whom uses the instruments to bond and get a deeper closeness with the music that they love and to which they have an emotional connection. While there is crossover, you can see the dominate reason for playing when asked to play “something”. The creator will want to play something original and the embracer will want to play something they learned.

When I was 7 my parents took me to some sort of open day at our local music school and there I apparently decided that the guitar was the instrument for me. For the first three years or so I had lessons at that music school, but then my teacher stopped (the situation at that school was pretty bad since the government decided to cut back on funding), so I went to another teacher, played there for about two years, but he was already in his 60's or something and in a pretty bad place personally as far as I remember, so I had to find another teacher. Anyway, my first two teachers were both pretty theory-oriented and I think that might have partially been the reason why I feel that I did not make a whole lot of progress in that period. My current teacher however focuses more on actually playing and really tries to get all of his students excited about music and that made such a huge difference for me, because since then I've really become quite passionate about music in general and it makes playing guitar so much more rewarding. I really advice anyone to look for a passion of music in a teacher, cause if he's not enjoying himself, chances are you probably won't either.

I'm a 17 year old aspiring musician from New York, and I have been playing guitar for 7 years. For my entire life, I've been surrounded by music. When I was born my parents played Nirvana/Alice in Chains unplugged in my crib as I napped (me being named after Kurt cobain, and Layne Staley). I remember one of my happiest childhood memories I must've been 4, or 5, driving with the top down to our jeep, blasting Sweating Bullets on a road trip. My dad is a drummer, my mother is a bassist in a local band, and my brother is a drummer in a local Thrash Metal band that has released an independent EP. Music is a major part of my life, specifically thrash metal. In complete honesty, I'm a complete Megadeth fanboy. I follow every band members Instagram, I even met Dave Ellefson for his Basstory tour, I read Dave Mustaines book, and both of Ellefsons, Hell they are my most listened to band on spotify for the decade(over 300 hours listened). Safe to say Megadeth is my favorite band. For years I took guitar lessons once a week, but eventually became financially unable to, so I had to put the guitar down. Eventually, I picked the guitar back up and began to self teach, which I still do to this day. My mom scraped together enough money to enroll me into a "music school". It basically was a class that teaches fundamentals of making a band, and you have an instructor help you create one with other students. for a little over a year it was just me, and the instructor in the band when I found that few people my age were as determined, let alone as interested in playing metal as I was. Fast forward 6 months, I managed to get a band together, Me on lead/rhythm guitar/ vocals, Tommy on drums, Evan on Guitar, and the instructor on bass. we called ourselves "KnuckleBeast", and previously "The Backhand City Steves". We played a few gigs with a setlist of Metallica covers, but eventually the guitarist stopped showing up, and even bailed out on the last gig, leaving me to do all the lead, rhythm, and vocals to all the songs, but I stepped up and nailed em. (thanks for posting a video on the AJFA intro!) The band fell apart after the last gig, and I left the school. It has been 2 years, and I've been practicing non-stop, and building a following on Instagram by posting songs I've learned, and my progress. My biggest accomplishment so far was when I taught myself the Tornado of Souls solo through the Rust In Peace tab book. While I consider myself to be a good guitarist, I want to be great, and to one day become the next Megadeth, Or Anthrax, or Metallica, or Pantera. I'm determined, but I lack the experience, and financially it's very hard for us to get me a guitar teacher, as my mother Is sick with an autoimmune disease, and mostly out of work, and my parents are divorced. I'm taking this time off on a so called " Corona-cation", to really become sick on the guitar (no pun intended) and your videos definitely help!

My cousin started attending guitar lessons at a place 5 minutes away from my home. My mother got to know this and immediately wanted me to take them as well. I wasn't even interested in music at that time, but being 11 years old I had to follow her command. My mother was so keen on sending me there that I didnt even have a guitar during my first class. The teacher just laughed at me and told me to observe others, which i did for the next one and a half hours. Good times. Now after almost 8 years my parents live in constant fear that someday I'll abandon my studies to take up music somewhere. That's what they get for embarrassing me :P

This is not a story of how I started, but I remember lending my guitar to a friend on a talent show because his jack was not screwed well. During his presentation I fixed it with a metal ruler that I used as a screwdriver.

When I was 10, I got this “toy” guitar from my grandparents and I’m starting to like it. As soon as I was interested in guitar, my parents wanted me to do lessons. That was when I got a real guitar and took lessons at this music store. I wanted to learn the clean Enter Sandman riff; however, my teacher thought it was best for me to learn hot cross buns and Mary had a little lamb while reading sheet music. My motivation to learn guitar dwindled. It was more a chore than a fun thing to do. I decided to quit. For a few years, I’ve been on and off guitar, thinking that this is the time that I stick to it but I end up quitting. When I was 14, something clicked in my head and I wanted to start playing guitar. This time, it stuck. I’ve been using KZfaq to learn guitar. A year later, I decided to take guitar lessons from guitar center. This time, lessons were fun because instead of learning how to read music and play simple songs, I was learning Master of Puppets and how to improvise solos. I love guitar!!!

As with guitar, my great grandparents had a old Japanese made Classical Guitar. And I had a friend that really encouraged me to get into music *i was never really into music* and I asked one day if they still had it. And they did! In 3 months I felt like I've gotten somewhere with it, I then started getting lessons. This is where I purchased my first ever acoustic guitar. This was the first time I did anything with the steel string, and then here I am today😄

In 1967 a door-to-door salesman knocked and I answered. He asked the 10yo boy standing there if he wanted to be in a band. In 1967 what young male didn't want to be in a band! It turns out, he was a salesman for Milton Mann's Accordion Studio - but that meant nothing, I was going to be in a band! I begged my dad, he told my great-grandmother (a Lawrence Welk fanatic) and she paid for my instrument and lessons. I spent the next 8 years learning to read music and translate it to my hands. The school had a band, of 35 accordionists, and we played contemporary songs composed for the instrument. By the time I turned 18, playing Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love" on the accordion was not vey cool. I traded in my instrument for an acoustic guitar, bought a fake book and leaned all of the basic chords fairly quickly. I couldn't afford lessons, so It kind of fell off. In 1984 I bought an Ibanez Roadstar II from a pawn shop, found Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine and practiced every day. Started a band with my local mates and we played gigs around locally. I took up bass because other bands would ask if i could (Bass players were apparently hard to find back then). Gigged on bass for about 5 years and have been playing guitar and bass for personal enjoyment ever since.

My dad had a guitar in his closet he would sometimes play and my grandparents had a few instruments of similar descriptions. My parents said me and my siblings had to learn an instrument and I was learning piano at the time and it wasn't doing it for me. I ended up just playing around on the guitar and I really liked it. Let's just say it spiralled out of control. Then I went to high school and I met some friends who were at a similar skill level and we just kept getting better.

I got really into guitar when I was stationed in Japan, just for something to do after work besides drink. When I got out of the military and started school, my band teacher pressed me into bass, and as much as I liked bass, I wanted to make death metal riffs on guitar. Been about 6 years now since me and Sapp jammed on duty together.

First, thank you for your content and lessons. I’m 39 yrs old. Bought myself my first guitar for my 21st birthday. Self-taught. Tab books, guitar world, ect. Kurt Cobain inspired me to believe I could do it. Became a Dad. Years later, I’m still playing. Picked up drums about 10 yrs ago and Bass at some point as well. Now, over the last couple years, I have committed to building a usable recording studio in my basement. I’ve collected a heap of excellent gear. Now, I am currently getting reading to begin writing and recording what will be a full album.

When I was 6 I took piano lessons and I don’t remember much of it but I really didn’t like it at all. So I quit taking piano and I wanted to play guitar, so one time when my Dad and I were in a Walmart we saw this small guitar, and I wanted it so he got it for me. But I never took lessons or really learned how to play. Fast forward a couple years I really started getting into more rock music like Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Blink 182, etc. So I really wanted to learn how to play songs on guitar. So when I was just starting 9th grade I took guitar classes at my school, and I was really excited that I could get to play a guitar. So after we had come back from Christmas break my parents and I went to Guitar Center and we got my first “real” guitar. So I could actually get to practice on it. And before I got my guitar I started getting into more guitar KZfaqrs, which really taught me a lot about playing guitar and different techniques and stuff. I probably learned more from those videos than I ever did in that class. So then summer came and since I didn’t have school, I would just play guitar. I wasn’t forcing myself to practice I was just playing whenever I wanted to and it felt great. I learned how to play lots of songs and it felt really good to be able to play so many songs. I began to learn full songs and I could play them all the through. I also watched a lot of guitar KZfaqrs that showed me different techniques and different things that I could do on my guitar. I also really got into Metallica so I would play their stuff all the time and I really enjoyed learning their songs and being able to play them. To this day I play guitar everyday and I don’t think I’ll be quitting anytime soon. Wish I had an electric tho.

Hi there my start with guitar was with my FATHER he played guitar, he played folk music but i was really young, and then years later i started trying to play guitar but i had so many ppl telling me that i could never learn to play and what not so i gave up 9 times untill 2011 and i started playing again and i have not stoped since and i proved to myself that I can LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR..... best thing i ever did

When I was 9 (david bowie had just died) and i saw him on tv (it was like a tribute video) and so that christmas I asked for a guitar. Then I got one..ever scince then I couldn't put it down Later I discovered people on KZfaq playing guitar (like you) have inspired me more along with guys like slash etc

When I was very young (about 6 years old), I played keyboard at school for a year or two, but I had no interest in it and dropped it. I didn't touch another instrument until seventh grade, when I had to play clarinet for school as it was a compulsory subject, the same for guitar (acoustic) in eighth. However, I still had no interest at all in music and only listened to the radio as background noise or whatever, and with no particular genre of interest. Fast forward to eleventh grade, and I was in the same chemistry class as a friend of mine (C), and he sat between myself and another friend of his (M), though I didn't know M at the time. We ended up becoming friends too because he was in a bunch of my other classes. C played guitar and M played bass, and they would often talk about metal music though it was a subgenre (usually extreme stuff like technical death metal, and djent-y stuff) that I would never get into. M was also in a couple of bands at the time (they're both defunct now, but he's in another one now) and would talk about it. At that time my only exposure to metal was as film soundtracks and stuff like that, and I had this preconception that it was all screamo stuff, but hearing them talk about it made me want to check out what it was. So one day I went home and looked up "good metal songs" on Google and clicked on the music video for Painkiller by Judas Priest because I recognised the band name. It was too hardcore for me at the time (the distortion, vicious playing, and chaotic video direction) pretty much put me off of it and I considered dropping it right then and there, but that drum solo intro was incredible. So I checked some other stuff out and got to Iron Man by Black Sabbath, and that changed everything. I thought the main solo in that song was the absolute coolest thing I'd ever heard, so much attitude and style, a world away from the radio hip hop and pop that I was accustomed to. From that moment, I decided that I wanted to play guitar. I wanted to be able to play like that. I didn't actually get my first guitar until Christmas of my final year of high school (so well over a full year later), and it was a cheapo strat knockoff kit guitar that my cousin gave me (I still have it) because he didn't use it anymore. And I guess that was that.

Originally, I started as a drummer in 1976. Groups like KISS and Boston influenced me to become a musician. And there were a lot of musicians on both sides of my family. I used to beat this old chair with bird perches until I started using a drum-set at a rich kids' school my friends parents worked at. The music teacher there caught me playing and was impressed by my enthusiasm. So, he gave me the combination to the drum-set locker! Even then, I could never afford a drum set. I took up guitar in 1978 after seeing the picture of Ace Frehley looking awesome in the Evolution of KISS booklet included with KISS Alive II. That same friend of mine's parents (that worked at the rich kids' school) were trying to force him to learn guitar and he wanted none of it. So, he had a beat up 60's Teisco style guitar with no strings and 1 single coil. I got him to give it to me so I could learn. He secretly gave me the guitar behind his parents' back by running outside with it while they weren't looking and dropping it on the ground! I was waiting in the bushes. I ran out, grabbed it, and ran all the way home! I was poor - so I could only afford the high E string. My mom saw me playing and saw that I had a talent for it. She got the guitar restrung and set-up. She also got me enrolled in guitar lessons. I took ONE lesson and was very bored. I wanted to learn chords and this guy was teaching me leads on 2 strings. I had 6 strings now and wanted to play ALL of them! So, I went to the library, took out some books on playing guitar which had chord boxes and songs in them, and the rest is KISStory! 😎👍🎸

Slash was the reason I started playing guitar 🤘

63 years old and two weeks in!

I started in March of this yr, at age 41. I have wanted to play since I was a kid, but my parents never got me a guitar. Growing up I was exposed to all genres of music, my mom would just pick a radio station & we would listen to it all day. So I grew up with a love for all types music. There is just something about guitar music, whenever I hear a really good riffs & solos. it's an undescribable feeling, I can feel it through out my whole body.. all the way to my soul. So I just decide it time & I'm very happy that I did.

2016,Freshman, playing bass,wonderwall kind of stuff 2017,get access to youtube(China blocked foreign internet),watching your videos 2018,2019,still watching your videos, begin to play guitar. 2020,graduated,still watching your videos. really,really, helped me a lot. I learned theory,technique..which is really hard to learn in China. Thank you, appericiate!

My mother had an old acoustic and tried to teach me when I was like 10y.o. but I didn’t really enjoyed it. Later when I was 14-15 I made metalhead friends at school who played guitar and I really enjoyed watching them play. I told them I had an acoustic and everything except one string broke and we never replaced them for ages so at my 16th birthday they bought me new strings and taught me basic songs that I could practice, I had no excuse not to learn it then LOL. During that year I bought a 2nd hand Nevada (cheap fender strat wannabe) and learned a lot with it, I made the high school talent show with my friend where we played Iron Maiden’s The Trooper. We also played during our graduation ceremony. With my guitarist friends we talked about our dream guitars once and they remembered what I said. For my 17th bday them and two other friends bought it together as a gift and I am forever grateful to them. This guitar is an Ibanez Jem. So yeah now I’m still completely addicted to guitar and learning new songs and trying to start a band😋🤘🎸 Btw, I have to thank you a lot because I learned a lot watching your channel as I am mostly self taught! 🙏 Keep rocking!

I really love the fact that your guitar story is actually as well the story of a teenager just growing up and facing tough stuff. I love you story and this shows how passionate you are about guitar and music in general. and this is highly inspiring. Thank you and congratulations for sharing this

Man thats an epic video. Great video man. Love your channel.

Thanks for sharing your journey!! It’s very encouraging. I’m a beginner and I’m not that young, so it’s not easy but I’ll try my best! You are such a great teacher and I loved watching your videos!! Liked and subscribed 😊

I really like your content. It has been very helpful for me. Keep doing what you do.

I love videos like these, they show such a human side of you which I personally love to see. as someone who considers you my guitar teacher, it really makes me feel like I can connect to your teachings on a more personal level. thank you for everything you do, it means a lot.

wow man loved your story it was really inspiring keep goin' strong love the channel thanks mike

This is a great story. I am your subscriber and very much admire sincerity in your teaching approach. No pose, no pretense - just desire to help. Thank you!

You’re very lucky. Having a passion from a young age and knowing you want to pursue it. Your experiences obviously have matured you as a musician. I never had that. I did have the privilege of listening to very diverse types of music and started to play a couple of eastern instruments like a lute and a snare drum but when it came to guitar I knew there was something I loved in it but wasn’t sure what I would play. My best friend was heavily in to guitar and he even moved from London to Boston to study guitar at Berklee. He had a bunch of guitars and introduced me to metal and also Latin guitar. Rhythm guitar didn’t really appeal to me and I loved lead guitar but didn’t want to just learn little short solos. I wanted to play an entire song and have it be expressive. That’s when I discovered a passion for blues and finally after more than half a life time of observing from the side lines I have finally picked up a guitar and starting to learn. It’s been 6 weeks and I literally can’t put it down!

I am fairly new to the guitar. I started last year in November and I started on acoustic guitar even though I was into rock and metal at the time. My uncle taught me a few things and told me that if the next time he saw me and I impressed him he would get me an electric guitar for Christmas. So I spent a ton of hours working endlessly on learning scales and chords and by the time of Christmas I had impressed him and he got me a Fender Stratocaster which Is my favorite type of guitar. I was able to get that because he wasn't using it as much and he knew It was my favorite.

I had two older brothers that introduced me to all the greats , one was into the eagles , tull , chicago...the other cream , zeppelin, doors....mom and dad listened to oldies rock and roll and classic country so I was exposed to pretty constant music at an early age. As I got older I loved all of the music my family listened to and I was the perfect age as I started high school in 1980 🤟 Van Halen was my first album I owned (graduated from 8tracks) I asked for a bass guitar for Christmas and santa brought me a bass. I knew nothing about playing , had nobody to teach me and no youtube ! Traded the bass for a guitar and had a couple friends that played so I learned some guitar but was not serious about learning so I eventually quit and went on with life. Flash forward to a year ago ...53 years old , wife , kids, great job and RV's. After two back surgeries the off roading hobby had to go but everyone needs hobbies and I have several friends now who play guitar. Asked around and a guy at work had a lyon Paul Stanley model for $75 and I picked up an amp from a pawn shop. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money incase this wasn't gonna take hold. Well it took hold and if I was as into it back then ? I would be "like mike" . Since I restarted my journey not quite a year ago , i have 3 basses , two bass amps , 11 guitars (including the American standard strat i found at a pawn shop) 3 amps and various effects. Most of my guitars come from pawn shops and I'm constantly working on them and having a blast learning how to upgrade them and set them up. Kids are grown so it's the wife , me and the dogs so I practice atleast an hour a day and spend most of my KZfaq time watching something to do with the guitar. Long story I know (I'm 54 soo....) but I am having a blast and enjoy the guitar community so rock on my brothers and sisters !

Great video, man! I've never played guitar (not for lack of trying when I was 14 or 15), but I just LOVE all types of music, and instruments. I really enjoy watching your videos and hearing your stories. Thank you, and keep up the good work!

My parents divorced at 15 and i was laitenung to ACDC, Metallica, Ozzy, so got a guitar, Epiphone SG, and learned to playy favorites. Started a band smashing pumpkins with electronic production, my HS friends stayed together into college then moved to LA to make it big. Signed a record deal but album never released. My teacher, who gave me his 96 foam green strat in pieces, my pride and joy, taught me blues and stones, strumming solos muting 5 strings but in rhythm. Learned to hit dissonant notes, play even flamenco and my signature was bending notes and playing in pocket. Vox valvetronix amp with 20 presets for live, love edge style delay riffs. Lived in south korea.. btw.. want to get back in after a decade of not playing much

You seemed like a quality and talented artist! Thanks for sharing your wonderful personal history 😀

Great story Mike, keep doing what you’re doing 🤘🏻

Nothing to offer. Really interesting story Mike. Congratulations on mavigating your niche in the music business. Respect.

Thanks so much for your stories and wisdom. I wish you were my friend.

I’m a newer guitarist. This is my story so far. So I’ve always loved music it’s always been a big part of my life as fare back as I can remember. I always thought drums looked cool my grandmother had pianos I would play she would always tell me it was great and even as a little kid I could still tell that she was curious that she wasn’t just saying it to make me feel better and as I got older I saw this in her responses to my playing even more. Then I found a old instrument in my mums house is was a peace of wood with metal strings on it (I didn’t know what guitars were wet) eventually I found out it was a 12 string acoustic that my great uncle Bobby owned then not long after that I found out I come from a long line of musicians. I saw someone on tv playing a guitar and I got the old 12 string from the corner and tried to play my mom told me that it sounded good. A few years later my mom said that because I have long fingers and big hands I would be good at playing guitar or piano. A while after I wanted to learn to actually play a guitar so my mom helped me find a local teacher and it makes me chuckle that he said he’s been teaching for almost 30 years and has never had a lefty until I came along. When I first started I was playing upside down because I was using a loner guitar but eventually I got my own guitar and it is a right handed guitar but the strings are made for lefty. Ever since I got that guitar I see peoples faces light up when I play even my teacher. Everyone tells me I should be a singer and guitar player because I have a unique voice. Some people even tell me I should put my voice to good use before they even know I play. Now playing is my passion it’s my favorite thing to do even if I’ve had a bad day I still think I can go home and play. That’s my story so far but I’m positive there will be more.

Tbh I just woke up out of my bed and felt like I wanted a guitar, so I got the guitar from ebay and I started playing it and I love it.

I've always been into rock/metal from an early age. When I was in kindergarten my older sister showed me Linkin Park. From then I got into hard rock/ nu metal. My taste in music would further advance in 6th grade when I got into SOAD and Breaking Benjamin. My taste would further evolve into something I could of never imagined. I discovered Dream Theater and Metallica, Pantera. But Dream theater was the main reason I wanted to play an instrument. So for Christmas I got a tiny drum set for 5 year olds. After a weeks of trying to play it. I stopped and decided to pick up guitar. My younger brother had a cheap acoustic guitar with a few strings missing. But that's what I started on, then I got a fender squir. I got a cheap practice amp from a pawnshop. After a few months of having the guitar without one. Now on to my freshman year of high school. I started selling homemade breakfast burritos to my friends. It was hard work but it paid off . I saved up 750$ and bought a 400$ Ibanez s series. Now I'm still in high school but its been awhile since I bought my Ibanez. Now with covid I'm practicing so much more. And I can tell that my guitar journey is just beginning.

Awesome stories bro! So inspired by your words. I can’t wait to get my new electric guitar beginners kit from Amazon. I’m actually going through a very tough time in my life at the moment. And I just love the sound of the electric guitar. But I have always been afraid to try and learn because I think I would be horrible at playing. After running into your 98% return for newbies video. I think I’m hooked. 😅 You must be my teacher now. Your calm voice and transparent personality is awesome. I’m in my mid 30’s and never played any instruments b4 besides a clarinet back in elementary school which I wouldn’t even really consider. But I have been really moved by you videos. Im subscribed and hope it’s not to late for me to become a guitar player. Even if I never become a great player I just wish to be good enough to be able 2 play a few good songs so Brighten up my day is be 😊. Anyways thanks so much for your awesome contents.

I loved your story and your approach to guitar. I just found your channel 2 weeks ago and joined your website and I already know your methods are going to help me get past so many of the things I've struggled with on guitar for a long time. You teach in a way that makes sense to my brain and thank you! I've wanted to play guitar since I was a kid. My parents bought me an acoustic guitar for Christmas one year and within 2 weeks most of the strings were broken and I was using a penny as a pick. Unfortunately I never got another guitar until I was about 18 years old. But I always wanted to play. Me and my friend would use a tennis racket as a guitar and play air guitar to Judas Priest for hours. I always remember just the sight of a guitar was magical to me. Seeing a real guitar in person was the coolest thing, but I never knew anybody that played so I had to fantasize about playing from pictues. In 7th grade a teacher I had let us play tapes in class sometimes and a friend brought in Master of Puppets and I was hooked instantly. Since that time my desire to play went into overdrive but I still never had a guitar. At about age 18 I bought a cheap pawn shop guitar and a friend taught me power chords and a few simple Metallica riffs that I sucked at for years. Playing guitar has been something I've struggled with for decades. Sometimes I would practice a lot and then there would be years at a time that I wouldn't play at all. Because of this I never got better, but even during the times I played a lot I never progressed. I learned over the years to play with a lot of tension which is hard to break once you practice with a lot of tension in your muscles for years. I recently decided I wanted to finally get "good" and play cleaner and faster and without constant mistakes but have been putting it off because I assumed this meant years of mindless exercises just to get any progress at all. Then I found your channel and have learned a ton in a short time. I never had a practice routine other than "practice with lots of mistakes for 2 hours" and wonder why I never get better. Just your down picking videos have already shown me I can improve problem areas quickly and the spider exercise will get my hands synched. I know it will take work, but at least you teach in a way that's not so boring and dry like SOOO many teachers out there. Your videos on the 3 note per string color forms are the first time I've ever tried to even learn any theory (something I assumed was going to be impossible) and it instantly clicked. You teach things in a way that my brain understands so most of my guitar journey is yet to come, and I know I'll be making improvements much quicker now. Anyway, I enjoyed your story and also used to play Metallica on air drums and was pretty good at playing One, but ultimately guitar is the instrument I love. Cheers

You’ve got an excellent attitude and spirit, not to mention you’re a hell of a guitar player. Be proud of yourself

I started playing at 15 years old. Stopped playing around 18,I picked it up again last year. I'm 52 years old now. If the internet and KZfaq was around back then I probably wouldn't have put it down. I've made considerable progress in the last year,your web site and channel have helped me,alot.

Hi Curly. Lol I just wanted to say I enjoy your videos very much and thank you for always sharing. It seems you have a lot of heart within and to me that's better than a guitar Solo in the world. We have similarities in the early introductions of music and in the guitar. I too have a cousin who showed me KISS. In which I found my journey in becoming a guitarist. Keep up the videos going. I look forward to seeing them. Especially when I'm feeling down. Sincerely, Cas

I just started this year of January the 16th first guitar was a Jackson Dinky, wished I had started years ago but never to late to start also thank you for helping me learn simple things to practice with, I still learn something new every day on my guitar like as of yesterday and today I am getting pinch harmonics I remember 7 months ago I couldn’t even do that but now I can, not perfectly but getting better at getting them to come out more on demand when I want to.

Really respect your history and approach man. Learned a ton. Thanks for inspiring.

Love to get to know you! You are a great teacher!!

Hey Mike, Finally got to sit down and watch the whole thing. Great story man! I'm super proud of you!

Great story, Mike! I was amazed at how many similarities mine has to yours! Good stuff! As a small child (age 5-ish), I loved the Beatles, and would get my mother's pots and wooden spoons and beat on them while listening. Must've driven my parents crazy! I always wanted a drum set, but... In grade school, I was forced to take piano (wish I would've listened). I learned the basics of reading music, but wasn't yet into it. Still wanted a drum set... In junior high school, I took percussion, and thought "Wipeout" was the coolest thing ever! Practiced it incessantly...Pushed my parents for that drum set, but they refused. My older brother had tried the acoustic guitar, but didn't really take to it. It was missing a few strings, but I started to goof around on it. I was too small to hold it properly, so I put it across my lap (like a lap steel guitar) and used my thumb to smash the notes (I've since learned one doesn't have to smash the notes, as you emphasize in your course). For some reason, I've always been able to listen to a song and play it, even back then when I first sat with his acoustic guitar. The first song I played along with was Aerosmith's "Last Child" from their "Rocks" album. I had no idea if I was in the guitar was tuned properly, but it didn't matter because all the notes were on one string. Learning the basic riff and playing along with the record kept my interest. At 13, I was working for $2.00/hr cleaning a friend's construction site (still no drum set). I continued to seek to no avail that drum set. My first check was for $78.00, and, since I couldn't afford a full drum set, went and bought a Fender Vibro Champ Amp and Aria LP knockoff. Took lessons for 6 months, was told by my instructor, "you're learning faster on your own" but now wish I would've continued the lessons. Loved and played the hell outta Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Van Halen, Journey, Boston, etc. As a middle child, I spent a lot of time being "grounded" both for deserved and undeserved (thanks bros and sistahs) behaviors, so I put to good use my time and sublimated for the better and learned to play the guitar. In high school I was in a Christian Youth Ministry Band that played rock and roll every week, which was fun. I continued to play through college, but not in a band. After college, I went to medical school and didn't get to play too much because I was too busy. I started playing more in residency, and after I went in to practice joined a couple of other physicians (another anesthesiologist and one neurosurgeon) in a band, played some parties, which was pretty fun, but didn't last that long. Now, I've hooked back up with the keyboardist from the high school Christian band (he's the music director at his church), and have been playing with a couple other guys gearing up to start playing for fun. It's a great hobby to have which will endure one's entire life, and will always present a challenge. I'm still trying to improve/hone my skills after 44 years of playing! Interesting/Funny N.B. My younger brother asked my parents for a drum set when he was in junior high school, and guess what? He got it! He was very good-"studio" quality while in high school, mastered the drums, then moved on to learn and play the guitar too. I went to see his band play (they were underaged) at a club I frequented. His "band" "opened" that night for DimeBag Darrell and Pantera. (This was while Pantera were still in high school and hadn't yet made it big. I thought, "Dang, that guy (DBD) is really fast and really good!" ) My brother is now a physician in another city, and has a jam room in his house with stage, PA, drum set, etc...we jam whenever we get together...Good stuff!

i really enjoyed listening to your story, it reminds me of the importance of having support and help of others when you're first starting out i hope my story arc doesnt bum people out - i harbor no resentment - im just glad to be here now. i'll be long winded and boring. strap in.. i was subjected to guitar and piano lessons as a child - i use the word "subjected" - it was just more school after school which i hated, and my parents had expectations commensurate with their monetary outlay - predictably, those expectation went unmet - with punitive consequences. im also left handed, but they werent going to buy some special expensive guitar, so i was just going to have to learn how to do it with "a normal guitar" (i did, and still do, btw..) so its not surprising that i ran as far away from that nonsense as soon as i could. i briefly "played bass" in a punk band in high school - we actually played paying gigs, but then the bass got stolen and that was the end of that. decades later - i was living on the west coast (im from texas) and i took a part time job at a violin store that rented instruments to schoolkids, strictly because i needed the money, and because i had experience with furniture building.. that gave me a basic background in lutherie, but i still didnt really feel the passion for it a few years after that, i had another part time job at a big box guitar store basically helping their tech do set ups - he was actually a really cool knowledgeable guy, but then he scored a gig as a guitar tech on a pretty big tour, and his replacements idea of a set up was "take it out of the box and set it up on the wall to sell..." i didnt last too much longer there.. and still no passion.. i should mention that i have always had a tremendous passion for MUSIC, and i've stuck with piano/keyboard, but the piano never gave me goosebumps like the guitar does now, (thats a pretty recent thing actually) then, two years ago, while visiting a friend, i commented on a broken acoustic guitar he had collecting dust in the corner - his gf had bought it on amazon, because she wanted to learn guitar, but within a week the bridge had begun to split, and then completely pulled up a few days later - and by then she'd lost interest anyway.. she happily gave me the broken guitar, and armed with my rudimentary knowledge of hide glue and scale length i set about the task of repairing it - to this day i could not tell you why i wanted to fix this guitar.. but i did i went to a place that sells exotic hardwood primarily for flooring, and bought a scrap of spare jatoba flooring for a quarter (several actually) i fashioned a new bridge from that wood, installed it to the soundboard with hide glue... aaaaand.. it worked... really really well.. perfectly intonated and rang like a bell... boom. passion. i still play that guitar every day. after that, i made the decision to pursue the guitar as a lifestyle and lutherie as a career - im not naive - i realized from the start that would mean sacrifice, but i don't have any dependents, so its only my own life i was gambling with. i dont think the economy is going to be able support a ton of boutique builders in the near future - i've made a huge investment, and im not very confident now about my chances for success... but even if i only ever get to have a brief moment in the sun it will still be worth it. i gained a lot of knowledge and insight from the YT lutherie/guitar community - i started a guitar oriented YT channel late last year with the goal of somehow repaying that debt, but im still groping around in the dark when it comes to what thats going to look like - i hope to have a clearer idea of how i can be of service to the community as my channel and my experience grows - for now im proceeding with snarky cat videos and a couple of guitar builds im working on.. i look forward to reading other peoples stories! this was a cool idea! thanx!

I had a similar childhood in which my mother was very musical listening to her German polka music but she also loved Elvis. My dad loved country. So I would play our records on the same record player you had and you hit it right on the head about the tone and vibration that came out of those consoles. I also had a sister that was 14 years older than me and a brother 7 years older than me so I also played 45's of their music. My sister was into the Beatles, Tommy James, etc. while my brother was into all the huge bands of the late 70's like the Eagles, Boston, Foreigner, etc. When no one was home I would put on a 45 and pretend to play and sing. Then around 15 years old my friend and I started taking guitar lessons at Schmidt Music in the Northtown Mall (this is after an unsuccessful career playing the viola in junior high. I wanted to play saxophone and my mom said no!) I learned Smoke On The Water and Heaven's On Fire but the teacher did not really engage and I just didn't feel it. My true love was singing and that's where I wanted to focus. Ended up joining a band at 17 and we played everything from Bryan Adams to Metallica. They wanted to play more stuff like Lizzy Borden, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. I never liked the heavier stuff like so I quit the band. Plus I didn't have the range to sing Halford, Plant, Dickinson, etc. So I started working at Great American Music selling records and tapes (and eventually CD's). That changed my world. It was like a kid in a candy store. What I realized is that I really love music. All music. To this day I think back to those years and all the bands I was turned on to simply because I had access to them. I also realized that although I loved singing what I missed was the creating side of music. So while managing a different music store I hired this kid who had no job history but we hit it off during the interview. We talked about KISS and Stevie Ray Vaughan and eventually we became great friends. He taught me a few open chords on an acoustic guitar and my whole life changed. I was able to write music. I never wanted to be Joe Satriani I just wanted an avenue to create songs. The first full song I learned to play was Let Her Cry by Hootie & The Blowfish and I would play it a thousand times a day. Eventually I started writing and after many years was able to work with that same kid I hired years before to record an album of my original songs. He played every instrument on the album and it sounded amazing even if the songs weren't all that great. We even recorded a second album with a couple of friends helping out on drums and bass. I still don't really consider myself a guitar player but I also was going through a very dark time when I met him and when he taught me those chords. It was such an incredible way to release anger, hurt and pain that in a lot of ways I think it saved my life. That kid I hired continues to inspire me with his dedication to his craft and all the people he has helped over the years. He also just happens to run The Art Of Guitar. It's funny that I am sharing my story on your timeline since you are the reason I play :)

Cousin Jeff changed your destiny forever with metallica. I have a similar story. I'm glad that there is a channel where music can reach out and touch people and that you are the guide for them/us.

I m 62yrs old and just started playing. Although I bought a Godin Freeway Classic a few years back; I never really used it. With this quarantine going on, it was time to re-string it, get started, and I am enjoying it. I came across your introductory lesson here and subscribed.

I bought my first guitar when I was 15 (38 years later I still have it). My big influence when I started was George Harrison. The Beatles' album were always available at my house growing up. The more I managed to isolate George's guitar work, the more I wanted to learn it. All my friends were into Van Halen (which I'm still not a fan of), but I found many guitarist of the 1960's to be more organic in their playing. Later a friend got me into Jimi and I was hooked. The first time I listened to "Are You Experienced?", my playing was never the same. When I was 25, I sold all my gear, I had a family to take care of and we needed the money. In my 40's, my wife surprised me with an Epiphone Las Paul Junior and I fell right back into playing. Now at 53, my morning routine is practice and coffee. Playing guitar is something I hope to stay with the rest of my days...🎸

I remember my older brother came home from my grandpas house from staying there for a weekend, and he walked in with this beautiful red Jackson electric guitar and that's when I started, been playing on and off until I turned 17 and took it seriously with a buddy of mine, and here I am at 23, trying my best

started playing guitar just after my 21st birthday a little over a year ago. coming up on the 2 year mark in november and i’m just hoping that i didn’t start to late to become something great. i played the flute back when i was in school and used to really enjoy it, but stopped in high school cause i no longer had the opportunity to play with others. ever since i’ve felt kinda unfulfilled and like something was missing. then i picked up the guitar cause i always loved rock and metal, and have had a hard time putting it down ever since. i remember when starting it felt really hard, but i had this passion in me to try to do something bigger than me and try to perfect my sounds. so many people on youtube teach guitar, but few of them teach ideas the way you do. thank you for teaching me to keep trying no matter how hard it is and inspiring me to try to make my sound the best i can!!

Glad I stumbled upon your channel I dig your positive vibe. Great story of how you started thats awesome! I started when I was 8 after I watched and Elvis movie. Few months later I got cheap plastic guitar from Santa but only held it and mimed that I was Playing to the tunes on radio. When I was 10 I heard the opening riff to Aerosmith Walk this way. got an acoustic, moved to electric took lessons 41 years later still rocking and I play and teach for a living. Music and guitar Rule!

I watched an anime called "K-ON" and had learned guitar for 10 years.

My dad has been playing guitar for 33 years and when i was little, he showed me AC/DC, Iron Maiden and a lot more bands and i loved them, but eventually i got bored. When i was 12, almost 13, my parents asked me what i wanted them to give me for christmas and i didn't know what to say, so i just said: "well, why not try the guitar" and they got me one for christmas. The first to months i didn't really play it but then we had to do a project for English class in my school where i had to pick a band and stand in the front of the class and explain all about the band, the members, their best songs, etc. For the project i chose the band Iron Maiden because it was like the only one i kind of knew. So doing the presentation, made me hear Iron Maiden again, and I loved it. I loved it so much that i asked my dad to take me to the Iron Maiden concert, which was in September, I was going to have to wait 7 months for it but i didn't care. So then I realized that i already had a guitar of my own and that I could eventually play all that music, so basically when i got into rock and metal again was when i really started playing more seriously the guitar. And i haven't stopped until then. I'm 14 years old now, i'm Mexican, and i got to see that amazing Iron Maiden concert. Thanks for reading.

I can't remember who/what influenced me to start playing guitar, but I started lessons when I was 17. I got a candy apple red Squire Strat and it was the most exciting day ever! My Dad played his records a lot when I was young (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath etc). I think being brought up with that music has influenced my tastes a lot. My school friend also played guitar and we used to jam together in our bedrooms every weekend. We started a band and made a few recordings on cassette (which I still have!) but nothing really ever came of it. As I got older I didn't end up playing as much (I'm honestly not sure why) and then a long time passed where I didn't play at all. But a couple of years ago (I'm now in my 30s) I made the decision to get the guitar out again and start learning music theory and take it seriously. I discovered your channel which, has been invaluable to me. I've recently been learning to record music and hopefully will record some cover songs and who knows maybe I'll write my own some day. I regret that I stopped playing but I'm so glad that I made the decision to pick it back up again and I love being part of the KZfaq guitar community. Thank you Mike, for being an amazing teacher!

Music has always been a part of my life. I would mainly always listen to Queen when I was a kid, and Dr. Brian May was my first inspiration to start guitar. I signed up for guitar class in 7th and 8th grade, and only got it in 8th grade, only to be switched out after a week and a half. That really zapped my inspiration, until Kirk Hammett did his Guitar Center interview, and the story behind the bridge riff in Creeping Death rekindled my interest in the guitar. I eventually burned out again and it took until I ran across Band-Maid a couple years later, and was in awe at Kanami Tono's style and technique to get inspiration again, and I just haven't dug my guitar back out.

Hey mike! I wanted to share my story here but I mostly wanted to thank you!- To start, I would play around with my dads guitars as a kid but I never really put much thought into it. I had rough patch in life around highschool and I had to transferred schools. When I transferred I had to choose an elective class between the options of PE or guitar. I decided to take the guitar class and give it a go. Through out those years I took guitar levels 1-3 up to my senior year. I began to understand music theory better and get some basic knowledge of the instrument. I remember during my graduation ceremony I snuck inside the guitar classroom and picked up my teachers electric guitar and turned it up to full blast and played my heart out. I was jamming so hard until I spilled the teachers coffee mug all over her desk. I dipped out so fast and I haven’t been there since. But I knew I was going to miss that place. After highschool I didn’t touch the guitar as much as I wish I had. But then ofc the pandemic happened... I started listening to the Beatles, the stones, and all sorts of classic rock music to pass the time. I realized I should pick up the guitar again during these hard times. A new fire started in me. I looked up all sorts of tutorials and I ended up on your KZfaq of course. I then dove deeper into your stuff and I subscribed to your website and I have been taking your classes everyday of the quarantine. I have seen so much expansion of my basic knowledge from my highschool class and I have been able to play with my dad every night as we are stuck inside. I wanna thank you for all the help and joy that your website and KZfaq has brought me. You have helped me realize how awesome guitar is and how you have helped me grow this hobby into a passion. I feel the same excitement learning from your tutorials as I did rocking out in my cap and gown while I should have been attending the ceremony. Thank you mike!!! You have helped me stay sane during this pandemic and you have helped my guitar skills exponentially. Keep up the great content!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼Rock on

You worked hard and became successful. Congratulations ! 👍🏻🤟🏻

I always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, but never had that motivational push to actually do it. One random day in 2017, a friend brought his guitar to school and started playing Californication, i was totally amazed. He kinda noticed and handed it to me and started teaching me how to play it. 2 months later i asked for a guitar as my 17th birthday present and that is where it all began.

This is really cool to see everyone’s stories! Music has been around me since I can remember blues, country, metal, pop you name it I was listening to it. I was around 7 or 8 and I stole my dads guitar from the living room and I just played to these cds I had in my Xbox and one time he had caught me cause I had stayed up all night playing. Eventually he gave me his strat copy and I played on that for a while, eventually stopping in jr high cause of girls and I had friends. 6th grade I tried out for the school band and I became a percussionist, I picked up the guitar again in 7th grade and I’ve played since that year until now, throughout my guitar journey so far my influences and creativity have started to take on their own sound and shape and it’s really exciting making so much progress! I’ve only been in one band so far that didn’t really end that well but I digress, I now have 2 bands that I’ve been working on starting up but I’m 21 now and I’ll keep it up forever!!

Thanks for sharing your story ☺️

Thx, appreciate your story. I remember staying up way too late just playing and I loved every minute. I was self taught mostly , my good friend taught me some chords sold me an old fender strat and off I went. Funny, my first songs I chose to learn were not the easiest choices. I picked the kill em all album. This was before justice came out. Guess go big ... lol. Spent a lot of time on that album. Great story bro. Appreciate you and your videos.

I just started 4 and a half months ago, i just started getting into rock music almost a year ago when I was into blink 182 and acdc (ik weird combo) and i was really into drumming for a while inspired by travis barker and bought a couple drum sticks banging on buckets and lost interest pretty fast considering I couldn’t do much with drumming not having a drum kit so i got on the acoustic guitar my grandfather got me and instantly got hooked. A couple weeks later my dad finally let me buy an electric guitar. Im self taught and thanks to you I’ve been able to learn REALLY fast Thank you so much for the channel you’re helping so many people

Early 50's here. Left handed and a never time for myself. Music has always played a roll in maintaining sanity. the late 80's and 90's military career was one for the ages, to family life with times that were again for the ages. Finally, I now have a Ibanez Gio Blue Burst and a Marshall amp for the past year that I've learned a lot of as time permits. The influences of those from early days, Ozzy, Slash, Maiden, Metallica and many other bands from back in the day. Just a joy to play is the only rule. Playing by ear is more natural but learning the chords and scales is necessary too. Finding the right "youtubers" is also paramount in learning. Finding your channel has been good so far. Thanks!

your story is amazing and inspiring. here is mine, my father is a professional jazz bass player (but also clarinet, guitar and drums...) and I remember when I was a child I would point out when he was practising his mistakes, and he would confirm when it was mistakes. Soon afterwards when I was 5 or 6 I think I started learning the violin because I wanted to play the violin, and I continued for 2 years. I remember my parents and my teacher said I was making really good progress and that encouraged me so much. Then my sister started taking piano lessons and as a bad kid I would no longer want to play the violin but I wanted to play the piano. I had private lessons and then went to the conservatory for like 5 years, but later on I was quiet bored and I didn't like my teacher so I had this huge gap during high school when I did not play any music, and that was a shame, but I moved on and maybe I was a little sad or depressed because I didn't had real friends and I would just spend time playing video games. Long story short in secondary school I retook violin and piano lessons and stayed on the piano for quiet a while, but I was quiet busy during my higher education, and it's only when I left my parents house, 6 years before, that I "long-term borrowed" a guitar from my father. (the piano was too big to move) At first it was mostly scratching, during 3 and a half year I had no amp and no pick and I would just strum some chords and learn some basic shapes In 2017 I moved again and met new friends and I told them I wanted to create a band and I was soon invited at a friend's place just to jam together on guitars, but to his dismay I discovered you can't call yourself a guitarist if you have only been scratching the instrument. So this is when I decided to learn guitar and when I discovered your youtube channel. I learned really fast from your videos and everything on KZfaq and sometimes I would phone my dad just to check things. Since then, I have joined my first band but because of covid19 issues everything is stalled now BUT I have even started playing at random jam sessions and that felt so amazing. Today I just got my piano back and I want to do even more music. I'm writing songs, learning so much things and I'm even learning how to sing cause I want to be a full time singer songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. I don't think without your channel I would have reconnected that much with the only passion that followed me since even before I was born as I heard jazz music inside the womb of my mother so thank you so much for everything !

My story has just begun a couple of years ago. One day I just picked up my friends guitar, and after some days just fell in love with the instrument. I hope to get somewhere with my love

Thanks for sharing, an interesting insight and the challenges or growing up - at least you are still young enough to remember it! I had piano lessons as a kid because parents thought it was a great idea - truthfully I didn't learn to read music I'd just watched the teacher play and copied - of course as the pieces got more complicated the game was up. I think I really started to enjoy guitar music about 32 years ago - a friend introduced me to to the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan and that started a musical journey of discovery - Eric Clapton, BB King, and then from Clapton's Crossroads Concert DVDs more artists like Joe Bonamassa and John Mayer - Dead & Company. Roll forward to the current day, I'm 62 and I have caught up on all the home projects and can start addressing things on the long-list of stuff I'd like to learn....guitar! Under lock-down one can't go and try stuff so watched a load of videos - discovered many KZfaq video sites and many teachers. To your credit I like the teaching style - open, simplified, direct and mostly delivered in 'nugget' sized bits of knowledge - perfect for me! I subscribed for a month and bought a guitar/amp etc. Now one week into the process of learning I know this is going to take a long time not helped by having short, stiff fingers the difference between this experience and piano lessons 50+ years ago is that I want to do this and I have the time.

Started when I was 18 cause I loved music and thought it was a great way to communicate and I thought people would like me more, I guess... As soon as I had the basics down, I started writing songs and basically stopped to practice new things for most of the time. Progress was super slow, but still I am happy with where I am. I guess I am more a writer than a guitar player. But I love playing, too. And singing. Don't know what I would do without it. And I just love guitars. Always got "just one more". It's the biggest part of my life and I'll never stop.

I've always had an interest. At at 57 I finally bought my first guitar. My biggest motivation was singing love songs to my wife. Spent six months researching guitars and you tube lessons. I was spending at least an hour a day practicing lessons I had found. I picked "Horse With no Name", as a song to learn first. It took me about a week to get where I was getting fairly decent. I kept adding chords and songs as I improved. A year and a half now I'm starting to play bar chords. My next goal is to become proficient riffs and lead. The first thing I do in the morning is pic up my guitar and play a song for my wife, same thing at night when I go to bed. It's been an incredible journey and I just love it. Wished I had started years earlier.

Always loved rock&metal guitar but never had the time and patience to learn to play. Now I'm 60, retired and have a lot of time so I began 6 months ago and I love it !

I first picked up a guitar back in the mid 90's in High School. Just a little Samick that looks fairly similar to the Strat I currently own. I used to jam with about 4 or 5 of my friends. And we would teach each other stuff. Then Life 'N' Ladies happened and everyone went away pretty much. And that Really negatively affected my guitar playing. I got an SG(kind of like yours) in my early 20's thinking buying a nice guitar would make me want to play more. It didn't. Played off and on for years after that. Every time I want to get into a band something comes up. However I have Finally started to pick up the guitar again with intent on learning again. And it's going pretty well. Channels like this one and those on screen tab ones are Really helping me out a lot. I think I might start posting my stories on here as well. Keep up the Good Work

My story goes back to 1986. Had just turned 16 and bought my 1st guitar and amp with money from my first job . I bought a Yamaha SE150 and a peavy rage amp. Lol! Also bought guitar for the practicing musician and learned fr0m tabs....remember Wolf Marshall? Jammed with other friends who played guitar. Never could find drummer or bassist. Joined the Army in 1989 and was deployed during Desert Storm. While in i bought a Fender Strat HM series and Princeton Chorus. Just recently bought a Wolfgang signature MIJ and Blackstar HT club 40. Aying the guitar has been a blessing and has gotten me through some rough times. Its always there for me and is extremely therapeutic. 53 now and still playing and learning even though just as a hobby i still love it.

This was so cute and I loved hearing the origins of your musical journey. For me, I dabbled with toy keyboards, the family organ, and sang all the time as a kid. Also took Orchestra and played the violin. I would have continued on with it in high school but the HS orchestra teacher came to my middle school and basically scared me from continuing on. He made it seem like it would have been really difficult to keep up with everything and that discouraged me. I still regret that. I ended up doing Choir instead, where I learned to read music, but had to deal with a lot of annoying divas. When I was about 16, I started messing around with my brother's shitty guitar that he left behind. It only had 4 strings and I had no idea what I was doing, but my dad noticed my interest in music and offered to pay for lessons for me. I took lessons with an amazing teacher who I think was excited to have a student who wasn't a young boy whose parents were forcing them to play. We had the same taste in music so I learned lots of Bowie, T. Rex, and Led Zeppelin. And now I'm just a casual hobbyist, doing the occasional bedroom cover on my gorgeous purple Luna guitar. ❤️

I started guitar in Nov. 2018. I Had an Internship in a day-centre for people with multiple sclerosis in Vienna (I am an occupational therapist - Back then a student). One of my clients wanted to Play guitar again and so i Took my Sisters acoustic guitar from the poundshop and learned the Riff of Steven Nation Army, to Work on that in the next therapysession with this Client. I never even touched a guitar before. Sadly, It never Came to that therapy but i kept playing simple Songs, rifs that i Used to hear, when i Came Home from university (Nirvana, White Stripes,...). I became more interested and Made Progress so i bought a squier, which i am playing every days for hours now. I became totally addicted to guitar!! Right now i am locked down (Corona) Here in Berlin, where i dont know anybudy and where i have to stay at Home. Playing guitar is almost the only Thing, that keeps me in a good Moode. By the way, Your Videos are helping me A LOT with reaching New steps. Keep it Up! :)

I always dreamed of playing the guitar when I was younger (it started at the age of 7) but because of the financial situation of my family I couldnt afford one. Despite that I never stopped dreaming of having one and playing my favourite Slipknot songs all day. Years later and i'm 19, got my first part time job and I bought my first and second guitar a few monthes ago, the first one was some random les paul copy while the second one is an ESP LTD EC 1000 vintage black, and i'm in love with it. Playing guitar is just like I imagined it would be. Amazing. Fulfilling. I'm still a rookie at it but I can have my fair share of fun when playing for a couple hours. I only regret not starting years ago, but I guess that the wait was worth it as I do not know if I wouldve stuck with it. Thanks for reading, have a great day.

Awesome video idea. I started playing guitar after my father who was also guitar in a band when he was young, bought a classical guitar. Then as I got better at the instrument he bought me my first electric guitar and an amp with overdrive. I still keep that guitar and amp to this day. I still play, compose and do short guitar covers. I also made my own custom distortion pedal and I have been selling it online which is a dream come true for me :)

Wanted to play since I was a kid but they didn't have lefty cheap. Tried right handed never felt right. Lived life now at 50 I walk into guitar center there's a 100 squire put it on and fell in love instantly. 5 months later waiting on a Jem Jr. I practice every day I'm all over the place with my learning. But just hitting a note right. Or doing the exercises. And finding out that what I did today for practice won't show up for a day or 2 later is cool to me. I know if I practice today 1 day soon I will be able to play. Not trying to plug another channel here but a thing that's helped me a lot is elevated jam tracks they almost make me think I can play. Now I find your channel and I got some binge learning to do haha Thank you sir!

When I started listening to thrash and really feeling riffs and solos is when I got the idea. I wanted to play drums because I’m unconsciously obsessed with beats and my foot is always tapping and fingers always drumming. But drumsets were just so massive and loud it would have never worked. And I never made the step to learn guitar because I was trying to teach myself which obviously wasn’t going well. But I decided that if I never learned how to play and that I never performed the type of music I love for people, I would regret it for the rest of my life. So Here I am getting good enough to do thrash solos and looking for other people my age to play with

I am 15. I started playing 2 years ago. I was self-taught on guitar for about a year and a half. Before finding the guitar I played clarinet for school band for 4 years, about a year of that I played at the same time as the guitar. I don't play clarinet for school band anymore. I started listening to a lot of Green Day and RHCP and wanted to play their stuff. I borrowed my older brother's guitar and amp and started out. Again I was self-taught for a year and a half. I didn't really know what I was doing during that year and a half. I was mostly just learning songs rather than skills and theory. Then I convinced my parents to let me have lessons. And my playing has improved so much, so fast! I play every day and am trying to work my skills and get a better understanding of theory. I'm really not all that great but I'm working every day to improve. I'm trying to regiment my practice and find some exercises right now. I really hope to be able to teach when I graduate high school!

What a great story! Also, I just watched that David Gilmour video yesterday, so that's cool. I haven't been playing guitar for that long, but here it is: Something like three years ago, my parents asked me and my brother if we wanted to learn any instruments, I chose piano and he chose guitar, but since classes were expensive, I couldn't go to any class, but he did. So he would come home and teach me whatever he had learnt. After a while he stopped playing and I went to classes, but she wasn't a good teacher. I was not having fun at all, and knew no music theory, chords, or ear training, besides, it was classical music, which I did not really like... I stoped playing guitar too, but for some reason decided to ask my parents for an electric guitar a few months ago, they agreed. I have learnt a lot only through KZfaq videos, and feel like I can finally understand music a bit more. Music is finally fun. I'm also waiting for the virus to go away, so I can go to classes with a good teacher.

My father gave me a mp3 player 10 years ago. I've found there bands that I love these days, such Depeche Mode, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Led Zeppelin and other. I was so inspired in my 4 years old and I started to record my mumbling to songs I was listening to. After 2 years they gave me a toy guitar, which i wasn't interested first time. So time went by, and at the age of 10 I found my lost mp3 player and listened to the songs that were so nostalgic to me. And the song that inspired me to pick up a guitar, was by Robert Plant - 29 palms. The song hit me so hard and I wanted to learn an instrument. My parents didnt want me to pick up a guitar, but I wanted so bad, that they bought me one. They thought that I MUST go to music school to learn an instrument. Apparently they didnt want me to go to a music school. After some time, I've started to learn the instrument all by myself. I was sitting for hours and making melodies in my head. It is the best feeling to enjoy something you made all by yourself.

I’m 26 and have been playing since I was 12. My dad and uncle played in a metal cover band in the 80s, and I remember seeing all his guitars and I became fascinated with them. My dad taught me scales, chords and how to read music, I’ve gotten pretty decent but till this day if I have an audience of 1 I completely fold under pressure……thanks for the awesome vids 👍🏻