I started learning piano in 2nd grade with an unweighted 61-key digital piano, and an assortment of self-guided piano books. Putting time into piano allowed me to join the percussion section once I started 6th grade.1They didn’t want to teach you how to read music alongside the several instruments you had to learn. Armed with a reasonable knowledge of music, the free time that childhood offers, and experience learning new skills on my own, I began playing guitar in 7th grade.
I think many kids view guitar as a much cooler instrument than piano. It’s more approachable: learning a handful of simple chords is enough to play thousands of songs.2Of course you could learn those chords on piano—I did early on—but it feels like a piano is meant to do more. Chords don’t sound as good, and aren’t as fun to play on piano. I remember wanting to learn it mostly because my older sister had started playing, and I had a bit of a jealous and competitive streak.3After my sister quit clarinet when she went to high school, I worked on playing that as well for several months.
As I learned more, I would move between piano and guitar, giving me a foundational understanding of chord structures on the piano, and a passable understanding of scale structures on the guitar. I also discovered capos after attempting to tune the high E string to an F. That mistake forced me to learn how to change strings at a young age. I would bring my guitar to practice with the band I had formed with some friends in middle school, in case there was a simple enough song that I could use it for instead of staying on piano. I wanted to experience being a cool guitar player.
However, guitar fell off my radar for much of high school. While I’m sure I pulled it out every so often, I don’t remember if I still had my first acoustic, or had managed to score an upgrade. My focus was on percussion, with a side of piano. There was a brief resurgence when I saved up enough money to buy a Squier Stratocaster from a used music store, along with an amp that had many problems.4Most notably, if you turned it on without any instruments plugged in, it would pick up a local radio frequency that seemed to belong to truck drivers. My uncle, a solid gigging guitarist, had a spare multi-effects pedal that he tossed my way. That first year or two with an electric guitar was exhilarating. I expanded the music I could play (particularly thanks to a Guitar Hero: World of Rock songbook), and pushed myself to get better.
Then, another break during my first year of college. I doubt I played more than one or two times over those 9 months given the lack of space and a roommate. However, I found myself working as a counselor at a Bible camp so my latent guitar skills were in high demand. I convinced my older sister to lend me her guitar, and though I was a bit rusty, being surrounded by other excellent camp guitarists provided another push. I learned new chords, simples ways to add embellishment while I played, and became very comfortable as a performer.
Riding on that high, I played more guitar during my sophomore year. It helped that I had my own room. That Christmas, my parents helped finance the purchase of an Epiphone Hummingbird.
Having a nicer guitar makes it easier and more fun to play, so play I did. I began learning fingerstyle songs; I loved anything that sounded beautiful on its own, not just as accompaniment to singing. In preparation for another summer at camp—I would never let a bunch of elementary schoolers around the Hummingbird—I tried buying a few different guitars, eventually settling on a used Seagull Entourage.
It’s also of excellent quality and sounds fantastic, but has a design that makes it a bit more resilient to the wear and tear of daily camp life.
Since that second summer at camp, I didn’t stick very closely with guitar. I played mostly piano my last two years of college. When I moved to San Diego, I didn’t even bring a guitar—mostly due to lack of space. The next few years were focused on percussion in a community band, as well as a weighted key digital piano I bought for myself. But in 2020, I drove the Seagull out to San Francisco for Erin to use. Even then, it was infrequently played. Finally, several weeks ago, I took it out and saw that it was in a sorry state. The strings were hideous, it was a bit dusty, and the neck wasn’t quite straight. A few years ago, the adhesive holding the pickguard had heated up somewhere, causing the pickguard to slide down the body a little. This left a trail of glue that catches your hand if you’re not careful.
Moved by a mix of pity and regret, I started playing it and set up an appointment at a local guitar body shopy to give it the care it deserved.5The Hummingbird? Still in Minnesota. I could only fit one guitar on that road trip in 2020. But, I tentatively plan on bringing it out to California sometime this year. I love it. Soon after that, I discovered Cory Wong, and decided I wanted to get back into the electric guitar game. That adventure will be for another post.
In the last month, I’ve consumed an immense amount of guitar content on review sites and YouTube. I’ve learned so much more about guitar in that short time than I did in the 10 or so years that I’ve been playing. I found a few excellent instructors—my most recommended is Paul Davids—and have been playing every day, trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge with the intent to grow both my guitar-specific skills and my musicianship overall.
It’s exciting to rekindle my love for guitar, and reconnect with music in general. It has been the space where I’ve enjoyed my greatest successes and most hard-earned growth, and I hope to keep pushing myself to improve and learn.
- 1They didn’t want to teach you how to read music alongside the several instruments you had to learn.
- 2Of course you could learn those chords on piano—I did early on—but it feels like a piano is meant to do more. Chords don’t sound as good, and aren’t as fun to play on piano.
- 3After my sister quit clarinet when she went to high school, I worked on playing that as well for several months.
- 4Most notably, if you turned it on without any instruments plugged in, it would pick up a local radio frequency that seemed to belong to truck drivers.
- 5The Hummingbird? Still in Minnesota. I could only fit one guitar on that road trip in 2020. But, I tentatively plan on bringing it out to California sometime this year. I love it.