"Though even I admit I was the unlikeliest Guitar Player they had ever met before. . . "
There IS a way to quickly master this instrument of torture (otherwise known as the guitar)
The exact date has long since gone from my memory, but I CAN still remember how good it felt AND more importantly how unlikely the situation was.
Imagine me . . . I was 22 years old and had been playing for less than 18 months. My fulltime job, the one that fed the twin boys we had, and kept the roof above our heads, was as a door to door insurance agent. OK so it wasn't glamourous but it paid the mortgage on the tiny house we had.
Most days I wore a cheap suit and travelled round on a 50cc motor cycle. Visiting clients in their own homes and collecting their weekly premiums and trying (not very well in those days) to sell them more life/car/house insurance.
The only good part about that job was meeting people in the evenings and getting to spend most of the daytime with my kids and indulging my new found passion . . . the guitar.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT FIRST DREW ME TO THE GUITAR
I can't remember what first drew me to the guitar. I can remember the smell of the wood and the sound of the strings and the feel of the thing but not the reason I was drawn to it so completely.
I remember the first time I tried to hold down a chord. The pain was unbelievable. I remember thinking surely it can't feel like this when you play...otherwise why would anyone do it?
THEN I STARTED TO THINK . . . THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE
When I read those first books on guitar, not one of them mentioned that it actually hurt your fingers. They all made it sound so easy. 'Hold down a G chord and strum four times . . then change to a C and Woah... wait a minute ....THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE.
I admit that I am a very compulsive and driven person, but I couldn't see how I was going to get past holding down those first couple of chords. I'd bought a few books by now and had a go at some tabs, but I was getting nowhere. Couldn't play a damn song to save my life . . . but I could hold down a G chord . . . well yippidee dah!
THE STORY COULD HAVE ENDED RIGHT THERE . . .
The story could very easily have ended right there had it not been for a little coincidence. The house next door to ours was vacant and the owner asked if I could show potential tenants round if they showed up.
I said yes and one day a guy turned up to look at the house and he had a guitar case with him. I asked him if he could play and he said yes...and took out the guitar and started turning me green with envy.
The story races on here...he moved in and we became great friends despite the fact that I was round there every night (almost every night) for the next 12 months. Paul was very patient with me, I think because he could see how enthusiastic I was, and taught me just about everything he knew.
A year later we both realised that I had more of a talent for guitar than he did but with his patience and his willingness to show me (sometimes over and over again for hours) I had learned at a pace that was breathtaking.
THEY WERE GOING TO REGRET THIS . . .
So here we were about 18 months after I had first picked up a guitar, a room full of smirking wannabe 'musicians' all looking cool with long hair, torn jeans, smiling at this dude in the cheap suit who had asked to look at one of the guitars.
I had turned up at one of my usual calls and the house was full of guys who were home from college...and they had a band (well kind of a band) and were rehearsing!
'Do you play?' one of them asked. 'A bit' I replied, as another one of them passed this beaten up old acoustic guitar to me with a 'come on then smart-ass show us what you can do' look on his face.
FOUR GUYS WITH WIDE EYES AND EVEN WIDER MOUTHS . . .
There are some times in your life when you just feel soooo good...
and this was one of those times. I'm not a 'show off' by nature but just for that few minutes I was revelling in the glory. I casually rattled off half a dozen classic guitar pieces of the day, I still can't remember what I played that day, but I CAN REMEMBER THEIR FACES.
When I'd finished there was no applause. I just passed the guitar back and said 'I better get going guys..' All eyes were on me as I left the room. There was nothing else to say, I'd just let my playing do the talking.
HOW HAD I GOT THAT GOOD IN SUCH A SHORT TIME?
Well there are many ways to learn guitar but they are not all equal. Books and tabs work ok if you have the talent, time and determination. If you are human like me then there is a much better and faster way.
WHATEVER YOU MIGHT THINK... THE GUITAR IS A FOLK INSTRUMENT
And what do you think is the best way to learn how to play a folk instrument? Well for the last few thousand years we've learned by...... Watching folks play it. Yes is IS mind bogglingly simple isn't it.
To this day mankind has found no better way to learn a simple instrument like the guitar, than by getting someone to show us how to do it. That simple fact, that I had learned all those years ago, was the single reason that I started this entire venture.
So....what are you waiting for?
Free 'How to Play It' guitar videos for any article readers from http://www.6-string-videos.com/content
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