vic
a Farmworker, his name was Koos, showed me the chords D,G and A when I was about 5 years old....I was so fascinated by their music and especially their strumming techniques...up and down with small off-beat rhythms in between...some played bottleneck and even had a bekfluitjie (harmonica) glued to the body of the guitar ?.... I guess that's where it started for me.
Some years later the music of Fats Domino,Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis just did it for me.....there was this guy who had LP's of these gentlemen and I just knew that's the music I would like to play.. :bopping:
Seventhson
My dad use to play guitar and when I started listening to metal it just made me want to learn it. Taught myself everything I know.
Here are a few songs that made me want to learn guitar.
I could add a lot more but yeah thats just a sample. Miss those early days :'(
[deleted]
My dad use to play guitar
Same. Our whole family was musical, but it was the social element of guitar that got me wanting to play more. Although admittedly we used to sing along to the piano too, I was just never really that good at playing it (well not as good as my sister and mother - !!! holy macaroni!!! I think I've just uncovered some deep psychological mystery about why I play the guitar). That's not what turned me on to music though, just the guitar. Music was and always will be there. That's all.
AlanRatcliffe
For me it was KISS, specifically the guitar solo on Alive II. :-[ A friend in the hostel I was in turned me on to them. Actually, more forced them onto me - one of those guys that will physically grab you as you wander past, force you to sit down and "listen to this next bit" while he blasted the music on his little Lloyds cassette player. He loved the band and just had to share his joy with everyone... (He's a KISS fan to this day - now works in A&R and sent me a picture recently of him finally meeting and hanging out with the band - his life's dream). Usually the response was to nod quickly and retreat slowly backwards until far enough away to turn and hurry away, but one day the music snared me and I was suitably impressed by all this fast finger twiddling stuff and powerful distortion noises
So I begged/nagged/pleaded with the parental units for a guitar for a few months. Realising that the only way they would get some peace and quiet (little did they know!), they caved after a few months and X-mas '81 I was presented with...
...a Yammy nylon string in real faux leatherette bag. Not quite the axe-shaped electric guitar, I'd had in mind, but I was placated with promises of upgrade should I "prove myself" on the nylon. The next term, armed with a pitch pipe, foot stool and blank staff paper, I got packed off to...
...classical guitar lessons. Two lessons of Finnegan's Wake, which didn't sound anything like the noises Ace Frehley was making, and I quit. My dreams of rockstardom quashed, the Yammy went into my locker and stayed there.
Fortunately, a few months later a new guy came to our hostel with a steel string and he could play a lot of songs and sing along, That was a little more to my tastes, so I dusted the cobwebs off the Yammy and played along, watching him carefully to see exactly what he was doing, and was soon playing along to all the perennial suspects like House of the Rising Sun, abusing them like every other young guitar player of the era.
The Yammy was stolen later that year, but I was granted early release from hostel and went back to a normal school the next year, got a weekend job as cashier at the Spar and after a month bought my first electric. I've not looked back since then.
Hammeron
My Dad.
He's been listening to Hard Rock since he was a kid. So I had constant exposure to Rock and Metal since I was born.
He never got the musical support he wanted as a kid so he decided that he would not deprive his children of the same thing. I got my first acoustic at about 8 and my first electric at 9. Needless to say what genre became my passion.
My brother, who is 14, is allready on his way to becoming a great double bass drummer.
DaFiz
Twas in my blood...I was born into it. 8)
I remember Oupa playing the trekklavier and bekfluitjie and the doggie howled along.
[deleted]
My mum is a concert pianist, so I have happy-kid memories of falling asleep to the sounds of Beethoven piano quartet rehearsals through the wall... Apart from all-things-classical, she also introduced me to the Beatles, Paul Simon, Ella & Louis, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Abdullah Ibrahim and friends... oh yeah! Dad got me hooked on great violinists like Gideon Kremer Nathan Milstein and Itzhak Perlman and I have my rocking older sisters to thank for my love of all things rock 'n roll including Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, AC/DC and Metallica. My cheeky boyfriend got me hooked on the blues (oh ZZ Top, I love thee so!) and then of course there's Yo-yo Ma's first recording of the Bach Cello Suites & Miles' Kind of Blue - that's where the trouble really started 8)
And then of course you get Nigel Kennedy and 17th century rock 'n roll. Note: the tempo, he's conducting, his shoes, the disco/strobe lights & the orchestra's friggin sunglasses! hehe Who says classical music can't be cool?!
MIKA-the-better-one
I have listened ot music most of my life, but really was hooked on the Beach Boys, and the Doors when I was young (5-15)
I moved on to punk music for awhile, such as NOFX, Rancid, Transplants, Pennywise... I lived in london for sometime, and saw lots of bands, played in some terrible punk bands as well.
BUT THEN I somehow by chance bought a Album called Amputechture by The Mars Volta (one of their less succesful albums, and I loved it) And that really changed my whole mind set, and I have been happy ever since
stu
Alan, my guitar story is a lot like yours. I told my dad I wanted a guitar but was told I had to learn to play my moms old classic guitar first. So I gave up.
Parents just dont get it. You can play hard rock on a nylon string guitar!
It was only when I was 17 and threatened to buy myself a behringer strat copy that he got me a proper guitar.
My dad has always been playing music that I have ended up listening to and usually enjoying. Anything from rock to jazz. He is also a drummer and played in a few cover bands. And my mom used to be a great pianist.
I started playing guitar because of the frustration of coming up my songs in my head and not being able to do anything about it.
Keira-WitherKay
when i was at school , all i wanted to be was a jazz upright bass player ....... i have no idea where my love of jazz comes from , my entire family were into rock or pop of the time....... but a musical family tho not my taste , my mother and brother both played a mean hammond organ .......
but i loved jazz....... i do believe it must be from a previous life of mine...... cos at 12 i was a jazz fan ......... also i grew up in the 70's so the music of the time on radio ect was horrible.....it was the disco era .......
i discoverd ray brown at 15 and then i wanted to be a jazz bassist and specificaly on upright bass, which i studied and played bass pro for the 1st 10 years of my music career ......... only when i realised playing bass would tie me down to a band did i explore guitar more seriously which i could do solo , but i could already play guitar at the time ... i learnt to play guitar and keyboards while i was learning bass when i was a teenager ....... but focussed more on the bass....... now i focus on guitar ? but would still like to do some upright bass gigs again sometime,
check out the video below and see why i wanted to play jazz, and jazz upright bass just the first min (INTRO) of this video blows me away ..... and that drummer is amazing , love how he places his beats ,
guidothepimmp
Growing up in a little dorpie, didnt have much to do, when I was 12 a friend of the families son was 19, he was in a band plying the scene in JHB. I loved watching them practice then decided I wanted to do the same.
Started at 13. stopped for 5 years at 18 when my best mate and band member (also guitarist) died in a car accident a month after matriculating. ☹
Went to Varsity and didnt jam at all. ☹
Then one day in a pawn shop, found a guit which I boughton impulse (Steve Lukather Sig. Ibby) and that triggered it again.
Found some band mates. Started up a band. Jammed and enjoyed jamming since the above tragedy.. gigged for 3 years until band egos got in the way and the band saw its arse.
Then I switched focus to setting up instruments..
Recenty found a bunch of guys so Im jamming casually again and having fun again, but I have found I enjoy repairing and setups too.
So yah.. now the amp build bug has me.. :-[
Reinhard
My dad played in "boeremusiek" bands before I was born, he could play both piano and guitar. I don't remember him playing growing up, but his guitar used to stand in his closet. When I was in primary school I got into the "heavy" stuff Guns n Roses, AC/DC etc, hated the boeremusiek. AC/DC is still a fav, and I wanted to play like Angus. So when my father passed away I took his ancient epi acoustic, went for lessons and was very chuffed when I learned the minor pentatonic, because that would let me sound like Angus ? Just a pity my dad didn't get to see me play, even though I'm more into the blues and he would have LOVED my Gibsons.
I still have his guitar
Renesongs
When I was 10 years old I found God when my brother brought home a freshly minted vinyl called Axis Bold as Love.
aubs1
I think I may have been about 9 or 10 when I listened to these guys, but only really started playing (or rather learning to play) at about 13-14. But Elvis, The Shadows and The Ventures (America's answer to The Shadows) are what sparked .... the early passion ......
Highway-Chile
Reinhard, what a cool guitar. Sorry to hear the story about your dad and him not seeing you play. I am sure he is watching from above though, so buck up and get down! ? Make him proud. Mine also has passed on many years ago now and while he did get to see me play, it was only a couple times.
So my first music turn on.......
We always had music in the house. My mom sang...... she was actually picked out of all the opera singers in SA to go study in Germany at the opera house in Dusseldorf(?) but her mom who was a simple Afrikaaner single mom raising 3 girls, refused to grant permission. Her reasoning was she did not want her daughter around all the messed up people in that business. My mom worked as an actress and model but when she married my dad she gave it all up and since then has only sung in church. She has a beautiful voice, even at almost 80.
My dad was a drummer in a marching band, Scottish style....very close roll's etc..tight. He became a businessman and did very well but left music behind. He had a really broad range of styles as far as what he listened to from classical to Frank Sinatra etc and even Creedence.
So I think I got pitch and sensitivity from my mom and rhythm and independence from my dad. ?
My first recollection of a song I loved was by Pat Boone when I was a toddler. Then came Elvis. His music changed my life and listening to Scotty Moore, I knew I had to be a guitar player.
The next guitar player to make a major impact on me was Hank Marvin in The Shadows. Big Time!!!
Then in no particular order it was.....The Beach Boys,The Animals, Ventures, Duane Eddy and of course this led through the Beatles and Stones also.
But it was Jimi Hendrix who knocked me on my ass completely and once again I felt a major change in me. During this period I was also influenced by Ritchie Blackmore, Carlos Santana and Jimmy Page.
All my life my dad had told me about Django and so in the late 70's I found a double Django record and he became a huge influence, blowing me away completely.
After Django the next guitar player to knock me firmly on my ass was John McLaughlin and I left rock behind at that point to get into jazz and fusion. After that the list included Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Steve Khan, Bill Connors, Al Di Meola etc etc
Also starting from as early as I can remember and especially ramping up during the 80's and through to today...I have always been a student of the blues. I have a massive blues collection on vinyl, CD and in my iTunes. My favorite blues artists are Muddy, Willie, John Lee, Sonny Boy, Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Albert Collins, Albert King............ and SRV. Clapton did good with Mayall on the Beano album.
More recently a few years ago I got back into Gypsy and the modern Gypsy players. There are so many great players but Stochelo Rosenberg stands out, he is just phenomenal.
But to break it down......Scotty Moore, Hank Marvin, Jimi, Carlos, Blackmore, McLaughlin.....would have to be the main one's.
Highway-Chile
LOL...Aubs, I just saw your post. We have similar influences and Rise and Fall Of Flingel Bunt is my favorite Shadows song of all time. I even put it in my 10 year old's mp3 player a couple years ago. LOL!!! Nice!
Reinhard
Highway Chile wrote
Reinhard, what a cool guitar. Sorry to hear the story about your dad and him not seeing you play. I am sure he is watching from above though, so buck up and get down! ? Make him proud. Mine also has passed on many years ago now and while he did get to see me play, it was only a couple times.
We always had music in the house. My mom sang...... she was actually picked out of all the opera singers in SA to go study in Germany at the opera house in Dusseldorf(?) but her mom who was a simple Afrikaaner single mom raising 3 girls, refused to grant permission. Her reasoning was she did not want her daughter around all the messed up people in that business. My mom worked as an actress and model but when she married my dad she gave it all up and since then has only sung in church. She has a beautiful voice, even at almost 80.
My dad was a drummer in a marching band, Scottish style....very close roll's etc..tight. He became a businessman and did very well but left music behind. He had a really broad range of styles as far as what he listened to from classical to Frank Sinatra etc and even Creedence.
So I think I got pitch and sensitivity from my mom and rhythm and independence from my dad.
Thanks man ?
Cool story, a very musical family indeed!
Dingwall
I had the missfortune being really into music but growing up in the 80s! This really was a terrible music decade in terms of substance IMO!
But as luck would have it I did have an older brother who happened to grow up in the 70s, played guitar and was majorly into music. So I guess I can't complain too much!
Anyway it was the Beatles (strangely after a very brief stint of Bachman Turner Overdrive!) that got me completely hooked on music in general. It didn't take long to take over my life....
This invasion of my life was soon followed by harder things like Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd and a whole host of good guitar bands, most introduced to me by my brother (thanks Dave).
From a guitar point of view, it was said "brother dude" and Jimmy Page that got me going at first! Followed closely by people like Andy Summers, David Gilmour, SRV, the Edge. BUT then their was that whole 80's pointy headstock guitar thing with Malmsteen, Vai and Satriani. I could not help but be swept along by as a young and 'enthusiastic' guitarist. I actually wish my skills matched my enthusiasm for the instrument but thats another story...
After the pointy headstock boys others came along to feed me, like Mr Morse, Kotzen, Nuno, Robben Ford, Phil Keaggy, Mike Landau, Dann Huff etc.
I think last person to grab me funnily enough was Slash. This sounds weird but I hated GnR and therefore completely disregarded him as a serious guitarist . Now being older and wiser, and giving things another chance, I have been quite impressed by how musically and emotionally spontaneous he is, particularly in his lead playing! For a pentatonic type player kind of thing.
It's all good....
ps nothing against pointy headstocks peeps.
MikeM
I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Clapton, Santana, Foreigner, some Led, Phil Collins and the like. Got a guitar at 11 or so. Was listening to the usual kid stuff then, Linkin Park, Limp Biskit, Eminem, System Of A Down etc. When I was 13 my one mate's dad played some blues on his 50's ES135, that became my passion and aim for a good few years. Have now become sick of it, terribly terribly so. Nothing gets my blood boiling like some cheesy white man blues!! Worst part is I can't stop playing it. Well it's been a while to work it out of my system.
Kalcium
Wow my story is gonna be quite different ? haha
My older brothers used to listen to europe house and dance music (sorta rave kinda music...) and I had no interest in music at all, I didn't listen to anything at all, except of course if ur in the car and the radio is on or if my brothers were playing their club kinda music. Then when i was 13 I started skateboarding and hanging out at the beach skatepark where everyone listened to hiphop and underground rap, none of this 50 cent commercial stuff, only the really dope stuff you know...(my oldest brother used to listen to a little bit of hiphop sometimes...)... I still think some of it is pretty good stuff, I really enjoy the punchlines in the songs, like the one line was "attach razors to my shoes so I can cut to the chase" and things like that. So I listened to that throughout high school, but towards the end of grade 11 a few of my friends got me into 1 or 2 'rock' songs (anything with a guitar was rock and we were all like waaaah rock music sucks...) and I met a girl who was crazy about Blink 182. So I started listening to blink and falloutboy and poppy sort of punkish bands like that. After 3 months of dating I thought she might really like it if I started playing guitar. So I asked my mom for her old 3/4 acoustic she had, it was really falling apart, the top was coming away from the sides at one point and on one of the strings there were 2 frets with the same note. Learnt to play power chords to play Blink182- All the Small things, which i proudly played to my then girlfriend ? Thereafter learnt Queen- Crazy Little Thing Called Love, both using guitar pro tabs not knowing any chords or anything, though the tabs had me playing D, Dsus, G, C, even a barre chord of Bb unknowingly. From there I knew I wanted to play guitar and so when my birthday came up I wanted to get an electric guitar and got a bullet strat for R600 secondhand and my brother in law gave me an ibanez practice amp and a strap. I ended up liking more and more of this 'rock' music, and after a while got into Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for my valentine and metallica a bit, and eventually onto heavier bands. This continued and when I got another girlfriend who was Queen obsessed (she still is obsessed with Queen) I got into queen and her brother John Ellis (ex tree63) gave her quite a lot of cds including Led Zepplin, The Doors and quite a few more classic rock stuff which I didn't like at first, but now I do ? (Classic rock and blues mmmm ? ) The journey continues! Now im reintroducing my dad to bands he really liked ?
Edit: My best friends played guitar long before I learned, they also encouraged me to play ?
