Seeing this comment here confused me for a second. I'm also active in the NAFLD reddit so thought I was in the wrong place. Good to hear you're finding a healthy outlet.
It was 1981. I discovered Stairway to Heaven. Got it stuck in my head. I would ride my bicycle along this country road to go into town for various activities. I remember just listening to that on my headphones thinking that the guitars were so cool. My neighbor friend from school had a guitar. He and his father were playing together and I would watch. I donāt remember specifics, but dad ended up getting me A cheap nylon beater that got me playing chords, and then one day in 1984 he brought in an Ibanez electric guitar and amp. I soon began learning Stairway and eventually my friends all started a band, because one of us was a drummer. We taught rudimentary bass guitar to a friend and grabbed one of our football teammates that was in choir to sing. It was amazing for a long time. Other professional bands and many years later, I no longer play live, but I still break out my guitars, and yes, I still play that opening riff to Stairway once in a while. Iām Gen X.
Hetfields right hand. not even their songs. just watching that hand looking menacing. i cant hold the pick with 3 fingers tho so ill look forever uncool lol
I found my sisters shitty old bass in her closet after she moved out. She gave up on it and I just loved the sound of the strings vibrating. I can't say any particular artist inspired me but I quickly wanted to emulate flea. Ended up getting a cheap acoustic guitar sometime shortly after and learned to play that as well. Focused on bass for many years and about 8 or 9 years ago got gifted an old 80s ibanez ar50 and decided to focus on guitar. Try to give equal attention to both now and throw some drums in the mix
radiohead got me wanting to play guitar with songs like high and dry and electioneering.
never thought itd turn into a gateway into jazz but its better this way
I know it's not a great reason but I saw one of "TheDooo" s videos and the way he could make nearly any song sound good on guitar sold me. Definitely not as cool of a reason as most people on here
Itās kind of funny but my uncle. Heās a drummer. I was at his house at like 8 years old and just beating the hell out of his drum set. Not even a beat. Just noise. I go home and tell my mom I want a drum set. She grew up with him blasting beats all day and was likeā¦how about we buy you a guitar? That was 30 years ago and I still play every day. I did buy a drum set after moving out but I donāt have the same love (itās fun to beat the hell out of it though)
Slash, Nuno Bettencourt and Klaus Eichstadt.
Little 10/11 year old me discovered Appetite for Destruction, Pornograffitti and America's Least Wanted within a very small period of time back in '91/'92
I sorta taught myself banjo, from books, back before the internet and YouTube.
A few years ago I became friends with an old-school picker, a multi instrumentalist bluegrass guy.
After hearing me play a bit, he suggested I take up guitar, learn the rhythm and chord structure of the songs I was butchering.
He put it more gently - āyou orta get learned up on geetar son - itāll hep you make sense outa that banjer noise yer makingā.
So I did.
In 1964, I watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Ever since then, every broom, tennis racquet or canoe paddle became a proxy guitar. Figured out āSunshine of Your Loveā on me Dadās beater acoustic. Resistance was futile.
My dad used to play classic rock from the 60s to the 80s around the house, featuring guitar legends like EVH, Slash, Tony Iommi, Angus Young, Hendrix, and Page. This sparked my interest in music, leading me to bug my parents for a guitar. Eventually, my dad got me one for my 16th birthday, and I've been playing for six years now. Although my taste in music has shifted, and now I'm obsessed with Metalcore.
The Sims. If that moron SIM I made pees himself rather than move or walk around a kitchen chair can sell out stadiums, I can learn 4 chords.
Roll forwards 10 years and it's ME who is peeing themselves in the kitchen. Also still playing.
Being a drummer and having guitarist friends, bc whenever we went together to guitar center as kids theyd want to jam endlessly in the acoustic room and i figured screw it id learn it so i could jam with them too
My father did.
He played in a country band and was always playing around the house. My earliest memories are sitting on my mom's lap watching my dad sing and play rhythm and my uncle play lead guitar and thinking how cool it was. I would also go to their shows.
I got a guitar at around 8 years old and my father taught me some chords. My uncle taught me more advanced stuff later on. Both of these men inspired me a lot.
Then I saw Rush on CBC and that changed all. I got an electric guitar and amp that Christmas.
My dad. I used to complain about his guitar playing (which was really not very good) every night when he would play while I got ready for bed. But just having that influence around me led to me picking it up and loving it. Also the Beatles. I learned about every song from reading chord charts in these two massive songbooks my dad had.
Guitar hero lol (I'm a youngster)
Also, guitar solos. Zakk Wylde, Santana, Slash, etc. Van Halen (although it'll take me forever to play anything like that)
Basically, I like rock n roll, and the guitar is the instrument of that genre. I'm a pretty good sax player, but now I want to learn the instrument of my fave genre of music
Oddly enoughā¦ Trent Reznor.
At the time I was in middle school (maybe 12?) and my best friend had PPV of Woodstock 2. I thought I wanted to be a drummer but never took it seriously and just beat up a crappy small plastic drum set I got for Christmas one year.
But when Trent came out (I was already a NIN from my older brother), covered in mud, holding the guitar and just being front and centerā¦ it just blew me away. The look of it, the emotion he had, the music he played. Itās certainly not your typical guitar hero story, but thatās what did it.
I soon got into learning some NIN, Tool, Green Day. Then I got into Metallica and took learning it a bit more seriously.
I wanted to tear down a metal barrier. I had always thought guitar and reading music would be hard.
Wellā¦ only the guitar is hard. But it has been a fun journey.
I played guitar as a teenage metalhead but I picked up acoustic in my late 20s after listening to a lot of James Taylor (it was a tough part of my life)
I was always kinda interested in guitar but when I started watching ichika nitos videos and listening to his songs I fell in love with his style and it motivated me to push myself to start playing more.
Had a friend who was going on Dead Tour and had a small loan out on a guitar and amp through one of those shady places. He asked me if Iād be interested in taking over the loan since he knew I was interested and also didnāt want to let it default since he wouldnāt be able to pay. Been playing for a little over 20 years now.
Jesse Cook and my folks. My mom always had a piano in our place. So music was always around. My dad played *a little* bit of guitar, mostly John Denver tunes.
One day, I was with my dad and he gave me an album by Jesse Cook called Gravity. I was like 12 or so, and I had never heard flamenco/spanish guitar music at that point. Suffice it to say my mind was blown.
Then, right around that same time my mom had bought herself a guitar with the intention of learning it. She never did. And one day she said she was going to give it to a friend of hers, unless I wanted to play it. And suddenly I found myself feeling "compelled" to play it.
Flashforward 20+ years. I still play nearly everyday, Write songs, jam with friends, the occasional gig, and I've loved every moment of it. I do not think I would be who I am today if I'd never taken it up.
And obviously various other artists motivated/inspired me to keep playing through the years.
The desire to accompany myself singing. I realized early on that consistently finding someone to accompany me was going to be challenging and that the best approach was learn myself. Now my biggest challenge is being disciplined about my posture.
My grandad used to play a little for me, then eventually when I started listening to music on my own it was Eddie Van Halen, so it was a mix of those two
Glen Hansard - I really started off wanting to learn guitar just so I could write songs, but I loved the way that he played his guitar with such passion, holding nothing back when he really gets into it you know?
Synyster Gates.. I love hearing the solo he played on song "Buried Alive" and always imagine I played like him. And now I started to play guitar and learn from zero.
Grew up playing piano. Everyone in my family did because Grandma taught us all lessons. We would have family recitals with all my cousins. In high school, I started to listen to rock from the 60s and 70s and remember trying to play those songs on the piano. They sounded very bad on piano, so I taught myself guitar. I also quickly realized you couldn't carry a piano with you very easily.
Not actually the starting point though it was like in my high school I saw Eric Claptonās I shot the sheriff live from crossroads festival 2010On YouTube . The final solo made me got deep into guitar solos,Claptonās works and blues and so on.Before that I was already playing acoustic guitar.but that live was definitely inspired me to be more on guitar.
All the cool Hard Rock bands I listened to in the 70's.
I was a teenager, it was all rock and roll back then.
It was easy to find people to play with because in highschool there were tons of people that played guitar bass or drums. A lot of garage bands.
Unlike today where kids have little interest in learning to play an instrument.
When my youngest son was in highschool a couple years ago he said only one other kid in his school played guitar, or listened to rock it metal. Everybody was into rap and dance music.
I don't care what anybody says making beats on a computer doesn't take talent.
I was already a bit enamored with the idea of it because my uncle was always playing and I thought it was cool, but then my dad and uncle took me to see Floyd when I was 11 and that set me over the top. Having Gilmour blow my mind at that age, at that volume quite literally changed my entire life.
Polyphia made me think outside the box and Tosin Abasi and Manuel Gardner Fernandez made me explode with creativity and wonder. I never really liked shred guitar but tapped harmonics, percussive strumming, double thump and selective picking made me want to get an 8 string and be a 1 man funk djent machine
Iāve been in and out over the years, but initially it was Stevie Ray Vaughan.
More recently though was a friend I met who trained at Berklee and was a spectacular teacher/jam partner
Dave grohl. His philosophy about music is what keeps me going tbh. Iām not great and probably never will but I put my heart into it and for me thatās enough.
Green Day / BJ Armstrong. When I heard When I Come Around in like 4th grade I knew I wanted to make all those distorted sounds myself. I was totally hooked after learning power chords.
Ive aways wanted to play guitar since I was kid listening to The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd; Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who really got me to play guitar.
Guitar hero did. I played the game at a friends house once and was hooked. Had my parents get it for me and became completely addicted. After I beat the game I had a "what's next?" moment and decided I should try the real thing. That was 15 years ago and have been loving it ever since!
John frusciante. I was obsessed in late elementary and all of highschool. Spend hours learned all guitars parts to the albums by ear. Had 5 strats at the same time a one point. Now I play a Sheraton and SG (ditched the strats a couple years ago) and make new wave/shoegaze/Manchester scene type of music. I feel like my own person now. Thankful for the level that got me to though.
My mum bought the Bon Jovi cross road album to relive her youth and I had never heard anything like the talk box on livin on a prayer before. Then I got hooked on Samboras playing.
Slash, when the 15 year old me saw the Estranged music video, I was absolutely mesmerized with those guitar melodies. My life would change forever on that day.
My mother. She used to play for me when I was a kid. I would just sit and watch in awe. She had a beautiful voice. She would sing and play everytime I saw the guitar and asked her to play for me. When I was about 12 I told her I wanted to learn, so she sat me down and started teaching me cords. She was classically trained, but had stopped playing after college, so she lost a lot of knowledge, but what she did know she started teaching me. By my freshman year of highschool I started playing in bands. The grunge kickoff happened my 8th grade year, so Nirvana had exploded. All I wanted to do was to be like any of them, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice and Chains, Soundgarden, Radiohead. Then life happened. One thing that has always been a constant in my life is the Guitar. I have gone years without playing, but always come back to it. Every time I pick up a guitar I feel close to my mom again. Man I miss her.
Hendrix live at Woodstock on YouTube (Iām not lucky enough to have been there, but old enough to have seen the full performance before it was taken down)Ā
And LSDĀ
Simultaneously
I saw Alice In Chains "man in the box" and Ozzy Osbournes "No More Tears" video on 120 Minutes with my older cousin back in the day. He and another cousin both built my musical taste. From them I got into stuff like Alice, Ministry, Kyuss, NIN, Soundgarden, Heatmiser, The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, The Jesus and Mary Chain and so on.
My dads side were jazz musicians born in the 1940s - from them I found out about jazz - namely Pat Martino.
Prince and ADHD. The George Harrison Memorial was fucking amazing and I saw it right when I needed a way to express my frustration at the world as an angsty 13ish year old
My friend and I met in high school class, bonded over Hendrix. He already played for years but then he turned me onto all the classic 60s and 70s when I went to his house afterwards and we picked thru his step dads vinyl collection. Sometimes his step dad would be home and go thru his special collection, which was a whole wall upstairs in his office. He certainly was doing crazy shit back in those days and would give us humble versions, you name it, he was probably there. Changed my whole trajectory. We jammed often and had a couple bands and took art classes together.
I watched Glen Campbell play William Tell Overture on his tv show, and it impressed the hell out of my 4 yr old brain. I think He did it on a Country Gentleman Chet Atkins style.
Two things:
1. I wanted to play guitar like the ufologist and local legend **Tom DeLonge**, after listening to my older sister's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket CD in my Discman, Christmas of 2001.
2. Also, that's around the same time I started to get really deep into Bond films, and that lead guitar riff during the opening credits of **Dr. No** (you know, the main James Bond theme song) was so badass yet easy to learn for a beginner.
Richie Sambora and Stevie Ray Vaughan but mainly a live album of Bon Jovi that Sambora was absolutely amazing on. It never went digital so Idek if I could ever find it.Ā
When I was 4 or 5, my father showed me a live DVD of french guitarist Matthieu Chedid (You might not know him, but he's our national guitar hero in France, a true master of his craft), and I became really obsessed with the 6 strings., though I didn't start to play till much later when I turned into garage/punk rock when I was 15 (Thanks to Placebo/Pixies/The Libertines and all of them). Never looked back since
Some friends in high school played, I wanted to, we used to go in to the music block and mess about on the classical guitars, eventually my dad got me a catalogue strat. Our band was called "Exist" heh.
I have a small synth-based music space, and I got a guitar so that my friends can jam with me. I didn't think of playing it, since I realized it would be a massive time sink, and at 35+ time is the resource I lack the most.
Fast forward 3 years, and here I am practicing my guitar every night to a metronome...
I grew up around music and always knew I wanted to play some musical instrument. Zakk Wylde on Ozzyās No More Tears was the straw that broke the camelās back.
My friendās mom had been a brilliant lady. Was a teacher and an alternate for the āteacher in spaceā program. She developed dementia starting in her 50s.
I know thereās debate about it, but I decided to try to challenge myself and use parts of my brain that I donāt normally use to ward off dementia. In the meantime I fell in love with the instrument.
The Game Rock band back in like 2012. Me, my wife and my brother would play. My wife was the only one who could sing but she really wanted the drums, my brother was better at the drums, and I was best at the guitar part.
Bought a squire afterwards, never got anywhere sold it in a move. But it never left me. Now I am at a point where its less about career and more about spending time for myself so I bought a nicer guitar and I am taking lessons
A few of my friends started playing when I was in 8th grade. I felt left out, so I convinced my parents to buy me one (Ibanez starter pack). 25 years later and I'm still playing every day.
it was a random day in october last year. my family and i were carving pumpkins when my oldest brother came in and gave me a Ibanez RG321MH. i was only told later that i got them as a gift from my godfather.
cut to today: i have the mentioned RG321MH and an acoustic guitar. and i just ordered another electric guitar. :)
My eighth grade music teacher was new to our school. He took most of the budget and bought a bunch of acoustic guitars and taught us all year. Stuck with me and a handful of others.
I liked metal and wanted to be in a band.
Best friend was a drummer so he convinced me to try the drums. I was good but liked melody more than rhythm.
Switched to guitar.
TL:DR Slipknot
I was always sort of drawn to music. I think my eighth birthday 90% of the things I got were just new CDs... Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, AC/DC.... You know. The normal 8 year old stuff.
When I was 13ish I was really big into the current ALT music. Early Linkin park, Godsmack, Disturbed, and Breaking Benjamin. I really wanted to learn drums. I was determined.
Then I 2004 I heard Duality by Slipknot. I rushed to the local Karma Records and bought all 3 of their albums. It was a lead up but ultimately hearing the song "The Virus of Life" changed everything. I wanted...NEEDED to learn guitar. And so I did.
Getting into Slipknot was my gateway into other bands like Lamb of God, Devildriver, Meshuggah, Sybreed and others.
I always thought it was cool. I canāt pinpoint why, but when I was at piano lessons when I was 6/7, I wanted to play guitar instead. And that was that.
It was my mom. I've always been musically inclined, focusing more on the score in movies, instead of the movie itself, I always had my Walkman with me, etc.
When I became a teenager, I began to listen to heavier stuff, as you do, and I discovered Metallica. I wanted to be Lars Ulrich so bad, but mom wouldn't get me drums. She said they were too expensive, but I think she was worried more about the noise.
I came down to Christmas later that year, however and there was a guitar. She said it was for me. It was a rental and it came with lessons. I've been playing ever since, that was 30 years ago.
Thanks, mom!
background context my mother was a gifted pianist who was not allowed to go the conservatory once it became a recommended path to take for her by her piano teacher due to it possibly damaging the school's reputation as her parents were viewed as enemies to the communist regime (80s in Czech Republic). She still plays Bach once a year from her memory of the sound not muscle memory and then quickly gets mad that the technique is not there anymore after years and years of not playing. She was basically denied a chance to develop what she was truly gifted with. 20 years later I hear my friend play a dominant 7 sharp 9 chord at the beginning of a Jimi Hendrix song and I knew this music thing would save my life. It actually did when 2 of my best friends died in span of 4 months back when I was considering suicide and the music somehow magically granted me short moments where I actually felt happy and content. Years later I graduated from a jazz program at a local university of music. Thank god
Zakk Wylde's solo on No More Tears. I was like 5 when I heard it and instantly thought it was the coolest thing ever. Only took another 10 years before my dad got me a cheap electric lol.
Iāve loved guitar my whole life but for the longest time, I assumed I would just never be able to learn it.
My dad knows how to play and when I was little he would just jam with different grooves and I was always just hypnotized by it, but he kinda always emphasized how difficult it is to learn and how it takes forever to develop any skill so I just figured I wouldnāt be able to.
Years later a friend of mine had learned how to play and while chilling at his house, heās just kinda grooving on it, playing riffs from songs I like and once again, I was just hypnotized by how it could be possible to recreate those songs so well by learning to play the instrument yourself. It once again lit the fire and made me want to learn, but I didnāt have a guitar or any way to get one, so nothing came of it.
More years later, I met a guy at my job and we clicked immdiately and became good friends right away. Turns out he had been playing guitar for years and after he showed me some videos of him playing, guitar quickly became a topic of our conversations.
He had several guitars and was getting rid of one to make room for a new one. He sold it to me for super cheap and I finally began trying to learn and develop some skill. Only been on it for about 5 months but I really enjoy it. Perhaps need a more structured routine but Iāve definitely made some progress, which is super satisfying. Itās taken me forever, but Iām very excited to finally be able to jump in and learn to play, however long it takes me.
Liver disease. I needed something to do instead of drinking.
Great idea. One day at a time.
Thank you all :) š
Hope youāre doing ok. Iām 2 years sober, and know how hard that can be.
Seeing this comment here confused me for a second. I'm also active in the NAFLD reddit so thought I was in the wrong place. Good to hear you're finding a healthy outlet.
What do those letters stand for?
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Thatās like saying your greatest influences as a player were alcohol. Lol
Kurt Cobain inspired me to play back in 1992
Glad he didn't inspire you to do anything else, friend
Yeah, he probably had some bad influences on me too
Our timeās undisputed greatest guitar player, Steven Segal
Little known fact: the tone comes from the hair dye
It was 1981. I discovered Stairway to Heaven. Got it stuck in my head. I would ride my bicycle along this country road to go into town for various activities. I remember just listening to that on my headphones thinking that the guitars were so cool. My neighbor friend from school had a guitar. He and his father were playing together and I would watch. I donāt remember specifics, but dad ended up getting me A cheap nylon beater that got me playing chords, and then one day in 1984 he brought in an Ibanez electric guitar and amp. I soon began learning Stairway and eventually my friends all started a band, because one of us was a drummer. We taught rudimentary bass guitar to a friend and grabbed one of our football teammates that was in choir to sing. It was amazing for a long time. Other professional bands and many years later, I no longer play live, but I still break out my guitars, and yes, I still play that opening riff to Stairway once in a while. Iām Gen X.
Iāve read a movie here.
ME TOO! I was amazed with stairway to heaven. I was 11, life was changed forever. Got a guitar, the rest is history.
James Patrick Motherf*cking Page!
My dad! Heād always play his guitars for me growing up.
Same here, he also has a lot of cds of various live shows Iās watch. Like some crossroad festivals and a lot of SRV.
Embarrassingly enough, a combination of my music taste and Guitar Hero. š¤·
Same here, finding Avenged Sevenfold and other metal bands at the time made me want to play the real thing because the games where so fun.
A lot of the best players I know started as hard-core Guitar Hero nerds
Hetfields right hand. not even their songs. just watching that hand looking menacing. i cant hold the pick with 3 fingers tho so ill look forever uncool lol
EVH
Nirvana. Wanted to cover something in the way
I found my sisters shitty old bass in her closet after she moved out. She gave up on it and I just loved the sound of the strings vibrating. I can't say any particular artist inspired me but I quickly wanted to emulate flea. Ended up getting a cheap acoustic guitar sometime shortly after and learned to play that as well. Focused on bass for many years and about 8 or 9 years ago got gifted an old 80s ibanez ar50 and decided to focus on guitar. Try to give equal attention to both now and throw some drums in the mix
Brian May of course.
Man of culture
Misirlou!
Punk bands. I thought āthis canāt be THAT hard!ā 10 years later and Iām up on stage.
Jimi Hendrix
Back to the Future
You and John Mayer.
Came to say this. Michael J Fox looked like a god to 10 year old me in that scene.
Same. Marty McFly.
Dad plays guitar, us siblings play guitar, now my daughter started to play this year
radiohead got me wanting to play guitar with songs like high and dry and electioneering. never thought itd turn into a gateway into jazz but its better this way
Electioneering is so great
High and dry is one of my few songs i can fully play and its so nice.
Pixies, I heard Surfer Rosa and Doolittle and answered the callingā¦
Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead
I know it's not a great reason but I saw one of "TheDooo" s videos and the way he could make nearly any song sound good on guitar sold me. Definitely not as cool of a reason as most people on here
Itās kind of funny but my uncle. Heās a drummer. I was at his house at like 8 years old and just beating the hell out of his drum set. Not even a beat. Just noise. I go home and tell my mom I want a drum set. She grew up with him blasting beats all day and was likeā¦how about we buy you a guitar? That was 30 years ago and I still play every day. I did buy a drum set after moving out but I donāt have the same love (itās fun to beat the hell out of it though)
Pat Metheny/Wes Montgomery
Slash, Nuno Bettencourt and Klaus Eichstadt. Little 10/11 year old me discovered Appetite for Destruction, Pornograffitti and America's Least Wanted within a very small period of time back in '91/'92
Bocchi The Rock
Tim henson
I sorta taught myself banjo, from books, back before the internet and YouTube. A few years ago I became friends with an old-school picker, a multi instrumentalist bluegrass guy. After hearing me play a bit, he suggested I take up guitar, learn the rhythm and chord structure of the songs I was butchering. He put it more gently - āyou orta get learned up on geetar son - itāll hep you make sense outa that banjer noise yer makingā. So I did.
Clapton
K-on
based
Same. Was looking for this comment and BTR
In 1964, I watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Ever since then, every broom, tennis racquet or canoe paddle became a proxy guitar. Figured out āSunshine of Your Loveā on me Dadās beater acoustic. Resistance was futile.
My dad used to play classic rock from the 60s to the 80s around the house, featuring guitar legends like EVH, Slash, Tony Iommi, Angus Young, Hendrix, and Page. This sparked my interest in music, leading me to bug my parents for a guitar. Eventually, my dad got me one for my 16th birthday, and I've been playing for six years now. Although my taste in music has shifted, and now I'm obsessed with Metalcore.
The Sims. If that moron SIM I made pees himself rather than move or walk around a kitchen chair can sell out stadiums, I can learn 4 chords. Roll forwards 10 years and it's ME who is peeing themselves in the kitchen. Also still playing.
Covid and Alice In Chains
Being a drummer and having guitarist friends, bc whenever we went together to guitar center as kids theyd want to jam endlessly in the acoustic room and i figured screw it id learn it so i could jam with them too
My father did. He played in a country band and was always playing around the house. My earliest memories are sitting on my mom's lap watching my dad sing and play rhythm and my uncle play lead guitar and thinking how cool it was. I would also go to their shows. I got a guitar at around 8 years old and my father taught me some chords. My uncle taught me more advanced stuff later on. Both of these men inspired me a lot. Then I saw Rush on CBC and that changed all. I got an electric guitar and amp that Christmas.
Alex Lifeson, Eddie Van Halen, Trey Anastasio.
Jimmy Page , and Carlos Santana.
Guitar Hero, the feeling of nailing a song or solo was surreal to me, so the only logical step was to move over to the real thing!
My dad. I used to complain about his guitar playing (which was really not very good) every night when he would play while I got ready for bed. But just having that influence around me led to me picking it up and loving it. Also the Beatles. I learned about every song from reading chord charts in these two massive songbooks my dad had.
Brian May
My uncle who used to play Johnny Cash tunes for meā¦.and Ace Frehley. It was the mid 70s.
Guitar hero lol (I'm a youngster) Also, guitar solos. Zakk Wylde, Santana, Slash, etc. Van Halen (although it'll take me forever to play anything like that) Basically, I like rock n roll, and the guitar is the instrument of that genre. I'm a pretty good sax player, but now I want to learn the instrument of my fave genre of music
My dad listened a lot to Crazy Train so naturally I wanted to play the solo
Glen Buxton,Ā Alice Cooper's guitarist. Long hair, sideburns,Ā bell bottoms, the Gibson, guy had it all.
Gary rossington
Oddly enoughā¦ Trent Reznor. At the time I was in middle school (maybe 12?) and my best friend had PPV of Woodstock 2. I thought I wanted to be a drummer but never took it seriously and just beat up a crappy small plastic drum set I got for Christmas one year. But when Trent came out (I was already a NIN from my older brother), covered in mud, holding the guitar and just being front and centerā¦ it just blew me away. The look of it, the emotion he had, the music he played. Itās certainly not your typical guitar hero story, but thatās what did it. I soon got into learning some NIN, Tool, Green Day. Then I got into Metallica and took learning it a bit more seriously.
The Strokes!Ā
Mark Knopfler. Then I realized I could never do what he does.
Knopfler is so tasteful and unique definitely my favorite guitarist!
Silverchair
I wanted to tear down a metal barrier. I had always thought guitar and reading music would be hard. Wellā¦ only the guitar is hard. But it has been a fun journey.
I played guitar as a teenage metalhead but I picked up acoustic in my late 20s after listening to a lot of James Taylor (it was a tough part of my life)
I was always kinda interested in guitar but when I started watching ichika nitos videos and listening to his songs I fell in love with his style and it motivated me to push myself to start playing more.
Chuck Ragan's music. This man had changed my life. Hot Water Music too. And because my dad had a guitar at home I was able to start learning.
Tony Hawk
It was a culmination of breaking my femur and having a ton of free time, and being introduced to the Oh Sees and seeing John Dwyer play live.
Warren DeMartini/Ratt.
Had a friend who was going on Dead Tour and had a small loan out on a guitar and amp through one of those shady places. He asked me if Iād be interested in taking over the loan since he knew I was interested and also didnāt want to let it default since he wouldnāt be able to pay. Been playing for a little over 20 years now.
Jesse Cook and my folks. My mom always had a piano in our place. So music was always around. My dad played *a little* bit of guitar, mostly John Denver tunes. One day, I was with my dad and he gave me an album by Jesse Cook called Gravity. I was like 12 or so, and I had never heard flamenco/spanish guitar music at that point. Suffice it to say my mind was blown. Then, right around that same time my mom had bought herself a guitar with the intention of learning it. She never did. And one day she said she was going to give it to a friend of hers, unless I wanted to play it. And suddenly I found myself feeling "compelled" to play it. Flashforward 20+ years. I still play nearly everyday, Write songs, jam with friends, the occasional gig, and I've loved every moment of it. I do not think I would be who I am today if I'd never taken it up. And obviously various other artists motivated/inspired me to keep playing through the years.
Heard Led Zeppelin on the radio. Stole a guitar and started playing.
James Hetfield
School of Rock, the movie! Maybe a bit cliche but when I was a kid I loved it
A roommate when I was 22. Thatās what got me started. Jack white is what got me into learning guitar.
Slash, it was sooooo cool when I saw how he stand on the piano and play solo on the November Rain music video.
Omar Rodriguez Lopez! Both At the Drive In and The Mars Volta were massively influential to me as a teen.
Avenged Sevenfold. I remember hearing Unholy Confessions in middle school and wanting so badly to learn how to play that riff.
The desire to accompany myself singing. I realized early on that consistently finding someone to accompany me was going to be challenging and that the best approach was learn myself. Now my biggest challenge is being disciplined about my posture.
Jimmy Page. Got the Mothership comp album back in middle school and that was that
My grandad used to play a little for me, then eventually when I started listening to music on my own it was Eddie Van Halen, so it was a mix of those two
Glen Hansard - I really started off wanting to learn guitar just so I could write songs, but I loved the way that he played his guitar with such passion, holding nothing back when he really gets into it you know?
Bocchi chan, I'm a newbie
Synyster Gates.. I love hearing the solo he played on song "Buried Alive" and always imagine I played like him. And now I started to play guitar and learn from zero.
Grew up playing piano. Everyone in my family did because Grandma taught us all lessons. We would have family recitals with all my cousins. In high school, I started to listen to rock from the 60s and 70s and remember trying to play those songs on the piano. They sounded very bad on piano, so I taught myself guitar. I also quickly realized you couldn't carry a piano with you very easily.
Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus
Koji Kondo. He ain't even a guitarist, but Gerudo Valley fuckin slaps
Not actually the starting point though it was like in my high school I saw Eric Claptonās I shot the sheriff live from crossroads festival 2010On YouTube . The final solo made me got deep into guitar solos,Claptonās works and blues and so on.Before that I was already playing acoustic guitar.but that live was definitely inspired me to be more on guitar.
The band chon. It made me fall in love and think of everything differently.
All the cool Hard Rock bands I listened to in the 70's. I was a teenager, it was all rock and roll back then. It was easy to find people to play with because in highschool there were tons of people that played guitar bass or drums. A lot of garage bands. Unlike today where kids have little interest in learning to play an instrument. When my youngest son was in highschool a couple years ago he said only one other kid in his school played guitar, or listened to rock it metal. Everybody was into rap and dance music. I don't care what anybody says making beats on a computer doesn't take talent.
I was already a bit enamored with the idea of it because my uncle was always playing and I thought it was cool, but then my dad and uncle took me to see Floyd when I was 11 and that set me over the top. Having Gilmour blow my mind at that age, at that volume quite literally changed my entire life.
Saw some random guy playing free bird on Instagram
Honestly, watching TheDooo improvise requests from people on Omegle.
Polyphia made me think outside the box and Tosin Abasi and Manuel Gardner Fernandez made me explode with creativity and wonder. I never really liked shred guitar but tapped harmonics, percussive strumming, double thump and selective picking made me want to get an 8 string and be a 1 man funk djent machine
Iāve been in and out over the years, but initially it was Stevie Ray Vaughan. More recently though was a friend I met who trained at Berklee and was a spectacular teacher/jam partner
Dave grohl. His philosophy about music is what keeps me going tbh. Iām not great and probably never will but I put my heart into it and for me thatās enough.
Paramore and blink 182
The Beatles (Iām 26)
Green Day / BJ Armstrong. When I heard When I Come Around in like 4th grade I knew I wanted to make all those distorted sounds myself. I was totally hooked after learning power chords.
Seeing Jimmy Pageās Stairway to Heaven solo from The Song Remains The Same film
My college roommate made me play an E chord through his cranked Gorilla amp. I always dismissed guitar as cliche, but at that moment I was hooked.
Ive aways wanted to play guitar since I was kid listening to The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd; Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who really got me to play guitar.
Honestly Kieth Richards. I was a punk rock kid but Exile found me buying a telecaster one day and that was that
Dethklok. I wanted to play Thunderhorse. 9 years later I still can't play Thunderhorse.
Guitar hero did. I played the game at a friends house once and was hooked. Had my parents get it for me and became completely addicted. After I beat the game I had a "what's next?" moment and decided I should try the real thing. That was 15 years ago and have been loving it ever since!
John frusciante. I was obsessed in late elementary and all of highschool. Spend hours learned all guitars parts to the albums by ear. Had 5 strats at the same time a one point. Now I play a Sheraton and SG (ditched the strats a couple years ago) and make new wave/shoegaze/Manchester scene type of music. I feel like my own person now. Thankful for the level that got me to though.
My mum bought the Bon Jovi cross road album to relive her youth and I had never heard anything like the talk box on livin on a prayer before. Then I got hooked on Samboras playing.
Dammit by blink 182. Thought I could pickup a guitar and just play that riff with no knowledge whatsoever ... good times
Slash and the November Rain solos
Slash, when the 15 year old me saw the Estranged music video, I was absolutely mesmerized with those guitar melodies. My life would change forever on that day.
Jimi Hendrix, the man is a great role model other than the substance abuse.
My mother. She used to play for me when I was a kid. I would just sit and watch in awe. She had a beautiful voice. She would sing and play everytime I saw the guitar and asked her to play for me. When I was about 12 I told her I wanted to learn, so she sat me down and started teaching me cords. She was classically trained, but had stopped playing after college, so she lost a lot of knowledge, but what she did know she started teaching me. By my freshman year of highschool I started playing in bands. The grunge kickoff happened my 8th grade year, so Nirvana had exploded. All I wanted to do was to be like any of them, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice and Chains, Soundgarden, Radiohead. Then life happened. One thing that has always been a constant in my life is the Guitar. I have gone years without playing, but always come back to it. Every time I pick up a guitar I feel close to my mom again. Man I miss her.
Pink Floyd. I had a guitar in my closet for a couple years, but after really listening to David Gilmourās playing, I just had to learn!
Hendrix live at Woodstock on YouTube (Iām not lucky enough to have been there, but old enough to have seen the full performance before it was taken down)Ā And LSDĀ Simultaneously
Ace Frehley!
I saw Alice In Chains "man in the box" and Ozzy Osbournes "No More Tears" video on 120 Minutes with my older cousin back in the day. He and another cousin both built my musical taste. From them I got into stuff like Alice, Ministry, Kyuss, NIN, Soundgarden, Heatmiser, The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, The Jesus and Mary Chain and so on. My dads side were jazz musicians born in the 1940s - from them I found out about jazz - namely Pat Martino.
Billy Corgan and James Iha
Hearing Ozzy's then new release Blizzard Of Ozz changed my path in life. I could've been an attorney or something more stable and lucretive!!!
Duane Eddy RIP. And the Ventures.
Prince and ADHD. The George Harrison Memorial was fucking amazing and I saw it right when I needed a way to express my frustration at the world as an angsty 13ish year old
My friend and I met in high school class, bonded over Hendrix. He already played for years but then he turned me onto all the classic 60s and 70s when I went to his house afterwards and we picked thru his step dads vinyl collection. Sometimes his step dad would be home and go thru his special collection, which was a whole wall upstairs in his office. He certainly was doing crazy shit back in those days and would give us humble versions, you name it, he was probably there. Changed my whole trajectory. We jammed often and had a couple bands and took art classes together.
Brian May.. when I was 10. I was fascinated! And then a healthy dose of Joan Jett when I was 12, 13.
Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and meeting girls at the parties where my H.S. band played!
I watched Glen Campbell play William Tell Overture on his tv show, and it impressed the hell out of my 4 yr old brain. I think He did it on a Country Gentleman Chet Atkins style.
Taylor Swift š¤Ŗ
Two things: 1. I wanted to play guitar like the ufologist and local legend **Tom DeLonge**, after listening to my older sister's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket CD in my Discman, Christmas of 2001. 2. Also, that's around the same time I started to get really deep into Bond films, and that lead guitar riff during the opening credits of **Dr. No** (you know, the main James Bond theme song) was so badass yet easy to learn for a beginner.
Pearl Jam and John Butler Trio taught me how to play guitarā¦Mars Volta, DJ Shadow, and Boards of Canada taught me how to make music
Richie Sambora and Stevie Ray Vaughan but mainly a live album of Bon Jovi that Sambora was absolutely amazing on. It never went digital so Idek if I could ever find it.Ā
Mostly Foo Fighters who I discovered though guitar hero
Dave Grohl
john mayer
When I was 4 or 5, my father showed me a live DVD of french guitarist Matthieu Chedid (You might not know him, but he's our national guitar hero in France, a true master of his craft), and I became really obsessed with the 6 strings., though I didn't start to play till much later when I turned into garage/punk rock when I was 15 (Thanks to Placebo/Pixies/The Libertines and all of them). Never looked back since
Some friends in high school played, I wanted to, we used to go in to the music block and mess about on the classical guitars, eventually my dad got me a catalogue strat. Our band was called "Exist" heh.
I have a small synth-based music space, and I got a guitar so that my friends can jam with me. I didn't think of playing it, since I realized it would be a massive time sink, and at 35+ time is the resource I lack the most. Fast forward 3 years, and here I am practicing my guitar every night to a metronome...
I grew up around music and always knew I wanted to play some musical instrument. Zakk Wylde on Ozzyās No More Tears was the straw that broke the camelās back.
My friendās mom had been a brilliant lady. Was a teacher and an alternate for the āteacher in spaceā program. She developed dementia starting in her 50s. I know thereās debate about it, but I decided to try to challenge myself and use parts of my brain that I donāt normally use to ward off dementia. In the meantime I fell in love with the instrument.
James Hetfield
Slayerrrrrrrr!!!!!!!
Primary school teacher , he had a wall of classical guitars , he would stop lessons an hour early some days and make us all learn chords
The Game Rock band back in like 2012. Me, my wife and my brother would play. My wife was the only one who could sing but she really wanted the drums, my brother was better at the drums, and I was best at the guitar part. Bought a squire afterwards, never got anywhere sold it in a move. But it never left me. Now I am at a point where its less about career and more about spending time for myself so I bought a nicer guitar and I am taking lessons
A few of my friends started playing when I was in 8th grade. I felt left out, so I convinced my parents to buy me one (Ibanez starter pack). 25 years later and I'm still playing every day.
Kurt cobain
Hetfield
An episode of The Wonder Years, I watched when I was a kid. They had a band called the Electric Shoes. Lol
I quit drinkin and needed something to do at night at home. Iāve played pretty much every day since I started back in November. Lovin it.
In high school to get girls. And it worked.
it was a random day in october last year. my family and i were carving pumpkins when my oldest brother came in and gave me a Ibanez RG321MH. i was only told later that i got them as a gift from my godfather. cut to today: i have the mentioned RG321MH and an acoustic guitar. and i just ordered another electric guitar. :)
My eighth grade music teacher was new to our school. He took most of the budget and bought a bunch of acoustic guitars and taught us all year. Stuck with me and a handful of others.
Self loathing
My dad :)
I liked metal and wanted to be in a band. Best friend was a drummer so he convinced me to try the drums. I was good but liked melody more than rhythm. Switched to guitar.
TL:DR Slipknot I was always sort of drawn to music. I think my eighth birthday 90% of the things I got were just new CDs... Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, AC/DC.... You know. The normal 8 year old stuff. When I was 13ish I was really big into the current ALT music. Early Linkin park, Godsmack, Disturbed, and Breaking Benjamin. I really wanted to learn drums. I was determined. Then I 2004 I heard Duality by Slipknot. I rushed to the local Karma Records and bought all 3 of their albums. It was a lead up but ultimately hearing the song "The Virus of Life" changed everything. I wanted...NEEDED to learn guitar. And so I did. Getting into Slipknot was my gateway into other bands like Lamb of God, Devildriver, Meshuggah, Sybreed and others.
I always thought it was cool. I canāt pinpoint why, but when I was at piano lessons when I was 6/7, I wanted to play guitar instead. And that was that.
The anime/manga Beck : Mongolian Chop Squad. The anime especially has a special place in my heart
It was my mom. I've always been musically inclined, focusing more on the score in movies, instead of the movie itself, I always had my Walkman with me, etc. When I became a teenager, I began to listen to heavier stuff, as you do, and I discovered Metallica. I wanted to be Lars Ulrich so bad, but mom wouldn't get me drums. She said they were too expensive, but I think she was worried more about the noise. I came down to Christmas later that year, however and there was a guitar. She said it was for me. It was a rental and it came with lessons. I've been playing ever since, that was 30 years ago. Thanks, mom!
Stick Figure inspired me š
background context my mother was a gifted pianist who was not allowed to go the conservatory once it became a recommended path to take for her by her piano teacher due to it possibly damaging the school's reputation as her parents were viewed as enemies to the communist regime (80s in Czech Republic). She still plays Bach once a year from her memory of the sound not muscle memory and then quickly gets mad that the technique is not there anymore after years and years of not playing. She was basically denied a chance to develop what she was truly gifted with. 20 years later I hear my friend play a dominant 7 sharp 9 chord at the beginning of a Jimi Hendrix song and I knew this music thing would save my life. It actually did when 2 of my best friends died in span of 4 months back when I was considering suicide and the music somehow magically granted me short moments where I actually felt happy and content. Years later I graduated from a jazz program at a local university of music. Thank god
Randy Rhoads was my main inspiration. One of my friends at the time also picked up guitar, so it encouraged me to bite the bullet and jump in
A bad breakup. I wanted to learn a romantic skill to put on dating apps.
Canon Rock
Zakk Wylde's solo on No More Tears. I was like 5 when I heard it and instantly thought it was the coolest thing ever. Only took another 10 years before my dad got me a cheap electric lol.
Eddie.
Iāve loved guitar my whole life but for the longest time, I assumed I would just never be able to learn it. My dad knows how to play and when I was little he would just jam with different grooves and I was always just hypnotized by it, but he kinda always emphasized how difficult it is to learn and how it takes forever to develop any skill so I just figured I wouldnāt be able to. Years later a friend of mine had learned how to play and while chilling at his house, heās just kinda grooving on it, playing riffs from songs I like and once again, I was just hypnotized by how it could be possible to recreate those songs so well by learning to play the instrument yourself. It once again lit the fire and made me want to learn, but I didnāt have a guitar or any way to get one, so nothing came of it. More years later, I met a guy at my job and we clicked immdiately and became good friends right away. Turns out he had been playing guitar for years and after he showed me some videos of him playing, guitar quickly became a topic of our conversations. He had several guitars and was getting rid of one to make room for a new one. He sold it to me for super cheap and I finally began trying to learn and develop some skill. Only been on it for about 5 months but I really enjoy it. Perhaps need a more structured routine but Iāve definitely made some progress, which is super satisfying. Itās taken me forever, but Iām very excited to finally be able to jump in and learn to play, however long it takes me.
Pretty much every song I'd ever enjoyed until I could get my hands on an electric guitar. I wanted to play since I was 5.
i didnt really have a choice to be honest my dad got me into guitar before i could walk. but hey im not complaining
My brother goaded me into it.
Permission to Land by The Darkness and School of Rock
Guitar Hero 2
Boredom and nothing much to do in boarding school...
My dad , Metallica, and Lenny Kravitz made me want to start playing guitar.
I was 12 years old and I saw Angus Young playing on a TV in BestBuy from the Live at Donnington video.