Musical instruments have been a part of my life for a long time. When I was five, my parents got me started on the piano, and at seven, the violin. When I was nine I took recorder classes (yes, that flute thingy). I enjoyed them all, but at 11 I picked up a guitar for the first time — it was my seventh grade art teacher’s cheap, plastic-strung acoustic, for which I had no pick to play with so I ended up using a quarter — and pretty much never looked back.
My Lovely Ladies
It’s been 14 years of beautiful, harmonious love between myself and my guitars. But even after all this time I constantly have this overwhelming sense of… unworthiness. Why?
Well, like all instruments, a guitar has within it an awesome, innate capability to create an amazing variety of sounds and melodies. It’s up to the player to harness that, produce it, and max out the instrument’s potential. There are acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical and flamenco guitars; you can strum, pick, fingerpick, scratch, bend, pull, slide, sweep, whammy, even knock on an acoustic’s body for percussion; the list goes on and on. And then there are styles, too. Do you play Jazz? Rock? Metal? Classical? Flamenco? Ambient stuff? Everything?
I feel unworthy because for such a dynamic instrument, I still don’t know how to do it all. I never took lessons and wish to some extent that I had, because there’s so much left to learn and I have no idea where to start. Every time I pick up a guitar these days, I find myself falling into the same patterns, the same scales, the same sounds. I’ll admit it’s frustrating, because so much more could be done with such fantastic power strapped over my shoulder. And so, after messing around for a bit, I’ll call it a day, put my guitar back on its stand, and mope about how I suck at the instrument I love most. Don’t get me wrong, though. I most definitely still feel the passion for the instrument and my music every time I play.
“It’s me, not you,” I’ll say to my beauties (no, I don’t really talk to them). But seriously, it is.
On a separate note, I also wish I hadn’t given up piano and violin. When I hear insanely talented people like those in Hideo wielding these particular instruments, I can’t help but feel jealous. Lesson learned? Stick with it, because it’s worth it.
I do also have to say that amongst all this frustration some new inspiration has presented itself in the form of Hideo (holy crap thanks guys). I’ve gotten to play new music, perform again, and work/play together with these other musicians, actors, and artists that just plain love their art. And it has been awesome.
Finally, because I’m in a classical guitar mood today, here are two clips. The first is Isaac Albeniz’s Sevilla played by John Williams, the world-famous classical guitarist. The second, for all you ICO fans, is You Were There as done by user TrangLoL on YouTube. Enjoy!
So how do you stay inspired, in both yourself and art?
I know what you mean about being frustrated, but at the same time, in my opinion at least, art is continual struggle to achieve something greater than yourself. To be an artist is to never settle with where you are, and to always strive to step up the next level. And besides, you’re awesome at guitar so shuttup. Haha
Couldn’t agree more. At the same time sometimes you feel “stuck”, even though you want to/are trying to grow. I guess that’s where I am now. And you shuttup.