Pondering 30+ Years of Playing Guitar...

[Silence Dogood]

I would enjoy hearing your story/stories of your guitar playing milestones and what the journey has been like.  Here is a bit of my own:

I got my first acoustic guitar sometimes in 1993.  I was 19 years old and had been playing electric guitar for about a year or so by then.  My grandfather gave me some money for some much-needed car repairs, so after leaving my grandparents' place I went straight to Guitar Center and bought a Takamine I'd had my eye on for some time.  

I didn't make much progress on guitar for the next couple years.  In 1994 I met my soon-to-be (and still) wife.  We got married in 1995 and I started going to church with her, one of those places with the big praise band on stage.  They put out the word that folk could come and play if they wanted, so one night I showed up for practice.  I brought my Takamine along.  I didn't have a guitar case or even a tuner.  I remember the band leader yanking my guitar out of my hands, tuning it to his piano quickly, and then pretty much tossing it back to me before turning back to his sheet music in disgust.  Someone else handed me some sheets of paper and pointed to a music stand I could use.  I was completely lost and after a couple songs just sat back awkwardly.  That was my only practice session with that group.  

A few years later that whole group of folks was gone and a guy around my age took over "the band."  It was a whole different vibe so I started showing up with my guitar and setting up next to the other players.  I'd watch this guy and pick up something, and then watch another guy and pick up something else.  And so it went.  

A few years after that I was the guy up front with the acoustic guitar leading the singing.  So the bulk of my own guitar learning was done on a stage in a church setting.

What got me thinking about all this was on Thanksgiving my wife's sister showed up and wanted to sing, so I got out my guitar so she and my wife could sing some songs together.  At some point someone got out a big book of those old praise songs from back in the day, the kind I couldn't play at all when I showed up a fresh 20-year-old with my Takamine.  Many of those songs had been abandoned by the time I took over the "worship leader" role, so I never learned how to play them.  But the other night we went through the entire book and I could play every song like it was nothing.  Many of them are in what I call "piano keys" with odd chords.

It hit me that somewhere along the way I became a real guitar player, though I don't know just when it happened.  It was a strange and yet wonderful kind of realization.  I don't really play that kind of music anymore and haven't in years, but I'm grateful for those times of learning and where it lead me to.  

[247hoopsfan]

Great story Dogood.  Probably most of us have similar stories, maybe a few were classically trained but I picked up an old guitar around age 16 or so.
I remember having a basic guitar book and learned some chords, "Home On The Range" and a few other 3 chord songs.  I scraped together $30 and bought a nylon string and figured out how to finger pick by listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Peter Paul and Mary,  Beatles and John Denver.  In the mid '70's  I was 18 and Jesus music was sweeping the West Coast.  I got involved with a couple other guys and we started rocking the old folks in church.  I wanted a steel string and couldn't afford a D28 so I bought a Yamaha FG200 for $100.  I played that for the next 30 years and still have it.  Had a small group that played for weddings and other gigs.  Played love songs for my girlfriend who is still my wife, and wore grooves in the fretboard.  Turned myself into a pretty decent guitarist over the years.   Still playing in a worship band, usually acoustic, sometimes electric lead.  Our 30 something leader appreciates the seasoned vets!  He often asks me to play something during communion/reflection times.  This is my D09 Brazilian and him with the electric swell pedal.
https://soundcloud.com/vbcmusic/instrumental?si=57f4e384fb5f4d168ebb33eea20b84b7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[Silence Dogood]

Great story Dogood.  Probably most of us have similar stories, maybe a few were classically trained but I picked up an old guitar around age 16 or so.
I remember having a basic guitar book and learned some chords, "Home On The Range" and a few other 3 chord songs.  I scraped together $30 and bought a nylon string and figured out how to finger pick by listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Peter Paul and Mary,  Beatles and John Denver.  In the mid '70's  I was 18 and Jesus music was sweeping the West Coast.  I got involved with a couple other guys and we started rocking the old folks in church.  I wanted a steel string and couldn't afford a D28 so I bought a Yamaha FG200 for $100.  I played that for the next 30 years and still have it.  Had a small group that played for weddings and other gigs.  Played love songs for my girlfriend who is still my wife, and wore grooves in the fretboard.  Turned myself into a pretty decent guitarist over the years.   Still playing in a worship band, usually acoustic, sometimes electric lead.  Our 30 something leader appreciates the seasoned vets!  He often asks me to play something during communion/reflection times.  This is my D09 Brazilian and him with the electric swell pedal.
https://soundcloud.com/vbcmusic/instrumental?si=57f4e384fb5f4d168ebb33eea20b84b7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Beautiful tune!  I listened to it twice.  My wife's parents were part of the Jesus People back then and from all the stories I've heard, it sounds like it was a really cool time and thing to be a part of.  I'm a fan of Phil Keaggy, who was part of that whole scene.  If fact, your playing and that tune you linked to reminds me a lot of him and his style.  I still have my old Takamine, though it's not playable anymore.  I keep it for the memories.  I've also got to play at a couple of weddings.  One in particular stands out.  My wife and I sang a song by Peter, Paul and Mary called "There Is Love" or maybe it's just called "Love Song."  I'd never heard it till the woman getting married approached me with it and asked me if I could learn it.  I put it in a different key and used my Larrivee in an old chapel where they got married.  No mics but the place was just perfect for a guitar and vox song.  The Larrivee filled the place up nicely and the song turned out well.  Good memories. 

[unclrob]

I started on a Silvertone archtop withte action about 1" off the fingerbourd I was 8,in1964 I saved up enough to buy a Gibson B15 I was ten.Brother and sister had a party when my foks were gone for the night my Gibson was stomped on.This when I started learning repair.At 13 I wanted to try playing bass.I had 3 friends who also started playing guitar non of whom wanted to play rythem and said they can't learn to play guitar to just a bass player..Got me an Alverez lawsuit Gibson Dove{wish I still had it].Started playing guitar in a bad playing an Epiphone electric also was my first paying gig.Bought a Guild D25 and moved up to a Gretsch,well years latter I played in a friends worship because he chouldn't frind anyone to play all wanted to be paid.Ya I know a heathen plaing praise and worship sue me.I also played while he did his thing until I finger picked Freebird and a friend relized what I was playing and took out a lighter an waved in the air.I've been gigging since I was 13.

[247hoopsfan]

Beautiful tune!  I listened to it twice.  My wife's parents were part of the Jesus People back then and from all the stories I've heard, it sounds like it was a really cool time and thing to be a part of.  I'm a fan of Phil Keaggy, who was part of that whole scene.  If fact, your playing and that tune you linked to reminds me a lot of him and his style.  I still have my old Takamine, though it's not playable anymore.  I keep it for the memories.  I've also got to play at a couple of weddings.  One in particular stands out.  My wife and I sang a song by Peter, Paul and Mary called "There Is Love" or maybe it's just called "Love Song."  I'd never heard it till the woman getting married approached me with it and asked me if I could learn it.  I put it in a different key and used my Larrivee in an old chapel where they got married.  No mics but the place was just perfect for a guitar and vox song.  The Larrivee filled the place up nicely and the song turned out well.  Good memories.  

Dogood:  Oh yeah, Wedding Song (There Is Love) was a huge hit, and I played it at many weddings for years.  Paul wrote it for Peter Yarrow's wedding and believed it was divinely inspired, so he made it Public Domain and never received royalties for it.  Here he is playing it many years ago on a 12 string guitar made by Nick Appolonio.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZhTKAb7Ebg

Peter, Paul, and Mary all went solo in 1970 and released self titled albums.  You should check out "Paul And", which was Paul's first solo album.
Lots of great songs including Wedding Song.  He wrote  "Sebastian" after receiving that 12 string guitar.  Quite a story with the lyrics, and beautiful tune.  Paul is still active, has been living for many years up in a small town in Maine.  A real national treasure...
https://youtu.be/ovrM39nutaY

And Phil Keaggy is a phenomenal guitarist and showman.  Unbelievable talent.

[eded]

My acoustic guitaring really started with uke when I was around 8 (1966).  I had played violin and trumpet in school before that.  My dad showed me how to play a few things on the uke and then had me play uke along with him on piano.  Then when I was 9 or so, he gave me a Harmony arch top tenor guitar tuned DGBE (like the top 4 strings of a guitar).  I got my first acoustic 6 string guitar when I was 13 or so.  Then electric (in need of lots of work) soon after.  Here I am 56 years later wondering when I'm going to get better.

Ed

[teh]

Nice thread Dogood.

I got my first guitar, a new Stella Harmony with 3/4 to 1 inch action, for Christmas the year I turned 12 (1967). Two years later, I traded that guitar for another made in Italy by the now defunct Giulietti Accordion Company and I still have it. I got my first nice guitar in 1977, a brand new Martin D35 which was my go to guitar for 27 years until I bought a new Larrivee Parlor in 2004 once my youngest son graduated college. My musical influences include Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Mac McAnally and many others too numerous to mention.

In June 2021, I joined the fun with a Forum VI guitar in anticipation of my retirement in April 2022. Over the years, I have acquired a total of three Martins, three Larrivees, two ukes, an Alvarez, a dulcimer and a banjo. Carrying sack lunches most days and driving used cars since I started driving in 1971, gave me the financial stability to help pay for college for my sons, save for retirement and acquire some pretty cool guitars. Last November I picked up a Fishman Loudbox Mini, several cool pedals and a new laptop so I have been playing 3 to 4 hours a day. Between Travel, fishing and hanging out with 9 grandchildren ranging from age 13 down to a trio of triplets who are 5, I am never bored.

Best wishes to all forum members for a great holiday season and an even better year in 2023.

[Silence Dogood]

Nice thread Dogood.

I got my first guitar, a new Stella Harmony with 3/4 to 1 inch action, for Christmas the year I turned 12 (1967). Two years later, I traded that guitar for another made in Italy by the now defunct Giulietti Accordion Company and I still have it. I got my first nice guitar in 1977, a brand new Martin D35 which was my go to guitar for 27 years until I bought a new Larrivee Parlor in 2004 once my youngest son graduated college. My musical influences include Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Mac McAnally and many others too numerous to mention.

In June 2021, I joined the fun with a Forum VI guitar in anticipation of my retirement in April 2022. Over the years, I have acquired a total of three Martins, three Larrivees, two ukes, an Alvarez, a dulcimer and a banjo. Carrying sack lunches most days and driving used cars since I started driving in 1971, gave me the financial stability to help pay for college for my sons, save for retirement and acquire some pretty cool guitars. Last November I picked up a Fishman Loudbox Mini, several cool pedals and a new laptop so I have been playing 3 to 4 hours a day. Between Travel, fishing and hanging out with 9 grandchildren ranging from age 13 down to a trio of triplets who are 5, I am never bored.

Best wishes to all forum members for a great holiday season and an even better year in 2023.

Wow, 27 years with that D35.  Must've been quite the connection!?  Do you still play it often?  I bet you pulled some serious songs out of that thing in all those years together?  This coming summer will by my 20th year with my Larrivee.  It's the only acoustic guitar I play.  I went through seasons where it was "just a guitar," but somewhere along the way it became my musical soulmate.  But there is something wonderful about a new guitar, because there are often songs trapped inside a new guitar waiting to be discovered.  This is something non-musicians could never understand.  

I've also done the sack lunch, etc, thing for many years.  Raising lots of kids and having a stay-at-home wife made it pretty much mandatory.  But in hindsight I'd not change it because I ended up learning what really matters and where to spend and not spend.  But, man, was it hard at the start! 

[Phil42]

Wow, this post made me count up the years, 65 years of playing so far. I started on a Tellino 6 string acoustic that I got for Christmas when I was in 3rd grade. More or less a Stella clone. I learned to read music on the guitar with the Nick Manaloff Guitar Method #1 and have not looked back since. I have played semi pro here in Washington since about 1978 or so. Started with an acoustic bluegrass/Folk triad then on to blues and boogie bands for a lot of years. Finally got into jazz in a pretty big way. While living in Florida my wife and I did quite a few shows with me on guitar a great drummer and her on Flute playing big band tunes, some latin and tangoes. We bille ourselves as the Little Big Band. To keep things in Larrivee perspective I bought a beautiful slightly used OM-60 about a year ago and have a hard time putting it down.

Phil

[teh]

Silence Dogood,

My D35 actually has 45+ years of playing time on her. Because it has a non-adjustable truss rod, I recently took it to a repair shop that's family operated and has been in business since the 60s. It got a partial fret job and the neck was put into a press to straighten it and coupled with 45 year old wood, it sounds and plays great and is better than ever.

I have found the secret to playing all of my guitars is to put all of them in rotation on a regular basis. From mid October to mid November, my two Larrivees (LV03 12 string and Forum VI) and Martin 000 12 fret were out and accessible.

[Silence Dogood]

Phil42: Wow, 65 years of playing - that's a good run!  I hope you have many more years of playing ahead of you. 

teh: 45+ years of playing!  There must be some serious mojo in that old Martin! I used to know a guy (oddly enough, he was the worship leader during the time I referenced in my original post) who played a D35.  This was back in the mid 90s and his guitar was from the 70s (I think).  It had one of those ugly (to my eye) old blue cases that Martin made for years.  I asked him once how he got it and this is what he told me:  He said he was in a church service years before and some man he didn't know came up to him and told him, "You're going to be a worship leader and you'll need a good guitar," and he proceeded to hand him that blue case with the D35 in it.  I don't think he ever even saw that man again.