Everybody Needs Somebody That They Can Talk To (and Pick With)

Do you want to speed up your progress?

I was always interested in learning to play guitar, in fact I had my first guitar lesson when I was 5 years old. Unfortunately, that was my last one until I was in high school. I didn't have a guitar and remember sitting on the floor, guitar book next to me, pretending I was strumming. I'm sure my parents and the music school were just humoring me since I never got to go back. When I did start to play guitar, it kind of happened by accident. A friend and I were at a high school basketball game and started up a conversation with a guy we thought we knew. As it turned out, we didn't know him, but we became friends. He had a guitar, an old Kay archtop he was learning on, and I would play it when I went to his house. Soon after that, another friend at school told me his dad had a guitar he wanted to sell. We went and looked at it and since he didn't want much for it, I was the proud owner of a new guitar.

Practice + A little friendly competition = PROGRESS!

Since my friend Rich and I both knew people who played guitar, it was fun to learn something new and then show it off the next time we got together. However, you'd only be able to be better for one day since the person that you were showing off to would immediately go home and learn what you'd played! In addition, I found a guitar teacher so it helped both of us learn more quickly.

Finding someone to practice with can really help.

There are several advantages to having a practice partner. It's a lot less frustrating to know that you're not alone in the beginning stages and that there are other people struggling to improve. If you find someone with similar taste in music you can have fun trying to learn new songs. Things tend to go faster when you have a little friendly competition. It tends to make you practice more.

How to find someone.

Not knowing someone can be a deterrent, but there are lots of ways to solve the problem. The first resource would be your guitar teacher or the place where you take lessons. We offer controlled jam sessions and have had several friendships develop in the classes. Not taking lessons? Try going to an open mic or a jam session. In our area there are several open jams and open mics. You don't have to play at first, maybe just listen and see if there's someone at your level. While it's ideal to have someone that plays better than you, if they're too advanced they may not be interested. Good luck and I hope you find someone to pick with. It really does make an enjoyable hobby even better.