How did you get into guitar playing?

[garbagetruckdriver]

My dad's classical guitar and a Mel Bay "Easy to Learn Guitar" book were just sitting in the living room so I picked them up and started at page one. I was 9 years old. I learned 3 notes per day and finished that book in two weeks. My dad took me to lessons with some egomaniacal tool that thought he was the Australian Carlos Santana - that nearly made me quit.

Musical inspiration wise, it was somewhere between Ace Frehley and Steve Lukather (can you believe Toto's "Hold The Line" came out in 1978?!?!) that got me hooked on Gibson Les Pauls and the rock star dream.

 

[snakeman1986]

Tried to get my friend to learn how to play a song. He didn't do it. So, I took my dad's yairi he had laying under his bed, and I learned it for myself....never did give that guitar back and my friend doesn't play anymore, haha.

 

[PeteLaramee]

I was 6 years old.......it was 1977 and this man was my Idol!!
Other Kids were listening to "Mary Had a Little Lamb"....I was listening to COLD GIN!!
Never looked back.
Got my 1st guitar at 12 years old.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul Lynnde halloween show.i was 8 y/o.had my first guitar for xmas.Hondo LP copy.didnt start learning howto play it til i was 12.But, from 8-12 i was Paul Stanley on halloween night!and in my living room 7 days a week.

First record was Hotter than Hell!!!!!!!

Same for me. I saw Kiss on the Paul Lynde Halloween special and then I got Rock N Roll Over for xmas. I've been a jerk ever since.

 

[kasperjensen]

I was 12 and heard The Offspring. That distorted guitar sound just hit me. Then I found Nirvana, and then GNR...

Now Derek Trucks and Andy Timmons. Also a little bit of EVH is creeping in.

 

[Gainzilla]

I fell in love with music at an early age. My father didnt really listen to music but my mother was really into classical and it was always on around the house. I had a very cool uncle who listened to alot of stuff but the the things that stuck out and really made me fall in love with music were The Beatles,Elvis and Motown( especially The Temptations). Music just did something to me that didnt seem to affect my peers in the same way..

Somewhere around 1969, I saw Jimi Hendrix on TV and was completely and utterly amazed. I dont really remember the moment but my mom said that when Jimi came on, my mouth was wide open and that stared at the TV in amazement. From that moment forth, all of the music that I listened to was guitar driven rock.

Starting in 1970 and going forward,I fell in love with everything from Jimi to Sabbath,Zeppelin,Trower,Deep Purple, Kiss, UFO,Foghat,Skynyrd,Aerosmith etc etc etc. My father would not allow me to play guitar( "No son of mine is going to be a hippy playing a banjo" LMAO!!! He was a hardcore Marine Fighter pilot) and my mom would allow it only if I learned classical or flamenco which I had no interest in doing at the time because as much as I love both styles today, I was a kid who wanted to rock!!. I really wanted to play but kind of gave up on the idea.

in 78, I was hanging at a friends house doing bonghits when Eruption/You Really Got Me came on the radio and I knew at that moment that at some time, some how, I had to buy a guitar and learn how to play. I literally got on my bike, stones as hell and rode down to the local record shop where I promptly lifted VH1 and listened to it incessantly. As badly as I wanted to learn, I still didnt take the plunge but it was all I thought about next to chicks...

It wasnt until around 87( I was almost 25 at the time) that I finally bought a guitar. I was busy with school and work but I still found a minimum of an hour a day to practice ( 2-3 on average) and I have to admit that I was pretty dilligent about it. I had the guitar mags and practiced scales and chords instead of noodling and actually got decent pretty quickly; within a year, I was playing rhythm in a band and within 2 I was playing lead. I wish that I could get back into that focused, dedicated practice regimen again...

 

[guitarmike]

I went to a beer party and some kid had a guitar and he let me play it. He cautioned me that my hands were too big to play so I took that as a challenge and here I am 31 years later. Always loved music but just needed the push. I am left handed but play right handed, practiced 8-10 hrs a day 5 days a week for 1.5yrs. I wish I could do that now! I do spend 1-2 hrs per day practicing now so i guess it is ok.

 

[mdc1mdc11]

showing my age here, but this particular compilation album was the launching point from where to begin.

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Supersta ... se/1624466

And I paid particular attention to these tunes:

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Jimi Hendrix - Freedom
James Gang with Tommy Bolin
Allman Brothers
Yes
Blues Image

At that point, Hendix, Page, Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, etc

 

[Juggernaut]

Gonna sound like the typical guitarist, I heard the first Van Halen album, parents bought my a cheap sears acoustic, took lessons, that didn't work, traded the acoustic and a stereo to a local shop for a cheap "encore" (plywood) LP copy, and played around, mostly in a mirror like most 10-11 year olds, then met Brent Gutierrez and was introduced to Randy Rhoads.... started playing like crazy, then switched to bass, Brent took off like a pro, and needed a bassist, so I jumped at it..... Brent moved off years later, I needed a guitarist, no one could do what I wanted them to, so I switched back to guitar.... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE playing guitar, but I still have a soft spot for the bass.

 

[stefvorcide]

My father used to play classical guitar, but he was lefty, so I could never really play... when i heard 'TALLICA (MoP) I wanted to play solos like Hammet (really!) so I took an old p.o.s. classical guitar from the closet, made my dad put strings the right side, and tried to hit the strings as hard as possible to make distortion

i got my first electric 3 years after... i really deserved it !!

 

[jcj]

I really, REALLY, liked chicks in Spandex, and they liked guitar players....done deal

Well, that and the fact I grew up around a ton of musicians

 

[petejt]

Around 13 years old I started getting into rock music, but was transposing the music so I could play it on my trumpet (I used to play in the school band). But then I'd be air-guitaring while listening to the songs on headphones at the stereo. As I like to be active rather than just passively listen to music, I started watching musicians playing the guitar to learn how to air-guitar better, then started learning myself how to actually play the guitar. A few years later I finally got my own guitar, and gone up and up since.
But also, ever since I was little I enjoyed watching my uncle's party band perform (typical Greek party taverna music), and looking at all the equipment they used. My uncle played the bouzouki- an 8-string electro-acoustic guitar.

I need to practice more though!

 

[Kaleiwahea]

I was required to play ukulele in music class in elementary school. Noticed that all the Bobby Sox girls hung aroung the boys who played ukulele after practice while the girls' dads hung out and drank beer. 'nuff said!

Then, KISS Alive........